H i Everyone

With the pandemic still upon us and lots of mini lockdowns around preventing professional photographers from obtaining commissions, I think this would be a good time to look at the importance of exploring your local area and making the best of the surroundings outside your own doorstep.  As a professional corporate and event photographer living in East Lothian, who normally photographs conferences and events in Edinburgh or throughout Scotland, the importance of keeping busy can never be underestimated.  Whilst we are all human and there are times when this Covid situation will get us down, you can help stay sane by taking photographs and concentrating on other projects, of course that is easier when you live in a place like Dunbar, with a wonderful coastline.  However, the need to keep going is still there.  I have been concentrating on a number of individual infrared photography projects, including the following: Harbours, Seabirds and Seascapes, in addition to utilising the autumn leaves from an infrared perspective.  Not to forget landscape photography of my local area at Belhaven Bay and some portraits of my family, when the kids let me that is.  It is also a good time to plan out what approach you want to take once this is all over.  Or find alternative markets, I  have certainly done more PR photography work recently, to replace the conference photography void.  I have also applied for a digital development grant to update my IT equipment and also for an additional lens.  This has also been a time to learn software skills and get to know my equipment in general and possibly upping the game with regard to social media posts.

So dust yourself up and get going.  You will benefit from this course of action after all this is over.

Until next time.

Colin

www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk

www.edinburghphotographer.com

Hi Everyone

As you all know I am a specialist infrared photographer, often found out and about East Lothian and throughout Scotland, what I wanted to talk about today was the various uses for infrared converted cameras.  Whilst I like to photograph black and white infrared with sparkling white trees and extreme contrasty photographs with vibrant colours like the next guy, I also like to use the camera in a conventional way.  Although we require bright sun for most infrared photos, you can still use them on an overcast weather day, especially if the sun is peeking through, the main thing is to have some kind of contrast in the sky.  As infrared cameras have extensive dynamic range, they can be used to portray fine art black and white images, depicting strong detail  and contrast after editing.  I have sold a number of landscape photos to clients who were unaware that they are infrared, they just liked the dramatic nature of the photograph.  Long exposure on an infrared camera also results in more drama and detail in the sky or water, if this is part of the scene.  When it comes to colour, infrared converted cameras can enable you to switch colours and tone in a more natural way to conventional editing.  You can also bring out the blue sky and easily decrease or increase saturation according to the colour effect you are going for.  I would say that in about 50% of the photos I post on social media, the viewer is unaware they are infrared.  I can like everyone else, revert to taking a dramatic black and white infrared shot or even a colour image with red trees for instance, when it is obvious that the photo is infrared.  however as a professional corporate and event photographer working in Scotland, often I want to inject some realism into my photography for my clients.

Hope this helps.

Until next time.

Kind Regards

Colin Wright

www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk

www.edinburghphotographer.com

Hi Everyone

Recently I have been revisiting locations I haven’t been for a while to try and improve and or do something entirely different at the location.  As it appears I will have a few professional corporate photography commissions coming up in Scotland soon and now is a good time to try and utilise the free time for my fine art photography.  it is important to try and develop what you did on previous occasions and to find new areas to interpret the scene.  This time I visited the Bridges at South Queensferry.  Of course as a photographer, every time you visit a location, the sky is different and this should present you with new options, particularly for infrared photographers.  There are also different vantage points to consider, how you can edit the photo in a different way, maybe you have new software, or in my case, I have learned some new photoshop skills during the lockdown.  I decided to change my vantage points for this photoshoot, including lower angled photos, I also managed to get access to parts of the harbour I hadn’t visited before.  So there are always new angles to be considered.  To summarise, the more you visit a location, the more you can reach perfection with the photo.

So happy photographing everyone.

Kind Regards

Colin

www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk

www.edinburghphotographer.com