Whether you believe photography is a form of art or a product of human ingenuity through technology, that is not what matters.
I believe what matters about photography, is that it can capture the world in a creatively unique light, that has the potential to be a source of inspiration for anyone.
Notting Hill at Night
For London lovers get this beautiful print for your home or as a gift from $19.95:
Forests and Frames - By Freddie Ardley Photography
Well this was just a random thought that jumped into my head, I love spontaneous photographs. It doesn't have any sort of point, but that's why I love photography. I doesn't always have to.
I wanted to do it all the way to the top, but I don't have enough paintings or a tall enough ladder.
Farmland Bliss - By Freddie Ardley Photography
I have just ordered this for a client, it is the first of an edition of 10. I think this particular piece is going to be stunning and certainly be a room warmer! It is 59.4 x 42cm.
'Gloucestershire Sunset'
This particular piece has been entered into the Royal Photographic Society's 157th Annual Print Exhibition. The Shortlist comes out in 2 weeks, so will keep you updated! - rps-international.org
It is still available as a Limited Edition Print at: ArtFinder.com/freddieardley
Changing your perspective on a scene is often a great way to capture a new and interesting photograph without doing anything different. Photograph directly up and down. It will give you a fresh view on things.
For anyone else uses 500px, here is my profile:
I have only uploaded 30 odd pieces so far, but there will be lots more to come!
The Effects of Aperture In a GIF: Part 1
I created this little GIF to show the changes in a photograph when different apertures are applied. This shows the shallowest depth of field at f/2.8 through every f stop to f/22.
I am going to commence publishing a list of my favourite 5 photographer's blogs of the week. I tested this on the weekend and it seems it was a success for the listed photographers. This is to help people continue to discover great talent now lensblr is in a more limited capacity:
I hope you enjoy and check out these wonderful photographers.
Lightroom Editing: Clarity Slider and Brush
I absolutely love this tool on Lightroom. It is such a versatile way to give photographs an extra bit of pop. The first image is just a control, to show what it looked like before any clarity, and is a RAW image converted to black and white.
The second image shows the effects of using the clarity slider in the basic menu. Now while this is an easy way to change the dynamics of the entire image, I wouldn't recommend using it on every image. If you have large blocks of a single muted colour, such as sky or a strong vignette, it will destroy the delicate colour gradients, and make the image look very over worked.
So I would suggest always using a clarity brush, which is shown in the third image. This way you have much more control over the implentation of clarity. You can avoid delicate areas that would otherwise be ruined, and instead focus on highlighting details which can create a great contrast against the more subtle elements of a photograph. Also of note, to make the results less harsh make sure you have brush density and flow settings at about 80% and feather at 50-70%.
I hope this is of help.
In the Shadows - By Freddie Ardley Photography
A Photography Experiment
I have been asked about 9 times today what camera I have and what advice I should give to those looking to buy a 'better' one.
I use two cameras (cost now):
Canon 5D Mark II (£2,599 New) 21 MP
Canon 350D (£105 from eBay) 8 MP
Which do you think would be best. Well I always tell everyone it's all about the lens. So above are two images shot on both cameras. I have used the same lens (Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8) and exactly the same settings, ISO 100 f/2.8 at 1/4 sec exposure. To take account of crop factor I have cropped the 5D Mark II's image as best I can to match the 350D.
(Below is a little question and I will post the results later to your answers. I want as many people to answer, doesn't matter if you're a beginner or a pro, just take a wild guess.)
Guess which camera took which picture?
