davidfcookephotography.co.uk

This was taken on a San Francisco Bay ferry. I noticed ‘the couple’ through the window. Of course, they may not have been together at all but I thought it was interesting that, although they seemed to be together, they were each doing different things and not communicating with each other (see the original image below).

After cropping to a square format, I used Photoshop Transform to straighten everything up.  The Clone tool was then used to remove the label which was stuck to the window. A series of Nik Pro-Contrast, Cross Balance, Glamour Glow (with a layer mask being used to prevent the filter affecting the couple), and a further clone layer to remove reflections in the widow of people outside the cabin were used.

The texture is an image of an old wall in the Church which was the subject of my ARPS project. There is a diagonal crack in the wall which I positioned between the couple to emphasise the lack of communication. Further series of filters to adjust the lighting to the way I wanted it and a clone layer to remove minor distractions were followed by sharpening using the High Pass filter.

This image has had 15 International acceptances including 153rd Edinburgh International Exhibition of Photography 2015 (Scotland), 66th Midland Salon of International Photography 2015 (England) and the Sydney Harbour International 2015 (Australia). It won a PSA Gold Medal at 2015 Tallaght International Salon of Photographic Art (Ireland),  a NCFP Ribbon (Commended) at the 36th Northern Counties International Salon 2015 (England), an Honourable Mention at Yorkshire International Salon 2016 (England) and an Honourable Mention at the Malmo International Exhibition of Photography 2019

Nikon D800, 28 mm Nikkor prime lens, ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/5000 sec

This was taken in San Francisco on our trip there in 2013. I really liked the variety of activity going on, with the bartender seeming to dominate the whole scene (See the original image below).

After cropping to a square format, I used the Photoshop Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast filters to reduce the saturation and brighten up the image. Nik Glamour Glow then gave it a slight air of unreality and this was followed by the Detail Extractor and Dark Contrasts filters to give it the feeling I wanted. In all cases layer masks were used to stop the main characters in the centre of the image from being affected. Viveza, to change the lighting, and the Clone Tool, to remove minor distractions, were then used. Finally, the image was sharpened using the high pass filter.

This image has had 17 international acceptances including 153rd Edinburgh International Exhibition of Photography 2015 (Scotland), 122nd Toronto International Salon of Photography 2015 (Canada) and the 66th Midland Salon of International Photography 2015 (England). It has won awards at 4th South Devon Salon of International Photography 2015 (England) and the Bristol Salon of Photography 2016 England.

Nikon D800, 28 mm Nikkor prime lens, ISO 3200, f/1.8, 1/200 sec

This was taken in Florence just before Christmas in 2013. We were standing outside a restaurant waiting for it to open. When it was slightly late in opening, the people at the front started knocking on the door and peering through the glass to see what was happening inside. I thought it was a shot too good to miss (see the original image below).

Post capture manipulation consisted of cropping to a square format and using Photoshop Transform to straighten everything up. Topaz Simplify was then applied to give it a slightly poster-like feeling. This was followed by a clone layer to remove minor distractions and Viveza to adjust the lighting. A texture of some cracked soil was addend and a layer mask used to remove the effect from the two people. Further layers consisted of Nik Darken / Lighten Centre, Hue /Saturation, Levels and Curves and Viveza to get the lighting and feel exactly how I wanted it. Finally, it was sharpened using the High-pass filter.

Nikon D800, 50mm Nikkor prime lens, ISO 2500, f/1.8, 1/200 sec

This image has had 13 international acceptances including the London Salon of Photography 2015 (England), 50th Sydney International Exhibition of Photography 2015 (Australia), 43rd Photographic Society of New York International Salon of Color Photography  2015 (USA) and 122nd Toronto International Salon of Photography 2015 (Canada).

This shot was taken on a visit to Durham. The boy was siting motionless for some time staring into the distance and ignoring all those around him. He may well have been concentrating on something he was drawing but I thought that his expression was one of being lost in his own world (see the original image below).

Post capture manipulation consisted of cropping to a square format followed by the Nik Darken / Lighten Centre filter to change the lighting and the Glamour Glow filter on the boy himself to make him look more ethereal. Bleach Bypass was then used to give the whole image an edgy feel. A series of Viveza, curves, levels, and hue was saturation filters were then used to get the image looking the way I wanted it. The Clone tool was used to remove minor distractions.

Originally, this image was a desaturated colour one but I decided that I wanted it to be monochrome so I used the Nik Paper Toner filter to produce the final image I wanted. It was sharpened using the High Pass filter.

It is one of my first ventures into entering monochrome images for international exhibitions and it has had 9 international acceptances including the 48th Sydney International Exhibition of Photography 2014 (Australia) and the 121st Toronto International Salon of Photography 2014 (Canada).

Nikon D800, 50 mm Nikkor prime lens, ISO 1400, f/1.4, 1/200 sec