A journey of photographic adventure, Two Views was born by two friends having a blast and learning from each other on a photo shoot in the autumn sunshine, asking the question “How can we continue to push our photographic boundaries in terms of technical knowledge, new challenges and creativity and have fun at the same time?” The answer we came up with was to set ourselves a project every two weeks, and then publish the results together. Two Views of the same subject / idea or technical approach. By the end of this year we will have covered 26 subjects and produced at least 50+ awesome photographs, and have learned a huge amount along the way! We’d love your comments, critiques and ideas, and if you want to “play along” too, please do let us have your shots by links in the comments sections! TJ & The Brunette

Friday, 2 December 2011

Red by TJ


"Red" was a topic that I really enjoyed and the possibilities really were endless. My original idea was to find an unusual red letter box in a building perhaps or the traditional red telephone box. However I soon came round to the idea of using red balloons. The challenge was then to find a location. I had grand designs of going up to London to one of the bridges over The Thames and dropping a load of balloons and then taking as many photos from different positions as possible before the tide took them away. But in the end I settled on the village of Medmenham close to work, and so was able to spend a bit of time setting up the tripod and trying out a few ideas. I hadn't necessarily intended to be in the photo myself, but I brought along a red Arsenal shirt just in case. The effect was created using colour isolating Tinsii software. I sharpened the image and tweaked the brightness and contrast to get the final effect. I think the image certainly captures "Red" and has enough there to grab and perhaps hold the viewer's attention.

The other photos I tried out were having the balloons in the water, and the image with the balloon in full stream nearly made it as my chosen photo. Lord knows how far the balloons have travelled now? Next stop London!




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3 comments:

  1. BlondeAries2 December 2011 at 16:28

    I really love your shots! not seeing your face is very interesting, as it leaves the viewer wanting more, and wondering why you are throwing the balloons, is it a celebration? or a release? Without seeing the emotion on your face, we can come to our own conclusion, which is intriguing. I also love the bottom two, the left one is very poetic and poignant, it seems to me a statement of strength through individuality, and buoyancy in the current of life. And I love the way you have also picked up the berries on the bush in the second one, good work on all three!!!

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  2. Adam Hodgson7 December 2011 at 23:22

    As you probably know I have taken it upon myself (as a very old friend) to keep you on your toes, prompt you to think differently about things, consider an alternate view. I do like your shots. They are sharp. They have life. Your chosen one, as commented on above, has a story. However I would urge you at this stage of your development to go back to composition. And when I say composition I mean what you see in the viewfinder.

    The manipulation of an image that you can do now - post production for want of a better expression - is immense. New tools and plug-ins can give you access to a myriad of effects that were simply not available to us in the dark room. To take a good shot you have to learn about composition.

    There is a great documentary currently on the iPlayer where Rankin charts the history of Life Magazine and goes to meet the photographers that influenced him and the way that photography developed (excuse the pun) from the 30's through to the early 70s when 'Life' finally folded. WATCH IT. Composition to them was EVERYTHING.

    I know that you do your homework and research a great deal about your chosen subject. Your results are great and you show a passion for the subject. If you want to improve - study the fundamentals. When these start to click into place then more options will start to appear. You will see more opportunities and the exercise will become one that you complete in your mind's eye.

    Hope this helps...

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  3. tim8 December 2011 at 09:15

    Ah well of course I take on board all criticism and I totally agree that composition is key and something not to lose sight of. In terms of this "RED" topic, manipulation was also key to getting the shot I wanted as I wanted a black and white back drop to get the end effect. To be fair a lot of thought also went into the composition and setting it up too. I am certainly not just snapping away and thinking it will all come together using editing software. By giving ourselves 2 weeks for each topic this does allow us to spend time thinking about composition and I think the results so far are testament to that. But hey I am new to this and learning as I go, and as time goes by I am sure my efforts will improve.

    Of course don't feel shy and you are welcome to submit a photograph on any of the topics we cover, which we will happily put up on the blog :)

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