Celebrating our 24th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday, Friday 12th May 2023 was our 24th Wedding Anniversary!

Thank you so much for all the messages on social media … we read every single one.

The day couldn’t have been better …

After a few days of rain we woke to bright sunshine! Fabulous and relaxing breakfast at River Cottage HQ , relaxing on the beach down at West Bay and then Lyme followed by a simply perfect evening at the The Barrington Boar.

From the welcome as we arrived, the service, the special and unexpected touch of wishing us Happy Anniversary, and the food (oh my god the food!) … it couldn’t have been better.

A wonderful day celebrating 24 years of marriage and now more excited than ever for next year; the planning of which has already started as we’ll be returning to spend a few days away at somewhere VERY special to us both.

Of all I have done and do, this is makes me proudest of all!

PHOTOGRAPHERS ... STOP USING HDMI to connect your Monitor / Display 😳

Photographers ... who knew that connecting your computer to your display with a HDMI cable actually be the reason you're colours look bad and your prints look nothing like they do on the screen?

This video explains all why

IMPORTANT NOTE:
This video is NOT refering to the HDMI cable but the HDMI settings. In some systems for example with an NVIDIA Graphics Card it is possible to dive in and alter the setting so give the Full Range (0 - 255) however this isn’t possible on some other systems including Mac. In this case, amn alternative connection between computer and display is advised e.g. USB-C

iPhone Photography of the iconic Portland Bill Lighthouse

Despite temperatures going down to -8, I couldn’t resist heading down to Portland Bill Lighthouse again to catch the incoming tide and hopefully some better light at sunrise.

My GoPro Hero 10 wasn’t having any of it with the batteries immediately losing all power but thankfully my Insta 360 X3 was having no problems, so I did manage to get some Behind the Scenes footage (below)

Here though is my favourite shot from the morning; captured using my iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Lightroom Mobile App camera, and then edited in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on my iPad …

I’m absolutely LOVING the mobile workflow.

Being able to take a photograph with my iPhone and then moments later be sat in a nearby café editing the photographs I’ve just taken on my iPad because they’ve automatically synced across, just blows me away.

BUT to then edit in Lightroom and jump back and forth to Photoshop on my iPad too is just so much fun.

It doesn’t stop there though, because when I get home and sit in front of main computer, the images and all of the edits I’ve done are there waiting for me to tweak and finish off if needed.

Incredible!

To add to this, IF I was using my main camera I could have an equally easy and joyful editing experience by simply loading the images off the memory card onto my iPad Pro and into Lightroom Mobile whilst sat in the café … or wherever 😃

Seeing how this has progressed since Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on the iPad were introduced, genuinely excites the heck out of me! Sure, Lightroom Mobile and especially Photoshop on the iPad don’t have the exact same functionality as the desktop version (yet) … but it’s coming and to be honest, the workarounds aren’t much to figure out anyway.

I’ll be putting a video together for my YouTube Channel showing this soon.

In the mean time though, here’s a 44 second YouTube Short I put together giving a look ‘Behind the Scenes’ of this Portland Bill Lighthouse Photo Shoot …

The 'Friends' Portrait Project

Yesterday … a great day with friends which also saw the start of our ‘Friends Portrait Project’ which, over the next couple of months is a project that will intentionally mean we get to know each other way more than we currently do.

Back Row (L to R): Ian Munro , Gerwyn ‘Gez’ Williams , Anthony Crothers

Front Row (L to R): Brian Dukes , Dave Clayton & Yours Truly

This is to be a very personal project that’s going be quite a ride with the conclusion seeing us each revealing a portrait , composite , design … whatever, that visually describes and explains who the person is, what they mean to you, and how you ‘see’ them.

What really makes that person tick? Why are they like they are? What is important to them? What is there in their past and present that makes them the person they are? Their values. Their motivations. Likes, Loves, Dislikes. Life events.

There are no rules. There’s no competition. This is a project with the sole purpose of not just knowing, but understanding each other, and an exercise that will make close friends, even closer.

Each and every part of the process is being filmed, with the final part bringing us together and revealing to each other, the pictures we’ve created.

The first part today … Who will Photograph Who?

And so it begins …

XENCELABS Pen Tablet … Still the WACOM KILLER??? 💀

After 3 months using the Xencelabs Pen Tablet ... is it still any good?

Is it still the BETTER option compared to Wacom?

In this video I give my honest feedback, point out customisation options and answer questions from the first video … even the mean ones 😃

Setting up my NEW Workspace

Well if you’re part of my Email Group and connected with me on social media (Intagram, Facebook etc) then you’ll likely be aware that we’ve recently relocated … as in the past couple of days.

We now live in an area that we’ve loved for many years on the Somerset / Devon / Dorset borders with places like Axminster, Lyme Regis and Bridport (West Bay) a short drive away. It’s an area we always wanted to be but Covid times were crazy times and there just wasn’t anything available at the time.

There’s a few other practical reasons for us moving looking ahead to the future and plans with family members staying with us, but on the first morning we woke up, my wife Anne said … “I feel really happy” … and that’s all I need to hear to know we made the right decision.

Anyway, with the move comes a new workspace which I’m now cracking on with …

This morning I’ve installed the Acoustic Panels on the walls and then later in the week will be installing the suspended Acoustic Panel above my desk (once it arrives). It always amazes me how effective these panels are transforming a room with echo and tinny audio into a fantastic recording space.

