With Peter McCabe (www.photoimagery.net)

If you are reading this article then I am taking it for granted that you also have been bitten by the photography bug and in doing so have put a rather large hole in your bank account. Buying the camera, the tripod, memory cards and a few filters all adds up.

I am also taking it for granted that you are a dedicated and enthusiastic photographer, abandoning your warm bed on many a cold morning to stand at hideous hours freezing your ass off without a Starbucks in sight. Hopefully as a result of your efforts you have managed to capture some wonderful images. Now what?

There is only one answer, processing!

Unlike now, years ago photographers typically had two options when it came to processing. You either left your film into the local photo store and waited for the results. Or if you were like me, you locked yourself into the bathroom-come-darkroom, developed the film and then printed the images yourself, all the while hoping the rest of the family had strong bladders. Not easy when you are from a family of nine!

Processing in the modern age means using software to manipulate the data stored in the digital RAW file, to output a final image that you are proud to call your own. The good news is, it’s so much easier than the way it use to be.

Modern processing

In essence, the modern RAW file is a digital negative that contains mountains of information. When it comes to getting the most out that information, there is a significant learning curve but thankfully there are a number of programs on the market to help us.

Of course most camera manufacturers supply their own software and there are a number of free programs available to download. The most popular professional grade programmes include Adobe Lightroom, Aperture, Capture One and Adobe Photoshop. Sadly they are not free and range in price from €200 to €800 euro.

I use Adobe Lightroom as I like the way it allows me to manage my catalogue of images and how it compliments my own digital workflow.

At its most basic Lightroom allows the photographer to adjust exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, colour and tone. Its more advance features include localised adjustment brushes and gradients. In addition it lets the user output slideshows and web galleries. Anyway enough of the Adobe advertising (I promise I don’t work for them). Instead, let’s show an example of what it can do.

For this example I am going to use a coastal seascape taken in Skerries, Co Dublin. The image was taken on a Canon 5DMK11 using a 17-40F4lens. An exposure of 20 seconds at F13 was used. Mounted to the front of the lens were two graduated neutral density filters from Singh Ray.

In panel 1, you see the untouched RAW file in the develop module of Lightroom. The basic settings are all the default for this camera model.

Personal taste

When it comes to processing it all comes down to personal taste. You could give the file to a 100 people and they would all do something unique.

In this instance the image is not too bad and no major adjustments are required. As you can see in panel 1, there is plenty of detail in the shadows and there is detail in the highlights. I just wanted to make a few subtle changes including adjustments to colour temperature as well as the brightness and contrast of the overall image.

So using the global adjustments and the control sliders available I first adjusted the colour temperature, followed by an increase in the brightness and contrast of the image. Then to pull back some of the detail in the lighter sections of the image I used the recovery slider (see panel 2).

With those adjustments made, the last change I made was to the sky. To do that I used Lightroom’s gradient tool to a selected section of the sky and decreased the brightness (see panel 3).

Take a look at the final edited image (see main image) and see what you think!

Adjustment summary:

Temperature (warmed) 4860 – 7670
Recovery – 49 (default 0)
Brightness – 57 (default 50)
Contrast – 27 (default 25)
Clarity – 44 (default 0)
Vibrance – 8 (default 0)
Graduated filter (sky) – brightness (-18)

Win a copy of the image!

Want to own a copy of this print? Simply be the first person to email me at info@photoimagery.net quoting Outsider magazine and you will win a free signed 12×8 inch copy of the image.

These northern mountains are stunning and it is a real sin that I have not been a more frequent visitor to them. The vistas are breathtaking and the scenery is some of the best and wildest in Ireland. For our trip, we decided to head to Lower Cove, a popular climbing location about an hour’s hike along the Annalong Valley. The cliffs offer some of the steepest climbs in the Mournes.

Despite the early start,much to my frustration, the weather was not that kind to us.
As picture 1 shows, light levels where low and the sky was of the grey flat type that give a creative headache to any photographer. However all was not lost.

The Mournes were a riot of colour with purple heather blazing across the hillsides. This infusion of colour combined with some good composition would be key to capturing some successful images.

Getting a composition that utilised the background colours while avoiding the grey skies meant that I had to get higher than the climber for picture 2. Considering my lack of fitness and a heavy camera bag, getting to a high vantage point was easier said than done.However, this lofty vantage point gave me the opportunity to experiment with different compositions, which would create a sense of scale while utilising the background elements. An aperture of F8 was chosen to slightly blur the background while keeping the climber in sharp focus.

