Ulstertower Photographic 的日志

10月14日

EDL / UAF Demonstrations: Manchester Piccadilly Gardens; 10 / 10 / 09

Here is my shots of the EDL / UAF Demonstrations in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens on the 10 / 10 / 09. What I can say is that I have NEVER experienced such a photographic assignment such as this and NEVER have I seen the City that I love so much with all my heart like this.

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

ABOVE IMAGE: * It has been brought to the attention of Ulstertower Photographic that this Photograph was "Stolen" and was used "Illegally" as some form of "Propaganda" in a "Youtube Video". This "Youtube Video" has now been removed. The stealing of any images from Ulstertower Photographic MAY result in Legal Action being taken against you. So don't say that you have NOT been warned.

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

6月24日

Can a Nikon D40 with a Sigma 70-300 mm lens photograph the planet Jupiter?

Here is my answer, you decide your own :)

6月15日

My worst photographic assignment appointed to me yet to date....

Above: A DJ is captured in movement as he plays his set to a up for it crowd

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

O what a night Saturday 13th June 2009 was for me!! This is because on that night I had the worst ever photographic assignment appointed to me to date.

You may already be asking your-self this one little question..... Why? Why was it the worst ever photographic assignment that I have had yet to date? Well to answer that question in one simple line then that would be..... I was the "Sheep Amongst The Wolves".

Before I start to tell you more about my worst photographic assignment ever appointed to me yet to date. Please just let me point two things out to you the first being that NO it was NOT because of my photography skills ( NB: I walked away with some fantastic looking images from the night) and NO it was NOT due to any of my equipment with regards to any faults (NB: Again I walked away with some fantastic looking images from the night).

So lets move on. Now would you be surprised to learn that what made this night my worst shoot ever to date was in fact "PEOPLE". Yes, readers that is "PEOPLE" it was "PEOPLE" that made me have the worst photographic assignment ever yet to date. So where did the problems start for me on that night in question?

Well let's find out then, shall we?

I arrived early at the event which I was asked to cover by a certain company who had asked me one week prior to the actual night of that event. Now when I approached the staff of that event whom were stood at the main doors of that event, I explained to the staff that I was a photographer working on behalf of the said certain company. With in seconds one member of the staff told me that "They Already Had A Photographer". Naturally I stood pondering on what exactly it was that the staff member had just said to me? Then all of a sudden another staff member asked to look at my cards, I showed her them and then kindly asked her if it was possible to speak with the promoter of the event? This member of staff now granted me access to the event but only on the condition that it was only to speak with the promoter of the event. Not long after entry I quickly made contact with the promoter of the event. However, the promoter of the event told me that she had not "confirmed" my attendance for the event with the company that I was working on behalf for. Bascily readers to cut a long story short I managed to get into the event in the end.

So did things get any better from that point in time? No!! They only started to get even worse. For example the promoter of the event came over to me and asked me to photograph her and her friend. Thus I did, however my camera was not on the correct setting which I wished it was to be on. But some how I got the impression that even if my camera was on the correct setting that I wished it was on, then that would NOT of stopped / prevented the promoter of the event from saying this "I don't like it, delete it". Thus I did indeed delete it and just continued to carry on with my job.

Now by this time I did quickly learn that I was not the only photographer who was working at this event. As a matter of fact some of these photographers were working for a renowned company with in the club land business. As such I don't feel that these photographers were taken to kindly to the fact that I was there to work too. Likewise may I just point out to my readers that this renowned company that these photographers do work for have been covering / working with this event / possible with the promoter of the event for what appears to be a very long time now. Hence me being the "Sheep Amongst The Wolves". For example later on in the night the promoter of the event approached me and informed me that "I could not take photographs here" i.e. the exact spot that it was that I was standing at. Now this is the funny part readers, later on in the night I spotted one of the photographers from the renowned company standing taking photos from the exact same spot which was of course the very same spot where the promoter of the event had told me that "I could not take photographs here".

Through out the entire event I kept on seeing the tell tale signs of how some "PEOPLE" were doing everything with in their power to make sure that I was being "limited & disadvantaged" with regards to what I could produce photographic wise with my work. Moving on there are many examples that I could give to my readers here on this blog with regards to what "Tricks" it was that was being pulled by these "PEOPLE"..... But I don't feel it is necessary for me to go into much detail as I feel by now that my readers of this blog entry will of no doubt by now of built up that "BIG PICTURE" of exactly what it was that was going on that night and what it was exactly that I my-self was up against.

To finish this blog entry, I can safely say that at the end of the night "I walked away with some fantastic looking images regardless".

