When I spotted this guy he was smiling, and when I asked him if it would be OK if I photographed him he nodded and continued to smile. As soon as I pointed my camera at him though he adopted this rather serious expression and, despite my best efforts, stared fixedly into the middle distance for the time it took me to take a few shots. When I showed him the images he smiled.

So, hardly the most natural of portraits. And, while it would have been nice if his expression had matched the figure in the background, I think the contrast works OK too. Let me know what you think.

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10.51am on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 64mm f/5.6 1/50 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

This was taken on our recent Faces and Places Photo Tour to Istanbul, near to the Galata Tower.

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3.14pm on 8/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 200mm f/4.0 1/40 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 400 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This was taken down at the souqs in Dubai, and while I have no idea what the guy on the left was thinking, I do like his expression.

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10.20am on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 35mm f/4.0 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor

This was taken during a photo walk around Istanbul, and there were two things that caught my eye. The first, and most obvious, is the textures, shapes and colours of the building. The second was the mother and daughter looking out through the window. If I'd taken this shot in the UK one of two things would probably have happened – either I'd have been shouted out for invading their privacy, or I'd have been threatened by the police. In Istanbul though, the 'my home is my castle' mentality doesn't seem to apply insofar as nearly everyone we saw would wave from their houses, or smile, or otherwise indicate that they were more than happy to be photographed, as I also mentioned when I posted this shot.

Anyway, it's not an especially striking shot, but it is one that I like. Let me know what you think.

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11.41am on 11/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 43mm f/4.6 1/60 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none none

While I don't think this is quite as strong as yesterday's image I was drawn to take this follow-up shot for two reasons. First, I was intrigued by the fact that the guy on the left seemed to be sending messages (or similar) on two phones at the same time, entering data on both phones at much the same time. Second, and less obviously: for the few minutes we were photographing the four men (see yesterday's image for the whole group) this guy concentrated on his phones, resolutely ignoring me, Bobbi, Khaled and Syl ... well, right up until this point, when he glanced up and smiled at Bobbi before getting back to his phones.

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10.16am on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/5.0 1/40 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none none

New Year's resolution #2: shoot more people!

One of the things that Bobbi and I invariably do when we're in Dubai for a GPP event is head down to the souqs for some shopping, food and photography. Bobbi normally buys enough pashminas to clothe the entire eastern seaboard of the US, a pile of safron and spices the size of a small shipping container, while simultaneously managing to charm photographs from even the most recalcitrant of the people we come across.

While she's doing all this I tend to wander around shooting random bits and pieces, but I do make the effort to shoot people too. I don't find it as easy as Bobbi, and my hit-rate of people who are willing to be snapped is quite a bit lower, but I didn't have any trouble with this group of guys. Well, other than the guy on the right who was watching Bobbi :)

As always, let me know what you think.

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10.15am on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 38mm f/5.6 1/40 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none none

To round out the year I've posted my 12 favourite shots from 2011. The first two are beachcombing images, both of which were taken on Fleetwood beach, and I've included them because there's probably no other type of photography I enjoy more: there's something really therapeutic about wandering along a beach in search of things to photograph.

The third, Istanbul #1, was taken during the recent Faces and Places photo tour to Istanbul that I ran with Bobbi Lane and I've included it because it's probably my all-time favourite street shot. The fourth image – the shot of the old chair - was taken during the same trip and I included it because it typifies another of my favourite types of photography: shooting seemingly bland scenes that I know can be post-produced to look considerably more interesting.

The next four images (the middle row) were all taken in Dubai. The first, the shot of the Dubai skyline taken from the roof bar of the Park Regis hotel, ended up as one of my favourites simply because it's a bit different. I've been to Dubai eight times now so I'm always on the look out for alternative ways to capture the city.

The next two – the shot of the Sheik Zayed road taken from the Four Points Sheraton roof bar and the shot of the Burj Khalifa taken from the roof of the Executive Tower B building in the Business Bay area of Dubai – made the favourites list because I think they ended up being about as good as I could get them. There's probably room for improvement, both technically and creatively, but I was really pleased with how they both turned out.

'You said it would last forever' was included for two reasons. First, because I thought it was an interesting commentary on Dubai, but also because it took me quite a while to work out how to shoot it. It was almost pitch-black, and while I did have a tripod with me I didn't have a remote release so ended up shooting a set of images at different focal points which I then blended in Photoshop.

