The Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, the light falls over a group, if I remember correctly, German tourists listening to a guide.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Fuji 200, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The LAPC theme #385 is ‘unusual crop’. The skyline over Den Haag, building activities and old spires.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Lens-artists Photo Challenge #382 is about rejected photos. What do you do with photos you do not like? You can throw them away, or you can keep them. And if you keep them what can you do with them? First a story of myself, how I work. And in the end an example.
I am a snap shooter for a long time. When looking at this question for myself, I have to distinguish between the analog age and the digital age. But in both ages it is about quality, how you can assess that and what instruments are available after shooting. And above all: how can you be creative, and how much room is there to experiment?
The analog age was expensive: film was expensive, darkroom materials were expensive too. And being a poor student I shot as efficient as possible. You had to be patient while shooting, and selective. You also needed to trust your skills. Experience was essential to figure out what worked and what not. To produce good prints you needed to develop darkroom skills. And some negatives were impossible to print. But you kept them all. I never threw away negatives. That decision was beneficial in the digital age. After scanning my negatives, I properly made them look like what I had in mind when shooting them. What the darkroom did not deliver, software did.
In the digital age the cost of a photo is nearly non existent. The original photo (the former negative) can be copied lots of times. From the start technology offers instruments to oversee the quality of the photos. What you shoot is instantly visible on the camera. You can try different changes in the photo. Adjustments like shutter time, focus, and shutter opening can be tested most of the time. The RAW format offers flexibility for editing the ‘negative’ after the shoot. Software offers lots of creative tools to change the photo, or create new images.
So, do you keep rejected (bad) photos or not? I do reject photos, overseeing the result on my camera. I keep photos that can come to a good result after editing. The rest I remove straight away (e.g. bracketing shots).What I keep is stored on my NAS, where I use Lightroom as my archiving tool. I use editing tools to tweak a photo slightly. My favorite is Snapseed for web and social media publication. And Lightroom and Photoshop for prints.
The digital age is a time for unlimited creativity. The photos of ‘dinner at Wiveton Bell’ are an example of testing out the iPhone in a very dark situation. I shot about 8 frames, I kept them all but had my doubts. At home I worked them in Lightroom and Snapseed. And was surprised by what came out. And the ones that did not work were indeed deleted.
On the left the photo published and on the right the original RAW file.
Having dinner at the Wiveton Bell. A beautiful moonlight night, an open invitation to play with the iPhone. The results did surprise me.
The bottom right photo is taken with the night modus. The rest with the manual mode of ‘real light’.
The one of the church reminds me of a medieval painting.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of the beautiful squares in Berlin: the Gendarmenmarkt. On one side you find the Deutscher Dom a.k.a. Neue Kirche (German Cathedral), and opposite the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral). The top photo reflects the latter in the doors of the Deutscher Dom.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
One of the memorial landmarks of Berlin is the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche. In its simplicity it is a powerful landmark and memorial.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #361 is ‘Doors revisited’. That theme was also the brief for LAPC #20. A door is a pass way to another space behind it. That space can be something we know already. Or something we like to imagine to see there when we go through. And in books you can end up in another world. In this post a few doors I met in my life. One I used for a long time, most I just passed by or passed through on holidays.
The word ‘doors’ for me is also linked to the band The Doors. The name of the band came from a book by Aldous Huxley, The doors of perception. And Huxley took it from William Blake, who used it as a metaphor:
“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern . Doors lead you to another side or space, break on through to the other side.”
‘Break on through to the other side’ became the title of a Doors’ song.
So a lot can be said about doors. Luckily, we still have the photos. Here are a few from my conscious memory.
This is the front door to the house I was born and lived in for 25 years. The photo is shot on Ilford XP with a Pentax K1000.
This door in Caylus is ready to be knocked. Shot on Nikon D70.
I looked through my archive. It struck me that lots of the doors I saw there are doors of small or bigger churches. This one is on Karpathos. Shot on Nikon D70.
Another church door on Karpathos, shot on Kodak TriX with Nikon F90.
A chapel door in Lesbos, also shot on Nikon D70.
This part of Katwijk is not much photographed, I guess. The roofs and the tower of the church made a nice composition.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The cemetery of Southwell’s Minster.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Choir Gate of Southwell’s Minster.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 15 Pro Max edited using Snapseed, GrainLab and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A window of Southwell’s Minster.
Shot with Nikon Zf, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Some photos do not fit the LAPC’s themes, so there is a rest category ‘last chance’ being #280. I never am guided by the themes in the photos I shoot. Some fit in, some don’t. But I never know the theme while shooting. Here is one from the archive I recently stumbled upon, never published.
Slane Hill in Ireland. Close to Slane Castle castle that is famous among other historical facts, for being the recording site for U2’s The unforgettable fire’ in 1984. And famous open air concerts.
