Mojo ignited! Soul food

 Normally I start each year with some new photography plans, involving what I would like to learn over the course of the next year, any challenges I would like to try and genres I fancy attempting to learn or improve in. However, for the last six months or so I have been feeling very lost with my photography, I have not known what direction I wanted to move in. Its not that I lost my mojo or motivation, it was more a lack of direction and it has taken a lot of soul searching, exploring and discussion with peers before I finally felt good about my journey forward.

 Over the last 3 months I have been honing my skills in macro, more specifically with focus stacking, which I have enjoyed to a point, but the whole process has been very rigid and precise, which stifled my creativity a little. Taking up to 200 photos for one image, coupled with the lengthy set up procedures and the nightmare of constantly running out of storage space plus my computer repeatedly complaining at the ridiculous processes demanded of it lead to me feeling less than satisfied. This was a far cry from the " losing myself in the moment" type of photography that I love, taking me away from the therapeutic, mindfulness side of creating. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with some of the images I've produced, but the process was not feeding my soul. One decision I have made is to still follow this path with macro, but to mix it up with my other plans so that my computer doesn't pack its bag and leave home 😄 and so my brain can still enjoy a bit of escapism with other ideas. Which means 2023 will involve more focus stacking and macro stereo 3D images, but not week in and week out.

Being a member of a couple of very friendly and supportive Facebook photography groups has had its benefits during this process. I opened up about how I was feeling and received a wealth of bolstering, encouraging posts full of suggestions, some of which I decided to take on board. During the same week there was a post advertising a free online mini course all about food photography as a business. Food photography was at the top of my radar for starting to learn about, so I jumped right in. Health restrictions meant I was unable to fully participate in taking the photos on the specified days - I tried but struggled just to poach an egg, never mind set up the shot and take it. Instead I concentrated on learning what I could day by day. Even though it only involved a couple of hours watching and learning each day, I was completely exhausted with all the extra mental activity, its astounding just how much M.E affects cognitive abilities as well as physical. I made notes for myself  and was able to catch up with the last videos a bit later. The information included covered many areas, as we were encouraged to ask questions, received critiques and feedback, as well as guest speakers. The business, marketing and website advice was eye opening, having changed so much over the years, certainly something I need to brush up on if I want to earn from photography. All in all it was a brilliant week and I'm very grateful to Emma Dunham for running the course, highly recommended. Do check out her website and food academy. 

 As a result of the course, coupled with my attempts to produce some food photography images for a competition, and discussion with peers I have found my motivation has soared. I feel inspired again and know which directions I want to pursue on my journey  over the next year or so. You guessed it, food photography is most definitely one of those choices, but I need to find ways to make it  possible, because I am still unable to manage energy demanding activities, which means adapting, learning new ways that I can do this. Planning is going to be the key thing here, I have already learned that I need to write everything down, broken down into steps, because I forget and get muddled too easily. I have already made so many mistakes in my first attempts as my brain became too muddled. Michael had the brain wave of breaking everything down into steps, written down. On top of this I need to plan how to approach food photography over a few days, as I have discovered that doing it all in one go is too much for me, having a knock on effect of making my symptoms worse for several days. So I can plan one day, set up back drop/set top/lights one day, organise props one day, prep what food I can another day ( some foods can be prepared a day before as many food are made to appear fresh by using various tricks) This will leave my energy to get creative on the day that I shoot. But I won't do food photography too frequently unless I can get creative easily, because I don't want to end up feeling the way that I have, I need the type of photography where I lose myself in the moment. I'm going to mix it up with a bit of still life too.

 That is two areas I will be concentrating on, two projects as such. The next is one that was suggested by several members of the wonderful SheClicks group, I have joined 52frames this week, it involves taking a photograph based upon a theme each week and should get me trying new things. This week just happens to be food, next week is details. I have joined a SheClicks subgroup which I didn't know existed - SheClicks 52frames, which I'm sure will be friendly, helpful and inspiring.

Others things I am considering looking into this year include exploring the idea of producing a book, looking into doing a webinar and possibly being involved with some youtube videos.  I want to do short online presentations but due to cognitive and memory difficulties which can occur after even short conversations I do not currently feel comfortable or confident in this approach, so I think that a pre recorded  webinar which I can break down in sections could be a way forward, but I need to get to grips with how to do the video and slide presentation - I have tried but for some reason my brain has struggled with some of this, but I'm determined to find a way to do it, even if I need a bit of help to get started. 

