Post Production Examples Some example before and after versions of images from my post-production work in Adobe Camera RAW. I will progressively add details as to what has been edited and how. Here’s another version of this bird, this time taking the approach of making it super low-key.
Original image shot with a Nikon FA on film around 1990. Digitising Your Old Film Negatives You can take several different approaches when digitising film negatives. Using dedicated scanners, DSLR scanning rigs, specialist software, custom colour profiles, diffusion materials, copy stands and anti-Newton glass all tend to dominate the conversation quickly. My own process is…
Processing My RAW Files Opinion: Most RAW workflows don’t fail because they’re wrong. They fail because they do too much. I bet if you line up ten tutorials on YouTube or blog posts on ‘editing your photos’, they’ll all look broadly similar. Start with exposure. Add contrast. Adjust highlights and shadows. Tweak colour. Add…
Photographing the Moon: Getting a Sharp, Detailed Result Photographing the Moon looks like it should be easy. It’s bright, it’s obvious, and it’s highly predictable. But most first attempts fail for the opposite reason to star photography: overexposure and lack of detail. Don’t worry, it gets a lot easier once you realise that you’re…
Astrophotography for Beginners: Getting a Usable First Result Before I start, let’s be frank and say: I am not an atsro-photographer. I’m just a photographer. But I have occasionally taken Astro photos in the past and have been deep into the technical aspects of photography for over 40 years. This guide is just based…
The Single Focal Length Photography Challenge: Unlocking Creativity Through Limitation Photography is often about choices, of subject, light, composition, and, crucially, equipment. Among the most defining choices a photographer makes is the focal length of their lens. The Single Focal Length Photography Challenge is a group activity designed to push photographers out of their comfort…
Shooting Classic 1960–70s Nikkor Lenses on Nikon Mirrorless This article is about using classic manual‑focus Nikkor lenses from the 1960s and 1970s on a modern Nikon mirrorless via the FTZii adapter. It is not a nostalgia piece, but it is also not pretending this is a purely rational choice. It is an account of…
Did you know that Aperture f-stops are a Maths Thing? Most photographers learn aperture as a ranking: f/2 is “wide”, f/8 is “narrow”, and smaller numbers mean more light. What often never gets explained is that the numbers themselves already contain that information. They are not arbitrary labels. They are measurements. And once you see…
Switching from DSLR to Mirrorless Most discussions about switching to mirrorless focus on features. Eye-AF. Frame rates. In-Body-Image-Stabilisation (IBIS). Video specs. Those are easy to list and easy to market. What is talked about far less is the cognitive and behavioural shock that comes from abandoning years, sometimes decades, of DSLR muscle memory. If…
My Adobe Camera Raw Post-Production Workflow A decision-gated approach to validating capture quality, not rescuing it My post-production workflow is built around a single premise: post-processing should confirm that an image deserves to exist, not persuade it to. Every stage is designed to reduce optionality, surface failure early, and prevent effort being spent on…
Choosing ISO to Match My Photography Style Most of this article is about my own personal philosophy on how I choose ISO for my style of photography. It’s neither right nor wrong in any way. How you want to shoot, and the reasons you have to justify the choices are totally up to you.…
Will I enjoy Infra-Red Photography? It took me a while to figure out that this was really the underlying question I wanted answered. But that realisation was very valuable. It likely saved me a lot of money and frustration as a result. So, here’s my practical journey into Infrared photography: From Curiosity to Control. …
Are You Wasting Focus? Most photographers are taught a simple and widely repeated instruction: focus on the subject. The camera confirms focus, the shutter is released, and the photograph is taken. In many situations this approach works well enough, which is why it persists. However, this habit often prevents photographers from noticing how much usable…
Macro Lenses & Three Alternatives: Shooting macro can be heaps of fun. It can also be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. I thought I’d put together a little summary of my own experience with Macro lenses, and why I have ended up on the solutions that I use now. I’ve used these dedicated…
