thinking outside the box

Thinking outside the box (click to enlarge)

So again this week im working on some photoshop art rather than photography, although this is mainly due to me having been working on lots of design concepts at work lately. This was originally starting out as this tutorial but I ended up deviating from it to create an idea I had about the text magically floating up out of a box. I quite like the end effect, although at some point I might try and work out a better way of doing the lighting in the box; I reckon there might be a better way of doing it.

As part of the lighting I used some really awesome light brushes from Colorburned.com who do some truly awesome brushes, patterns and other such resources. Although they can’t spell colour correctly, their resources & tutorials are fantastic :)

summer is finally here

summer (click to enlarge)

Summer is finally here again this weekend, after a two week gap from the last time the UK saw some decent sun. Here’s hoping it lasts a little longer this time, I barely had time to transform into a lobster last time round. This design prolly isnt big enough to work as a PC desktop, but might work quite well as an iPhone desktop. Sorry its not in a higher res, once again I wasnt sure where I was going when I started this; maybe from now on I’ll start all my work on at least 1680×1050, just incase.

This was originally inspired by this tut: http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/create-a-trendy-typographic-poster-design

telephone

telephone (click to enlarge)

This phonebox is becoming somewhat of an obsession! For those wondering this is the same phonebox as the one in the banner. Its an interesting shot, in that its a very british symbol but its also very dirty, old and uncared for. A metaphor for our current situation in this country? Perhaps, but im not that deep :)

the school house

the school house (click to enlarge)

This abandoned old school house is only about half a mile away from my house, but I hadn’t actually been out to photograph it until today. Its a really dark and spooky building, with plenty of atmosphere! Opposite this is an old farm building with a fantastic old barn which I wanted to photograph, but it had unfortunately (and typically) fallen down over night! I was going to take a pic of the remaining pile on the floor, but the chap who was working on it decided that he didnt like me, and politely but firmly asked me to leave :(

I did want to try and get insided the school house to see what it was like inside, but there was a guy nearby cutting a hedge who seemed to be keeping a close eye on me, and I didnt want to violate one of my rules in life: dont piss off anyone carrying shears. Its a good rule of thumb to live by.

viridis

viridis (click to enlarge)

Viridis simply means “Green” in Latin, and the greens from this hosta plant are just ace. Works well as a desktop! :)

the throne

the throne (click to enlarge)

Behold! My mighty throne from which I command my vast empire upon the internets! (complete with fairly lights)

A bit of fun with long exposures and some HDR, my first attempt at this was in colour, but it was a little overpowering. It worked out much more dramatic in b&w. In the end I tried letting the colour of the pillow through to see if it would work, and really liked the result. Looks good when viewed large as the detail in the pillow is better.

My mission for the next few weeks is going to be trying out more HDR and getting my technique worked out some more. I have come across a chap named Stocks on Flickr, who’s style I absolutely adore. The colours and detail he is able to produce is stunning, and one can only admire his work and aspire to be that good!

Check it out:

Taxi by Stock Photography (click to enlarge)

Yesterday I also dived into PS to see what I could create in 15 minutes with the brushes and textures I had already. I came across some light brushes that I had download from http://colorburned.com/ which where quite whispey and ghostlike, which ended in the creation of this:

ghost (click to enlarge)

Again, as usual, I had no idea where I was going when I started this, but that’s the fun! Maybe I’ll do a larger desktop version; will upload if I do :)

occasus

occasus (click to enlarge)

So Sunday night, I had been dragged out to see Night at the Museum 2. I say dragged, I wasnt completely against seeing it, the first one was fun enough, but a second dose? It seems Hollywood can’t make a film these days without following it up with a rather below par second effort. Quite frankly sequels peaked for me at Terminator 2. Anyway, on the way back I caught sight of the sky as the sun set over Birmingham, which I just had to get a capture of. It did mean racing the last part of the journey home so I could rush in, get my camera and head out to the garden before it vanished, but as luck would have it I probably caught the best part of the sunset! I’ve never seen plane trails so defined before. We ended up sat in the garden with ice-cream until it completely vanished.

viridis aestas

viridis aestas (click to enlarge)

So summer has finally arrived here in England, although I know full well that it’s not going to last long. It never does here, but at least that makes us Brits appreciate it when we get it, no matter how briefly! Last night I was out and about across the back field, trying to capture the sun through the tall grass, which is starting to grow very tall and thick; it must be at least 3 feet tall now. It also, by the way, is very prone to slicing you open like a paper cut if your not careful, which (when it catches you between your fingers) bloody hurts! I want to say I didn’t put a plaster on it….

I also managed to get quite a nice capture of the many many buttercups that have erupted in the back garden. Do you reckon it’s time I cut the grass?

little frog (click to enlarge)

on the fence

on the fence (click to enlarge)

So im sat at my desk, the house to myself for a change, with the sole intention of playing some TF2 with the new Spy update. I cant remember the last time I had a night in playing games, but the weather had other plans. I mean, how can you sit inside and play games when there is a view like this beaming in through the window? I lasted about 15 minutes in a server before I just had to grab my camera and go for a wonder.

This is me! Sat on the fence that runs along our garden, the view out west towards Brum is amazing. I really love this place, and im going to miss it. This picture is also quite unique for me, in that a) I dont look like a pillock (debatable) and b) i’ve hardly done anything to this picture. I was a great capture and I’m really quite chuffed with it!

I also added another couple from my little photowalk last night, which are below. For some reason “sol, soli, solo” hit 250 views in the space of about 3 hours! Funny eh? I thought this one would be more popular, but there you go!

sol, soli, solo (click to enlarge)

wish you were here (click to enlarge)

film club movie poster

film club (click to enlarge)

Recently, my good friend and movie nut job Mr Matthew Webb suggested the idea of a Film Club. Fearing that this was seriously geeky, we inquired as to how this “Film Club” would work. Luckily, it was pretty laid back (and involved alchohol & popcorn) so we were in. The concept was simple; everyone would choose a film but keep it secret. We would write it down and seal it in an envelope which a random person would pic from hat each time we met up. Then, at least once a month we would meet up and watch that person’s film and each give our opinion on whether we thought it was good or not. The hope I guess is that you would end up watching films that you would otherwise not watch. The catch comes when you choose something that everyone else hates. So far this hasn’t happened….yet.

Anyway, Matt started talking about a name the other day as opposed to “Film Club” (I guess cus he wants to start up a site for it) which got me diving into Photoshop and playing with names and typographic logo’s. Soon, this ended up being a full blown two day project to create a movie poster based on the film club, and I have to say it was a lot of fun. As with most of my stuff, I have no idea where it will go when I start, but I tried to make it look as authentic as possible. I really enjoyed making this, and I think its an avenue I may persue to create more movie themed poster stuff ;)

Id reccomend viewing it full size as there is quite a lot of detail and texture in it.

To all the Film Club members I have just mailed this to, hope you like it! Maybe if we watch a film we all hate I’ll hax the poster for it to suit our collective opinion (minus the person who chose it obviously)