Now that may sound a lot to be going on with,  I will be taking my time with my projects, there is no rush, I have all the time in the world to learn. The food photography and focus stacking are long term journeys, the 52frames can be anything from a quick phone snap to something planned in minute details, depending on time, opportunity and energy, though I intend to try to use this as a chance to immerse myself in creative ideas once a week. As a future challenge I may even try to produce a couple of images to enter into Pink lady food photographer competition next year, that will give me plenty of time to come up with ideas and execute them to the best of my ability. I already have one idea where I need to learn a few techniques in order to produce my vision.

 The other ideas I can dip into as time goes by, plus I will be creating through painting and drawing at times too, so I have plenty to keep me occupied. On top of that there is someone who I would like to help with their photographic journey.

 I'm feeling very motivated, inspired and curious about my photography adventure

In the news... IGPOTY Portfolio finalist, CUPOTY results and Amateur photographer article.

  Happy news today, on my second year of entering the Portfolio section of the International garden photographer of the year ( IGPOTY), I have managed to get a finalist position. I am thrilled with this, even more so as it is judged by the esteemed Royal photographic society ( RPS). Totally over the moon. What is also lovely is that it is a still life portfolio, a subject which I put a lot of time and effort into trying to improve and learn this last couple of years and hours pondering which to enter. 

 I also managed to get an image placed in the new Fungi category, which is very pleasing as its yet another subject which I have endeavoured to improve upon recently

So here is my fungi image, a strange one as I added textures to it. The mushroom shapes in the background bokeh were created by a tiny mushroom between the lens and the main mushroom. I added my own textures and edited it using Exposure 5 software for a bit of a different feel. Lovely to see fellow photographers Tony North and Barry Webb ( Barry produces the most fascinating macro shots of slime moulds) doing so well in this category too, check them out here -Fungi results

So I can now finally share my still life portfolio with you all. It was a project I embarked on partially in a bid to focus on learning how to light still life images better and also on bringing the beauty of wild flowers indoors - quite a personal one for me as I find it too exhausting photographing outdoors due to having M.E., so adapted to creating something indoors where I can take my time and sit down as much as I need. This is another example for all those who say  that they cannot get out to take floral photos, all the flowers were obtained very near our home ( literally in our garden and our street for some)

I wanted to showcase the beauty of wildflowers in still life settings. These days it is more common to see vases full of flowers bought at florists, but I prefer to enjoy wildflowers in a style similar to the Old Masters’ paintings, with light cascading across them. So, I set out to produce a collection of still life floral photographs, using my own interpretation of the classic still life style.

All plants used were local to me, mostly growing in my garden, a nearby garden, or wasteland. They include; rosebay willowherb, purple loosestrife, salsify, chamomile, dill, and buttercups.

 

This first one is Rosebay willow herb which has fabulous shapes, like tentacles reaching out.

Purple Loosestrife from a wild garden at the end of our street provided a bright splash of purple spikes to contrast against the greens of the vegetables from our local farm shop in this image.

These incredible Salsify seed heads from our garden were screaming out to be photographed, I felt they complimented the wildness of a mini faux birds nest and look quite special adorning  this decorative pewter vase. With subtle colours and creative lighting they pop nicely.

This lovely bunch of Chamomile is a sight I will not see in the same spot again as it is now been used to build houses upon, so it is quite fitting that they have a special place in my local wild flower project.

Wild Carrot or Dill? I am still not sure -  reply with your answers :) Nice vibrant flowers with intricate shapes.

The much over looked humble Buttercups with more Salsify feature with a kind of farmhouse table look.

 I hope you all enjoy my still life portfolio as much as I enjoyed creating it. The lighting was quite tricky in a small room and mostly featured 3 or 4 lights, with reflectors and home made Gobos. Quite time consuming to get it all just how I wanted it as even a slight shift of an inch or two made massive differences to how the light fell.

Do check out the other truly jaw droppingly beautiful portfolios that were placed and the other wonderful images from so many talented photographers in the rest of the categories. I absolutely adore the 1st place image. IGPOTY winning portfolios

In more good news, this week saw the publication of an excellent article ( in Amateur Photographer magazine ) written by the very innovative photographer, Tracy Calder, about mindfulness and photography, an approach I whole heartedly believe can help many people. Tracy kindly put my name forward for inclusion in the subsequent article which was superbly written by the lovely Geoff Harris. Geoff rang me for a little chat about the part photography has taken in my life, my struggles to actually manage photography with the symptoms of M.E. and benefits of using photography as a coping strategy. Its a great read with eye opening interviews from others who have employed photography as a tool to help themselves, its a sensitive subject and handled so well with Geoff's thoughtful and compassionate writing. Worth a read.

