Philip Jones Griffith (1936 - 2008)
Producing stunning evocative imagery is the goal of all serous photographers, to achieve this and play a significant part of changing public opinion is the crowning testament of Philip Jones Griffith .
Philip a fellow Welshman born in Rhuddlan North Wales, is ranked with the greats of his trade,
John Pilger said of him
“He was the greatest Photographer and one of the finest journalist of my life time”
The great Cartier- Bresson credited him
“Not since Goya has anyone portrayed war like Philip”
Any budding photojournalist would do well as to invest in and check out Philips opinion forming Vietnam Inc. The images are an amazing combination of, Landscape, people, management of light and most stricking an emotional link cementing them together.
Philips archieve of 150,000 images was aquired by the Welsh National Library a fitting home for this exceptional Welshmans work. Sleep well Philip your legacy lives on .
Click Link to purchase Vietnam Inc an amazing book
Happy 2018
To all Photographer I extend all my best wish’s for 2018 I hope you all make images that produce joy and appreciation
31st December 2017
Christmas greeting to all Photographers and your families. May 2018 bring you the best health and happyness
24th DEC 2017
3 of the ANTIFOTO MANIFESTO, I sign up to
* We love Photography in all its glory
* Use Photography as an international language
* PRINT YOUR IMAGES !!!
"There are no illiterate people where pictures are conserned"
Bruno Minari
"only 2 real controls we have in Photography : Where we stand and when we press the shutter"
DAVID HURN
"What do you see that other see"
"What do other see that you don't see !"
Perspective -- Melania Bonaio
In this digital world people tend not to print out their images, more then anytime in history people carry a camera, and leave great imagery on micro chips.
Cheap and easy way to print photo's is via the App FreePrint check it out and get printing . Check out on Ytube
5th November 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ahbRNb6wzg
Framing and Leading Line
29th October 2017
Autumn Leaves
Autumn / Fall the time of year when natures changes its coats and delivers golds and rusts with varying intensity it can put your sensor or film into overload.
Get out and about open the eyes and just drink in the change and capture natures clocking out of summer
15th October 2017
Sometime you have to improvise to get the shot. This night shot taken with my camera on a chair on a table. In the net pin sharp
Taken in Gran Canaria,
7th October 2017
MONKEY SELFIE -- Legal settlement
Sence provails no doubt the lawyers were paid in Peanuts or was it Monkey nuts
Check out the link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-41235131#
12th September 2017
It’s only fitting for my inaugural blog that I place on record the 5 Things That Make Photography My Passion
1. Photography engages me in an infinite journey of learning
2. Photography keeps my ego in check at the same time as inspiring me, there is always someone producing quality amazing imagery out there
3. Photography allows me to communicate without using language
4. Photography delivers a distraction from the demands of life
5. Photography rewards you with reaction from family and friends, nothing better to hear “Did you take that !!”
21/07/2017
Fantastic Fed Four
Had a bit of a nostalgic moment , due to a bit of a gap in my Photographic experience , I’ve never taken images with a viewfinder camera.
Step up the a Russian Fed 4, bought from Ebay for a staggering £13, in excellent condition.
Just another example of Soviet camera engineering, robust, built to last. Fitted with a selenium meter ( Which is still dead accurate) off you go. The Steel eye piece can be a bit brutal on glass’s wearers but the fitted diopter removes such conserns
Love using this old girl and for those wanting to retro to film, ideal, practical and delivers solid imagery
FED 4
Produced: 1964-1980
Producer: FED
Frame size: 24x36
Lens: Industar-61 2.8/52.
Shutter: 1s, 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/15s, 1/30s, 1/60s, 1/125s, 1/250s, 1/500s + B.
