This Journal records my actual time spend during my 10,000 hours photography apprenticeship.
Hours 2,815 to 2,898
31st October 2019
Hours 2,893 to 2,898
An hour updating my social media sites, particularly Flickr and Facebook with new albums of images from Kefalonia. Noticed that I had been contacted by the Manager of The Crooked Billet pub in Stoke Row who had a pop-up pub at the Henley Traditional Boat Festival, saw my images, liked them and asked if I could do some work for him.
Three and a half hours shooting, mainly multiple exposures, in London; afternoon and evening.
Half an hour visiting some favourites in the Tate Modern along with. he new Nam June Paik exhibition.
An hour loading the 523 images from this week into Capture One Pro and some initial processing.
30th October 2019
Hours 2,887 to 2,892
An hour writing up notes from yesterday’s meeting with the Stoke Poges Photographic Society and updating this journal.
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society’s Cafe Africa meeting.
Two hours processing and importing images from Kefalonia into Lightroom Classic on my new iMac, and updating this journal.
An hour watching “How to pose people who are not models” then researching for the shoot with next week,
29th October 2019
Hours 2,882 to 2,886
Half an hour updating this journal with thoughts from yesterday evening.
Half an hour watching and writing up Jamie Windsor’s video, “Wabi-sabi: When BAD PHOTOS are BETTER“.
Nothing is permanent
Nothing is finished
Nothing is perfect.
Wabi-sabi philosophy.
Photography is not reality, it is an interpretation of reality.
Imperfection creates individuality; individuality adds value.
Jamie Windsor
Jamie’s view, as exemplified by the work of Nan Goldin, is that pictorial perfection is often at adds with authenticity, emotion and sense of spontaneity.
Half an hour watching the “Top 10 tips for Capture One Pro 12” by Scott Williams.
Two and a half hours at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club – Print Competition: “Old Transport”. [Sadly no entries on my part.]
camera club judges use the following acronym to help them mark and assess images:
- T – technical; are there any technical faults in the images?
- O – originality; is the image creative or different from those seen before?
- P – powerful composition; does it have impact as an image?
- A – art; does it work artistically?
28th October 2019
Hours 2,878 to 2,881
An hour and a half learning and practicing using my new Godox V1s flash, including the use of corrective gels.
Two and a half hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – talk by Cliff Hide: “Introduction to Press Photography.” Top tips:
- Shoot in burst mode, the sharpest amongst equals is the largest file even when shooting raw
- Input sharpening
- Send images to press generally 3,000×2,000 – newspaper resolution is 150dpi
- PhotoMechanical is the software of choice for processing a large volume of images
- Cliff uses CaptureOne (not together with Lightroom) and has a new session for each project, named by date.
27th October 2019
Hours 2,876 to 2,877
An hour practicing shooting with my new Good V1s on-camera flash and Rogue FlashBender mainly in TTL mode.
An hour updating this journal.
26th October 2019
Hours 2,873 to 2,875
An hour shooting another Autumnal Colours image and practicing using off-camera flash.
An hour preparing for the shoot with Princess Alexandra on the 5th November.
An hour watching YouTubes including:
- FStoppers: “Portrait Photography, 5 Minute Challenge“
- “2 Simple Gel techniques“: corrective and creative. The former might be necessary to correct for the yellow light from the wooden beams and incandescent lighting in the hall where I will be Photographing Princess Alexandra
- “Top 10 tips for Capture One Pro 12“, man learning point:
- make radical colour changes through a succession of smaller changed using the advanced colour management tool.
25th October 2019
Hours 2,869 to 2,872
An hour updating this journal and the data for the “Time Analysis” post.
Two hour’s YouTubes including summaries of various philosophers such as:
- Saint Thomas Aquinos as quotes by James Joyce in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – Art contributes 3 things:
- Integritas: wholeness
- Consyantia: harmony
- Claritas: radiance
- Voltaire – “If God did not exist, it would have been necessary to invent him.”
An hour processing images for the potential Stoke Poges Photography Club Print competition next week. [Entry too late as it turns out.]
24th October 2019
Hours 2,867 to 2,868
An hour preparation for shooting Princess Alexandra presenting the Queen’s Award to the Stoke Poges Horticultural Society on the 5th November.
An hour YouTubes including:
- Serge Ramelli: “Do this if you want some Ansel Adams Black and White Style“
- Lots of dodging and burning to add emphasis
- Darken top and bottom areas of the image
- Ellen Brenneman Studio: “On becoming a full time artist: Advice I wish I had never taken.“
- Use of multiple sales platforms – go everywhere – Don’t
- Be on every social media platform – don’t; choose one or two that are relevant and work for you
- Do everything you can to get into a gallery – not necessarily; you can be successful just selling on your own
- Attend art fairs – maybe but the price point for success is low.
