I guess there isn't much I can tell you about this one.

This was more of a happy accident than a serious shot. I was idly snapping through a bank window while waiting for a friend to finish his transaction when the guy in the bottom right of the shot paused, raised his arm, and glanced across the street.

Shot in Troyan, Bulgaria.

This is another shot from Istanbul, taken from a roof bar which I think was quite close to the Galata Tower. What amused me about this scene was the restaurant across the way, which looks like a gazebo perched on the top of a five storey building. I'm sure it was safe enough, but it did look rather precarious.

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2.31pm on 8/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 90mm f/11.0 1/30 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 2x1

This was taken from the roof bar of the Four Points Sheraton hotel on Sheik Zayed Road in Dubai, the location from which I shot one of my favourite night shots in Dubai. Unlike that shot though, which was all about capturing as much detail as possible, this one was an attempt to create a slightly different impression: shallow depth of field, the reflections in the glass, and so on. I don't think it's anywhere near as successful as the previous image but, as an alternative way of capturing the location, I am pleased with how it turned out.

Let me know what you think.

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7.47pm on 15/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/2.8 1s aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This was taken from the roof of the Executive Tower B in the Business Bay area of Dubai when I was shooting with Catalin Marin back in November. It's not as striking as the other two shots I posted from this location (see here and here), but I am pleased with it, not least because it's a different take on a familiar location.

Let me know if you think it works.

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5.15pm on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/8.0 1/60 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor rotation

I spotted these two labels on a shop window just round the corner from the Creative Live studio in Seattle when I was over there in October presenting my Dramatic Post-production workshop. I'm not quite sure what the message refers to, so please let me know if you've come across the OMG label elsewhere.

Update: this label is for sale here, but I'm none the wiser about exactly what it refers to ... if anything.

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2.15pm on 4/10/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 45mm f/8.0 1/60 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

While this isn't as immediately striking as some of the shots I've been posting recently it's one that I really enjoyed working on, mostly because I knew that it had the potential to look a whole lot better than the original. Overall the post-production wasn't especially complicated – eight masked curves for contrast, another for tone, and a channel mixer adjustment to partially desaturate the image – but the key to this one was the curve I used to adjust the back of the chair: a very steep S-curve, that brightened all but the very darkest shadows. This balances the light between the seat and back of the chair, but also gives the impression that the chair was lit by a harder light source than the rest of the scene.

As always, let me know what you think.

If you're a subscriber to our tutorials you can download the image as I've added it as our latest Mini-PSD.

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11.21am on 11/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/2.8 1/50 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

I'm now back from my travels, having had a great time in Istanbul and Dubai. I'll write more about both trips over the next few days, but in the meanwhile I thought I'd post this one. It was taken last week, before the start of the GPP FotoWeekend, and was taken from the roof of the Executive Tower B in the Business Bay area of Dubai while I was out shooting with my good friend Catalin Marin. I should also add that my inspiration to take this one came from Catalin's shot of the same scene that he posted back in September. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to shoot from the same location too.

Anyway, more on both trips soon ...

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5.57pm on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/16.0 30s manual n/a evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

Officially the Gulf Photo Plus FotoWeekend event begins today, but I started yesterday with the first occurrence of my new Shoot the City workshop. This is a one day shooting workshop covering three locations: the Ubora building at Business Bay (where this shot was taken), Palm Jumeirah at sunset, then the Four Points by Sheraton hotel on Sheik Zayed road for some night shooting. This is the first time I've run a shooting only workshop - I normally end up teaching at least some post-production during my GPP workshops - so it was great to see that this one turned out to be popular enough to schedule an extra occurrence.

As for this image: it's a shot of my extremely capable and talented assistant, Khaled Termanini.

Let me know what you think.

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2.12pm on 15/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm f/8.0 1/640 aperture priority -1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 16x9

As I mentioned when I posted my last entry, I'm currently in Istanbul. I've been running a Faces and Places workshop with Bobbi Lane that started on Tuesday and finished earlier this afternoon. It's been a great week, the students have been fantastic, and I've got some great shots that I'll be posting over the next week or so.

As for this one: it was taken during one of our photo walks and is probably one of my all time personal favourites. Let me know what you think.

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2.50m on 8/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 70mm f/4.0 1/250 aperture priority +1 evaluative 800 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

I've spent a long time wondering quite why someone would choose to paint this figure upside down, and haven't managed to come up with a single reason that makes any obvious sense. It does make an interesting photograph though so I'm not complaining :)

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3.03pm on 20/9/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/5.6 1/500 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail no

I know, I've been crap at updating the blog lately, but there don't seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment to even cover the basics, let alone find time to go out shooting.

Fortunately, I'll be heading back to the UK soon – for some one-to-one training sessions and my The Art of Black and White Photography and Creating Dramatic Images workshops – so will definitely be out and about shooting some seascapes :)

As for this shot: it was taken in Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) and I may well use it as next week's Mini-PSD as the processing was quite interesting. Take a look at the original, and see if you can tell me why.

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10.08am on 1/6/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/8.0 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

This is the second of three shots I'll be posting from our trip to the Buzludzha monument. It's also the image I've used for this week's Mini-PSD as I thought the transformation was sufficiently interesting to be worth sharing.

In other news ...