See 4 From the Fed 4
23rd July 2017
4 From the Fed 4
Processded to CD by:-
www.maxphoto.co.uk/photo-store-locator/caerphilly-cardiff-rd/
23rd July 2017
Five Reasons why I shot RAW
1... Don't forget your camera is a bit thick, brainless infact, image management is best left to yourself
2... Manage out over and under exposure
3... Massive data on the file ,allows you to work that Dynamic Range till it sweaks
4... Opens up creative thinking in post production
5... The T Shirts are cool
25th July 2017
I'm always looking for a bargain , my go to image processing system has been Cyberlink Photo Director, picked up Photo Director 7 Ultra, 80% discount at, £14.99, nice
26th July 2017
Write up by Mark Wlliams PcAdvisor web site
PhotoDirector 7 Ultra is a powerful tool for organising, editing and sharing your digital images.
Launch the program and you'll find it's split into six sections.
"Library" is where you import, view, rate, tag and generally organise your photos. There are plenty of time-saving tools on hand (face tagging, the ability to exclude duplicates when importing), but it's all very straightforward and easy to use.
The "Adjustment" section provides manual and fully automatic tweaks for colour, white balance, tone, sharpness and more, as well as crop and rotate tools, various healing brushes and a red-eye remover.
The "Edit" tab ramps up the creative possibilities with a range of more powerful tools. The People Beautifier provides options to whiten teeth, remove wrinkles, perhaps reshape your subjects for a more slimline look. The program can remove unwanted objects from pictures, automatically filling in the background. There's a bracket HDR tool, panorama creator, filters, frames, a watermarking tool, and more.
The new "Layers" tab supports up to 100 layers per photo, which you can manipulate with various tools (Pen/ Eraser/ Add Shape/ Text/ Selection/ Fill/ Gradient) and 14 blending modes.
When you're finished your work, the "Slideshow" section helps turn your photos into a video file, or a slideshow you can share directly on YouTube. The "Print" tab provides a great deal of control over any printouts you might want to make, and your projects can freely be saved and shared online via CyberLink's Cloud Services (you get 20GB free for one year).
PhotoDirector 7 Ultra's most significant new feature is the layer editor, a powerful tool which opens a whole new world of creative possibilities.
New Beautifier Tools like the Face Shaper, Eye Bag Remover, Eye Enlarger and Skin Shine Remover help you produce the perfect portrait.
There are smart new blur tools to create localised blurred regions, apply zoom or motion effects - with radial or focal zoom - as well as new Bokeh blur options.
Enhanced RAW support means the program can handle more file formats than ever, and 100+ lens profiles allows it to automatically fix a host of common lens flaws.
PhotoDirector 7 Deluxe is the baseline version of the program. It has most of the features we've described, but leaves out layer-based editing, auto lens correction, the Panorama creator, new Blur tools, a few other high-end filters and the 20GB of cloud storage.
PhotoDirector 7 Suite extends the package with ColorDirector, which delivers a stack of colour grading features for video: noise reduction, sharpening, RGB curve adjustments, video colour replacements, a live histogram, intelligent object motion tracking, split toning and more.
27th July 2017
Published image after a Dire day
The attached image came after a stroll down the Cardiff Bay barrage in the new year bright cloudless day , most of what I took was disappointing, the assistance of ND filter failed to deliver anything that gave me something that matched the effort.
At the death I took the harbor and lookout post , composition ticked off the box and out of a dire morning snapping something that put a smile on my face .
Posted to my Flick (https://www.flickr.com/photos/132922294@N07/31791557550/in/dateposted/) and shared on Wales on line group
Published in the Welsh daily Western Mail 16th January 2016
Taken with my Nikon D2x and my favorite prime Tokina 28mm F2.8
Even on dire days something will hit the mark
30th July 2017
TOKINA RMC 28mm F2.8
My mantra has always been to enjoy my art without the need to throw lots of cash at it.
One of my favorite prime's is the Tokina 28mm. this traditional manual design offers a no nonsence lens picked up on ebay for £20 .
It's sturdy metal construction produces warm colours and great sharp image quality.
Works well in partnership with my Nikon D2X this is a lens that offers a massive bang for the buck
2nd August 2017
Composition My 5 Best Tips
Getting the best out of your imagery is not always about what the camera can deliver to the sensor or film. Some concepts must be understood or at least you should be aware of the techniques
The management of elements within the frame defines composition, the modern view finds its roots in art.
