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Since I got back from Dubai I've been thinking about my post-processing style, and have realised that it's easy to get into a bit of a rut, especially if you're shooting much the same material over an extended period of time. One of the things that has brought this home to me is a series of seascapes that I'll be posting this week. I have four of them, and in a number of ways they're quite different from my usual style, not in terms of content – a sea is a sea and a cloud is a cloud, no matter where in the world you are (well, mostly) – but more in terms of the 'feel' of them: colour, mood, and so on.

I'll post the first one tomorrow, and will be interested to hear what you make of them.

Oh, and I'd also be interested to hear what you think of this one, though this isn't too different from some of my work shot much closer to home.

captured
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
12.21am on 20/3/07
Canon 5D
EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
48mm
f/3.2
1/800
aperture priority
+1/3
evaluative
100
no
RAW
C1 Pro
no
 
3x2 + travel [Dubai, UAE]
comment by Jide Alakija at 09:00 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

Oh cool...I'm really looking forward to what you have for us tomorrow then. I see what you mean about the PP style development. Could this have anything to do with working with Top photographers in Dubia?

As for this shot I can almost see this being used in an editorial or commercial for a Pepsi ad or something. It has this surreal character to it which in a way provokes some sort of emotion that football brings. I kinda now wish there was a ball at the corner of the post now saying that. Overall really good shot. Nice one Dave.

comment by Dave at 09:12 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

Is there anything that hasn't washed up on this beach?! Having watched your blog for some time, I've seen shoes, containers, a TV (still a top 10 shot in my book :-) and now a soccer goal. I wonder what is to the left and right just out of frame, lol. Fantastic image and I look forward to the series!

comment by djn1 at 09:19 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

Dave: this one was shot in Dubai rather than Blackpool, but I think that beaches the world over attract all sorts of odd yet photogenic items.

comment by E y e V i s i o n at 10:06 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

You are right. It is a tipical (I mean a tipicly good and moody) shot of you. And you are right: I'm curious about those seascapes you have mentioned. As I see, you think that the shallow dof and the heavy contrast what you call your style, but I'm sure there is much more in your images than these. I'm looking forward to see those non-tipical shots.

comment by E y e V i s i o n at 10:09 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

An other thing. I'd like to read some more about this Dubai-meeting. I mean your feelings and impressions about it. So if you have any interesting stories, please share with us :)

comment by elaine at 10:37 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

beautiful shots! great colors and surreal atmosphere!

comment by Saito at 10:48 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

I love the colour of the sky. it's a great shade of blue. I really like the composition as well. I like how you found the soccer net. :D

comment by mjay at 11:52 PM (GMT) on 1 April, 2007

Your rut is my pinnacle!

comment by nferreira at 01:07 AM (GMT) on 2 April, 2007

Portuguese beaches have many trash in it but it's always paper or broken glass, so no interesting objects to photograph.

About your photo, I completely lost my sense of scale because of the size of the net. I suppose this is a small soccer goal.

comment by Furanku at 02:37 PM (GMT) on 2 April, 2007

I can't say why, but this soccer goal looks tiny to me. The DOF maybe...??

comment by Peter Erik Forsberg at 03:29 PM (GMT) on 2 April, 2007

This is a nice shot. I like the colours, I wonder how you achieved them... How long did it take to work on this one? I wish I didn't have to work on 50 photos for agencies a day and I could just sit around and work on one good one for hours on end. Like this one better than the baby stuff.

comment by Alice at 03:46 PM (GMT) on 2 April, 2007

Nice shot. I like the moody colors in this one. Looking forward to your upcoming posts.

comment by Jennifer at 06:09 PM (GMT) on 2 April, 2007

I too am struggling with the scale of this - sure it's not a strange lobster pot ;-) Looking forward to seeing your experiments.

comment by djn1 at 07:34 PM (GMT) on 2 April, 2007

Thanks all.

E y e V i s i o n: ok, when I've got a bit of spare time this week I'll write some more about the event.

Nuno and Jennifer: it was only about three feet high.

comment by mal at 12:40 AM (GMT) on 3 April, 2007

this I like very much, such a simple but unusual scene and setting, lovely image

comment by David Chabashvili at 09:04 AM (GMT) on 3 April, 2007

Excellent! I really like the mood the color sets here. And the sand is very cool. Another good work!

comment by Clay at 04:41 PM (GMT) on 3 April, 2007

seems like an unusual scene, but what else is new?

There's something about the angle/perspective I don't like. the horizon looks a bit off, or maybe it's the break of the waves that's throws the balance off.. also, the net itself seems off. Either it has to be centered or taken from more of a side angle, as it is, it looks like you were fighting for space with other photographers shooting the same subject.

Sorry about the not so praising critique, but ya can't be perfect on every shot!

comment by m at 08:50 PM (GMT) on 3 April, 2007

:-)

comment by Osiriums Ventaka at 11:48 AM (GMT) on 4 April, 2007

Greeat colors! Nice composition :)

comment by Will Williams at 12:07 AM (GMT) on 8 April, 2007

Without anything to put the subjetct into scale, it feels like a miniture or model, nice effect.

comment by haleakala at 06:57 PM (GMT) on 30 April, 2007

Wooo! My... This is a great blog. And I would love to review yours sometime (very soon) in the near future. I like this game!! :)