The next two images (bottom left) were both taken in Oman during our first Gulf Photo Plus photo tour. The first is a shot of my good friend Catalin Marin and the second was taken during a sunset shoot on the beach near our hotel.

The penultimate image was taken on Blackpool beach and I included it because it's probably my favourite UK beach-scape of the year, and the final image was taken with my iPhone 4. It's not my favourite iPhone shot from 2011 – I haven't blogged that one yet – but it is the one that made me realise that the iPhone should definitely be considered a serious photographic tool.

So, those are my choices from the year. I'm sure that some of you will have some different favourites, but I hope you enjoy my choices too.

On which note: I hope you all have a fabulous New Year's Eve and that 2012 brings you the prosperity, health and happiness that you all deserve. Have a good one :)

This was taken in the Old Bazaar in Istanbul and even though I spent quite a few minutes shooting this scene it was only when I post-produced it that I spotted all the reflections. It' easy to miss one of them :)

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11.56am on 12/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/2.8 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 400 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor

This shot was taken during a photo walk around Istanbul, as part of our recent Faces and Places Photo Tour to this fabulous city. I can't remember the exact area of the city we were in, but it was largely residential with a few small shops, winding streets, and a host of interesting things to photograph, including these two children – noses pressed up to the glass, watching the world go by their window.

As an aside, this image captures the flavour of Istanbul in a way that isn't apparent from the image itself. To explain ...

We'd been walking through the streets of this area, photographing the people we met, the buildings, the skyline, and pretty much everything that caught our attention. When I spotted these two children I automatically started shooting, as did several other people in our group.

After a couple of minutes an adult appeared behind the small girl, and from what followed I assume it was her mother. As soon as she appeared I realised what we were doing – taking photographs of small children in the privacy of their home. Had I been in the UK there would probably have been one of two outcomes: either an angry exchange with the parent regarding my invasion of their privacy or, worse, a discussion with the local police regarding the inappropriateness and illegality of my behaviour.

In this case though, rather than snatching the small girl away, she lifted her higher, waved, and smiled at us all as we photographed her children. In the scale of things it was a small event, but it neatly summarises my experience of Istanbul: one of the largest cities in the world, but also one of the most open and friendly that I've visited. I wish more of the world was the same.

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1.28pm on 11/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 68mm f/3.5 1/60 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 400 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

This shot was taken during my Creating Dramatic Images workshop last weekend. We'd spent the morning working through a variety of topics but spent most of the afternoon photographing the seafront and North Pier. I'd been shooting the sea, but was glad I turned round in time to grab this shot.

If you're interested, my good mate Craig has posted an alternative version here:

http://www.id7.co.uk/iblog/?p=1473

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3.40pm on 17/9/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/2.8 1/2000 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

This is the last shot I'll be posting from the Faces and Places Photo Tour to Oman that I ran with Bobbi Lane last November, and while I'm happy to take credit for the post-production (more of which below), the credit for setting this one up goes to Catalin Marin. We were walking through Wadi Shab and Catalin met this guy and his friend (who appears in this shot of mine). After talking to them for a while he asked if they'd mind being photographed, so I jumped on the bandwagon and took a few shots too. If you're interested, Catalin's version is here:

http://www.momentaryawe.com/blog/?p=2797

In terms of the post-production, while this is quite a simple image, it's also interesting. It was edited using just three adjustment layers: two curves (one global, and one to brighten his eyes) and then further adjusted using a Black and White adjustment layer. In this case though, because I changed the blend mode of this layer to Luminosity, the changes I made affected the density of the colours, not the saturation. If you're a subscriber to our tutorials you'll be able to download a copy of the PSD file as I've used it as this week's Mini-PSD.

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12.08pm on 18/3/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/5.6 1/125 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

This is a shot of our friend Neil who has been staying with us in Bulgaria for the last couple of weeks ( you may remember him from this shot) . Libby and I first met him in 2005, when he was working as the Creative Industries Development Officer for Creative Lancashire. Since then, in addition to being a good friend, he's also been a source of inspiration and encouragement, a sounding board, a critical eye, a mediator, and a general all-round good guy.