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6月12日

Stockport Pyramid

At time of blog entry I am currently working as an Event Photographer. Likiewise this new job of mine has in a way affected my own personal photography work / assingments. Don't get me wrong I'm NOT saying that working as an Event Photographer has affected my personal work in a bad way. What I am sayng is that working as an Event Photographer has 100% limited the amount of time that I can spend on my own personal photography work / assingments.

For example the image that you see above was shot a few weeks ago (at time of blog entry) for my own personal portfolio. But due to having to work as an Event Photographer, it was really only today that I did get the time to really sit down and polish up the above shown image for my own personal portfolio. Moving on the reason why I have placed / photoshopped an aircraft into the image is because Stockport is FAMOUS for having aircraft fly over it whilst they approach the runway of Manchester Airport.

To close I'm so pleased that I did get the time and motivation today to finish off this image of mine :)

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5月17日

Learning New Photoshop Skills.

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

Many months of past and I see that yet once again I have forgot about this little space of mine here on spaces. So to keep this little space of mine going I would like to blog about what it is that I have been up to lately?

Well for quite sometime now I have not been as active with my camera as I wished I was. This is because I have learnt another part of the photographic industry which I feel is just as important to have skills on in addition to the skills one needs with a camera. Yes you have guessed it I'm talking about working with such editing packages such as Photoshop, Coral etc... I have been spending many hours working on photoshop to help me improve on the quality of my images.

As a matter of fact the image which you do see at the bottom of this blog was made with out no photography being involved whatsoever. So it should give you guys a pretty good idea of just how powerful editing packages such as Photoshop really are.

Moving on there is quite a bit of banter going around the net at the minute with regards to thosePhotographers that do believe in working with editing packages such as Photoshop in addition to those Photographers who do NOT believe to work with editing packages such as Photoshop and instead prefer to get the image correct “In Cam” instead. I my-self do understand both sides of this on going debate and do not really like to get involved in it my-self, as the way I see it it‘s just tit for tat.

So to sum this little blog of mine up…..? Well I’ve been spending most of time lately learning new skills on Photoshop.

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

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2月16日

Working With Photographs

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

I know that I have not been on Spaces much recently, so I do apologise very much to all my readers. But I have been working very hard on my own photography in the hope that I can improve on the quality of my work. Which I do think that I am currently achieving.

But one thing happened to me recently when I worked with a Model in a very dim lit church with the minimal of equipment. My images did not come out any where near the standards that I had expected them to be. So later on in the day this seen me spend the entire night editing the images in Photoshop with the hope that I could better improve their quality. However, during editing of these images I for some unknown reason paused for a moment and looked at my image…. I mean I really looked at my photograph and something then “HIT ME” and this is the “Power Of A Story” that is behind a photograph.

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

What I mean is that I have now learnt that a photograph does not need to be manufactured in any set way to have an impact on people. For example, who said that an image should be made with no “NOISE”?? Also who said that every shadow and highlight detail needs to be 100% perfect?? Plus does it really matter what ISO / Aperture / Shutter Speed the photograph was really shot on???

To me the answer is a “NO” it does not matter at all how you manufacture an image. This is because your photograph has only got one purpose at the end of it and that purpose is to “sell a story to the viewer”. The more of a story line that you add to your photograph then that will make that photograph even more powerful.

What I’m trying to say and I hope this makes sense is that regardless of what people call quality with regards to photographs if your photograph can tell / sell that STORY to the viewer.... then you have indeed got a very powerful photograph. End of story.......... Open-mouthed

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

1月21日

Night Photography In Manchester City :)

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12月26日

Images are getting better :)

Above: Me

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

Yep you have quessed it!! This is yet again another photographic experiment of mine, where I want to improve the overall sharpness of my human subjects.

The outcome of this experiment has been a postive one as the sharpness of my-self in this image is better than any of the other human subjects which I have shot to date :)

PS: As I was on that side of the camera it is interesting to note that I could not really tell what my focus was on.

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12月25日

I have been playing with my new remote......

Above: Me

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

So I decied to shoot my-self with it.... But It looks like other people were trying to shoot me too :) lol

12月24日

Boys Toys

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

12月22日

Electrify

Above: Electrify

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

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12月19日

Photoshop: It Is The Future For Me......

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

Ok I seem to be spending alot of time on Photoshop but this time it appears to be not with Photographs and instead with such things as shapes. What I am finding at present is that working with such things like shapes in Photoshop does bring out the creative side of you. Here is some of things i've made so far... To finish with I know many people who don't like to edit their photos what so ever in editing packages..... But for me I do truly beleive in editing images if they are not up to scratch so Photoshop is for sure the future for me.

