THIS is why I do what I do ❤️

A few weeks back I took the portrait of the wonderful Di Edwards; wife of the late David Edwards ( World War 2 Veteran) and a family that, thanks to my 39-45 Portraits Project I have become very close to.

Well, yesterday ( 31st July 2023 ) I popped over to Abergavenny, Wales to see Di and her son Chris and to take the printed portraits over to them and I simply could noty have wished for a better reaction.

As the title of this post says … THIS is why I do what I do❤️

Here’s the portraits that I took; both of which were using natural light coming in through a large sliding patio door that leads out onto Di’s garden …

Di and her son Chris

When leaving, as always we had a hug but I’ll forever cherish that she said “I’m blessed to have you as a friend”

Ditto that Di ❤️

Di and her late husband, David Edwards … the best of human-kind right there !

WW2 Veteran David Edwards photographed in April 2019

North Wales Road-Trip 2023

I write this post as a diary entry so that I can look back in it in years to come and remember a great few days away with a great friend, and getting the opportunity to spend some quality time together to chat … and I mean really chat.

• • •

So this past weekend (Friday thru Sunday) I headed out on a Road-Trip around areas in North Wales with my great friend Brian Dukes.

We’d been speaking about doing this for quite a while, and so a few weeks back finally managed to put a date in the diary and before we knew it, we were heading off.

First stop took us from Cardiff where we’d left my car at another friends’ house, Anthony Crothers, then on to Abergavenny for some dinner and finally to Builth Wells for our first stop-over.

We didn’t arrive until around 9.30pm so after an ‘interesting’ greeting from the owner of the B&B (our fault for being so late) we headed out for a quick drink and then it was lights out for an early start the following day.

After breakfast we made our way to Devils Bridge Falls situated in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains, Mid Wales.

A famous location attracting tourists year round, armed with mimimal kit consisting of just our iPhones and Tripods (although I was carrying more kit for filming) we made our way down the seemingly endless steep steps into the depths.

The effort was well worth it though when we got to see the waterfalls which with all the greenery on the surroundings trees and plants, looked stunning.

We followed the route around the base and back up the other side, stopping occasioanlly to take some photographs and grab some video content with my 360 camera.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

10 second long exposure using the ReeXpose App

A great cardio and leg workout and a great first location and a great start to the Road-Trip!

After a spot of lunch at the Hafod Hotel (well worth a visit) which is directly opposite the entrance to Devils Bridge Falls, we then set off towards Bangor, passing through some incredible scenery en-route including the Abergwesyn Pass.

DJI Mini 3 Pro

DJI Mini 3 Pro

Having arrived at the hotel for our 2nd night stop, The Slate, Bangor (which was fabulous) we quickly checked in and then headed the short journey to the Menai Suspension Bridge.

I kept saying it all weekend, but wow, we were so incredibly fortunate with the weather being as good as it was and with there being some incredible clouds too.

We walked across the bridge and made our way down to ground level below the bridge and found a very well positioned grassed area for taking photographs.

It was so good being there with no concern of time or schedule and just hanging out with a friend, taking photographs and capturing video content.

iPhone 14 Pro Max
60 second long exposure using the ReeXpose App

We were both using the ReeXpose and ReeHeld long exposure apps on our iPhones, which definitely contributed to the whole experience being so relaxing not having to carry or think about so much additional kit … just incase.

Having captured all we wanted, it was then back to the hotel for a quick freshen up, a delicious dinner (Brian had Fillet Steak and I had Surf n’ Turf which set off the hotel fire alarm) and then the short drive over Britannia Bridge and onto Anglesey.

I’d been wanting to go here for a few years to photograph the Twr Mawr Lighthouse; a location that has been photographed thousands upon thousands of times … but not by us and certainly not by us with our iPhones.

The walk across the beach to the lighthouse takes about 40 minutes and would be great to do at a steady pace, but we definitely had our marching boots on so we could be sure to get near the lighthouse before sunset which was just over an hour away.

The lighthouse and where its situated is as stunning as I was led to believe. WOW! So incredibly peaceful with only the sound of the sea and the many varied sea birds in the area.

iPhone 14 Pro Max
30 second long exposure using the ReeXpose App

There was unfortuantely a little bit too much low cloud shielding the setting sun from casting warm shafts of light across the landscape, but despite that we were both really pleased with what we saw and captured, and hey … there’s always next time.

Having covered several hundred miles and been to some spectacular scenery along the way, it was time to head back to the hotel and relax, chat, have a cold drink and as we did, enjoy watching Guns n’ Roses LIVE on TV from Glastonbury 😃

The next morning after breakfast we then started making our way slowly back towards Cardiff, but en-route stopping off at a few places so as to take in as much as we could and just enjoy friends spending quality time together.

First stop was to Betws-y-Coed which is somewhere I’d spent quite a bit of time as a child doing activities such as orienteering, rock climbing, canoeing and so on, and being there brought back so many great memories.

The weather, although still fabulous, wasn’t really ideal for photographs so we both just ‘went with the flow’.

After maybe a couple of hours we then headed on to Aberdovey through the outstanding Snowdonia National Park, stopped over in one of my favourite places, Aberaeron to grab a drink and a light snack at the Harbour Master, and then continued making our way back to Cardiff … our final destination where we then met up with friends, Anthony Crothers, Ian Munro and Gerwyn Williams for a meal together celebrating Ian’s recent success in the Natural World Bodybuilding Championships.

So that was it; our 2 ½ / 3 day Road-Trip that was over in flash, or so it seemed.

Great fun. Great memories.

Roll on the next Road-Trip!

Guest Blog Post on Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider

Really proud to be a Guest over on Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider website today ( LINK )

I followed Scott’s blog when I first started out and still do to this day. Back in the day Scott used to run a ‘Motivational’ post every Tuesday and I’ll never forget the morning I started reading as usual and saw that his Tueday post was about me.

We’d not met and become friends at that point but Scott was telling his readers about my work and recommeding they go check it out. That meant a lot!

So much has happened since then and a big motivator of that was and is the support Scott has shown me over the years, so to be back on his blog today is something special for me … it’s kind of where it all started.

Thanks Scott and thanks to Brad Moore for reaching out.

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 …