My Portfolio

[James.Paul]

Just finished redesigning my website and have added a bunch of new images to my portfolio. I thought I would share them with you. If you are interested in Landscapes particularly the North Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District then I hope there is a few things in there you like. Feel free to ask any questions etc or pass on any comments.

P.S I created the site using iWeb, used Slideshow Pro for the portfolio. All images were shot in RAW format and used Nikon Capture. Photoshop Elements has only been used to remove the dust spots, interpolate and add a border for printing/mounting.
http://www.jamespaulphotography.co.uk

Thanks
James

 

[sohosid]

Hi James,

Nice work (both the website and the photography). By coincidence, I've recently redesigned my website with slideshow pro too!

I'm curious about the section in your site that explains your ethics toward photography. Whilst it's not an uncommon attitude toward Photoshop, it always amuses me somewhat. Do you use filters on your camera? Do you only ever use a 50mm lens, or would you place a wide angle or tele on there?

I ask, since some photographers seem to believe that they are somehow distorting reality when they use Photoshop to alter the image. They are. But then the minute you click a shutter on a camera you alter reality since we see in 3D, and cameras reproduce that reality in 2D. We see in color....some 'reality' photographers use only BW film. That is altering reality.

Whatever, I say it's horses for courses. If doing everything 'in camera' and not using PS works for you...great!

Personally, I see PS as just another tool for me to use to create my art. Just like a lens choice, or filter, or which time of day to capture the image in the first place.

Mike.

 

[James.Paul]

Hi James,

Nice work (both the website and the photography). By coincidence, I've recently redesigned my website with slideshow pro too!

I'm curious about the section in your site that explains your ethics toward photography. Whilst it's not an uncommon attitude toward Photoshop, it always amuses me somewhat. Do you use filters on your camera? Do you only ever use a 50mm lens, or would you place a wide angle or tele on there?

I ask, since some photographers seem to believe that they are somehow distorting reality when they use Photoshop to alter the image. They are. But then the minute you click a shutter on a camera you alter reality since we see in 3D, and cameras reproduce that reality in 2D. We see in color....some 'reality' photographers use only BW film. That is altering reality.

Whatever, I say it's horses for courses. If doing everything 'in camera' and not using PS works for you...great!

Personally, I see PS as just another tool for me to use to create my art. Just like a lens choice, or filter, or which time of day to capture the image in the first place.

Mike.

Thanks for the reply. The ethics issue is something that I've noticed since starting photography less than 2 years ago. I love taking my images in the last hour of light or first hour of light if I can make it out of bed. This means the images make strong use of the light and the colours can often look different to what the average person sees during the day. When I had an exhibition earlier this year, The first question that was asked on many conversations was 'You've Photoshopped that?' It is a fair question but one that I feel that shows the public has not a lot of trust in image integrity. I felt I had to explain and justify my work ethics hence why I wrote that page. I know plenty of photographers that use Photoshop to really ramp up the image and that is fine but obviously in the media there has been a few incidents where a picture shown did not really depict what was happening. For me though it is just personal, my challenge is to learn the camera, get things right in there and not use anything else to rescue my mistakes. Like you say it's horses for courses and down the line my attitude may change but at the moment I'm quite passionate on that.

Cheers
James

P.S. Nice site and portfolio

 

[sohosid]

...but at the moment I'm quite passionate on that.

Good! as you should be about photography.

I long ago gave up trying to justify any aspect of my photography. When I'm questioned on any given image, I ask back "do you like it?" If they do, fine. If they don't...also fine!

I have a collection of images for sale in a high class store in San Francisco, and many people ask 'how did you do *that*!?'. When pushed, I say that it's an artistic image, and I used tools available to create it.

Clearly in news media there is a need for 100% realism. Outside of that though, I feel that photography, as an artform, is open for interpretation, and up to the artist to work as they wish.

 

[FritzTheWonderM]

Clearly in news media there is a need for 100% realism.

The news has nothing to do with reality, it just sells advertising. It has been said that the best way to lie is to tell the right amount of truth and then shut up. By that token, all photography is a lie because of what you choose not to include in the picture. News media is especially bad at this, you only see what backs up the point they want to make. In your/mine/our photography we choose the lie we will tell when we click the shutter, this has been true long before digital photography and PS.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Hi James, I really enjoyed your portfolio. I'm going to avoid any discussion regarding your ethics and attitude towards photography and speak solely on the site itself. I found it to be very well done. I do believe that the dark gray against the black is a bit hard to read, but that is just me. To others it may be fine. Did you place each and every link to buy the print on your page or was there some sort of software you had to help you do that? The site looks quite robust in a good way though.
I also enjoyed your images.

 

[EastCoastFlyer]

James:

Thank you for sharing your work. My mother's family is from Yorkshire (Bradford) and it is quite intersting to me, who has never left the states, to get a sense of the region of my origin. I enjoyed the tour.

Regards,

Paul

 

[amiga]

Nice site and photos, much more sophisticated use of iweb than my site. Nice to see some good shots of the lakes too... it is where I'm from.



*Shots

Oopps!

 

[EastCoastFlyer]

Nice site and photos, much more sophisticated use of iweb than my site. Nice to see some good ***** of the lakes too... it is where I'm from.

Some good "what" in those lakes???!

 

[amiga]

*cough* Sorry about that! All better now

 

[James.Paul]

Hi James, I really enjoyed your portfolio. I'm going to avoid any discussion regarding your ethics and attitude towards photography and speak solely on the site itself. I found it to be very well done. I do believe that the dark gray against the black is a bit hard to read, but that is just me. To others it may be fine. Did you place each and every link to buy the print on your page or was there some sort of software you had to help you do that? The site looks quite robust in a good way though.
I also enjoyed your images.

Hi, Thanks for looking at the images, glad you enjoyed them. You are not the first to mention the colours so it is something I will have to bear in mind. I was quite sure it looked fine especially on my monitor and I checked on a couple of other monitors at work but I guess with different makes, models, settings etc the colours may not look as intended. The portfolio slideshow was created with Slideshow Pro (http://www.slideshowpro.net/) which I am really impressed with, you use iPhoto to create an album, export via the provided plug-in and use flash to create the movie. Links are created in the export album process. I did create one page for the buy a print pages as a template and then changed the details based on the reference number for each of my images, a bit painstaking but once it is done it is easy to use and create new ones. I did use iWebMore to add various HTML/Flash components. Bit of a nuisance but it works. Again, thanks for looking and for providing the feedback.

Cheers
James

 

[James.Paul]

Some good "what" in those lakes???!

Cracking, nice blunder, made me laugh anyway! Thanks for visiting everyone, and EastCoastFlyer i'm glad you got something out of looking at the site. I used to work in Pudsey, just a few miles from Bradford and often go to watch the Bradford Bulls rugby league team. Haven't been down there with the camera, too much for me to take in North Yorkshire. Will do sometime.

Thanks Again