Tim Rawlings - PurpleT Photography

This way for the crucifiction…

PurpleT — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:42:55 +0000

I spotted this on a recent photo day with my mate Gary in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. This is in the White Peak near Castleton.

P.T.

Depression!

PurpleT — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:55:13 +0000

For the unemployed in Britain, this photo needs no explanation!

P.T.

A Foggy Day For Pinhole Photography

PurpleT — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:48:07 +0000

Some years back i made a very basic pinhole attachment from a camera body cap. Then last summer i decided to stick it onto my DSLR and try it out at home by doing some figure photography. The blog of which can be seen here

From this i decided to buy a cheap body cap for my DSLR, drill a hole in the middle, and then tape some foil over it and poke a pin through. The hole isn’t properly measured, but that doesn’t really matter as the point isn’t to get a perfectly focused image anyway.

On a particularly foggy day recently i decided to take the camera out with me when i walked the dog, and i thought it was a good time to try out the pinhole attachment outdoors, especially as the fog would give a very minimal look to the images, which i particularly like in the first example….

The second is from a similar position as a photo taken with a regular lens on another very foggy day a few weeks ago that can be seen in a blog here.

There’s a high level of noise in these photos as i set the ISO to it’s highest which enabled me to just get away with taking them handheld, which is something quite unusual for pinhole photography.

P.T.

Tinkerbell just snuck in…..

PurpleT — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 22:17:50 +0000

I’ve been told this photo is cute, which is what i also thought at the time.

Of course there’s a bit more to it than the fact it’s cute. In a way i don’t feel the need to explain it, but a friend commented on it and i feel i want to share how she saw this photograph. I think it’s a lovely description, and is very much the essence of what i saw at the time, so here’s her comment:

“I love the fact there is a splash of childhood flair and innocence among what is seemingly a more maturing group….like Tinkerbell has snuck quietly into the group”
By my friend, Pixi.

P.T.

Raw Naked Guitar Playing!

PurpleT — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:55:19 +0000

Over on Google+ there’s a theme called “FullFrontalFriday”. Of course it’s difficult to actually post full frontal nude photos as they have a good chance of being flagged, and so removed. I’ve already covered the issue of the human body in art photography in a page, and in a past blog post, so i’ll not go deeply into the issue of having decent filter systems to allow art without removal.

The upshot for now is that i try to come up with something that hopefully has some merit as a photograph, but will remain on public view.
Recently i came up with these photos, the idea being of the full frontal view of the guitar, whilst of course being nude, but not quite being worthy of bad censorship. Hence the Raw, the Naked, and the Guitar

P.T.

A dusting of snow…..

PurpleT — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 22:07:12 +0000

A couple of friends came up for the day during last weekend, so i took them for a drive into the Peak District of Derbyshire, an area neither of them know.

The wonderfully changeable weather we have in this country meant we ended up with low cloud and snow (a week later it’s 9c and sunny)

Along the route i decided to take them down Winnats Pass, a short steep drop through the limestone to Castleton, a place well worth visiting. The pass itself had a wonderful dusting of snow that gave us a view that just had to be photographed.

This photo has great texture to it, and makes me think of those perfect pencil drawings some people can do.

P.T.

Ominously Calm!

PurpleT — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:21 +0000

I was visiting a friend not long back. She lives on the south coast of Kent next to the English Channel, so it’s always nice to take a wander along the beach. On this occasion there was a wonderful bank of cloud that gave this wonderfully calm, but ominous look.

P.T.

Snow! (for one week only….)

PurpleT — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:46:03 +0000

Well we managed snow for a week……and a couple of days. A couple of reasonable coverings of snow, then one night of decent snowfall, but the following night it rained and it was all gone.

As we’re not used to getting too much snow the country tends to grind to a halt. Schools close and people can’t get to work. A lot get excited and head out to play. For me, like many other photographers, it’s a chance to take a walk with the camera and try to capture a few nice winter photographs before the overcast wet days come back.

It was dull when i headed out on this day.

There was a natural monochromatic look that was broken by the lovely orange of the car. I think the type of car also helps make this photo work.

Anyone for a game of golf…?

Trapped by the ice and fighting to survive!

And the sun shall give me life!

But some don’t get to play in the snow……
I had a moment of both happy and sad memories.

P.T.