Today also saw the results of Close up photographer of the year's Two of a kind challenge. I was lucky enough to have two images make the stunning shortlist. Very chuffed to say that my image of the two Cyclamen made it to the gorgeous finalist selection. CUPOTY TWO OF A KIND WINNERS

This is one of my favourite images taken last year, sadly I can no longer reach this spot on my mobility scooter as it has been devastated by two storms within 2 months, with trees uprooted and hanging precariously. The paths are blocked for the second time in 2 months and I am told that the park is in a much worse state now. So this image is even more special to me, capturing a treasured spot where I practiced mindfulness for the last 2 years during the pandemic. Its a happy image, but tinged with loss of a much cherished woodland habitat.

Above "The Kiss" exquisite, delicate form and shape mixed with romantic pink ethereal haze in this portrait of winter Cyclamen.

A selection of images and tips from winners is to be published in Amateur photographer magazine next week, which could be interesting for those who enjoy a bit of close up imagery. ( I think I should get a commission for plugging a certain magazine this week! :D )

Now I have a question to ask you all, what would you like me to blog about on here?

Textures how to use them and how to make them

  I adore seeing images with painterly, ethereal appearances, where photographs and textures are carefully meshed together to create a masterpiece. I have dabbled with using textures in my imagery ever since I started getting into photography. Firstly, the son of a friend helped me to learn how to create digital signature images  for use on internet forums around 18 years ago. After this I practiced blending layers together to create signatures tailored to individuals, then moved on to creating textures for my photographs. 

 Below are a couple of  my old photographs where I first used textures. You can see they are quite basic, but the sunflower one remains an old favourite. These are both from around 2008.

The next images show how my blending and layering techniques evolved over the following years as I learned from fellow photographers on Ephotozine and DeviantArt. Most of the textures I used then were free downloads off DeviantArt, Flickr, Ephotozine and similar sites.

As you can see I started out my photographic journey capturing flowers a lot, something which I have recently got back into. But I also used textures with other genres such as portraits.

 As I started entering competitions I discovered that it was important to use my own textures in my digital manipulations in images that I intended on entering to certain categories/competitions. So I started learning how to create my own textures. I first started by painting some card with watercolours then photographing those. I also photographed various textured surfaces such as walls, stone, wood, paper and manipulated these in photoshop.  I still have the painted textures and sell these as one of the texture packs that I have put together. 

 

This was one of the first textures I made, which was originally from a photograph of a stone quarry near where I lived. 

This is one of my latest texture collections - I have many available, a lot available on my Deviant art stock account A68Stock  or in my Etsy store AngiWallaceCreative Etsy store or by contacting me directly on Facebook Angi Wallace Photography,  or by email - angiwallace@live.co.uk

This image of a Crocus was created with just one of my own textures, I altered the colour of the texture to get the glowing blue/lilac colour that I wanted.

So how do I use textures? 

If new to textures - To use in photoshop ( Ive started with basic simple instructions for those who are new to using textures)
Open the photo or artwork you wish to apply your texture to
Then also open the texture you wish to apply, with this texture open click on Select then All, then click on Edit at the top of your work space and choose copy from the list,
then go to the photo you are applying it to, go to Edit again and choose paste. Now you will see the texture appear over you photo. So below you see my original photo open in photoshop.

You should have a Layers panel open ( mine is bottom right of the screen) where you can see both layers in a panel - each layer will have an eye icon next to it for you to choose whether you want it to be visible or not. Your photo will automatically be named Background layer and the texture will be named Layer 1 unless you choose to alter the name. In this Layers panel you need to click on the texture to choose that layer - this will highlight the layer within the panel - so anything you do following this will apply to that layer.

Within the layers panel you will see a dropdown list starting with "Normal" - this list is of blending modes - in the Newest version of Photoshop you can hover over each blending mode and it will show you a preview of how that blending mode will affect the layer, each will give it a different appearance. Scroll through these and find which blending mode you prefer and click on it - it will be applied to your texture layer giving the image a different look. 

Also within the Layers panel there is an Opacity option where you can reduce the opacity of the layer for a more subtle look. I often reduce opacity.