The result is an image that works both as a landscape and as type of adventure portrait. The background hues of green and purple combine well with the climber’s clothing to create a vibrant image.

On arrival the previous evening at Tollymore, my ears where immediately drawn to tales of a cave situated on Lower Cove. You don’t need to be a genius to work out that a guy abseiling on a rope like some kind of Spiderman over a cave has plenty of photographic opportunities.

So the next morning and with our climbers on top, I clambered in to the dark damp cavern and waited for the Mournes very own superhero to appear!

From a photographic point of view the biggest challenge for this image would be exposure. If I exposed for the dark tones too much, the light tones would become blown out. The opposite would be true if I was to expose for highlights.

To overcome this, I took a meter reading from the grass at the entrance to the cave and used this as the basis for my exposure.

A 17-40mm wide-angle lens set at 17mm allowed me to capture the entire opening of the cave and the surrounding landscape. An aperture of F9 and a shutter speed of 1/15^th of a second was enough to retain some detail in the shadows and to stop the highlights from becoming blown out.

The resulting image perfectly captures both the spirit of adventure and the beauty of the Mournes.

For those of you interested in improving your mountaineering or other outdoor skills, the Tollymore Mountain Centre runs a number of courses throughout the year, including a number of winter mountaineering courses in The Cairngorms. The centre is located at the base of the Mourne Mountains on the road between Hilltown and Newcastle.

For more details, visit www.tollymore.com or e-mail: admin@tollymore.com. If you want to know more about photography on the other hand, drop me a line at e-mail: info@photoimagery.net.

Photography, and, in particular landscape photography does that to me. I am not sure why but ever since I got my hands on an old Olympus OM10 and started shooting and developing black and white film, photography has become an obsession with me. Maybe all that time trapped in the darkroom mixing chemicals affected me!

Sometimes when I am not out creating images a kind of darkness descends on me. My wife has christened this with a rather American term – creative depression! I wonder if the Betty Ford clinic has a treatment for it. Her cure is to kick me out the door with a camera in hand.

This itch as I call it has meant many a day being spent from dawn to dusk practicing the art of photography. The urge to be out snapping, escaping the rat race has taken me to many parts of Europe and Ireland in search of images that appeal to something deep inside.

Urban plunge

This time last year I was in Sicily, enjoying fine wine and pasta, watching the world pass by under warm summer skies. Photographically days were spent exploring the narrow streets of the towns of Taormina and Castelmola. Street photography is a skill in itself. You have got to open your eyes and observe and appreciate the little things that are going on all around you. That’s one of the joys of photography; your eye learns to appreciate detail that may have gone unnoticed before. From colourful shopfronts to photographing the locals in their own environment, there is an endless world of possibilities.

When I work in an urban environment I usually work with one camera and a small zoom lens. This has a number of benefits. First, it means you have less heavy gear to carry around and secondly it makes you less noticeable to the local petty thief.

Taking photographs in the narrow streets that are found all over Europe can often mean working in low light. This scenario isn’t ideal for handheld photography, and a tripod isn’t always practical. A few years ago this would require a change to faster films. This however, is where the modern digital camera comes into its own. The ability to change film speed between each shot is a godsend.

Faster speeds gain you an increase in shutter speed or aperture. This ability means I can take a shot with the camera set to 100ISO and in the next shot set the ISO to 800 or higher, gaining the photographer a large increase in shutter speed, helping to ensure you don’t have any images suffering from the dreaded camera shake.

Picture 1

In the first photo, I increased the ISO slightly to 160 from its default 100ISO setting. This small increase in speed was just enough to give me a shutter speed of 1/30 of a second which when combined with a focal length of 17m was enough to allow me to capture this street scene in the Sicilian town of Taormina without camera shake being a factor.

Picture 2

Picture 2 features a view of a church hidden among the narrow streets of the Italian hill town of Castelmola. In this situation a tripod was essential. Upgrading the ISO just would not have gained a sufficient increase in shutter speed to allow me to handhold the camera.

This year I persuaded my wife to forsake the sun of Italy with promises of the delights of the sunny south of Ireland. As many people who know me know, I have never been to County Kerry. Well, a few Saturdays ago, the inevitable happened and I made it to the small village of Ballyferriter in the Gaeltacht region of the Dingle Peninsula. The sun beamed down on arrival. Great stuff, I thought. The sunny south does exist.

