New website!

I did it.  I have launched my new website, got a logo designed and business cards printed!  If you get a chance have a look at www.simonhodgephotography.com.

The site is in essence a blog so feel free to leave comments.  I'm not sure how it will work but thought it was worth a try.  I haven't gone for anything too fancy.  I really just wanted something simple.  Something that would give people an idea of what I love to photography and a way to contact me.

thanks

Simon

I think it's about time

I think it's about time I started to take things more seriously. 

I was reminded recently that the first wedding I shot was just 2 years past.  It was a stressful day and looking back at it I do wonder did I really think about what I was doing.  It does bring back wonderful memories though and the bride and groom are still talking to me so I guess I must have done something right!

Those that know me will know I don't do many photography jobs as my wife's 4th baby, Candytuft Cakes is constantly growing and requires a lot of work from both her and myself to keep it going.  I just love my wife's work and to see how she is developing over the years.  It actually gives me plenty of opportunities to get my camera gear out which is brilliant.  We will hopefully have a few interesting projects coming up which will get to test both of our skills so I can't be happier.

As far as my own work goes though I think its time I tried to promote it a bit more as I love each photo job.  Even though they bring a certain amount of stress I love the challenge and the sense of achievement when I get the results I wanted.  I know I have a lot to learn but there is no better way of learning than actually doing.

Almost a year ago I got myself a domain name but never did anything with it so now I am in the process of getting a website made.  I have had a logo designed and am about to get some business cards printed.  I've also just recently joined the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers.  I'm going to give a good go anyway and see what happens over the next year or two.

Watch this space!

Thanks

Simon

I don't like photographs!

That's about the first thing he said to me.  And he said it again several times during the shoot.  I'm the same though.  When it comes to having to pose for photos I would rather not.  I tried to tell him it would be as painless as possible.  Probably didn't help that once he came off the phone after our initial conversation that he then told all of his family what I wanted to do.  Think his nephew Matt gave him the most slagging, and during the shot his sister stuck her head in the door at least once and laughed.  Mind you when I offered to photograph her too she quickly disappeared!

I love photographing people.  Using shadows and light is something I really love.  I have recently decided that from now on if I see someone interesting I am just going to offer to photograph them.  A few weeks ago I discovered that my dad's cousin was home visiting from New Zealand where he moved to while I was a teenager to be a farmer.  Andrew, or Hank as he's known, though I have never heard why, has what I would class as an interesting face.  I saw a photo of him from a recent holiday and instantly I knew I had to photograph him.  Hank has just turned 50 and between farming and sailing he has a "worn" look to him.  Mind you being a "Hodge" brings with it its own features, though I think I have managed to avoid most of them.

For the shoot itself it was pretty simple really.  I arrived at the house and was instantly offered a cup of tea and some cake.  Anyone that knows me will know I never turn down a cuppa and as for cake, that's a no brainer.  We had a bit if a chat and then got down to business.

I used a simple black back drop, my D300 and an SB-910 in a softbox triggered by CLS.  I shot at about 1/4000 to kill any ambient.

For someone who hates having photos taken Hank was no problems at all.  He was patient and did exactly as I asked.  I kept it as quick as possible, once I was happy with the shots I just packed up and left.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 Simon

Light it up.

Well the speedlight class is now been and gone.  What a brilliant time I had.  I will be honest I was a bit nervous beforehand and particularly due to my friend Laura (the lecturer) also planning to sit in on the class.  There was no set format for the class as it is a rather informal class so I started by looking at basic non-TTL triggers and optical slaves.  I then went onto wireless TTL, looking at both Nikon and Canon systems.

As I am a Nikon user I am obviously very familiar with Nikon CLS (Creative lighting system) but knowing that half the class are Canon users I spent a bit of time trying to familiarize myself with the Canon system.  The two systems are very different and trying not to be bias I feel the Nikon system is much simpler to use.  One other thing I discovered is that none of the Canon speedlights can be used as optical slaves where as the Nikon speedlights can.

The next thing was to have go.  We all got up and started of with the basic non-TTL wireless triggers. The guys picked it up very quickly.  We had a look at several different light modifiers and I also showed them what effect gels have.

I did take time during the class to mention different techniques that due to the student's own camera they could not try out.  However I did try to demonstrate as much as I could as the D300 allowed me to do most things I spoke about.  One area I covered was killing the ambient which led onto high speed sync.  I explained to them how even without a studio you can produce low-key photographs.  During the class we didn't have access to the studio.  The class room had normal florescent lighting and windows.

For this shot I used a snoot to significantly cut down the spill from the speedlight.  I used an SB-910 on the stand with a 1/4 CTO gel with CLS using the popup flash as the commander.  The camera I set at 1/3200th, F5 and ISO 200.  The final shot of the class with this setup was of Laura and I think demonstrated what can be done without a studio using the right settings.

Thanks

Simon

Cutting it!