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12月13日

I can't beleive I've been shooting Lamborghini's!!

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

Today is one of those days when I am really, really happy to be alive!! For today I have had the opportunity to shoot some real Lamborghini's in Manchester.

Plus I feel so relieved now because this experience was for sure a challenge. The low light conditions really did put up a great fight. As a matter of fact at one point I thought that I was beaten and was considering just given up. But I decided not to and instead just kept adjusting the settings on my camera and shot, shot, shot. I’m so glad that I did not give up because these are the images that I have now walked away with.

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

12月2日

I was so glad to have my camera with me this day.

Above: Stockport

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

I was asked to do a paid shoot for a customer on the exact same day that I did take this image of Stockport.

And I am oh so glad that I was asked to do a paid shoot on this day, because I would not of had my camera otherwise.

So when I had finished doing my paid work....... I left the customers premises and noticed that the sky looked great. Then all of a sudden it hit me " I remembered an image that I had once took of Stockport ". So I put two and two together and came up with the above shown image as a result. So to finish this blog with I’m so glad that I had my camera with me that day.

11月26日

Posing In The Rain

Above: Posing In The Rain

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

I have been trying for some time to find one shot of the Models that I have worked with to try and fit this image as best as can be. However, I have not got that many images of Models so this is the best human subject I have at present to fit in with this image.

11月23日

The Yard

Above: The Yard

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

To day I finally did get aound to editing this image. And now I have now named it “The Yard” and what I can say is that this image does bring back the memories of when I was a young lad.

There was many a days I did spend working on a yard like this alongside my friends with regards to helping out the local farmer whom did in return give us money for our help. So that is why I like this image so much.

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11月22日

Dancing In The Shadows

Above: Dancing In The Shadows

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

The image you see here named Dancing In the Shadows was made to show these group of Photographers that Ulstertower Photographic is NEVER GOING TO STOP.

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11月19日

Ulstertower Photographic Bites Back!!

Above: Passion In The Night

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

As you will see from my previous blog posting I was talking about how some photographers from a certain web site expressed their dislike towards my work. So this blog posting is now where " I Bite Back ".

This is what I have to say to those Photographers on the subject with regards to my work

" I am a Photographer my-self and I do have the ability to manufacture images where and when applicable. In addition to this I also work with my own style and will not alter any parts of my images or will not take any notice of what any Photographer(s) have to say with regards to one of my finalised images. At the end of the day my images are my images you don't like them...........then tough as it is my watermark on them ".

To my readers I hope you like the new image Passion In The Night.

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11月17日

Photographers say I'm no good???

(C) Ulstertower Photographic

The image that you all see above is an Ulstertower Photographic image which has recently caused a stir within a certain group of photographers with regards to a certain web site which I do use.

To keep this simple and easy for my readers to follow….. I am basically not just learning how shoot a camera but I am also learning how to edit images as well via the use of Photoshop. Now when I uploaded the above shown image on to a certain web site, it was then that I was automatically placed in front of a “blood thirsty squad of photographers” who basically laid into me and said that “My editing skills were no good and that I really needed to listen to them and learn from what they were saying to me”.

But my readers this is the funny part right here… I had also uploaded the same shown above image on to another web site which I do use and guess what?? Well the above shown image is now “SHOWCASED” in the Showcase Gallery of that web site. So what is going on??? First of all I’m told by Photographers on one particular website that “My editing skills are no good”. Then when I see my above shown image placed in the “Showcase Gallery” on the other website this then “Conflicts” with what the Photographers on the other website were saying to me.

Regards

Gareth

Ulstertower Photographic

11月7日

Live The Dream

I believe that it is now coming up to three years since I did pick up my very first camera the Fujifilm S5600. I remember back then saying to my-self that one day I too could become a Photographer. Now when I look at some of my work at this present moment in time, I think that I can safely say that now yes I too have reached my goal and can now claim to be a “Real Photographer” with out getting a sense of feeling that I am somehow pretending / lying to people in order to make them to believe that I am a tog.

As a matter of fact I am that much “overjoyed” with the vast improvement of quality with regards to my work that I find my-self at times now sitting back in my chair and saying to-myself “Wow I made that image”. I sometimes do find it “unbelievable” because again about three years ago these kind of images that I now do make were “just a dream” but today they are a “reality”.

So what have I learnt from the last three years of doing photography? The answer is that one must “Work” for what one has set a goal for. Plus that one should "Never Give Up In Something That They Believe In".

(C) Ulstertower Photographic 2008