Picture 3

However, that feeling didn’t last long. Sunday morning came and I rose at 4am to shoot sunrise over Smerwick harbour. With an image that I was happy with, I decided to head for a higher vantage point that I had come across the evening before. By the time I got there, I only got to take one image (Picture 4) as by 6.30am the rain had come in from the Atlantic and the sun wasn’t to be seen until the following Wednesday.

In the following days so much rain poured down that I think in my next life I am destined to be a shaman performing rain dances enticing rain to the driest places on earth. I am a patient person at the best of times, but three days with dull grey skies was enough to drive me to the pub and bring on a bout of creative depression. Meanwhile my wife took every opportunity to get a sarcastic dig in about the wonderful sunshine in the sunny south.

Numerous times I questioned my sanity and the reasons why I rise before dawn, ever hopeful, only to be frustrated by dull grey wet skies. So much so that I seriously contemplated packing in photography and taking up painting. I don’t mind wet weather as long as it’s dispersed with some good quality light. I don’t ask for much do I?

In the end Kerry left me both exhilarated and frustrated. The beauty of this county through did manage to shine through despite the deluge. The scenery really is stunning, the potential for photography is endless and I am sure now that I’ve been bitten by the Kingdom, I will be a frequent visitor. There is even a possibility that I may run a photography workshop down there.

1.ORGANISATION: Probably the most obvious tip but as any great filmmaker knows one of the signally most important factors in creating a story that will not only capture the imagination but the emotions of the viewer (what makes people connect with the film). Preparation from pre to post production will be key whether ranging from making sure you pack not just for yourself on those wintry slopes but for your camera- if the camera gets damaged or wet the game is over, to planning what shots will work- its no good just hoping you will catch the shot you want but you need to think what shots work best (close ups, establishing shots, panning etc) and your capabilities. You need to make sure these shots will look good in the editing process and make sense to the story you are trying to tell- which leads us tour next tip.

2.VISUALISATION: “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible”- Jonathan Swift. Going out and just pointing the camera at people kayaking or mountain biking is fine but if you want to create a film that is memorable you need to be able to visualise the extraordinary out of the ordinary. The best way to focus is to create a storyboard so you can visualise the type of story you want to tell along with what shots will work best (you can then makes changes to the storyboard as you figure out what will work and what wont). Along with capturing incredible footage it will be the compelling story that will make your film stand out. Remember simplicity is the key here and it is going to be human quirks, tragedies, ambition and personalities that make your film, so organising a team or athlete whose journey you will follow in advance is a great idea as you will learn what makes them tick.

3.PATIENCE AND TENACITY: While being as prepared as you can is the best attitude to have you also need to remember you will be doing a lot of waiting around and keeping focused is essential-you don’t want to miss that athlete falling off his bike, two team members having a blazing row or the tear being shed when they don’t win. It is these moments that make your piece of film stand out it is easy to get disheartened or bored when it’s bucketing down so remember to keep your head as observation is as paramount as planning when actually on the shoot. So while waiting around make sure your head is in the game and your thinking of the end result.

4.POST PRODUCTION: You may not have a fancy editing suite or even Final Cut Pro but this should not stop you making sure you have a complete and finished piece of work. In editing just remember you need to take your time and maybe have a cup of coffee or two at hand. All your prep up to this point should make your life a little easier at this stage as you will have an idea of what’s going where. The editing may take you a while but at this stage you are refining your core story and making sure you are making the most out of the footage you have. Not only are you shaping your story but you must also be prepared to make tough decisions, as you have to cut that shot you just adored, as it just doesn’t fit (sometimes being brutal can pay off down the line). The editing process can often be the most exciting point, as this is where you see the story coming together so be patient with it and yourself.  This is where you can let your creative juices flow and don’t be scared of trying something different (after all there is the undo button).

So there you have some basic tips that hopefully will get you up out of your aspiring directors chair and onto the mountains or even more at your dispose the urban sprawl for some BASE-jumping. Why limit your film future to those white studio walls but embrace this exhilarating, ground breaking and often breathtaking form of filmmaking?