5 of the Best
1. Rule of Thirds
Imagine within your frame 9 equal rectangles place your most important feature in the interesting lines
2. Foreground
To gain some perceptive especially when photographing landscape remember to place something in the foreground
3. Leading Line
Draw the viewer into the picture
4. Patterns
Engage the viewer with patterns within your images
5. Odds
Capturing odd numbers within your photographs been deemed more appealing to viewer, 3, 5, 7 etc. But don’t be a slave to this ask a Bride and groom
There are a lot of other guides to composition,use of triangles, filling the frame , use of empty space etc. What ever approach you favor the important thing to remember is to think about the framing before you press that shutter
5th August 2017
Digital convert but still slings with Film
I got the digital implant in 2014, . I hurled head long into the technology, the massive flexibility offered in ISO and what felt like the infinite capacity of compact cards changed my approach to photography
The added challenge of learning post production skills added to the love of photography. Digital photography gave me an LSD trip that opened my mind to greater creativity
But I still keep faith with my roots in 35 mm film.When my Nikon FE died on me with old age I dipped into eBay and replaced the old girl with a Nikon F55 body for the princely sum of £10. In absolute mint condition its all plastic gray livery more then covers my need
There is a recovery in the use of film, manufactures report over the last 3 years sales growing 5% year on year. No doubt it will never reach the 960 millions rolls of the 2000’s . But film is still here, the use of requires more thinking about the shot , forces the issue of mental creation of the image, there is a bit of magic about the “wait” from the processors
Hipster I’m not, but I do enjoy the use of film but I’ll not totally return, as in all aspects of life you must embrace change
12th August 2017
D 2X Nikon, My work horse.
I stumbled on the D2X when I was looking to replace my Nikon D80, before the dreaded ERR message killed it off
On eBay they range between £200 to £350, I landed one for £245, with only a shutter count of 75, and in mint condition.The charger came with a PAT test label, so my guess this was a company or rental camera
The D2X has a tough magnesium-alloy body
the camera is balanced but heavy, weighing roughly 2.5 pounds without a lens.
It allows me to fit Non CPU lenses to take the advantage of a solid metering system and the use of my aged manual lenses .
Park up any concern with the 12.4MP sensor , the way the pixels function produces stunning pin sharp imaginary
As a camera it ticks off all the box’s for what I want and more, its reliable Nikon build will keep going for years to come.
13th August 2017
Asahi Takumar 55mm F2 Prime
Very much part of my heritage I do like using “vintage” glass on my DSLR’s. This example from Pentax really kicks arse at F8, wide open at F2, can be a little soft. It is one of a number of lens that are treated with Thorium, which is radioactive, falling short of actually eating the lens its nothing to panic over. However if it smash’s I would suggest to care is taken
This little gem does has a draw back when adapting from M42 screw mount to Nikon, a standard adapter will not allow you to focus to affinity, even with a correction lens fitted, can fall short of producing tack sharp images, so for Nikon users this horse needs the right course to get the best results
24th August 2017
2 Tokina Compact Zooms to look out for
I’ve grown by acquisition to be a bit of a Tokina fan boy. My favourite prime already written about is a Tokina 28mm
The attached photograph are a pair of compact zooms that I’ve grown to enjoy using
Firstly the Tokina AF 70-210 mm F4 – F5.6mm,(left) this is a go to lens I pack for my holidays, this compact zoom has an excellent build quality and for its price range produces solid, sharp imagery, sweet spot around f8. If you’re on a tight budget this lens delivers, quality results beyond its price range, this is the one for you
Secondly we have the Tokina SZ-X 28-105 mm, (Right) on the back of my positive experience with Tokina I picked this bad boy up from eBay for £22 , I think the seller was a warehouse/ bankruptcy clearing agent, it was unused still in the original box . This fully manual lens is staggering, very sharp across the range of aperture, it produces amazing colour and contrast, (See South Wales Air Ambulance in Eye Candy)
I’ve been increasing using the lens on my Nikon D2X, enjoying the flexibility it affords me and the results it delivering. Only negative I have to shout out it does suffer from lens creep when being carried, but this is a small price for an amazing piece of glass
24th August 2017