I love photographing people.  I love being able to capture people's character within the photo.

I mentioned in my last entry about a photoshoot coming up, well its been and gone now.  I was asked my by really good friend Tristan if I could do some profile shots for him and his business partner.  Tris and Ben both started their own tree surgery business a the end of 2012 and have been going from strength to strength.  They are planning a website and wanted the shots for that.  Me not being one to pass an opportunity got them into the studio and told them to bring all their gear too.  Tris mentioned Ben's reservations toward standing in front of the camera but we went ahead anyway.  I had never met Ben before and wasn't sure what to expect but the first thing I noticed was his flat cap and beard.  Brilliant.  I instantly leant into their van and said, "Ben, that cap is coming with you!"

We started the shoot taking the "business" shots.

Next I got to start playing!  I really wanted to capture the guys in their gear but to capture their character.

 As you can see Ben loves his saw.  I just love these shots.  They are just exactly Ben.  They sum up my first impressions of him.

Tris loves his saw too but he loves his climbing gear a bit more I think!

The final shoot is an idea I had right at the start when Tris asked me and I love it.

I had a brilliant time as I always to in the studio and can't wait for the next studio session!

You want me to do what? No problem!

Things in our house are busy at the best of time but with the recent addition of our new baby daughter Arwen it's just a wee bit busier!  Not that I am complaining though as our kids are the best thing ever.  Though my photography is really important to me it does take a bit of a back seat as Candytuft Cakes is our priority at the moment.  Even though Kathryn is on maternity leave there are still wedding shows to do along with the emails and the admin side.  I don't actively look for photography jobs and so just love it when they just appear out of the blue.  Over the past few days I have been offered 3 jobs and I am just off the phone planning a studio shoot for next week.  My mind has been in overdrive. 

The first two jobs are to do with a charity and I will have blog entries to follow but I am very excited about these.  The third job just came to me this afternoon.  A friend who teaches portraits within photography has asked me to come along and take her class one week to teach on speedlights.  Admittedly she called me a nerd at the same time as asking me.  To be honest I was really flattered by being asked.  My friend has been into photography for years and has a degree and a masters in photography so o be asked my her is a great honor.

I love having projects to plan and dream about.  I know that over the next few weeks leading up to the class I will be constantly thinking about it, thinking of how I can pass on my passion for speedlights and what will be the best things to teach.

I'm away now to dream some more.

Simon

Point of focus.

Any photographers out there may be aware of "tilt-shift photography".  This method can be added using a special tilt-shift lens or in post processing.  The method allows you to focus on a specific point or to simulate a miniature scene.  I have recently been asked to take some photographs during our church services to be used on our new website.  I was able to use the method in post processing to "blur" out the faces of any children in the photos for child protection purposes. 

Today I was in Portavogie harbor with my camera and took a photo of my brother-in-law's trawler.  I then was able to add the tilt-shift effect using the graduated filter function in Lightroom 4. Where the graduated filter is often used with exposure it can also be used with many other settings including sharpness. 

The image before any editing.

The image after editing

 Applying the method post processing in LR4 is obviously not as good as using an actual tilt-shift lens but it does still help to highlight a specific point in the photo.

Be the best you can be.

Do you want to be the best you can be?  Surely everyone wants to be the best they can be?  Mind you there are a few of my students who I wonder if they want to achieve much more than getting out of bed in the morning and to be honest most of them struggle to even do that. 

I think most of us have secret ambitions and dreams and over the past few years I have come to believe that you can pretty much do anything you want if you put your mind to it.  Obviously within reason, as I'm pretty sure I could never beat Usain Bolt in a race no matter how much I trained!  I've mentioned taking part in the Mourne Mountain Marathon in 2011 and 2012.  They proved to be the hardest thing and the best thing I have ever done.  I know I could have trained more but I was happy with what training I did achieve and even more so with the final results.  I learnt from those two events that I can push myself further than I think.

For Candytuft Cakes, I love seeing the business growing but even more I love seeing Kathryn grow and becoming the best she can be.  She works extremely hard and is so critical of her own work.  She spends hours on each of her creation to ensure that once she is finished it is the best she can do.  I really do believe she is one of the best cake designers in Northern Ireland and will be the best if she keeps pushing herself the way she does. This year is exciting for us as we are currently creating a studio for Kathryn but obviously in the middle of it all we have Arwen who will I am sure demand a lot of our time.  Check out progress on the studio at Kathryn's blog, Mrs Candytuft.

I know with our 3 beautiful children we both want what is best for them, all we can ask for is that they do the best they can do.  I would guess though that both Kathryn and I may give them a wee push or two to make sure they achieve their potential :)

As far as my photography goes I want to be the best I can be.  Thinking back to my last blog entry, learn through doing, I have been thinking about projects I can do to become a better photographer.  Hopefully during 2013 you get to see the results of these projects and get to see me grow as a photographer.

Simon