Macro at the RBGE

I went along to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh on Sunday to do some flower and insect photography, as I haven't done many photography-specific trips this year. The overcast skies meant that the colours of the apple blossom and of all the other blooms were strong and bold, but not harsh like those colours created by sunny weather. It made sense to focus on capturing the overwhelming pinks and white of the blossom, so here I used a soft close-up focus which was spot-focused on the pollen.

Plant photography is not my forte, and I much prefer photographing insects and macro life instead. There were plenty of flying ants and flies which were both easy to approach and quite photogenic. Creating a small depth of field, I 'threw' this green leaf out of focus and the lovely silvery shimmer along the midrib into focus, which happened to be where this fly was also sitting. Can't remember the last time I went out to photography insects, but glad to see I haven't entirely lost the knack! 

Opening Night of 'Spectrum' @ The Portico Gallery

Yesterday evening was the private viewing my new exhibition 'Spectrum', as well as for 20 other art exhibits on display at the Portico Gallery during the Dulwich Festival 2012. It was nice to see how people reacted to certain images, particularly those of insects and macro subjects, and being able to show them a side of nature that most people (especially in the city) don't usually, if ever, get to see. 

Quite a few people asked me about the technical execution of each image, and many were surprised to hear that I don't use photoshop or any high-tech editing software. As a nature photographer, I really only want to do the most minimal post-processing work to my photos, keeping it faithful to how I saw each scene - so where the colours are most vibrant, it is either because I used a diffused flash (such as with the black and white macros) or because the colours really were that vibrant. 

'Spectrum' runs until Sunday 20th May at the Portico Gallery, every day from 11am-6pm. For more information, visit the website: www.wix.com/collinsp/dulwichfestival. 

Studio Photography

I'm back in the UK for the next couple of weeks for my new exhibition 'Spectrum' (I'll be talking more about this in my next few posts). One of the photos that I am exhibiting, 'Rock Paper Mushroom', inspired me to do some studio photography on Tuesday - something which I haven't done since I took that photo over two years ago. Once again, I decided to photograph a portobello mushroom, focussing on the textures of the gills. Here I shot down across one side of the mushroom, using a very low aperture and centre spot focussing to give the impression of a 'hilly landscape'.

I changed to a wider aperture for this next shot, include the white flesh of the mushroom annulus (the 'tree-trunk' part of the mushroom, above the main stem). I really love the combination of textures, heightened by the direct side lighting, and the upward sweep of the gills around its base. 

My studio was very minimal - a couple of A4 sheets of paper, placed flat on a desk and also up against the wall, and two ordinary study lights, bent at varying angles and from various positions. I composed this photo deliberately to make the mushroom look like a rising sun, and lit it with directional side lighting; one lamp was pointed slightly downwards from the other to create the shadowy golden effect. I had to increase the yellow in post processing a little, but I think the effect has been achieved. 

A final, more typical monochrome photo that is quite close in style to 'Rock Paper Mushroom'. This is however a direct overhead shot, less shadowy and focussing more on the 'gathering' of gills around the annulus. These photos remind me of waves touching the base of a cliff, with a sense of movement.

Keep reading for updates on the exhibition, which starts this Saturday. First prints are back - take my word for it; they are absolutely gorgeous.

Paul