Moving content

This will be my last post here as I'm moving my blog into my website. Integration is the way forward allegedly!
DON'T PANIC, you can/will now find me at the all in one The new home of my blog. Integrated with the rest of my content.
If you'd like to subscribe to my posts then click on 'subscribe' button in the top right of the page.

Thanks, see you over on jonathanbowcott.com

Essential maintenance this weekend

The nameservers are being changed over this weekend so emails and web may be offline for 48 hours. Should be back to normal Monday morning. If you send me an email between now and then I probably won't receive it. Send it again on Monday, thanks!

2 years condensed into 60 seconds.

I love stuff like this. Sir David will explain....

iPhone pic of the day

So I went down to the harbour to look at the leaders debate. Tight security, every police officer in the country, barriers, loads of guns plus media meant it was actually quite dull. Did see this fun sign within the security cordon though......

iPhone pic of the day

Volcano still erupting, spring has arrived properly and aircraft are allowed back in the air - see the telltale signs of a contrail in the sky.
Must dash, got some excess blubber to tan.

Let me sneak in this great behind the scenes video so soon after the last post

Nothing to do with me or Bristol or anything local... but everything to do with creative photography.

More on this story later........

Short but sweet at the moment. Here's an article from the Guardian that sums up some of the issues that professional photographers face in the digital world of today.
As I said, more to come...
Guardian, Flickr and photos

You need good backup

Sometimes, believe it or not, being a photographer just isn't enough! Apart from being a husband, father, taxi service, chef, dog walker, big scary dragon and many other things I also need to have some post production skills.

In other words; Photoshop.

I shot this car, just outside Bristol, ( I wrote about it here iPhone pic of the day ) for a direct client in an old quarry on a freezing cold, windy morning. No budget for a studio or any other nice car photography accoutrements. Just me, a mobile backdrop and 2 lovely girls from Stuff who were handling, well, other stuff for this client. They ended up keeping everything standing as my sandbags, bricks, breezeblocks and bags couldn't withstand the wind. - Good backup, thanks Ali and Katie.

Additionally, as we weren't in the cossetted warmth of a studio the car needed some post production work before it was ready to be cut out and the large 2 metre mobile produced.

I did some tweaking of the photo back at HQ but the real work was done by Photoshop supremo Ewen Collis at Stuff who managed to hide any shortcomings - err, the shortcomings were due to the location of course, rather than my photography! You need good backup, thanks Ewen.
If you are having trouble seeing the image please click here - Fiat 500

Email update 01-04-10

If I want to have junk mail from large organisations (did you know there is a new coffee called Tanzarú, our Limited Edition 2010 Grand Cru. Born of a surprising union of two worlds, this coffee is an invitation to explore new and exciting, fruity flavours.) and spam offering me enlarged bits then I'm fine.

HOWEVER, other people who might want to get in touch and with whom I might wish to communicate are basically still 'French Connection UK'd', as it were.

I'm working out whether to join the cloud? Hosting and email all done up there in the internet thingy. Our lovely cousins in the good old you, ess of Eh offer great service and modern tech support.
I guess we're back to 'pay peanuts, get monkeys'
I think I'll have to 'pay proper, get proper' in future.

Happy Easter

If there's anything cuter than an Easter Chick it's a small child wearing a hat with Easter chicks on it!

This was tricky to photograph. Mainly because the model was being uncooperative. With his third birthday fast approaching he was acting his age. In between the tears and tantrums (to be fair it was nearly bedtime) I shot 4 frames. One frame was the end of a tantrum, one frame was a blinker, the other two were usable. Who was it who said 'never work with kids and animals?'

Set up was easy enough:
1 SB900 bouncing off a white tri grip with a half cut CTO to warm up the face.
1 SB900 on a boom through an ezybox softbox directly above the hat.
1 SU 800 on camera to fire the flashes.
1 D3 with a custom WB to account for the warm gel (not too warm please!)
1 105mm lens as sharp as ever.
1 very cold beer afterwards to help maintain sanity.

Shot at my studio in Bristol.

Have a lovely Easter weekend, see you on the other side.

If you can't see the image above please click on this link The Easter Cowboy

No email today. It's broken. Sorry.

It seems I can send but not receive email. Just thought I'd let people know.
I asked my providers a question, I got an incorrect answer from them and now they are trying to ignore that and blame me for not having the right package. Crap service means BYE BYE from me. This is their chance to fix it............double quick.

iPhone pic of the day

Once the location has been exhausted, build a set in a storeroom. This particular storeroom has been nicknamed 'the black hole of Calcutta' as it's dark and after many long days in there you start to get cabin fever!
On the plus side, it's not in Bristol and the photographs are lovely. That means client and photographer = happy.

