OUTER SUBURBS 8 – WHERE IS THIS PROJECT AT NOW???

 

I’m very much feeling my way forwards with this new Outer Suburbs project.  There seems to be the distinct opportunity to become totally immersed in moody black and white, but I want to do some (at times very saturated) colour too.  The project may be stretching me a bit, or at least making me think about things in different ways, which has to be a plus.  One or two things about the actual photography are mentioned below.

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Early morning shower

Much of this photography looks at details, and for this reason I am at the moment favouring the flat and dull light of overcast days, days when the only shadows are those underneath parked cars.  This is very different from my usual photography, where I often look for dramatic, directional lighting and then decide what to do with it.  The TG-5’s metering works well with this type of overcast light shot, and I’m getting more used to using the non-articulated screen.  Also this little camera remains completely out of sight on my trouser pocket, and is eminently easy to carry around.  The 25mm-100mm (equivalent) zoom range works very well with the types of subject I’m looking at here – though I have to admit to missing my habitual 300mm at times!

Most of my current subjects are static; I’m not sure how well the TG-5 will handle movement – but this may simply reflect my lack of expertise with the camera.

Also (OMG!!!) I’m using Lightroom instead of Silver Efex Pro 2 for some of the black and white!  That this would not long ago have been heresy probably reflects a certain snobbishness on my part, but if I can achieve something workable with LR, I’ll sometimes use it.  I’m using LR in a slightly more radical / extreme way, and with the mono I’m conscious of time-saving, which may not be a good attitude to cultivate.

The first image in this series, with context, is here: 1 .  Subsequent images are here: 2 3 4 5 6 7 .  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it.

Technique: TG-5 at 38mm (equiv); 800 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid film simulation; south Bristol; 18 Aug 2018.

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PEOPLE 355 – GOING TO WORK 82

 

 

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Inbound: the blazing headlights, blaring horns and sheer cut and thrust of the morning rush into work.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  35  36 37  38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45  46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 .  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image enlarge it further.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 285mm (equiv); 6400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Temple Gate, Bristol; 2 Feb 2018.
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PEOPLE 354 – SARA

 

 

We all have some money,

but no matter how rich or poor,

 we all think we should have more.

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Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate widow.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 223mm (equiv); 3200 ISO; Lightroom; Welsh Back, central Bristol; 2 Feb 2018.
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STILL LIFE 243 – WHITE VAN WITH STICKERS AND GRIME

 

 

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White van with stickers and grime?  Has FATman finally lost it?  And, if this is the case, how can he have lost what he’s never found in the first place?

Ah, an uncertain world, a world of questions >>> but this image does exactly what it says on the tin – its a grimy van (that’s the trouble with white), with two stickers.

And its been rotated, to give a it a different look, to push it a little towards some sort of graphic design.  And, also, its almost black and white, apart from the stickers.

The black/dark areas at upper right and lower left balance each other to some extent, and the bodywork of the van introduces vertical elements ranging from black to almost pure white, which contrast with the curved elements at upper right.  Finally, the stickers provide small, unique, focal points of bright colour.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in another window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 111mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; rotated; Little King Street, central Bristol; 19 July 2018.
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STILL LIFE 239 – PARKED CAR (MONO)

 

 

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Parked car, pavement and arches, looked at differently. And now, to me at least, becoming more an assemblage of shapes and textures than recognisable entities.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further – recommended.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 800 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film preset; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Film Noir 1 preset, and using a light selenium tone; rotated; beside Temple Meads railway station, central Bristol; 19 July 2018.
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PEOPLE 344 – GOING TO WORK 74

 

 

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An old and very dear friend of mine is a professional psychologist and avid people-watcher.  Her insights into everyday human behaviour never cease to fascinate and amaze me.  I had the idea sometime back of giving her a photobook of the Going To Work images (produced via Blurb) for her birthday, and that project is moving ahead.  In the course of assembling these pictures for use in her book, I have found six images that have not been posted in the Going To Work series but which really belong there, and so I am going to start incorporating them into this series here.  This is the first of the six.