Outside the village is The Hill of Slane with a small old ruined chapel, a ruined monastery and a graveyard, overlooking the landscape and the river Boyne.
The most interesting place is a small hill with undergrowth right behind the site, from which this photo was taken.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
This week LAPC #254 is ‘spiritual places’; I use an old photo that I also published in October 2021 of a little chapel in Naxos that could do with some tender loving care for lens artistists challenge #168: seen better days. I edited it with a lighter atmosphere and took out the most obvious dust and scratches this time, so if you want to compare, here is that post.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but still, like most of the archive, do have scratches, dust and stains.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak Plusx, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
The Netherlands, Katwijk – March 2023
Shot with iPhone 13 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The weekly theme for LAPC #239 is ‘finding peace’.
Shot with iPhone 13 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
St. James’ church in Shere.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
St. James’ church in Shere.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
A view on Rijnsaterwoude.
Shot with iPhone 13 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
A view on Rijnsaterwoude.
Shot with iPhone 13 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
Lens Artists Photo Challenge #204 for this week is ‘doors and doorways’. The partly open gate of the church in Montmorrilon, France.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Reading about the theme this week, I instantly had to think of this sign on a beach in Naxos Greece in July 1983. Sometimes things go wrong in a funny way, trying to communicate from a native language to English. This week’s theme for the Lens Artists Photo Challenge #184 is ‘Travel has taught me’.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak Plusx, scanned from negative
and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Bayeux is an old village in Normandy France. Home of the Bayeux Tapestry. Here the entrance to the cathedral.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
Le Mont Saint Michel is an old village on a rock in a bay on the west of France in Brittany. It is positioned in between Normandy and Brittany, and is famous for its abbey.
shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
A little chapel in Naxos that could do with some tender loving care to this week’s lens artistists challenge #168: seen better days.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
The picture was originally shot with Pentax K1000 on Kodak Plusx, scanned from negative
and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #116 is ‘symmetry’.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #115 is ‘Inspiration’.
The Dutch landscape is a continuous source of inspiration. Sometimes in a wide view, sometimes in a close up to pick up some details. A church on a dyke, cows in the polder.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #114 is ‘Negative Space’.
The term ‘negative space’ to me is confusion: technically it is the space around the main subject of a photo. It means ‘negative’ as opposed to ‘positive’ attention for the main subject. The word ‘negative’ as a noun brings back good old memories. Being older I actually worked and work with negatives (for the millennials: it has to do with film, the light sensitive stuff we used to put in a camera to get a photo on (in negative) that later could be printed (in positive).
So ‘negative space’ is about the focus a viewer of a photo is offered in a photo. If there is a lot to see around the subject, than that distracts from that subject. In other words: it is a creative tool a photographer can use.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #113 is ‘A labor of love’.
Regardless one’s opinion about religion: faith is a labor of love.
Shot with iPhone 11 Pro Max edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version
The theme for Lens-artists Weekly Photo Challenge #110 is ‘Creativity in a time of Covid’.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
Originally shot with Nikon F301 on Kodak TriX, scanned from negative and tweaked using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
Italy, Rome – May 1997
The theme for the weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #65 is ‘pick a place’.
About the B4 retouch series:
I browsed my archive for pictures to publish. Some of them are partly retouched but most do have scratches, dust and stains.
For more information on how to join the Weekly Lens-Artists Photo Challenges, click here for details.
Shot with Nikon F90 on Kodak TriX, scanned from film and edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a bigger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
The Netherlands, Leiden – September 2018
The Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden.
Shot with iPhoneX edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
This Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘ ascend’ .
Spain, Mijas el Pueblo – November 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘ ascend’ .
In memory of Peter Jan.
Spain, Mijas el Pueblo – November 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘ ascend’ .
Spain, Olvera – November 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This Weekly Photo Challenge theme is ‘ ascend’ .
Spain, Mijas el Pueblo – November 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The Netherlands, Gouda – September 2009
Originally shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
This weekly theme is ‘layered’.
Huemore
England, Burnham Market – August 2017
Shot with iPhone 6s plus using Huemore edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
England, Shere – May 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
This weekly theme is ‘friend’.
England, Shere – May 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The weekly theme is ‘heritage’.
Shere is a beautiful little village. Its church has been the backdrop of a few films.
And of course there is a war memorial.
England, Shere – May 2017
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The weekly theme is ‘security’.
Leiden the Hooglandse Kerk.
The Netherlands, Leiden – May 2005
Originally shot with Nikon D70, edited using Snapseed and Marksta. Click the picture for a larger version.
A list of other entries to this theme; if you do not want to be on this list let me know and I remove the link
The Netherlands, Den Haag – August 2016
shot with iPhone 6s plus using Hueless, edited using Snapseed and Marksta, click the picture for a larger version
The Netherlands, Den Haag – July 2016
Shot with iPhone 6s plus using Huemore edited using Snapseed and Marksta Click the picture for a larger version