Post production software

It's another (just about) pre-dawn start today. Family errands have all been done by 07.30 and I'm procrastinating over an image I shot yesterday that I promised to do some clever retouching on. Procrastinating means surfing the web, updating social networks, checking my sock drawer is tidy - you know the sort of thing.
I did however come across this from Adobe. CS5 or something must be just around the corner as this pre-release video shows off an amazing new feature.
Post production for the point and click generation. Can't imagine how complicated something like this is when the interface and usability is so easy.
Watch and be amazed!
 
Adobe blog

In the meantime I'd better get on with this retouching..............

I'll be back

An iconic saying that doesn't really count here as I've only been away for a week! The long days and hefty commute give me little time to do anything other than shoot, process and sleep. Not complaining, just stating the facts. Loving the job, shot some lovely images today....trying to persuade client to let me post some on here soon :-)
Shooting back in Bristol next week so hoping to get back online more often. See you soon.

Defeated by tech this morning

I got as far as writing the title of this post before the iPhone defeated me and I couldn't post from the mobile. Wouldn't let me put an image into it either. Must be an easy way to do it. Anyone got any ideas?
It would really help with the 'iPhone pic of the day' strand I'm trying to get going!!
Busy couple of weeks ahead so some mobile blogging would be a great asset.

iPhone pic of the day

With the weather set to sunny I think all the photographers in Bristol are out trying to capture something. I was walking through Clifton Village this morning, on my way to a job, and I spotted this car. I shot it in a disused quarry in the middle of nowhere. The mobile studio I set up kept trying to blow away and it was freezing cold. At one point my fingers could barely press the shutter release. (note to self - TAKE GLOVES) How quickly it's all forgotten once you see the image in situ.
At 2 metres wide I think it's almost lifesize! Have also spotted the cars cutting a dash out on the road too.

iPhone pic of the day

Supposed to be having a break this week! As a result I loaned my lights to a great agency so they could shoot a web ad whilst I gave lighting tips from 'holiday'.
The video looks great - just saw a rough cut. One of my lights blew half way through though....... It looks like the bulb just melted away from the screw thread. Never seen that happen in nearly 20 years of shooting.
I'm going to try and post an image a day from the iPhone once I'm officially working again next week.
In the meantime here's what's left of the bulb.

You can't buy everything on the Internet.

Two things have struck me about the web over the past few days. Firstly, it's easy to forget that, for many people, the internet may not be a priority. I was reminded of this on Sunday when I gave a talk on photography at a local gathering of glassmakers. I was chatting to a lovely lady afterwards and I mentioned some online resources to help her get started in photography. She told me she hadn't actually been on the internet yet. I have to admit I was stunned. I know that's more to do with my assumptions than anything else but I guess I did think that everyone 'did' the internet. I gave her YouTube as a resource and her response was 'what's that?'. Nothing wrong with not prioritising the web. This lady was a dedicated craftsperson and was focused on her work. She had no need for the internet. If I'm honest I've spent hours wasting time online when my time could be more productive. Perhaps I should take a leaf from her book and focus on taking more pictures!
The second point about the web is that it's easy to be seduced by low prices, next day delivery, and getting the next bit of kit. However, you can't often buy the personal touch and offer fabulous customer service online. I made a complaint yesterday about my treatment in a retail store. I felt offended by the manner of the salesperson and after leaving the store (and taking a few deep breaths) phoned to explain how the experience made me feel. After some explanations on both sides the staff member apologised and it felt genuine. I got home to an additional phonecall from this staff member apologising again and offering to personally deliver the items I was after, to my home, for free - by way of a proactive apology. I did of course agree to this (never one to turn down free stuff). He duly arrived, he handed over the goods, we shook hands and it all finished amicably.
I felt much better at having been listened to and apologised to so quickly. He felt better because he was offering a great experience so soon after a bad one.
It's that level of service and customer interaction that is difficult to source on the internet. Low prices don't give us the whole picture!

And now it's time for........

I put a slideshow on youtube - just trying to increase my presence on the web.
Can anyone guess the music? If you are based in the UK, are of a certain age and had a TV when you were a kid you will probably get it. No prizes, just for fun. Leave your answers in the comments box below this post.