23rd October 2019
Hour 2,866
An hour processing images from the last few days and transferring to my main desktop computer.
22nd October 2019
Hours 2,864 to 2,865
An hour shooting on the beach at daybreak.
Half an hour shooting as we toured the Island.
Half an hour updating this journal.
21st October 2019
Hour 2,863
An hour shooting landscapes as we drove round the island. Notices that I was consciously/ unconsciously avoiding the more chocolate box touristy image that I might have shot in the past in favour of something a little more edgy, such as the street scene with the dilapidated lampposts or the 7 shot multiple exposure of the Bosset Bridge Argostoli.
20th October 2019
Hour 2,862
An hour shooting and processing the following minimalist seascape.
19th October 2019
Hours 2,860 to 2,861
Half an hour shooting on the beach followed by half an hour shooting and processing a portrait of Fran.
An hour updating this journal and writing a review of “Art and Fear” read yesterday.
18th October 2019
Hours 2,857 to 2,859
Two and a half hours reading “Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking” by David Bayles and Ted Orland
Half an hour experimental shooting the seeds on the veranda of our hotel room.
17th October 2019
Hour 2,856
Shooting an image that ultimately did not make it into this journal or even my final cut for the holiday.
16th October 2019
Hour 2,855
A few minutes spent shooting and then the bulk of an hour processing those and the images from the Memorial Gardens shot yesterday.
15th October 2019
Hours 2,850 to 2,854
Two hours finishing the on-line CPAGB entry. Have tried and failed to produce a photoshop droplet to produce JPEGS for PDI competitions.
An hour updating this journal including the associated Flickr site.
Half an hour shooting Autumnal Colours in the Memorial Gardens – trying to catch the last rays of the day. Actually arriving a little too late and missing the best of the light.
An hour watching a Capture One tutorial
Half an hour processing the fungi shots made in Gray’s Field a couple of days ago.
14th October 2019
Hours 2,848 to 2,849
Two hours preparing images for the CPAGB assessment in November, including updating a couple of images and writing a Photoshop action that produces a JPEG to competition specification, i.e., max 1,600×1,200 pixels (needed two separate actions for landscape & portrait images, then a master action with a conditional statement), adding my preferred combination of a one pixel white outer boarder and a one pixel black inner boarder.
Entered the following two images in the Amersham Photography Society’s PDI competition, which unfortunately I could not attend.
13th October 2019
Hours 2,844 to 2,847
An hour shooting mushrooms using artificial light in Gray’s Field; then shooting the exposures for a Pep Ventosa style image of an autumnal tree.
Two hours processing the images from last Thursday (Hastings Meadow Sky images) and today and updating this journal.
An hour watching YouTubes:
- Sean Tucker “Law and Ethics in Street Photography“
- Legally if you are shooting in a public place you are generally OK to photograph anybody, in any way. However, lots of places that you might think are public, aren’t; e.g., shopping centres, Canary Wharf, etc.
- Ethically, it’s worth thinking about your own boundary’s. I have huge respect for Sean’s views on this subject that I know are well considered.
- Joshua Jackson said: “it’s all about intent” if your confident about your intention to make great art that only shows people in a positive light, nobody should object to this.
- Nigel Danson “How this Photo Took 2 Years to Make“
[Fixed my problems with Lightroom by resetting my preferences, which required deleting the preferences file.]
12th October 2019
Hours 2,840 to 2,843
Three and a half hours working on images shot over the last week. Including writing a photoshop action to completely automate the production of Shift Pictures, i.e., calling all the scripts in order and then doing my standard coloraturas toning and sharpening.
Half an hour updating this journal.
[Lots of time grappling with the fact that my Lightroom Classic doesn’t seem to be importing, from watched folders or elsewhere.]
11th October 2019
Hours 2,837 to 2,839
Half an hour finishing the data collection for the “Time Analysis” post including correcting hours spent sections of this journal page (about 120 hours less than shown due to my inability to add up about a year ago and various subsequent errors).
Half an hour looking for images to submit for Monday’s PDI competition at the Amersham Photographic Society.
Two hours mithering about the two selected images, tweaking, converting the portrait to mono; and finally submitting.
