Linlithgow in infrared
Linlithgow in infrared by professional fine art, event and corporate photographer Colin Wright, Glasgow, Scotland.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival Photography 2022
Hi Everyone
I managed to get along to Edinburgh very briefly at the weekend to take some photographs of the performers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As a professional event photographer working in Edinburgh and around Scotland, this can be a great way to learn your trade. You have a public place where you can photograph all you want for free, or in some cases its polite to pay the performers, particularly the ones who are using this as there main source of income during the Festival. I felt this year, although the crowds were big, there weren't as many performers on the High Street or Grassmarket areas, but maybe that's still due to recovering from the pandemic. Still, it is enjoyable and a great way to feel part of the festival. Some of the challenges include, getting a good vantage point amongst the crowds and often standing on something or getting there early is the only option. I often see photographers at these events and its a great way to network. The one thing that never fails to amaze me is when I see photographers with dozens of lenses in their gear and large long lenses. There is not the room for this kind of equipment and there is less excuse now with mirrlorless equipment, also the light isn't low enough during the day that you need these kind of lenses. Finally it is selfish and intimidating for both the crowd and the performers if you use this type of equipment. Anyway that's my rant for the day. I also use the Festival as a means to supply infrared photos and I have done this in the past when commissioned to do outdoor theatre photography at the Festival.
So all you corporate and event photographers in Edinburgh and all the amateurs, get yourself along to Edinburgh while it lasts. Experiment with lenses, colour, black and white, HDR, freezing movement, blurring movement - you wont get a better chance to practice like this.
Looking forward to some conference photography in Edinburgh soon also.
Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotogrpahy.co.uk
Infrared Photography editing in Scotland and Beyond
Hi Everyone
Apologies for the delay in my blog posts. I recently suffered a bereavement and needed a little time to get back into things but I am back now and I have a number of professional freelance photography commissions to look forward to, particularly in corporate, conference and event photography in Scotland.
Today I would like to talk briefly about editing for infrared photography and although I won't go into detail, I will give some pointers and hints in relation to editing suggestions for infrared photography. As you may well know, I think editing should be kept to a minimum in all genres of photography and this is the same for infrared. The main bit of editing is in photoshop in the Channel Mixer, all you are going to do is swap the red and blue channels. There are other software companies that offer this kind of service but in my opinion non of them do it as good as Photoshop. Next I want to make sure my exposure is ok, maybe tweak the highlights a bit and in the case of colour infrared, increase the saturation individually, which will depend on your infrared blocking filter. I like to increase the yellows and reduce the blues, as I have a 590n filter in my Nikon D800. The reason I decrease the blues, is to obtain a darker and blacker, reducing the colour blue in the sky for more drama, although it is just a personal thing.
Other software that can help is Silver FX pro in the Nik Collection, now run by DXO, this is particularly useful for increasing the dynamic range in black and white images. While I am not a fan of false infrared being created from normal non infrared photos by using software, I do like the RNI Aero app for phones which does a pretty good job of creating a red infrared effect from a normal colour image taken by your phone. I also find it does a pretty good job of enhancing properly created infrared photos taken with a converted camera, which are then saved on your app to be edited further.
Anyway that's all for now. I have a conference event photography commission coming up in Edinburgh, Scotland soon, looking forward to that.
Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
Colin Wright Photography
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
Glasgow in Infrared
Glasgow Science Centre in Infrared by professional freelance fine art and corporate photographer Scotland, Colin Wright
Professional Photographer and the Need to Keep Photographing
Hi Everyone
This blog is a bit different than most of my previous ones. I was asked the other day by a client if I ever get the opportunity to switch off and leave my camera behind. Now as a professional corporate photographer working in Scotland who mostly spends his time photographing conferences and events, or fine art photography, you would think I would welcome the opportunity for a rest but not only do I automatically take my camera wherever I go for fear of missing an unexpected opportunity, I also welcome the opportunity to document the life of my family and the world around me. plus I love taking photographs and would prefer to do this than anything else in my free time. I think you have to be like this in this profession, which can be competitive, seasonal and financially challenging - you need the joy of taking photographs to compensate for the difficult times. Photography is also in a very interesting stage of rapid development at the moment and this can be very interesting for photographer, an example of this is the ability to convert cameras to make it easier to shoot infrared photography. There are also purely infrared cameras being developed, but this is the subject of another blog.
As a conference photographer working in Scotland, I also like to keep my eyes open for new composition ideas when I am out and about, even attending events in my free time. The other day I was at a concert and having done some freelance music photography in the past, although I was not allowed to take photos at the event, I was thinking how I would make effective use of the light and what would be the best composition, even when I was there watching the concert. I will also take my camera on holiday with me, particularly when you visit places you may never have the chance to see again and before anyone says you can just use your phone, well that is OK as a last resort, but if you want something higher quality and a bit different, then you can't beat a camera.
The photo attached to this blog was taken in my free time during a day trip with my kids and also combines my love for infrared photography.
So anyway, there you have it. Never stop thinking about photography unless you are asleep, and even then, you may even dream about cameras.
So until next time, happy photography.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com