Sandymouth

I've just gone through the pains of replacing my computer. My main frame was making so much hard drive noise and running so slowly that it was high time I moved forward from XP and 2gb of ram. I now have a Intel i5 processor with 8gb of ram which should suffice for a few years. Suddenly I am able to construct images that I could not have hoped for in the past and this image from the cave at Menachurch Point will be my biggest ever photograph once it is completed.

This constructed photograph is made up of 116 separate frames, many of which were triplicates of the same part where I would use my hand or dodging tool to remove flare; then skillfully merged together in Photoshop layers (minus the fingers). I will be able to get this 1.5gb file printed fine-art high-quality to at least 5 foot or 1.5 metres. An earlier 'snapshot' version is below.

This cave is of particular interest to me; lying at the edge of North Cornwall AONB at Hartland it is the spot where the RFA Green Ranger came to rest after it's shipwreck at Gunpath Rock in 1962.

Green Ranger - copyright unknown

Oops! Hopefully nobody noticed, the shipwrech at Menachurch Point is actually the 1,925 ton steamship "Belem" stranded in thick fog here on 20th November 1917. I've included a picture of some of the remains at the bottom of this blog post. There ought to still be something left of the Green Ranger further up the coast - I shall have to explore soon!
I'll be leading a photographic workshop 'Sea Caves, Shipwrecks and the Rocky Shore' here on Thursday 1st November, exploring this and many other caves and what is left of the Green Ranger (see below). You'll get a good introduction to my own photography whilst learning how to make the best of your own including using your camera under demanding landscape and lighting. Price for the day is £50, please email me to book a place: info@greengallery.co.uk

Other Autumn Workshops include:

Introduction to digital photography - £50
A practical days workshop learning to gain control over your camera, shutter speeds, aperture, ISO, flash etc, setting it up for optimum quality under any given lighting, and making better pictures through composition. Numbers limited to a hand-full. I also offer it on a 1:1 basis for ½ a day for £75
Saturday 20th October in Bideford (10am - 5pm)
Thursday 25th October in Exeter (11am - 6pm)
Monday 26th November in Barnstaple (11am - 6pm)

Half Day Intro to digital photography - £25
A 'sit around the table' workshop to get to know your camera better. You'll learn about shutter speeds, aperture, ISO, flash and setting your camera up for optimum quality.
Monday 29th October in Barnstaple 3.00pm - 5.30pm
Friday 16th November in Bideford 2.00pm - 4.30pm

Photographing your own Artwork 11am - 6pm - £50
I have a wealth of knowledge and experience of photographing 2D artwork, jewellery and ceramics and I'm willing to pass this on to artists eager to improve their own image making camera skills. Although this workshop is for a small group (max 5) I also offer it on a 1:1 basis for ½ a day for £75, or I can deliver the workshop in your own home or studio anywhere in Devon for £100
Course Description pdf
Tuesday 30th October in Bideford
Saturday 24th November in Bideford

Painting with Light - £25
Celebrate the start of the dark winter nights on Westward Ho! beach. There will be natural light from an almost full moon and I will provide torches with coloured lights, flash lights and flame. You will just need to bring your camera with fully charged battery (please check with me beforehand that it can take a long exposure). A tripod would also be very useful but some of these will be provided. A cameraless friend can come along for free if they are happy be a torch bearer and do not mind dancing around with a light source.
Painting with Light pdf
Sunday 28th October at Westward Ho! (6.30pm - 9pm)
Wednesday 28th November at Westward Ho! (6.30pm - 9pm)
*Christmas Specials* Thursday 22nd November Workshop based around Barnstaple Christmas Lights and Fireworks - (4pm - 7.30pm)
Sunday 2nd December Workshop based around Bideford Christmas Lights and Fireworks - (4pm - 7.30pm)

Introduction to Photoshop 11am – 6pm - £50
Opening an image file and adjusting levels, contrast, brightness and colour balance. Rotating, resizing and cropping an image. Placing an image or images into a new file. Using layers and history. Participants will need to be computer literate i.e. use a computer on regular basis and understand the basic controls. Small group (max 4). I also offer it on a 1:1 basis for £150, or I can deliver the workshop in your own home or studio anywhere in Devon for £175
Wednesday 31st October in Bideford

Lands End

Light is both the most important thing for for a photographer and often the most difficult. I spent a couple of days in West Cornwall doing some research for Graveyard of the Atlantic and making some new images. The one above is a snapshot, a sketch, its a recording of somewhere I might return to and make a proper photograph. I was waiting for the tide to go out fully at Nanjizal Cave, south of Lands End, so I had a quick look around the rest of the beach. This one was mined sometime in it's past. I always us natural light in these photographs of caves which can be very tricky as this animation demonstrates!
The end result is a combination of most of the 21 frames. I find that you can't simply make a picture like this using HDR. All of these photos are shot in RAW, processed to jpeg, them loaded into Photoshop layers and manually combined.

