❓WHO is Glyn Dewis and WHAT is this CHANNEL❓

One thing my YouTube channel was missing was a trailer; something that in 60 seconds or less explains the who, what, where, why, when and how of me and what the channel is all about. So I put some time aside and made one. The channel is where I share photography techniques and tutorials, tutorials for software such as Photoshop and Lightroom, and the occasional honest gear review, and putting the videos together in a way that's 'me' has been a lot of fun.

I DID IT 🌳 I used my DRONE to photograph this INCREDIBLE Lone Tree (Settings + Editing)

Using a drone for photography opens up so many new and unique compositions, and this is a perfect example. I finally photograph an incredible lone tree that would have been impossible to capture on foot, but thanks to my drone it became possible. I go through the drone camera settings I used, then move into Lightroom to create an HDR, before finishing in Photoshop and jumping in and out of Topaz Studio 2 to create a painterly effect.

The Lone Tree and my Drone - An Obsession

This tree has become a bit of an obsession.

I first noticed it when helping friends move home. They didn’t move far. Just further down the lanes in Mid Devon but to a beautiful new spot. So incredibly peaceful. The silence only broken by the sound of the wildlife and that’s to be relished.

It was when driving through the lanes on the back and forth trips I saw the tree high up on a hill, all alone. Couldn’t decide if it felt proud or lonely. It was screaming out to be photographed though.

With it being across a ploughed field perched on top of a hill in another field and quite some distance from the lane I’d stopped in, there was no way to get close on foot. But then I do have a drone. That could work.

I was thinking of maybe doing a long exposure with the clouds over the top of the tree but I’ve lost count how many times I’ve headed over when I thought conditions were right. It’s only a short drive. Well 30 minutes-ish from home but incredible how in such a short journey the conditions can change. Maybe that’s just a Devon thing.

I tried an evening shot with the setting sun but got there a little too late. Didn’t work out too bad though I guess.

Then followed several more aborted missions.

The other day though things started to slot into place.

Blue skies. Fluffy white clouds. No wind. Well…very little.

Using my DJI Air 2S Drone, I took off vertical from where I’d parked up to make sure there were no livestock over the other side hill. Didn’t want to disturb them or worse still…scare them.

All clear.

Set the drone to take 5 Raw photographs at 5 different exposures. Made a HDR image in Lightroom.

Originally thought about just including the tree and the arc of the hill.

Changed my mind and included part of the ploughed field.

Glad I did.

Edited the resulting file in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Finished off with one ‘look’ using Topaz Studio 2.

Hope you like it.

I’ll do a Behind the Scenes video showing this on my YouTube Channel.

I'M ADDICTED!!! 📷 Long Exposures by the Sea (HOW TO) BASIC to BEAUTIFUL 😍

It's incredible how using a long exposure can completely transform the look and feel of a location. Here I take you through the photography first, showing how a 30 second long exposure smooths out the waves to create a glass-like surface. Then I move on to the retouching in both Lightroom and Photoshop, including how to make selections and cuts with just one slider.

WORTH THE RISK? Taking Photographs over the SEA with my Drone

On the first day with my new drone, the DJI Air 2S, I dared to fly it out over the Atlantic Ocean in Cornwall to photograph a lighthouse, a photograph that simply wouldn't have been possible without it. It was scary, but the results were incredible. This video takes you behind the scenes on the photo shoot, and then through the retouching steps in Lightroom for some of the coastal images I came away with.

Photographing Whiteford Lighthouse in South Wales with my Drone

A couple of weeks after very nearly smashing my camera, lens and a filter at Whiteford Lighthouse in South Wales, I headed back with a completely different game plan: leave the main camera at home and take only my DJI Air 2 drone. Ordinarily, to photograph the lighthouse at the right angle you have to be near it, and because it stands such a long way offshore, that means waiting for the tide to go out. I didn't want it stood on a flat, dry, rocky sea bed with no water around it, so the drone was the answer. The question was whether the quality would be good enough, and I'm very happy to say it was; I was blown away with the results. The video takes you on the photo shoot and then through the retouching steps in Lightroom and Photoshop for the final image.

Good to be Back! Portraits of World War 2 Veterans

After almost 2 years it felt great the other day to be able to photograph another of our World War 2 Veterans…

Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic it’s not been possible and not been safe to take portraits, especially of people in such advanced years, but thankfully now times have changed and I’m able to resume.

This latest portrait is of 101 year old, World War 2 Veteran, Gordon Short who served in the 9th Devons and was attached to the 4th Battalion the Royal West Kents an served in Burma.

I photographed Gordon at his home in Devon which just happens to be a 10 minute drive from my home in the next village having been contacted by one of his sons who’d heard of my 39-45 Portraits Project.

I kept the set up as had in all the previous portraits to ensure continuity…

• Lighting: Westcott FJ80 Speedlite in a Westcott Rapid Box Switch Large Octa

• Background: X-Drop Background using the Grey Material*

• Camera: Sony A7RIV

• Lens: Sony 55mm f/1.8 ZA

*Ordinarily I would have used my own branded canvas effect background but not knowing how much space I’d have to work in, I opted to use the grey material that comes included with the X-Drop because it folds up to be really compact and when fixing it to the frame you don’t need to roll it out. I then made it look like my canvas background by adding a texture to it in Photoshop.

In the next couple of days I’m heading back to see Gordon and to present him with his portrait, printed and in a mount … cannot wait!