Better Audio = Better Video for sure 🔊

The panels I got from a company called Gik Acoustics ( LINK ) … I’m not affiliated with them whatsoever … they’re products just do as they’re intended and are really well made!

Once the broadband is connected I’ll get back to uploading content on my YouTube Channel; it’ll be 2 weeks since I was able to post and it’s driving me crazy 😜 but with the latest BIG updates in Lightroom and Photoshop for starters there’s loads to share.

Right, best I head back home and get the pain brushes out.

Catch you again soon,
Glyn

Lightroom is for Photographer's who take the picture correctly ... REALLY???

Had to share this and to ask your thoughts...

So my most recent video which is only 9 minutes long is all about Color and which Color Space (sRGB , Adobe RGB , ProPhoto RGB ) to use for Photography ... Editing , Printing , Sharing , Posting on the Web ... Comments have been fantastic BUT one posted yesterday stopped me in my tracks; this is it...

Photoshop is for people who are engineering images.
Lightroom is for photographers who take the picture correctly the first time.

I disagree.

Lightroom is getting better and better. It's exciting to see the enhancements BUT there are things we can do in Lightroom now that only a short while agree would only have been possible in Photoshop; in fact, Lightroom's full name is ... Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

We would always see and hear the “I like to get it right in camera” comments (well...don't we all?!?) but this made me think ... will we now start to see the 'I only edit in Lightroom' comments as being the modern day Put Down attempt ?

Images are edited.

They ALWAYS have been.

Even choosing a paper is (in my opinion) editing, because paper influences the look / feel of the final image.

Just a thought 🤔

Anyway, if you haven’t see my Color Space video, here it is …

❓WHO is Glyn Dewis and WHAT is this CHANNEL❓

At the beginning of the year, one of my priorities and things I wanted to spend more time on developing was my YouTube Channel, and over the past (almost) 6 months I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm having so much fun putting videos together the way that is 'me' and each week learning and trying something new to add to the production value.

One thing that's been missing though is a Trailer; something that in 60 seconds or less tells folks that haven't subscribed, the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN and HOW of me and what the Channel is all about, but yesterday I put some time aside and did it…

Hope you like it 😉

Hartland Quay: We all NEED a Special Place

I’ve always felt relaxed when near the sea, and now that we live in Devon I pop to the coast a few times each week, be it to take photographs, grab some video footage, or to simply sit and do nothing.

Every now and again it feels like I can’t stop my mind from racing; too many ‘things’ in there becoming a bit of mush and racing around in my head: things I want to do, things I need to do.

It almost feels like a wheel spinning round and round that I need to stop.

There’s only one answer … the sea.

A place I often turn to at times like this is Hartland Quay. It’s an incredible place. When the tide is out, the coastline with its jagged rocks is like being on another planet.

To just sit there listening to the sound of the sea, the sound of the birds and to breathe in the sea air is like medicine. Instantly I feel relaxed, my mind stops spinning and everything starts to slot into place…

“Right…I’ll do this, then I ‘ll do that. Oh now that would be good. Ah right, yeah I’ll do the video like this…”

I’d never get this if I sat in my office near my computer or even in my garden.

We all need ‘me’ time.

Life seems to race ahead and we need to find a way to put the brakes on.

Being by the sea is my handbrake.

A New 'Me' means a New Logo

Over the past few years, mainly the Covid years, things have changed for me; in a good way. I’m a portrait photographer. That’s what I do. Covid though, forced me to look at other genres of photography to keep me active. Keep me creative and keep me motivated, whilst I couldn’t take portraits.

I very quickly fell in love with landscape and seascape photography. Being out in the open, having experienced a time when we were told we couldn’t be out in the open, is a gift. I’ve always loved the outdoors but maybe more now if that is possible. If I don’t get a picture, who cares. I’ve been outdoors. I’ve been exercising my mind. I’ve been creative.

Photograph by Heathcliff O’Malley

I’m doing way more video work. Mainly for my YouTube Channel. I love putting videos together gathering B-Roll using many and varied recording devices; GoPro Hero 10. DJI Pocket 2. My drone. Oh how I love my drones.

Talking of drones (because we were … right?) I’m not just using them for video. I’m using them for photography. The compositions. The angles. The location possibilities. It’s liberating. It’s exciting. Lots more of this to come.

With change in activity comes a new me; a change in how I’m seen and a big part of that is branding. My logo.

A few years ago my best mate: Graphic Designer, Author, Instructor, my brother from another mother, Dave Clayton created this for me…

It worked. It worked well in so many ways. It was totally me. The g and the d forming my shapely, smooth head, my eyes and my nose.

It was a logo that only a friendship when 2 people ‘get’ each other could have created.

Fast forward a few years. The change in activity. Much more being brought into the ‘mix’. Time for a logo update.

So many questions though.

What direction does it take?

Does it have a camera?

Does it have a drone?

Does it have a landscape?

How can it be ‘me’ ?

Actually…

Does it need a camera?

Does it need a drone?

Does it need a landscape?

“No” said Dave, “It just needs to be you. You do so much more now. Don’t let the logo limit what people ‘think’ you do. Your work and what you do speaks FOR you. Your logo speaks ABOUT you.

Remember our saying…Take what you do seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously”

This is what he did. The colours I can change depending on what the logo is on.

I bloomin’ LOVE IT!

It’s so far removed from my previous logo but it’s still so ‘Dave’ and it’s totally ‘me’

Love this Guy