The Envy girls

Some time ago I had an email asking if I'd like to shoot a bunch of girls who were aiming to break into and make it big in the music world. Errrrr, no brainer, of course I would! We met up, discussed some ideas and met a couple of times to shoot. They went through one band member (Hmmmm, seem to think the Sugababes were an influence!) so we did some more images with the new girl. I think we all had fun and they were delighted with the shots. They even said they liked me because I wasn't 'perving' over them like some of the other photographers they'd used. I took that as a compliment!!

I'm still waiting for the call to say they've made it big and they want to fly me out to Barbados to shoot their latest promo pics.......won't be holding my breath.
Anyway, thought you might like to see a photograph taken at the studio in Bristol. We had builders doing a huge renovation job at the time so it was shot in a makeshift studio in the front room. You wouldn't know though.

PS. The builders thought Christmas had come early. I think the girls were used to handling the  attention of blokes 'perving' though and soon put them down a peg or two.

Confidentiality

Shot some great images today. Don't know why I'm telling you 'cos I can't show an example or tell you too much until it's all been published. How boring is that?! Fair enough for those involved, commercial advantage and confidentiality agreements stop leaks and can give you an edge. However, As I'm impulsive and love the last picture I took I'm impatient and want to post on them now. By the time the job is all signed off and published I'll have moved on to the next thing.
Can someone remind me to post images from this shoot please? Give it a couple of months......
In the meantime here's an image to look at.

A pic by Jonathan Bowcott

The old ones are the best. The Nikon 50mm f1.4.

In all the hullaballo surrounding the digital revolution some things get left behind. In my case it was the humble 50mm lens. When I started out in photography the lens of choice when buying a new SLR body was a 50mm...... and a roll of film. FILM! Yep, it was that long ago. Kodak GOLD I seem to remember was where I started. Colour negative - there's a phrase consigned to history.

Anyway back to the 50mm. It was a beauty, small, light, sat well on the camera. Used it for years til I needed to get more versatile. Zoom lenses got much better, more popular and were good value for money. Mr Nikon 50mm got consigned to a cupboard here in Bristol and was, quite frankly, forgotten about. Until now, he was dusted down and given an outing this week and he was as good as ever. A client was asking for a shallow depth of field and my normal weapons of choice didn't cut the mustard. In a last ditch attempt to fulfil the brief I dug out the 50mm. Oh yes, that did the trick. He's back in the bag and raring to go again. We salute you, the ever delightful Nikon 50mm f1.4.

Christmas is coming..already

I'm back photographing in Bristol today but I was out shooting for next Christmas earlier this week. Yep, just when the credit card was starting to breathe again and the memories of overindulgence and turkey were fading....along came Christmas 2010. It turned out to be a lovely shoot even if it was slightly unseasonal!

Thought you might like to see some more images

Fine art prints - Images by Jonathan Bowcott

Large montage

When I first moved back to Bristol to start my photography business one of the first commercial jobs I was commissioned to do was for Parsons Bakery. They are great to work for, firstly because they are very old friends and secondly they trusted me enough to shoot some striking black and white images for them. Shot in a gritty documentary style there was no strict brief other than to show that what they do isn't just a huge faceless production line. Real people bake real bread. The images went down really well. In fact all their stores around Bristol now boast either framed images or canvas prints from the shoot. Recently they asked for a 2 metre long canvas with a montage of some of their images. No problem - spoke to the lab and after some tech/practical constraints I picked it up last week.
Obviously I'm biased but it does look impressive. They are very pleased too.
I'm really happy that the photographs have longevity and I'm still very fond of this shoot and the images produced.
Here's the website link for them. My montage features on the homepage too!
Parsons Bakery, Bristol

Subscribe to this feed CHANGES to address

Thanks to those who've already subscribed. I've changed the feed and address (simply for getting 'found' on the net reasons) so please resubscribe and join in with my stuff. Cheers

Sleepwalking to censorship and a police state

I'm speechless. This:  POLICE ARREST PHOTOGRAPHER  is happening more and more to photographers in the UK. Mandelson and his evangelical zeal regarding the The Digital Economy Bill means that photography could effectively become illegal in the open air. Don't sleepwalk into censorship, write to your MP now, before it's too late. See more here: Copyright erosion

Some more images have been uploaded

Products - Images by Jonathan Bowcott

Photoshop is 20

Congratulations to all those involved. The evolution of a product over that time has seen enormous progress - paradigm shifts in the way the photographic industry works and the way amateur photographers shoot and view their images.
In my house I'm affectionately (I think) known as 'The Digital Dr' as I can smooth away lines and tone down anything considered unsightly. This is a controversial subject - Should images be doctored? If it wasn't for the retouched images on magazines would women, girls (and men increasingly) have a better image of themselves? Not sure I'm qualified to answer that. As long as any retouching is done subtly and doesn't alter the actual shape or appearance of someone then perhaps it's OK? I don't get many people suggesting that the lines around the eyes that I softened by 20% makes then look retouched or false. Surely everyone likes a spot on their chin removed? I wonder where the line is and when it gets crossed. Any ideas?
Adobe

A slideshow

More testing I'm afraid. I'm trying out a new website and I can send slideshows all over the place from there so I'm trying out here to see if it works. I'll be happy when all this maintenance is over. Until then here's the slideshow.