10th October 2019
Hours 2,829 to 2,836
Two hours shooting the monthly series of sky above Hastings Meadow at various focal lengths and times during the day.
| West | ….. | North | ….. | East | ….. | South |
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| 7am 16mm f/9 | 7am 16mm f/9 | 7am 16mm f/9 | 7am 16mm f/9 | |||
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| 7am 35mm f/9 | 7am 35mm f/9 | 7am 35mm f/9 | 7am 35mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 10am 16mm f/9 | 10am 16mm f/9 | 10am 16mm f/9 | 10am 16mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 10am 35mm f/9 | 10am 35mm f/9 | 10am 35mm f/9 | 10am 35mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 1pm 16mm f/9 | 1pm 16mm f/9 | 1pm 16mm f/9 | 1pm 16mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 1pm 35mm f/9 | 1pm 35mm f/9 | 1pm 35mm f/9 | 1pm 35mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 4pm 16mm f/9 | 4pm 16mm f/9 | 4pm 16mm f/9 | 4pm 16mm f/9 | |||
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| 4pm 35mm f/9 | 4pm 35mm f/9 | 4pm 35mm f/9 | 4pm 35mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 7pm 16mm f/9 | 7pm 16mm f/9 | 7pm 16mm f/9 | 7pm 16mm f/9 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
| 7pm 35mm f/9 | 7pm 35mm f/9 | 7pm 35mm f/9 | 7pm 35mm f/9 |
Three hours collecting data for the “Time Analysis” post and simultaneously reviewing and updating the journal pages for:
- April 2019
- May 2019
- June 2019
- July 2019
- August 2019
- September 2019
An hour watching photo YouTubes including:
- Jamie Windsor’s “6 things you should be doing when you edit photos” – usual photoshop tips but final point: ‘Take a Break’ stop and come back to it later.
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society’s Mono group.
9th October 2019
Hours 2,822 to 2,828
Half an hour updating this journal.
Two hours at the Cafe Africa meeting of the Amersham Photographic Society.
An hour producing B&W versions of multiple exposure images for tomorrow’s mono group.
An hour watching YouTubes including:
- Nigel Winsor’s “22 Hidden Photoshop Tricks/ Hacks“
Further half an hour updating this journal including adding the cover image.
Two hours collecting data for the “Time Analysis” post and correcting the journal pages for February 2019 & March 2019. Then later, April 2019 & May 2019.
8th October 2019
Hours 2,817 to 2,821
An hour updating this journal including creating a new version of the cover image.
An hour creating photoshop actions for producing JPegs for PDI competitions. Including rewatching Terry White’s “How to automate Photoshop“.
An hour collecting data for the “Time Analysis” post and correcting journal pages: December 2018 and January 2019.
Two hours at the Stoke Poges Photography Club – PDI Competition. [Screen projecting too bright.]
| Image | Comments |
 | Man and Best Friend Held Back – 19 [Projector too bright] Judge didn’t think the man’s beard was fully sharp. |
| Time in Canary Wharf 20 Praised for its creativity and strong composition. | |
7th October 2019
Hours 2,814 to 2,816
Half an hour shooting in Hurst Wood near Bournemouth.
Half an hour catching up on YouTubes:
- Nigel Danson: “The Fastest Way to Improve Your Photography” motivation to get out and shoot even when it’s raining
- The Art of Photography: “THIS is an Unusual Photography Portfolio” chatter from Ted Forbes.
Two hours at the Amersham Photographic Society – Talk by Mark Pain: “Capturing the Moment” – tips for becoming a sports photographer:
- develop blocks of knowledge and experience relating to using your camera so that you reliably and consistently create great images
- planning and preparation for every shoot to know what you are trying to achieve and being ready to do so
- shoot rain at c. 1/10 second – but experiment
- ditto panning with cars, bicycles, etc.
6th October 2019
Hours 2,812 to 2,813
Two hours editing images from Sandwich.
5th October 2019
Hour 2,811
An hour updating this journal and editing images from Sandwich.
4th October 2019
Hours 2,810 to 2,811
Two hours processing images shot yesterday.
3rd October 2019
Hours 2,807 to 2,809
An hour shooting potential multiple exposures in London.
Two hours at the Amersham Beyond Group – reviewing photo books and the next challenge: forced perspective.
2nd October 2019
Hours 2,803 to 2,805
A few minutes shooting some autumn colour in Gray’s Field.
Two hours at Cafe Africa with the Amersham Photographic Society. Reviewing images from the group and Robert Frank’s book, “London/ Wales”.
YouTubes:
- Sean Tucker: “My Street Photography Process with Contact Sheets” – defines different styles of street photographers:
- Hunters: go out chasing subjects, move rapidly from one place to the next
- Fishermen: find a single spot and really work the space waiting for situations to unfold
- Sean defines himself as a hybrid who hunts for locations and one found, fishes them.
- The Art of Photography: “5 Editing tools every photographer should know how to use” – some useful tips on using histograms, sliders, levels, curves and colour wheels.
1st October 2019
Hours 2,798 to 2,802
An hour updating this journal, mainly with self-applause for last night’s showing in the Amersham Photographic Society’s print competition where I scored a 20 and came second in the Intermediate class to which I am newly promoted.
Two hours preparing images for next week’s PDI competition with the Stoke Poges Photographic Club: “Street Scene” and Open.
Two hours at the SPPC – Workshop: Composition.