 I find it useful to select areas of the texture, feathering it and reduce the opacity by using masks, this is particularly handy when you want a particular subject in your photo to show throw more prominently.

To start this process you will need to choose your texture layer by clicking on it in the layers panel - you will know you have done this right when the layer is highlighted in a lighter grey within the panel. Then click on the Layer mask icon  at the bottom of the Layers panel ( it is the white rectangle with dark grey circle within) When you click this a white rectangle will appear in the Layers panel next to your texture - this is your "layer mask". It will be surrounded by white corners showing you that it is selected. See below screenshot.

What is a layer mask?

Basically whatever part of your mask is white is what you can see of that layer, whatever you paint in black  using the brush tool over your image will be removed from view. So in my image I want to see the bottles and flowers with less texture on them. I start by loosely selecting the area around them using the lasso tool from the top left of your tools. Do this by drawing around your subject and you will have an area selected by flickering with dots ( often called marching ants). 

Now because this is the area we want removed and we do not want a harsh line of where texture starts and ends, we are going to feather the edges of this selection. This will help give the image a better blended appearance when finished.  So go to "Select" in the top options and scroll down to "Modify" and another few options will appear - choose"Feather". A small box will appear asking how many pixels you want to feather by. On my first layer for a full size hi res image I tend to start by feathering a lot, so chose 300 pixels for this image. type in your chosen number and press ok. The selected area surrounded by marching ants will shrink a bit. 

Next we need to fill this selected area with black. Make sure in your layers panel that the texture layer is highlighted grey and the mask has the white corners. Then from the top options choose "Edit" then "Fill". A new box will appear asking what colour - we want black. Also what percentage, I choose 50% for my first layer as I remove more in my  next layer. Then click ok. Then click Select and "Deselect to get rid of the marching ants.  

For this image I am using a normal blending mode so had my opacity reduced to enable me to see  the bottles and flowers. Now that I have masked out my first area I can change my opacity back to 100% to get an idea of how it is looking. As we can see below there is still some texture over the bottles/flowers.

Following the steps above again we select smaller areas and feather these a lot less - say 100pixels, so starting with the bottle on the left I select an area smaller than the bottle itself. ( again make sure the texture layer is selected and the mask selected before filling this area with Black at about 75% this time. Deselecting and repeating for each bottle and flower. If something is very small then feather less pixels.  Soo after masking these little areas my image looks like this below.

You could your image like this  or mask out less than I have, this is totally up to you and depends on the look that you want. But for a further step, if you want texture removed accurately or completely from some areas then choose the brush tool on the top left and choose the colour black to paint with - checking the size of brush, whether it has a hard or feathered edge and also the opacity. Making sure your texture layer and mask is still selected you can start painting over the areas you want to see more of such as the flowers, using your brush. I often start with a lower opacity and build this up.

Below is my final image and you can see my mask in the layers panel showing the darker areas of texture I removed. This is just one of the ways I apply textures. There are other approaches too. You can use several layers of textures to build up your look. You can automatically select your subject in newer versions of photoshop or use the "select and mask" option, but this can leave harsh edges between your subject and texture which may not be what you want. There are also other options for refining edges. But this is just a basic starting point for those who have asked me. Please to get in touch if you have any questions and I will try to help

Other examples of my images with my textures applied below 

I should add that I use a Wacom tablet for all editing. I find it easier to select and paint areas and find it invaluable for editing. I have used Wacom tablets for over ten years after winning one in a competition and wont be without one now. 

I have been asked many times how I produce my textures and my techniques vary. The two textures above were simply photos taken at home - Chalkboard was a photograph of a set up for still life, where I painted an old board at home with black matt paint then sponged on white and grey areas, photographed deliberately out of focus for this effect. The second one is a similar painted, textured board simply desaturated with colour changes.

I often take photos that are deliberated out of focus to use as colour wash textures or to combine with a photograph of a textured surface. 90% of my texture photos are taken at home or in the garden. For out of focus textures I can use anything from flowers, grass and foliage outside, to the sky, a glass vase, material on clothing, curtains, bedding, bokeh from fairy lights, our fish tank etc Only your imagination stops you coming up with ideas here. For surface textures I can use standard photographs or macro photos of virtually any surface in the house - cracked leather on an old seat, crinkled paper stained with coffee, marble works top/fireplace, floor tiles, carpet, various material,l leather on boots and bags, lichen on a plant pot outside, a rusty old bolt, an old baking tray, bottom of a pan, walls, bricks, any painted surface, wood. The images below are simple snaps at home that will make wonderful textures/overlays.

