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iPhone Photography: A Misty Morning at Lyme Regis in Dorset

The misty conditions last Wednesday were nothing short of perfect for some minimalist photography, so I popped out early morning and took the short drive to meet up with my friend Steve Healy down at my favourite of all places, Lyme Regis.

True to the weather apps, the conditions were as predicted; a wonderful misty morning, an incoming tide with the surface of the sea as flat as a sheet of glass, hardly a breeze in the air and looking out across the sea, at times it was almost impossible to see the distant horizon line.

Absolutely Perfect!

I should have sent a memo about dress code 🤣

Taking along minimal kit as I did when photographing the Prince of Wales Bridge a couple of weeks back, I stuck with using my iPhone 14 Pro Max, but this time made use of my new JOBY MagSafe Mount ( LINK )

This worked an absolute treat holding my iPhone rock steady and was so incredibly quick and easy to adjust and rotate from portrait orientation to landscape orientation …

Long Exposure Photography was definitely order of the day to enhance the calm, relaxing feeling of the light and the mist, and of course smooth out the water surface even more.

I’ve a few long exposure apps installed on my iPhone at the moment that I’m testing out to see which I prefer, but on this morning I opted again to use EvenLonger …

For the image above, I used a 60 second long exposure.

We then moved along to The Cobb, which looked incredible amongst the mist and surrounded by a glass flat high tide …

The tide was particularly high this morning, meaning the groin at the far end of The Cobb was much less visible.

In this image and the one above, you can really see how the mist made the horizon barely visible, which when combined with a long exposure worked, I feel, so incredibly well …

In each of these images you will have spotted that there were Gulls flying. To include these, once I had taken the long exposure, I then jumped back to the regular camera on my iPhone and waited for the moment when Gulls flew through the frame.

When they did I pressed the shutter a number of times using a Bluetooth Shutter Release which works a treat and only cost £3.99 off Amazon ( LINK )

99% of these images I edited in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on my iPad, but to add the Gulls I used Photoshop CC on my desktop as I needed to use a filter and (at the moment) that filter isn’t available in the mobile version of Photoshop.

That said though, the process was so incredibly easy editing on my iPad, and then because everything I do syncs automatically with every device I have Lightroom installed, I could then finish off on my desktop without having to export anything or import from memory cards.

Everything I do on any device be it my iPhone, iPad or Desktop, syncs across each other making it instantly available everywhere.

Oh and the text and graphics were added using Adobe Express …

So another incredibly relaxing morning out taking photographs with my iPhone.

Minimal kit. No swapping out lenses. No attaching filters. No cables.

All of this for me makes for such a wonderful experience, enabling me to relax and just enjoy being where I am and absorb the sights and sounds.

The experience of taking photographs just doesn’t get better!

The Backgrounds I use when Capturing Portraits

I’m often asked what backgrounds I use when taking portraits, and then when I say, I’m then asked which of the material choices I opt for.

WW2 Veteran Geoffrey Pulzer ( 29th Armoured Brigade , 11th Armoured Division )

Up until recently when Westcott released the Pro version of X-Drop Background Support System, there was just the choice of Canvas or Vinyl, and I ALWAYS opted for the Canvas.

Although not actually canvas, but rather a canvas effect, the material choice is way better as it doesn’t have any shine to the surface at all so you don’t suffer with hot spots when using lights.

So, Canvas was and is always the choice I go for.

Now though, with the introduction of the X-Drop Pro things have defintiely upgraded.

The X-Drop has always been a VERY portable system however if you opted for a background other than the washable material, the backgrounds themselves came in a long cardboard tube and that’s how they had to be transported.

Not now though with the X-Drop Pro as this also introuduces a new material background; the same VERY popular backgrounds but now in a machine washable material meaning you can fold it down making it very small, and like the X-Drop Pro Support Stand, VERY portable.

The new X-Drop Pro Backgrounds also come in a larger size so as well as the 5’ x 7’ , there’s also 8’ x 8’ … and you can use the X-Drop Pro Support Stand for both!

So, 5’ x 7’ is the one I use the most becuase it’s a great size forusing when not in a studio, and I use the new X-Drop Pro material version because it makes the whole background so incredibly portable.

Here’s Brnadon from Westcott showing the X-Drop Pro and how to easily fit the new foldable and washable X-Drop Pro Backgrounds …

Hope that helps,
Glyn

Note:
For folks in the UK,
Carmarthen Cameras are the Offiical Westcott Stockist / Supplier, so if you give them a shout, ask for Krish … a great guy and a great friend!

MIND BLOWN 😲 Mobile Phone Photography + LIGHTROOM MOBILE and PHOTOSHOP on the iPad

Taking photographs and editing on a mobile device is incredibly exciting and such a fantastic workflow.

In this video I show you the whole process from capture the long exposurephotographs with my iPhone, to then editing in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on the iPad and ending up with a FANTASTIC print.

