Terris Novalis

I think i've mentioned the Terris Novalis art in my home town of Consett. The gleaming stainless steel replicas of the late 19th Century surveyor’s instruments are twenty times life size and weigh four and five tonnes made of stainless steel. They are the work of Turner prize winning Tony Cragg.

Tonight was the camera club meeting and it wasn't a very nice night, very grey, dull and bad light. But as always we decided to take some shots anyway of the Terris Novalis sculptures.

Tulip

This is an image I took of a tulip and decided to change it digitally to look like a Lith Print. Because I'm not getting around very well due to a bad case of sciatica to take landscapes which is my passion, I am having to concentrate on studio work which I have barely touched on till now. Anyway, after a talk we had on Friday at a camera club I go to on black & white images and different techniques, I decided to try out some of them. Lith printing was the first. With the help of a book I have called "Creative Digital Photography" by Lee Frost, this is my first attempt at a digitally manipulated image of a Lith print. I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

Portraits

Portrait photography has been around since the invention and popularization of the camera, and is a cheaper and often more accessible method than portrait painting, which had been used by distinguished figures before the use of the camera.

The goal of portrait photography is to capture the likeness of a person or a small group of people, typically in a flattering manner. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included.

Thanks to Helen Cook & Wayne Yeaman whom I work with for letting me take their photos.

These were taken today at work. I thought i'd try taking a few photos of people this time. I'm not used to portraiture so this is all a learning curve for me. Wayne was at the time on the telephone taking a call from a client. It's a shame his eyes were looking down. Helen however sat and did a pose for me. So I have one natural and one posed photo in different colour format (mono with a little film grain added & colour with no grain). Any advice is gratefully received.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 50mm macro
• Portrait Mode
• ISO-200
• Focal Length - 50mm

Oh and before i forget i've managed to get back on to Flickr so if you want to see more of my work then follow the link at the side.

Ben

He looks so sad doesn't he. This is a photo of my dog Ben. He hates his photo taken poor thing and never usually sits still long enough to get a decent one of him. I was very lucky today to get this one.

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I got Ben from the Kennels when he was 8 months old. He was a rescued dog that had been mistreated by kids and was very nervous little thing when I got him.

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He such a cutie and lovable dog with a character that's almost human sometimes. LOL

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Aperture - f/5.4
• Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 42mm
• Exposure Compensation 0 step