This one is a simple out of focus flower photo which I have already used as a backdrop of overlay.

I find that combining my photographs helps in creating new textures, using blending modes, opacity and sometimes distorting them. Another tool I use is Topaz studio software which has a whole host of options for manipulating your images, many of which can give a lovely painterly appearance. You can download a free months trial to try it out. 

If you don't have the inclination or time to create your own textures then I have lots of different texture collections for sale starting at just £8 for a collection of 9 or 10 hi res textures.

They can all be found on this website Angi Wallace Creative Textures , but unfortunately cannot be purchased there yet as I am not earning enough from them to cover the cost of using the website as a shop. If I start to sell more then I will hopefully be able to make them available this way. In the meantime please email me and I will usually respond within hours. angiwallace@live.co.uk

I hope this has been helpful and would love to see your results. 

Signs of spring

 I love spring, with its ever changing weather throwing snowstorms, rain showers and increasing sunshine, combining to give us rainbows, it seems unpredictable but we know that it heralds the promise of things to come. With frogs starting mating in our ponds, birds displaying comical courtship behaviour and other wildlife coming out of hibernation. The arrival of Hellebores, Snowdrops, Crocuses, Daffodils, Dwarf Irises certainly brighten up February and March for me and give me plenty to keep myself occupied whilst waiting for spring blossoms.

 This year I have discovered a new favourite Crocus -"Firefly" with its fresh colours, a sunny yellow centre and delicate pale lilac and white petals. Who could not be delighted with these?

Whilst its been less than favourable conditions outside for photographing plants in the garden ( too windy) I am taking advantage of our mini studio in the dining room and trying out the new backdrops Ive made, so spoilt for choice with the combinations between plants and backgrounds. This has resulted in experimenting with colour palettes and making some surprising discoveries on what works. 

The image below incorporated 5 of my textures/backdrop images.

Our outhouse has become a great holding zone for plants that are not quite ready to be planted out, or flowers that I am trying to make last longer in a cool room so that I can eek out as much use of them as possible. It looks like a cross between a florists and a garden centre with 3 types of Tulips, Crocus, Snowdrops, Primula, Hellebores, Lilies and more.

 So I am starting out with close ups and aim to include a few still life creations as I go. Below is a Dwarf Iris photographed against one of my new out of focus backdrops.

I actually had my 2nd trip out to a local nature reserve a few days ago, just a couple of miles away from home, so took the camera along too. Unfortunately my mobility scooter decided to choose that day to stop working, so we were not there as long as I hoped. I did capture some spring Catkins though and opted for creating  interesting bokeh with Catkin silhouettes in the sunshine. I think these work nicely in black and white too.

Another subject caught my eye as we passed Bullrushes with their brown velvety heads split, dispersing their seeds in the wind, set against a backdrop of sparkling waters. This gave further options for producing eye catching bokeh. I actually photographed these in black and white for the forms and shapes, but I think they work well in colour too.

 

 I recently watched a very informative webinar by Guy Edwards on fungi photography, where he explained how to achieve the silhouette shapes within bokeh - something I dabbled with last year and have attempted again, more successfully in the last week or two. This was the perfect opportunity to try the technique, you can see it in the above Catkins images and some of the images below.

 I had a brief play in the garden with the bokeh technique too, it is easier to make it work in larger outdoor spaces with bokeh through vegetation and trees though. So far it seems to work better with a longer macro lens than a shorter one, I think the blur from the item causing the silhouette is too pronounced in a shorter lens, it becomes less obvious using my 150mm. I am keen to try a longer lens to see the results. You can see from  the Grape hyacinth image below how the snowdrop used has caused quite a distracting pale blur. The bokeh was from nearby vegetation sprayed with water, hence smaller bokeh, in a larger open space where the bokeh can be further away it becomes larger, making it a bit easier.

This one is a Snakes head Fritillary using fern for the bokeh. I stuck with F2.8 for the bokeh which wasn't ideal for getting the flower fully in focus, but it was just an experiment  and there were limited options space wise and where the sun hits the garden. Definitely something I will practice more of.

Below I used my Meye Gorlitz Primoplan vintage lens plus an app on my camera which produces rays of light. With a little editing. I have added a selection of other images I have taken in the last couple of weeks.