HOW I made these PORTRAITS: Complete Workflow including PHOTOGRAPHY, LIGHTROOM and PHOTOSHOP

In this video I cover EVERYTHING that I did to create these Portraits including: KIT , SET UP and RETOUCHING in Photoshop and Lightroom …

Here’s a list of all the kit I used to take the portraits, which you’ll also find on my GEAR Page …

  • Westcott FJ80 II Speedlite

  • Westcott FJ-X3 Remote Trigger

  • Westcott Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish

  • Westcott 32” 2-in-1 Reflector

  • Westcott X-Drop Poro Background Support

  • Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey Canvas (for X-Drop Pro)

Westcott CYBER SALE 2022

The folks at Westcott where I get all my lighting and backgrounds currently have their BIGGEST EVER Cyber Sale running across LOADS of their MOST POPULAR range…

I’ve bagged myself a new FJ200 Flash as well as 2 x Quick Mount S-Brackets which are going to make it so much easier using my Speedlites and Flashes with the Rapid Box Switch Softboxes…

The BIG thing I’m going to be pusghing myself with more and more this coming year is portability; how mobile and portable can I make my kit and set up with the portraits and content I’m planning on creating.

I’ve certainly found over the past 12 months that the more portable, compact and convenient I make my kit, the more I produce, and it’s using some of this new kit that really excites me about the possibilities ahead.

Looking forward to sharing some results and behind the scenes from some of the shoots I have coming up 😃

The NEW X-Drop Pro Background from Westcott

VERY excited that Westcott have recently upgraded their popular X-Drop Background system to the new, X-Drop Pro …

I’ve been using the original X-Drop for years.

If you’ve seen portraits I’ve taken over the past 3 years and any of my World War 2 Veterans Portraits from my 3945 Project then you’ll definitely have seen it …

But, more recently I’m now using the new X-Drop Pro which is a whole new design; bigger, sturdier and easier to set up, pack away and with the now foldable backgrounds, way more convenient and portable …

The X-Drop Pro has a completely new design to the main collapsible support and the arms / legs with a thicker structure which still maintains its light weight …

The clips to extend and close down the legs / arms are bigger too which altogether makes this a much more, grounded, sturdy system when installed …

The X-Drop Pro also has larger backgrounds measuring 8’ x 8’ and 8’ x ‘12 but the X-Drop Pro can still be fitted with the 5’ x 7’ and 5’ x 12’ backgrounds, be they on a roll or foldable material. based.

On the topic of material backgrounds, Westcott now have their printed backgrounds, which ordinarily came on canvas or vinyl, available now on foldable, machine washable and dryer resistant.

This to me, dare I say, is a Game Changer because although the previous X-Drop Background System was portable, this new one is even more so despite being bigger when installed, because of the foldable material backgrounds.

My signature ‘Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey’ which has proven incredibly popular is available on foldable material and in all is`es: 5’ 7’ , 5’ x 12’ , 8’ x 8’ and 8’ x 12’

If you’ve used or seen the X-Drop system in the past, you will see a BIG difference with the now Pro version.

Way to go Westcott!

*Note:
For folks in the UK (and Europe) ,
Carmarthen Cameras are an Official Westcott Distributor based in Wales. Speak to Krish and tell him I said hi 😃

Trigga: Portrait Shoot on Location and Behind the Scenes

Here’s the result from a recent portrait shoot with Trigga whom I met at a GREAT local Bikers' Café; a completely free spirit who lives life his way embracing and respecting nature and his surroundings.

This was our first shoot together; completely relaxed and gave us time to hang out and chat, so now I simply CANNOT wait for the next one which will be out on location in the Devon Countryside with a Harley.

I get a real kick out of how, by using lighting, we can change the look and feel of a location taking especially when doing so takes just a small amount of kit…

Behind the Scenes

If you’re like me, I love to see Behind the Scenes (BTS) so I thought I’d share a grab shot that I took with my phone just before packing away, that gives you a look at what I used and where it was positioned to take the portrait of Trigger…

Lighting

Background

Tethering

This was actually the first photo shoot I got to use the new X-Drop Pro Background Stand and my new Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey Canvas Background that is now a material and able to be folded making it way more convenient to transport, PLUS it comes in 8‘ x 8’ and 7‘ x 5’ sizes.

I’ll be sharing a video very soon giving a look at the new X-Drop Pro because, if you’ve seen or have the original X-Drop, this new Pro version is VERY different in a VERY good way!

You can check out the kit above and the new X-Drop Pro over on my GEAR Page.

Anyway, I really hope you like the portrait of Trigga … such a great guy, and I’ll be sure to share images when we get out in the Devon Countryside taking photographs of Bikers and their Harleys, Triumphs, Royal Enfields and so on…

Cheers,
Glyn

Xencelabs Discounted Price Offers on Pen Tablets: Up to 30% OFF

Just a quick one…

i’v recently seen that Xencelabs (makers of the Pen Tablet I use) currently have some Special Offers on some of their product range with up to 30% OFF

Valid until the 15th September 2022, the discounts are…

  • 15% OFF the Pen Tablet Medium

  • 30% OFF then Pen Tablet Small

  • 15% OFF the Pen Tablet Medium Bundle SE

Thought I’d let you know 😉

Check out the *link below …

*Affiliate Link