More from Morecambe

These photos were taken a few moments before yesterday's blog. I saw the lights and they transform the trees. I had seen Dalton Square in Lancaster a couple of days earlier and they look great there. I'll have to take my camera there.

I did mention that I don't like carrying a tripod (but I should). Well the photo on the left was taken by placing the camera on the car roof. It is not far away from the usual head height view. The photo on the right was taken by placing the camera on a bench. Just like the people in yesterday's blog, the people move so they are blurred. Notice that you don't need Christmas lights for night photography. Normal artificial lighting is more than adequate. You can even take photos of people if you ask them not to move. I am sure it is easier now to take a portrait at night than it was for the Victorians taking photos during the day.

Happy snapping

How to preserve anonymity

At this time of year it is much easier to take photos at night. I like night photography but I am lazy and it does take effort to carry a tripod. So this photo was taken by placing the camera on a bench. You can see that the view is from a lower angle than usual which is not too bad but a tripod would have given greater control. It would have also meant that I would have had to take more time to consider the composition.

This is Morecambe. There is another advantage to this time of year in that you also get the Chrismas lights. They really do dominate the photo even though there aren't many of them. I have tried to limit the effect by changing this photo to monochrome. In the background you can just see the sign for the Eric Bartholemew Wetherspoons pub.

One of the disadvatages of night photography is that if there is any movement it becomes a blur. However every cloud... I don't need to preserve the anonymity of the two people walking towards me. The camera has done this for me.

Happy snapping.

How to improve Lancaster Castle

You will see that I am still in Lancaster. This is possibly the most famous scene that you can find in Lancaster. It is always nice to be able to step back and take the photo so that you don't get converging verticals. There are two problems here. One is that there is quite a drop down the hill which means you do get converging verticals because you are looking up. The second problem is that the walls just don't look vertical anyway.

It would have been better if this photo could have been taken from the same height as the middle of the Norman keep. There would still be some distortion (see previous blogs on converging verticals) but it would be kept to a minimum. I could have also stepped back a little more and that would have helped too. Early morning sunlight would have helped and wouldn't it be nice if there were no cars. Maybe there are fewer cars and better lighting in the morning. There's always photo manipulation!

Happy snapping

A planned comparison

I walked through Lancaster last week and these two photos show you the importance of good lighting. I wrote about the Trafford Centre recently and there was an example of cloud cover helping the photo. Usually sunlight helps and this is the case here. The photos show you that cloud is also important for the sky, as a third of the photo may be a bland white or an even blander blue . The cumulonimbus cloud gives extra interest to the photograph.

As you can see from the photo, you are at White Cross. The building is very nice but this in itself doesn't make a good photo. I did wait for cars to go in the first photo but if you know Lancaster you will also know that it is almost impossible to avoid cars. There are some traffic lights just to the left and there is usually a queue of traffic. I broke a basic rule to take the second photo. I was in that queue and I took the photo from the car. I have looked quite carefully and I can't see any great evidence of camera shake but I was stuck in traffic and took the photo. Let's say it was a planned comparison.

Happy snapping

A story of the statue

About an hour later than yesterday's blog I was in Dalton Square. Lancaster Town Hall is behind me. The subject of this photo is the fine statue of Queen Victoria which is hiding Buck Ruxton's surgery.

It's November and it is mid-afternoon and it just isn't worth taking photos of most buildings because they are in shade. Buildings come to life when sunlight hits them. The sunlight hits this statue through trees and its alright, but if I could control the sun I would like the base to be lit as well (it would have been a lot easier if I had been here an hour earlier).

There is a story about a student rag week. I understand that there used to be toilets near Dalton Square and the students had painted large footsteps from the statue to the toilets and back again. The toilets are no longer there but the story lives on.

Happy snapping.

A camera helps you look up

The photo on the left tells you where I was standing. If you know Lancater you will know that the Marketgate Shopping Centre is just to the left and you are looking along Common Garden Street. If you know this much then you also know that the town hall is at the other end of the street and the town hall clock is prominent in the photo.

I was walking through the centre of Lancaster a couple of days ago and most of the buildings were in shadow. You can photograph buildings under any lighting conditions but a dull day or shadow doesn't really do them justice. Even though it was only five past two (you can see the time on the clock), I had to look at the taller buildings to see sunlight hitting them.

I know that Lancaster Cathedral, Lancaster Town Hall and the Ashton Memorial can be seen from many parts of Lancaster, but I hadn't seen this juxtapositioning even though I have walked down this street many times. Sometimes you need a camera to make you look upwards.

Happy snapping

Possibly the last two photos of Andy Bell

Last week I wrote that I was writing a blog about the last two photos of Andy Bell. Well there were a few more blogs this week for two reasons. Firstly I was not happy with the shadows, partly caused because I didn't direct the flash upwards. Secondly I couldn't take full length photos because there was a high contrast with Andy's carpet and his curtains.

I used a small rug and the cloning technique which I described yesterday to make it bigger and I made these photos darker in order to bring out the muscle definition. These two photos should be the last two photos of Andy Bell but who knows - I may get another opportunity in the future to take more great photos.

Happy snapping