Wren Music

I had a commision to photograph the staff at Wren Music. They asked for a gothic theme as they were working on a production that required it. The first photoshoot was at Okehampton Castle, a great gothic ruin. The sun was in more than it was out and I had to work very quickly finding the best locations, groupings, expressions etc whilst juggling with the lighting.

There was just an hour spent at the castle then it was into town, for another hour, to use an empty drama room of a local school for the next shoot. I had some lighting with me but the theatre spotlight in the room backed by the black velvet curtains gave the gothic look we were all after. A little light was reflected back into the shadows on the faces using a large sheet of white card. The picture compositions to me were all about marrying the musician with their chosen instrument and making something that filled a 3x4 frame in a balanced way. It was a challenge to make each portrait different from the last as there was no time to change the lighting. Again I had to work very quickly, concentrating on the key things like getting the all important eyes open and in focus.A slideshow of all the photographs from this shoot can be seen at my greengallery website.

Okehampton Camera Club

On Monday 10th September I had the pleasure of talking with the Okehampton Camera Club; a progressive group of about 25 creative photographers on the edge of Dartmoor.

I used the title ‘Constructive Photographs’ to present and discuss my work. This title can be used to sum up my working practice since the mid-1990’s. It was never a conscious decision to have such an obscure thread running through my work. But it is apparent in 35mm film triptychs, camera-less daylight processes silver images and through my 21st century digital work. The process is rarely hidden in my work and the photographically literate will make the connection of sprocket holes on the edge of a triptych or the hard, unblended, edge of a frame seen around the outside of a huge cave interior landscape.

The presentation in Okehampton was split into two parts; the first being key images in the progression of my work over the last 15 years. Then, after a tea/coffee break, the technical considerations of making these images was discussed and illustrated.

The animated gif above shows the constructing of an early image made in North Devon. This is named ‘Shipload Grotto’, a cave in the difficult to get to Shipload Bay, close to Hartland Point. I should really make an up-to-date animation to illustrate the using of ‘photomerge’ in Photoshop; this one was made using a 2003 Sony Cyber-shot which served me well at the time but it’s lens was prone to chromatic aberration (the coloured edge seen where the contrast between very dark and very light is at the most extreme, like the entrance of a cave). The finished imaged was made from 51 separate frames.

Prior to my talk at the Club, I got a chance to witness their annual show, held this year at the Museum of Dartmoor Life, in Okehampton. This was a great way of getting to know the photographers by their photographs. I was really encouraged by the overall quality of work and the emphasis the club has for creativity and experiment; members seem to be developing their own styles which enhances the overall experience of the exhibition. The show continues until 29th September.

Further reading....Writing this blog I just remembered a hidden page I have on my own website which some of you might be interested in. On it I write about the techniques used in making triptychs and constructed images. It isn't up-to-date but find the page here, it's called secrets.

Real Food Talk

The Real Food Store in Exeter hosted an artists reception with talk on 19th August. The group of 15 were full of enthusiasm for the artwork and spellbound by the process of it's execution. People were amazed at the wonders of the North Devon Coast, many regretting that they have experienced so little of it and all vowing to come up soon.

All of the photographs are within North Devon's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the mounted prints were made with support from the AONB Sustainable Development Fund. All prints are archival and limited edition. The large ones are mounted on aluminium and sandwiched under thick perspex which give them a real depth and perspective. The small ones are giclee prints.

I will be leading a camera workshop 'half day Intro to Digital Photography' on Thursday 16th August at the Real Food Cafe - £25
 A 'sit around the table' workshop to get to know your camera better. You'll learn about shutter speeds, aperture, ISO, flash and setting your camera up for optimum quality.
Booking required in advance email info@greengallery.co.uk

Real Food Store, Exeter

Click then right click and download for large version

Installation Comments

Here are a few of your wonderful comments for the installation
'a Postcard from Manteo' by Dave and Sadie Green

"What a wonderful multi-sensual trip back to Carolina! thank you!"

"A Wonderful record - much enjoyed"

"Great! Hands across the ocean."

"Totally absorbing and transporting, thanks for the pop-corn."

"Wonderful creative exhibition - Dave is a real artist...Sadie is a great photographer!"

"Beautiful space, really interesting and informative, lovely hosts and beautiful things to see!"
"An amazing adventure. Not an art studio nor a gallery. A real life trip into another world."
"Fantastic idea, tantilising all the senses - love the stairs, the food, music and the tour guides are second to none!"
"Wow - so many beautiful pictures, a real taste of the Outer Banks - so many memories!"

"Lovely space and v. interesting to hear about Manteo too." 
"Great Stairs!"

Our Opening Reception - photograph copyright Graham Hobbs