People - Images by Jonathan Bowcott

Hang on a minute, shouldn't there be some pictures?

Yep! Since the last post I've spent a whole bunch of time looking at sites, thinking about my own website and integrating the blog. How about this option or that option? My head is buzzing. In fact I've been dreaming about websites. This morning is the first time since last week when I've had an opportunity to sit at my desk and try things out. It's basically taken me all morning to try and customise a different blog to integrate with an image hosting site so I can keep everything together. Then frustration sets in and I'm back with Blogger (nothing wrong with blogger) In fact, its easy peasy lemon squeezy, whereas the other guys seem to be, to quote 'In the Loop,' "Difficult, difficult, lemon difficult.
It's almost 2pm and I'm starting to resolve some issues. Double espresso on the way and......you never know, I might even add some images to my blog soon. That'd be a novelty eh!

I'm going to get the hang of this....

As usual, the more you look into something the more you find out. I'm using this post to see if it automatically lets my twitter followers know I've posted something new to my blog. In the meantime I'm reading a photographers guide to social media an excellent free resource from some nice Canadians! Here goes.....

Shameless link 2

In an act of barely disguised desperation I implore you to vote for my book. Not since my Blue Peter Badge have I won anything and I want to do it for my boy!!!! C'mon, Book of the year at the age of 2, life won't get any better for him! Here's a link to go to. Sign in and vote your hearts out. Cheers ta. Link = help Jonathan Bowcott win book of the year. Vote for September 2009s book called Lets Go!

Tech. Exciting or dull depending on your POV

Todays shoot will be at twilight - if the light at twilight is good and the location is clear! That means I have some time to play with some new software I'm test driving. Capture One is a RAW processing tool from a Danish company that has a low public profile. Probably because it's associated with high end cameras that cost as much as a Volvo. However, if your camera is supported by the software then it has a fantastic reputation. I have Photoshop, Aperture Lightroom 3 and now Capture One. I've always been slightly underwhelmed by Camera RAW in Photoshop - never gives me what I saw straight out of the can, so to speak. Lightroom is also from Adobe and as a streamlined product is good but the RAW processing is essentially the same as Photoshop. Apples Aperture gives a much better RAW conversion straight out of the box but I've never quite mastered it. (they released Aperture 3 yesterday so I might be a bit premature) Which brings me neatly to Capture One. The RAW conversion it does straight out of the box is fabulous. It somehow manages to tweak more out of the image than any of the other options leading to a v. clean, bright, usable image with v. little extra needed. Am enjoying playing with it but have yet to work out a proper workflow that involves the import of images and once processed how to get them out of the program. Going to use some test shots done of my images on the wall at the surgery. Dull images, but if I mess up there'll be no tears. Laters.......

Say what you mean and mean what you say........are you sure?

Less than a day in and realising that there are all sorts of boobytraps awaiting the impulsive blogger. If I say this..... and that person reads it..... will they tell so and so? Need the diplomacy skills of, well, a good diplomat. Ain't got those so might be re-editing posts after they've gone out and I've come to my senses. No point in upsetting people with less than thought out comments. Personally, I like to really think things through properly before upsetting people!

Shameless link

Gotta do all you can these days. www.jonathanbowcott.com

Exhibition

As part of a drive to brighten up hospitals and health centres locally there is an initiative getting local artists to hang images and make the whole business of being ill slightly better. I'm hanging some images this afternoon as a 2 month exhibition at a local surgery. Hoping it brings cheer to some people and a desire to buy to others! At least it'll get me out of the house where there are currently 3 little boys causing havoc.

Something for nothing

Why is it that when you agree to do something at a reduced fee or FOC that the job escalates and you have to spend more and more time trying to play catch up on what, at first glance, looked simple?
Having said that I have learnt a bunch of stuff today and I realise that what I take for granted ain't as easy for others to comprehend. Note to self: Try and be a bit more patient.

Gotta go

OK, I created this blog and now I see I gotta go. Late already, bye.