A Triptych Of Weather

PurpleT — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 19:55:58 +0000

These were taken on 10th, 12th, 14th of January 2013. I love the way the weather can change so rapidly sometime, from the wonderful murky fog, to a clear day, and then snow, all in just five days.
They were taken on an old iPhone using the Hipstamatic app.

P.T.

The Fog!

PurpleT — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:23:00 +0000

For quite a long time i’ve been wanting to try and photograph a particular tree in the fields where i walk the dog. I’ve photographed parts of it against the sky in a minimalistic way, but always thought it’d be good in the fog as you lose all the distracting background.

In the past there’s always been something to do when it’s been foggy, work being one of the main problems, so i’d never really caught it in the way i kept envisaging it, until last week!

We had a wonderfully foggy day, so i grabbed a camera bag, put the dog on a lead, and headed to the fields.
This is pretty much how i’d been seeing this photo with the tree isolated in the fog, and no distractions……

As i carried on walking around i looked at this old dead tree. I remember it from when i was a kid and it still had some growth on it, but now there seems less and less of it as the years go by.
I couldn’t help thinking that isolated in the fog, it looked like it was off for a walk down the hill. In that dull foggy bleakness there was almost a life to it. Was it on some unknown mission? Or just off for a quiet walk in the fog when it thought no one could see? Or was it just my imagination running away?

P.T.

Christmas Eve Moon, With Halo.

PurpleT — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:24:04 +0000

For a short time tonight, Christmas Eve, the moon had a wonderful halo surrounding it. I quickly grabbed the camera and rushed into the garden, put the camera on a tripod and captured a handful of photos before the clouds came over and i lost the effect.

Here’s a couple of them…..

P.T.

Celebrating The day! (the world didn’t end…)

PurpleT — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:53:17 +0000

The world didn’t end as some would have us believe the Mayan’s had predicted.

Today is also the Winter Solstice, so here’s me being at one with nature and celebrating the day.

P.T.

Last Sunset Before The End Of The World!

PurpleT — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:22:12 +0000

Apparently the world will end tomorrow!

A Short Walk

PurpleT — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:56:38 +0000

On a recent Sunday, an old friend i hadn’t seen for a while suddenly sent a text asking if i was free to meet up and maybe go for a walk. As i had to walk the dog i said we could drive out somewhere. So the afternoon was spent walking along Stanage Edge and back in the Peak District National Park.
The sun shone most of the afternoon, just as it looked like we’d have a great sunset, a few clouds came over. This couldn’t detract from what was a classic, and slightly chilly, early winter afternoon walk.

Looking up at Stanage from part way along the edge.

The view as we started heading back.

Although the cloud came over to hide the sun as it set, it gave us a lovely light, and emhasised the late afternoon hazy mist.

P.T.

Playing about!

PurpleT — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:59:31 +0000

On Google+ there are many daily photo themes that people can contribute to. One of my favourites is #halfnekkidthursday. Sometimes i have a bit of an experiment to try and add something a bit different. One thing i’ve played about with is a homemade pinhole attachment placed on my DSLR. A few photos can be found on a previous blog here.
Last week i tried another experiment using and old flashgun i have from the film days. It has a setting that give a slow pulse of flashes, and also a fast strobe effect that lasts about 15 seconds.
I set the camera up with the pinhole attachment and used a shutter speed of 2.5 seconds, then used an infra-red remote control to take the photo, and pressed the button on the flash at the same time. By sitting still and moving my head i got this result. Simple but effective.

I did virtually all the editing in the camera, i just tweaked it slightly on the PC, and cropped it a little.
P.T.

Moonrise….

PurpleT — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:57:50 +0000

Walking back down from Castle Naze, in the Peak District National Park, after and afternoon of rock climbing, we were greeted with this rather delightful sight. The late October sun giving a lovely golden colour to the grass as it set, and the moon on the horizon to the left of the fence.

Some moments just have to be savoured.

P.T.

You wanna go climb?

PurpleT — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 19:50:48 +0000

Rope at the ready!

I recently had a message on a site i rarely use. It was someone who noticed in my profile that i used to go rock climbing a lot in the past. As she’d taken up climbing this year she asked if i wanted to get out. I warned her i hadn’t been out for a long time, but still had the experience and could give advice and encouragement. That was good enough for her, so i jumped at the chance. A phone call and a few emails later and off we went to one of the many crags in the wonderful Derbyshire Peak District..