Anyway, we finally managed to convince him to come out and visit us, and during the last few weeks he's been helping us work out where we want to go with our business, and what we should do to get from here to there. It's been a tiring process, but we've made some great progress (which I'll tell you about soon) and we'll be sorry to see him go when he heads back to the UK on Tuesday.

It hasn't all been hard work though – we've managed to find time for a beer or three – and we took the day off today and headed up to the Buzludzha monument with Libby and the kids. We had a good look round the building, a great picnic, and I think I probably got a few shots that I'll be blogging over the next day or so.

I also got this shot.

As we were leaving we passed the two torches you can see behind Neil's head and he asked if we could stop and take a few photographs, including one that would make him look like a communist hero. This shot is the result, and as Neil tells me that this is his favourite portrait of him "ever", I consider it a definite success.

Oh, and for those of you who can't read the Cyrillic alphabet, the title is a reference to this guy ;-)

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4.22pm on 15/5/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 55mm f/5.6 1/800 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor(ish)

This is Josen, one of the students who took my Landscape Photography workshop at the recent Gulf Photo Plus training event. He was a joy to photograph as it was almost impossible to take a bad shot of him :) It's also the image I've used for this week's Mini-PSD.

In other news ...

You may have noticed that I haven't posted much over the last week, but I have been busy: working on coding some new pages and templates for our training site. It's not finished yet, so I can't link to any of the new content, but we will be launching some of the new pages soon. Specifically, a set of pages describing our face-to-face workshops, one-to-one training, and our plans for the future. As soon as they're ready I'll let you all know :)

Alternatively, if you want some more immediate updates, keep an eye out for my posts on Facebook and Twitter.

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4.11pm on 10/3/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 68mm f/8.0 1/160 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

This is a portrait of our good friend Neil, and as it's made its way onto his Facebook profile I guess it's fair to say that it turned out OK :-)

As the processing was also quite interesting – there are three separate layers for the black and white conversion – I've also added it as this week's Mini-PSD. If you're interested there's some further info here:

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/mini_psds.php

And finally (if you missed my last two entries), we're offering a 25% discount on our Photoshop tutorials to celebrate Easter, so if you've been thinking about improving your post-production skills, now would be a great time to sign up! Please note though: this offer ends at midnight today.

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/

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4.40pm on 26/3/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 64mm f/5.6 1/50 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 400 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none none

I met this guy while providing some one-to-one training for Mat Schenks. We'd headed up to Fleetwood to shoot the beach, but bumped into this guy starting his shift at the Fleetwood Coast Watch station.

If you're interested, Mat's shot is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11119558/...

I've also posted this image as this week's Mini-PSD as there were a number of interesting aspects to the post-processing, including using multiply blend mode to darken the image and adding an image based layer set to Color blend mode to restore the original colours.

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10.33am on 26/3/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 46mm f/8.0 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor rotation

This is probably the last shot I'll be posting from 2010, and is definitely the last I'll be posting from my trip to the Muttrah Souq in Muscat back in October. That said, I'll be heading back there again in March as Bobbi Lane and I are are running a three-day 'Faces and Places' workshop from March 16th-19th.

We're going to be staying in Muscat for the duration of the workshop, and will be photographing a range of urban and natural environments, both local and further afield (including the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Wadi Shab, and the beautiful fishing village of Sur). We'll also be working with models at the Presidential Palace and on the beach, and will be shooting portraits down at the Muttrah Souq. To borrow the text from the GPP page, we'll be showing you "how to photograph the natural and urban landscape, how to produce stunning travel portraits, and how to combine the two to capture and illustrate the heart and soul of the places you visit".

If you'd like to find out more about the workshop take a look at the following page:

http://www.gulfphotoplus.com/news-detail.php?id=242

And if you have any questions, just drop me a line: djn1 AT chromasia DOT com. The short version of all of the above though is that it's going to be a great trip :)

Anyway, to get back to this shot ...

It was taken towards the end of our trip to the Souq, and as you can see from the EXIF data the light was quite low - ISO 640, f/4.0, 1/100s. If you've taken a look at the original you'll see that the light was also very flat. If I'd been at a location I could easily revisit I might have already stopped shooting by this point, but there were so many interesting people milling around that I carried on for at least another 30 minutes after taking this one.

