Unit 208 -Theme 1 -Tom Mackie ,Landscape photographer.

Tom Mackie has been a photographer nearly all of his working life . Tom has a degree in commercial photography and spent his first five years in Los Angeles working in industry and architecture , during this time Tom spent some time traveling the western states where he produced many panoramic photographs . This made Tom decide that commercial studio work was not for him . Realizing that landscape photography was what he now wanted to pursue Tom Mackie moved to the United Kingdom in 1985and continued with full time landscape photography . Tom worked with digital , panoramic and large format equipment, Toms use of light and bold colors is what he is best known for . Tom has won accolades from the British institute of professional photographers , Ilford awards and business calender awards .Tom Mackie has published two books - Tom Mackies landscape photography secrets and Digital SLR experts : Landscapes  ,this latest book is a collaboration with four other professional photographers . Tom Mackie has also written articles for photography magazines and lectures to other professional and holds workshops in UK and abroad .
                                                                        

My misty morning.

In Tom's shot he has good composition in a clear defined area, with shape and pattern in the trees , texture in the grass, contours in the mountain range and the rule of thirds applies horizontally .I like my shot ,the clarity of the detail in the mid-ground ,even the blurred barbed wire in the fore-ground and the softness of the morning mist. I knew if I went to this area at this time of year and the time of the morning I hoped I would achieve this . 

Mysterious.

In Tom's shot he has achieved color,shape and form ,texture in the leaves and the Fly Agaric  with good composition with the subject nestled in the fallen leaves . In my shot I needed to open the shutter a little more to let more light in or use a reflector. I chose this area for this image as it is well known for a wide range fungus .

Soft Sunset.

Tom's sunset has , tonal ranges of color ,the mist encourages more shape and lines in the  hills with the trees in the central view point and texture in the fields in the fore-ground . My shot needed more control in the settings with the shutter being closed a little more to allow a little less light entering the camera and a tripod. This shot was taken looking across the valley near Ashbourne.

In the photo Tom has taken there is more light ,shape and texture this makes the colors more vibrant in this shot. I took this shot trying to achieve the same as Tom's ,my image lacks light which would make the colors probably as vibrant ,so if I return back to shot this image again I would wait for the sun to reach it ,or shoot elsewhere to achieve .               

There is lots of either light or refection seen here in this shot with texture of the stone peering through the movement of  rushing water.

Tom's shot above has texture,lines and pattern in the grass  and color in the reflection of the water. The image above left hasn't quite the same effect if I had moved back a little and caught the grasses in the water.

 

I love the color ,shape and form in the leaves in this image.above.

I tried to recreate Tom's shot ,although tom has again more light in his photo the idea was there ,his shot also contains texture and form . Timing and sun light would have improved my shot.

Again Tom has texture in the leaf litter good composition and form , the colors are exact with a hint of extra light there is shape and lines in the fungus .

  When I went out to take my images I always had someone with me for heath and safety reasons I kept to paths or asked permission to enter on private land always watching footings and position of tripod.In my camera bag as well as my camera (finepix s5600 ), a lens cloth ,set of spare batteries ,extra empty xD cards, tripod , brolly  in-case of rain , lose change and a fully charged phone .                                                    

Unit 208 -theme 1 -Antony Spencer, Landscape Photographer.

Antony Spencer is based in Dorset and specializes in capturing the landscape in the best available light ,when ever and where ever possible. Antony Spencer started taking pictures seriously in 2007 when he purchased his first digital SLR , most of the pictures on this page are taken with a Canon digital SLR and sometimes Antony uses a 360 precision panoramic head . Andrew also uses a technique called stitching , this allows the photographer to stitch multipliable images together to produce a unique photograph every time , Antony states that it gives him more freedom with what he can include in his final images.

 The first image that I have added on this blog is the winner of the Landscape photographer Of The Year 2010 - Corfe Castle on a frosty morning . The atmospheric shot of Dorset ruins was selected from thousands of entries scooping a prize of £10,000 for Antony , having been short listed in the last two previous years and not getting any further Antony Spencer had said that he was not going to enter the 2010 landscape photographer of the year competition , I say good job he did, and for me this is probably one of the best images I have seen . The self employed stone mason Antony Spencer is said to have but just a few influences, he talks about their breath taking work ,  David Chapp ,whom takes technically perfect photographs with a 35mm .Christian Fletcher an western Austrailian , his field is panoramic photography , Joe Cornish and the way he executes the light , to name but a few. Antony Spencer has a photostream on flickr which I had also looked at , there are some pretty amazing photographs on that site too.        

 

Corfe Castle in The Mist.

I love the texture and colors of the grass ,the morning frost and the bushes  in the fore-ground, the path in the mid-ground  leads your eye to the shapes of the ruins and the hills in the back-ground . The tonal ranges of the sky and the morning mist are fantastic.

Glastonbury Tor.
The silvery path leads your eyes to the Tor ,with the beautiful tonal ranges of the sky, the  lines of color are striking against the shape of the Tor and the hill.

Micheldever Wood Sunrise. 

                                                                    

Sgwd Ddwli.
There is lots of different ranges of colors in this shot ,the yellow and gold leaves of the draping tree in the far background illuminates the falls, the greens of the moss and grass in the mid-ground acts as a carpet for the fallen leaf litter. The texture of the moss is clear and the leaves show a contrast of color when sat on the square shaped stones. The path of the water in the fore-ground  leads you up to the waterfall with the lines of water cascading into the pool below. 

Lavender  Sunrise. 

Dorset Woodland Sunrise.

Compton Valence.

Heather and Fern.

Somerset Levels ,Mist. 

Hindon Poppies.

                                                                                  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonyspencer/
http://www.landscapegb.com/2010/11/antony-spencer-winner-of-take-a-view-2010/

Unit 208 ,theme 1 -S-no- w Fun For Some ,It Was For Me!

All these images are in manual I am afraid I deleted the shots off the memory card before collecting the data.

Unit 208 ,theme 1-Charlie Waite book

I have brought one of Charlie Waite's books , The making of landscape photographs - A practical guide to the art and techniques . I like how he criticizes his  own work, if he is not happy with a photo he has taken he states why ! he also gives handy points to watch when he has taken his photos, so that you might consider these when taking your own .