Dunstable Downs

Behind the Scenes / Lee Snowden

Lee Snowden behind the scenes lighting

My lighting set up of an image of Lee Snowden. 

The image of Lee as you can see was lit with 2 off camera speed lights. One to the front left to illuminate his face, and another bare to the right to try and create a high light down his side. 

Lee Snowden behind the scenes MET Bedfordshire police traffic cops on motor bikes

While out shooting a load of Police came by, luckly not for us :0)

Lee Snowden shoot guy jumps off dunstable downs

While at the location of the top image, this guy was setting up to jump.

Fair play! id love a go.

 

Thanks Lee.

Night Photography.

Friday evening, myself and Phil Richardson of

YellowMelen Studio

 headed out upto Dunstable Downs for a play with some night photography.

What good fun. Setting up a camera for 2 minute + exposures and running around with torches and setting off speed lights and awaiting to see the result was something very new and interesting. 

Dunstable downs long exposure night photography national trust shop

This image is hard to believe that it was taken in total darkness. 

Dunstable downs national trust shop at night long exposure
Dunstable downs long exposure night photography

4 minute Exposure. 

Dunstable downs long exposure night photography clouds
Dunstable downs national trust building at night with name written with a torch
Dunstable downs long exposure night photo car head lights
Dunstable downs long exposure 

Q & A on HDR.

I recently was asked to show the before and after images of the Landscape Gate that i took last November in Dunstable.

Im not going to explain the HDR techniques as i have mentioned this a few times now,

HERE.

But this was to show my eye for HDR. As many will know i try and keep things looking as real as i can.

With a view like this in front of me, i knew HDR would work as the sky is too blown out for my liking. Some people will prefer the before image but its all down to our own opinions. No one is ever right or wrong.

I do not particularly think that "oh i will do a HDR image" for the sake of it, i look at the scene in front of me and if i feel that it will enhance the image then i will use it.

When looking at this scene on the lcd screen on my camera, i could see that either the sky will be blown out or if i expose for the sky, then the ground will be too dark.

Another options would have been to use graduated filters over my lens,

or take two images. one of a correctly exposed sky/ and then the ground.

Place one above the other in Photoshop as layers and hide/reveal the correctly exposed parts of the image.

Both good techniques, my train of thought here was, 1- i dont own any graduated lens filters, and 2 - trying to mask out this sky would of taken time. plus i like the textures HDR processing can produce.

The After image was created using HDR techniques with 8 images at various exposures. 

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

Multiple Image HDR's.

Hiya,

In this post i want to try and explain how i create some of the large HDR landscape images and to answer the question that i have recieved alot recently, on how you can make an image with 54 exposures from a

previous post 

From the following image i am trying to show where all the images go in the make up of the final image.

Hdr explained with multiple images

As you can see each section is made up of different exposures.

I used Photomatix Software to render these. I started with the lower center section, as this is the main focal point.

I made a note of all the settings i used on this section and rendered all the other sections the same.

If you fail to render each section the same, you will have some very unrealistic looks and will make blending to the final image extremely tricky.

Once you have 6 nicely rendered HDR images, i opened these into Photoshop and blended together to create the large image.

One massive point to remember when taking an image like this, is to overlap each image to make the blending process easier, and so you know that you have not missed anything.

You can always cut to much extra away but not add any missing data that you didn't shoot.

I hope that this makes sense,

as always feel free to ask any questions and comment.

 

Thanks Lee.

A play up Dunstable Downs this evening.

This evening around 1600hrs the sun looked stunning, and so i grabbed my camera bag and headed out, to catch a sunset.

the sun had other views and finally set behind a huge cloud. 

Here are the images i took, and so i hope that i did not waste my time. 

54 image HDR Dunstable downs

This HDR is made up of around 54 images. 

Dunstable downs bedfordshire

Another HDR image

This was lit by an oncoming car. 

 A play with car lights.

Snow in Dunstable.

I spent Christmas working on an oil rig, bummer!

I was down the south of England for New Year with family and loved ones.

As you are all aware the weather has been awful of late.

We got it hard in the North sea over christmas, I was itching to get home and have a play in the snow with the camera before it all melted.

Well, my luck was in, im now in Dunstable and the heavens open, I set out to get some pictures of the snow. 

The sky was dark and not looking good, I take a few shots of the people who are wrapped up warm braving the cold. 

Whilst on the retreat back to the house... 

feeling a bit disappointed, as there wasn't much that could be taken. I see the sky start to clear. 

Oh yes happy days....

I take my time to see what will unfold before my eyes. Some stunning colours started to come out.

I took a few snap shots of the cold and grey. My favourite piece of the weather is the cemetery scene.

 

<img src="snow scene" alt="Dunstable west street baptist church burial grave yard christianity lee ramsden Bedfordshire"> 
<img src="Father and child on the snow" alt="Dunstable downs Ciltern Chilterns Lee Ramsden"> 
<img src=" Dunstable Downs" alt="snow milfs house wives walking dogging dog walking">