Anyway, despite the fact that the original isn't exactly stunning, after converting it to black and white, adding a large boost in contrast, and removing some of the minor distractions from the background, I am pleased with how it turned out. It's not my best shot from the trip - I think that this one is my favourite - but I am glad that I took it.

On a side note ...

As I mentioned when I posted my previous entry, I've been working on a new Black and White course for PPSOP (further details here) and, as with my own black and white tutorials (info here and here), I spend quite a bit of time explaining why simply desaturating an image is nearly always a bad idea: i.e. other conversion methods such as the Channel Mixer, Black and White tool, Calculations method, and so on, all allow you to vary the tonal balance of the converted image to produce a more aesthetically striking result. In this instance though - just to prove that there's an exception to every rule - I used the Hue/Saturation tool :)

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5.23pm on 12/11/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/4.0 1/100 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 640 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This was take about a minute later than the shot I posted earlier this month, and as you can see, his attention was starting to wander by this point :)

On a related note ...

If you missed my previous post, I'm going to be running a new class with PPSOP: The Art of Black and White Photography. If you click the previous link you'll see that the course covers: black and white conversion techniques; working with portraits; combining conversion techniques and selectively altering tonal range and contrast; and toning and colorizing your black and white images – all of which are techniques that I used to create today's image. Specifically, I blended a Channel Mixer conversion with a Hue/Saturation adjustment (to even out the tonal balance for the image as a whole), added a few masked curves (to lighten his eyes and alter the global contrast), and then used a Curve to add a very slight warm tone to the highlights.

And while I'll be discussing all of these techniques in The Art of Black and White Photography>, I've also covered them in my own tutorials, specifically: Portraits: part one, Black and White: part one and part two, and Toning Colour Images.

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3.07pm on 8/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 200mm f/5.6 1/320 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This is the last of the shots I took in October with my good friend Craig: a shot of a goat-herder wandering the shore of our local lake. Right now I'd be happy to trade places, at least for a while – the idea of living a simple life seems quite appealing today :-)

Oh, and if you're interested, Craig posted a shot of the same guy here:

http://www.id7.co.uk/iblog/?p=526

In other news, I'm running a new class with PPSOP: The Art of Black and White Photography. If you click the previous link you'll see that the course covers: black and white conversion techniques; working with portraits; combining conversion techniques and selectively altering tonal range and contrast; and toning and colorizing your black and white images. It's going to be a great course :-)

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2.23pm on 20/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 200mm f/4.0 1/200 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor

This is another shot of Iva Sakarova, taken back in September, at the same time as this one, but I've held off posting it as I can't decide whether I like it or not. Sometimes I've opened it up and thought it was great, while at other times I've looked at it and wondered why I bothered. Part of the problem, I think, is that it's so far from my usual style that I just can't evaluate it alongside my other images, either in terms of content (as a portrait), or in terms of post-production (it was produced in Lab Color Mode). Anyway, it's sat there, haunting me since last September, so rather than keep looking at it and wondering what to do with it ... here it is. Let me know what you think.

In other news, my apologies for the lack of recent updates but I've spent most of this week working on a new online course for PPSOP (the Perfect Picture School of Photography). I already run one Digital Darkroom course – Unleashing the Power of High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images – and from February I'll be running another. Hopefully I'll be able to post more details over the weekend.

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12.06pm on 4/9/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 30mm f/9.0 1/160 manual n/a evaluative 100 580EX II (1/2 power) RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

Here's another image from Jane and Nik's wedding that I shot back in October. My favourite shot from the one's I've posted is still this one (the rather serious looking Italian uncle), but I'm pleased with this one too.

In other news: if you'd be interested in some one-to-one training (either at our Blackpool office or at your own location in the UK) – on photography, post-production, or both – I now have some confirmed dates when I'll be back in the UK to provide training:

Thursday 10th February
Friday 11th February
Saturday 12th February
Sunday 13th February

Thursday 24th March
Friday 25th March
Saturday 26th March
Sunday 27th March

If you think you might be interested please email me [djn1 AT chromasia DOT com] or Libby [Libby AT chromasia DOT com] for further details.

And finally, don't forget that our 25% discount offer on our Photoshop tutorials ends at midnight on the 7th. Further info here:

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/

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3.06pm on 8/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 200mm f/5.6 1/160 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 16x9