ORIGINAL TEXT

Morning rush hour, central Bristol; 19 July 2016.

Early morning sunlight blasts down Baldwin Street, bringing out the textures on a dented and dirty car (for which, in my world, read eminently characterful car).

And the driver, who is late and who does not have any time at all to waste, bites his nails and stares anxiously ahead at the stacked up, stationary traffic.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom.

UPDATE

This picture was taken on the first of my early morning bus trips into Bristol city centre which, on the 19th of this month, will have been two years ago – how Time rushes by!  This was the morning when I took the first of the Going To Work images, although the concept of such a photo series hadn’t then occurred to me.

Two things get to me about this picture. First of course, is the man’s body language – he’s in a hurry and in a traffic jam – bad news!

The second thing is that, for quite sometime now, when out photographing I look for good light and then try to decide what to do with it.  As I’m writing this post, its a warm summer’s day, but the total overcast has made the light flat and featureless – there are no shadows, except those below the parked cars.  This sort of lighting is fine for taking shots of detail, and for some portraits and abstracts, but I like chiaroscuro, a term that started off being used with regard to paintings, and which describes the effects on contrasting light and shadow in an image.  And in this picture I’m looking at the early morning light glancing along the dirty and dented bodywork of the car.  I really like the textures and shadows that this warm, glancing light reveals, and there is something else  – this is Reality, this is not some auto magazine’s shot of a spotless, pristine and shining car >>> car porn! >>>  this is what Life is really like, warts and all.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  35  36 37  38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45  46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 .  Each will open in a separate window.

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STILL LIFE 235 – CAR DOOR

 

 

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Close in with a car door.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; Bristol harbourside; 14 July 2016.
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STILL LIFE 233 – GREEN VAN

 

 

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The back of a green van showing one of its stoplights, which has reflections of a tree and clouds.  And there is a door hinge, showing a little patch of blue.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again – recommended.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 123mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; Bristol harbourside; 14 July 2016.
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PEOPLE 330 – GOING TO WORK 62

 

 

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Early morning on the main road in from the south.

T0 me, this image has a distinctly hard, cold, ruthless feel, to me there is almost a soulless malevolence here.  Thinking back to the Terminator films, is this The Rise Of The Machines???

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,  29, 30,  31,  32, 33  34  35  36 37  38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45  46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 .  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 6400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Astia/Soft film simulation; Temple Gate, Bristol; 2 Feb 2018.

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ANNIVERSARY – FATMAN PHOTOS IS SEVEN

 

 

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Seven years of FATman Photos.  Once again, WOW!!! >>> where has all the time gone???!  But I like to mark these mileposts – if only to marvel at the fact that I’ve reached them!

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What to talk about?  Well, first thing, as always, thank you very much for looking at this blog over the past year.  I’m grateful for your Likes and the Comments – its always good to be in touch with you all.

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News?  Well, not a lot really.  On the hardware side, having gone mirrorless with the very good X-T1 and (especially the) X-T2 the year before, I’ve now acquired an Olympus TOUGH TG-5 camera – waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, crushproof, you name it – but I’ve yet to realise its full potential >>> ha ha! which translates into >>> I’ve yet to hurl myself out into the rush hour on an early morning of pouring rain, freezing temperatures and howling wind, to try it out!  And I’m also not fully at one with its lack of a viewfinder and an articulated screen but, well – time will tell!

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And speaking of the morning rush hour, thank you for the good things said about the Going To Work series which, again to my surprise, continues onwards.

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Enough rambling from me – here are some pictures.  Although certainly not a motoring enthusiast, boy racer (except in my dreams …) or petrolhead, I enjoy looking at cars, looking at their shapes and how light plays on them, looking at them in various situations.  Here are a few pictures, many taken some years back – as usual, clicking onto them once or twice will enlarge them.  I hope you enjoy them – thank you again.

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Adrian

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