The submission deadline for WAFF is the 30th November 2009 and the selected films will be screened on Friday 5th of February 2010 inThe Sugar Club. You can find lots more info on www.waff.ie

We have asked our long suffering Outsider camera guru, Torquil Fleming-Boyd, to jot down 10 insider tips from his 20 years of filming experience and share them with us.

Preparation is key – before your shoot you should:

Make sure all you batteries are fully charged and its always great to bring spares.

Make sure you subjects know where to go and what to do. No point you sitting for hours at an amazing jump, while all the riders are on the other size of the hill. A good idea is to send everyone a plan, known in the industry as a call sheet, the day before the shoot.

If you cannot afford a good dry bag for your camera, a handy tip is to use cling film and an umbrella to keep the camera dry.

On a similar note, make sure you have lots of warm and waterproof clothing with you, and don’t forget your sun protection. When you are filming you get to stand around a lot, and you will feel the cold or indeed get sun burned a lot quicker then the participants you are filming.

10 tips for your shoot:

1. It sounds obvious, but always make sure that your lens is free of water and dirt. Using a soft dry cloth will prevent scratches, I find Buffs are perfect.
2. If you a shooting something like mountain biking or snowboarding, position yourself at the bottom of the run and set the lens to widest shot the camera will allow.
3. Use a tripod, rock or some other solid surface to stabilise yourself and the camera, this will help prevent any unwanted camera shake.
4. Tell your subjects to wait before starting on their run so as to give yourself time to start recording and get your eye adjusted to the view finder or monitor.
5. Let your subjects come to you. Do not move the camera, just let them pass through the frame. This allows your viewers to see all the action and participants clearly. Don’t worry if you miss some of the action you can either reposition the camera and ask your subjects to do it again. There is always “Take Two”
6. The best way to edit an action sequence is to have 3 basic shots: a wide shot of the event, a medium shot and a close up shot. When edited together the viewer gets a really good sense of what’s happening.
7. One of the hardest things to do in film making or photography is to tell a story that viewers will understand. Always start with a wide shot of the area that the event will take place in and hold that shot longer then you think you need to..This is called an establishing shot, and you can always shorten it when you edit the footage.
8. Panning shots are a great way of showing this but are some of the hardest to get right. A large landscape may looks more dramatic when the camera is panned. For a panning shot its  best to put the camera on a tripod, remembering to keep the horizon level,  and slowly start panning the camera from right to left or visa versa. When you think you have enough of the shot slowly come to a stop….don’t move the camera at the end or it will be confusing to viewer. Always practice a few times until you are ready to record.
9. Close up shots allow us to see the action in detail but again are hard to get right. If no tripod is available then get yourself in comfortable steady position. Pick a person to feature and only follow them. Otherwise you can end up with confused panning around shots that don’t show us anything. Remember if the shot is zoomed in too much it can look very shaky so simply widen it out a little. These are great shots to make an action sequence pacey and dramatic.
10. My last and most important tip for telling a visual story is keep it simple and make sure the camera is recording at least 10 seconds of action otherwise you might find you don’t have enough material to edit your piece.

Cameras and Kit.

This is a huge area and we are only touching on it here.

One of the things you will hear mention of these days is the term HD, or High definition. Most new cameras record in High Definition (HD), and this is the best. High Definition refers to the resolution or the amount of pixels on the screen, so  full HD is 1920 by 1080.  This means that each frame  is 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high. Standard definition has less pixels, so so therefore has less detail, but has the advantage of taking up less broadband if you are posting to the internet and also needs less space on  your storage device so you can shoot more.   However don’t worry if your camera records SD. This looks great too and often used by the professionals.

Panasonic, Sony and JVC are the main domestic manufactures and they are all good. We like the Panasonic cameras, and use the Panasonic HVX200 which is a 3 chip (professional) camera and the really lovely little HDC-SD10, which is a HD camcorder.

HDC-SD10 / HDC -TM10

The  HDC-SD10 records straight to a SD memory card, and has a nice touch screen Focus Tracking feature, with lets you focus on your subject, even if they are moving very quickly. It is also currently the worlds lightest full HD camcorder (230 g)  and has  high-powered 16x optical zoom. RRP €679

Go Pro Hero Cam.

The HeroCam is a very small waterproof, shock and dust resistant minicam that can be mounted just about anywhere on your subject.. Its great for getting another point of view to edit in with the footage from your main camera. RRP €239 Available from Great Outdoors and 53 Degrees North. Check out the cool videos on the Go Pro website