Check back tomorrow as a) I'll be posting my favourite shot from the trip (an HDR of the exterior of the monument), and b) will be letting you about some new web pages I've been developing for the photography and post-production training events we have planned for later this year :-)

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2.41pm on 15/5/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 35mm f/4.0 1/125 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor

This is a shot from the roof bar of the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Dubai, taken a couple of days after this year's Gulf Photo Plus training event. It's also the image I've posted as this week's Mini-PSD as the processing was quite interesting, i.e. I used 15 separate Curves adjustments. The first of these provided a (mostly) global adjustment to the contrast, the 15th toned the image, while the other 13 altered specific areas of the image, particularly the various buildings. The reason for this, as you can see if you take a look at the original, is that there was quite a lot of atmospheric haze (in the form of low clouds), so the buildings all look soft. By selectively amending the contrast, particularly for the buildings or the left, I was able to make the scene as a whole look a lot clearer. This sounds like a complicated process, but it was just a case of working with each building in turn, then generating a mask to block the effect from the rest of the image.

On a related note, quite a few of you have requested yesterday's image as a Mini-PSD, but I'm going to use if for a Creative Workflow tutorial instead. I'll be working on this over the next couple of days so hope to publish it by Thursday at the latest.

Anyway, tutorial stuff aside, I am pleased with this one but would like to hear from you too.

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6.52pm on14/3/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/13.0 15s shutter priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

My previous image was probably the most lightly processed I've posted in quite a while so, by way of contrast, I thought I'd post this one next. It was taken at an abandoned village in Ras Al Khaimah (one of the less well known Emirates of the UAE), and, as you can see if you've taken a look at the original, it's quite flat and lacking in detail.

To bring out the detail I tone mapped it using Photomatix Pro. At this stage it was looking a bit better, but not much, so I used a rather unusual curve to add a large increase in contrast. 10 points to the first person who can tell me the shape of the curve :)

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2.14pm on 15/3/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 24mm f/5.7 1/64 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Photomatix Pro Photoshop CS5 none no

This is a close up of my previous image, and while it's a lot simpler, I do think I prefer it.

What I don't prefer though is its timely relevance. I set off to Dubai very early yesterday morning and flew from Manchester to Heathrow, then from Heathrow to Dubai. Unfortunately my suitcase, normally a steadfast and faithful companion on such trips, clearly had different ideas. It's now nowhere to be seen and has managed to vanish from British Airways tracking system ... which doesn't sound good.

Anyway, faithful companion or no, I couldn't care less about the suitcase, nor my clothes. The loss of both will be inconvenient, but not tragic. But my Gitzo tripod legs were also in the case, and a range of Lee filters, and various charging leads, cleaning kit, a 580EX II, and so on ... all of which I will miss. Fortunately I have my laptop, camera and lenses, and most everything else I need to run my GPP workshops, but I'm hoping that the rest of my kit will put in an appearance too.

My fingers are firmly crossed.

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12.53pm on 6/2/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/2.8 1/400 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

This is the first of two shots of this 'lost' sign, both of which were taken in Austin (TX) during my Creating Dramatic Images workshop last month. I'm posting this one now but won't be putting the second one up for a few days as I'm heading out to Dubai tomorrow for Gulf Photo Plus. I'm teaching a variety of workshops at the main event (7th-12th March) and will also be running a Faces and Places workshop in Oman with Bobbi Lane (17th-19th March).

If you're attending either event – see you soon – if not, and you can make it to Dubai or Oman on those dates, you should definitely think about attending as both are going to be fantastic events!

In other news ...

As you know, Libby has been unwell recently but I'm pleased to be able to tell you that she's now a lot better: not exactly 100% her usual sparkly self, but definitely well on the way to making a full recovery :-)

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1.00pm on 6/2/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/2.8 1/640 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

One of the key things I try to get across in my teaching is that it's a mistake to think of post-production as something that just comes after you take a shot. In a literal sense of course it's clearly something that occurs later – you can't post-produce a shot that doesn't exist – but, in terms of the photographic process as a whole, a better understanding of what's possible during post-production can change the way you shoot.

This image is a good example. It was taken during my Creating Dramatic Images workshop in Austin, and while the original has virtually no intrinsic merit, the final version is a lot more interesting. From a purist's point of view then, the shot wasn't worth taking: it's dull, flat, and uninteresting. With the addition of a few masked curves, a big boost in saturation, and some detail enhancement using Topaz Detail, it's considerably improved. In other words then, because I could evaluate the original scene and visualise how it could look, I knew the shot was worth taking, and while it's not going to win any awards, it is a good illustration of this point :)

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12.57pm on 6/2/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm f/4.5 1/160 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail no

This is another shot that I took during Craig's recent trip to Bulgaria: a stop sign outside a seemingly abandoned factory on the way back from our cloud-ridden trip to the Shipka Monument. We did try and explore the factory, but after passing through this gate and rounding the corner of the next building we stumbled into a pack of stray dogs. As they didn't seem to be keen to share their territory we decided to leave ... quietly, and walking backwards :)

On another matter, don't forget that today's the last day to get a 25% discount on our Photoshop tutorials. If you're interested, there's some further info here:

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

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1.35pm on 20/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/3.2 1/160 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor transformation