Although climbing has been one of the great passions in my life, i’d gradually drifted away from it for various reasons. I feel that passion returning, and we’re planning more climbing trips.
That message looks like being one of life’s simple, but good surprises. Thanks Lucy.

P.T.

See it coming, and photograph it!

PurpleT — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:05:55 +0000

I took this photo during one of our regular monthly photo walks.

I saw the possibility of a photo using the reflection in the back of a car, then noticed this woman wearing a red coat to go with the red of the rear light. For a brief few moments there was no one else walking past, so i crouched down to wait. She stared at me wondering what i was doing, which helps the photo. The way she was watching me gave a couple of the others on the photo walk quite a laugh.
There’s a real beauty to seeing the potential of a photo, and then managing to actually capture it.
The Decisive Moment!

P.T.

iPhoneography

PurpleT — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:39:40 +0000

There are a vast amount of app available for photography on the iPhone, and so many different effects. Some feel the skill has been taken out of it as you just snap away and process the photo later for whatever look you choose. This isn’t really much different to using any digital camera, you take the photo and later process it using your preferred software. You can get whatever effect you want if you learn to use a variety of software. Of course this means experimenting. Over time you learn the look that will suit the photo at the time you press the shutter. You develop a style, but that doesn’t mean you stop experimenting and looking at new ways to view the world around you with a camera and editing software. And that is exactly what a photographer is doing with a mobile phone by using a variety of apps. You learn what to use dependent upon the content, and ultimately, the content and how you choose to present it is what makes you an artist.

Over the months i’ve been experimenting quite a lot. I’ve used the iPhone whilst visiting a friend at the seaside, whilst wandering around town, in the garden, and also when walking the dog in nearby fields.
These samples are simple compositions using just the apps with virtually no editing, and just one that has a lot of post processing on the phone.

I loved the way the sun caught the leaves on this bush and quickly used the Hipstamatic app. The only processing was to increase the brightness and contrast to give it the punch it had in real life.

This was taken in the garden. It’s another where the sun created wonderful lighting on the dying remains of the stems of lily plants. I used the ClassicTOY app which i recently downloaded to try out. I loved the way this film effect worked in this image.

This is another from the ClassicToy app of crops in the nearby fields. I think this would look good printed on canvas.

Another using the ClassicTOY app.

This is the only one to have any real processing. The original photograph was taken using Camera+, the processing was mostly done in PS Express and Photogene.

There’s an app called Slow Shutter. The idea is to stabalise the phone and use it to get those lovely motion photos like flowing water. The app recreates the slow shutter effect by taking multiple photographs and merging them together. I decided i liked the effect when just holding the phone. The merging of the photos gives a lovely impressionist look the the final image. To get this effect with a regular camera you’d have to take multiple photos and merge them on a computer.

P.T.

Pinhole DSLR and the figure!

PurpleT — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:55:28 +0000

Some years back i made a pinhole attachment for an old SLR using the body cap. It’s simple to do, just drill a hole in the middle and stick something over it you can make a hole in.
I never actually got round to using it as i went digital soon after, and so it was forgotten.
Recently i thought about that body cap, and searched it out to see if i could fix it to my DSLR. After a bit of trial and error i went with three pieces of Blu Tac. It’s not perfect, and it fell off a couple of times, but it did seem to work.
I tried a couple of photos indoors in controlled light, and it was ok, but looks like it has too much light leaking in, not surprisingly considering how it’s attached.
I wanted to take it outside, but as has been happening a lot this year, it rained!

Rather than take a few boring test shots indoors, i decided to go to one of my favourite subject matters, the human figure. With no model available i went with a few self shots.

The photos direct from the camera were very light with a soft focus effect, and not great detail.
I intended them to be black and white, but the first two here i added some tone.
For the second two i kept them black and white, but went much darker with greater contrast.

This shows the light soft focus effect from the pinhole attachment.

I quite like the effect in these toned versions.

Here i went for the darker look in the editing. I think this is my personal favourite.

Another of the darker black and white edits.

I want to try this outdoors for some landscape photos, but with the way the cap falls off i don’t want the camera left open on a long exposure if it does fall off. I’m now planning to get a spare body cap for the DSLR so i can make another pinhole attachment that fits properly.

P.T.