Let's go mobile...

In preparation for this year's increased blogging it was time to update the site with abit more functionality. Mobile Phones are a necessity commonality these days, and with a great little widget called 'WPTouch' you can now create a mobile version of your blog site for easier compatability/faster loading times. As of today, logging onto my blog site will automatically re-direct your mobile devices to the specific mobile version which still remains all funcationality of the full site (Comments, Pictures, Search etc) Let me know what you all think...

A blog post isn't right without pictures, so here's some of my recent uploads to FlickR:

The first photograph was taken using my new B+W ND110 77mm Filter. New blog post to follow shortly about this fantastic piece of kit.

Clicking any of the images will take you through to the assosciated FlickR page where you can find information on how where and why they were taken.

New Website Coming Soon

What better way to display a preview of the new website on my weapon of choice, the 27" Apple iMac.

I made the move to Apple a few years back, having purchased a 15" Apple Macbook Pro. Over the years my Sony Vaio literally started flaking on me, and the change to Mac not only brought about better functionality for my photography (in my opinion) but a huge leap in build quality. I've been a convert ever since,  and now own a whole "bushel" of Apple products.

My website is almost ready, as soon as it's launched you'll be able to find it over at www.richardpardon.co.uk.

Strobist: 2x Bowens Gemini GM500R Behind Bare @ 3.6 1x Bowens Gemini GM500R Camera Left w/ Softbox @ 2.5 1x Bowens Gemini GM500R Camera Right w/ Umbrella Bounced @ 3.6 Triggered via Bowens Pulsars

Rounding Off 2010...

First of all i'd like to wish all readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It wouldn't be complete without an end of year blog post to round off what's been a fantastic year for myself. This year has seen many opportunities in the photographic industry for me, and has brought about some great prospects for 2011. The blog has been a little bit neglected recently in terms of uploads, but i've been busy behind the scenes with new projects and website launch.

Not only am I super excited about what 2011 has to offer, I'm keen to blog and upload more of my work throughout the year. Hopefully you'll join in with keeping up to date with my work through the various social network sites I use.

Alot of my work is uploaded onto the popular site, FlickR. The ability to display work across an audience of thousands within seconds is a brilliant prospect for any photographer. If you use FlickR please feel free to add me as a contact. Even if you don't have a FlickR account, you can still check out my photostream.

You didn't hear this from me, but i've even come round to thinking Twitter is great. It's proved invaluable this year, and if your bored or fancy getting in touch/keeping up to date, feel free to follow me.

What's a blog post without pictures? Below are a few recent shots taken from my FlickR account. Clicking the individual photographs will take you directly to their page with information about how and why they were shot:

Thanks for reading. Here's to a fantastic and prosperous 2011!

Chequers...

Take one wine glass, half filled with water (ever the optimist! :)). Place the glass on a table a short distance away from a wall. With different coloured paper/card selotaped to the wall, line the glass up so that it intersects down the centre. Refraction and reflection of the water/glass provides these striking images. This particular attempt has a black and white conversion applied.

Not initially happy with the outcome of the concept, it was back to the drawing board. Three pieces of vibrantly coloured card was next on the agenda. It was a shame to have them stand alone, hence why the triptych style photograph was produced.

A cocktail of shots if you will....Cranberry and Lemon, Lemon and Lime or Cranberry and Lime?!

Clicking the photographs will take you to their FlickR page where you can find more information on how they were shot.

Spill The Beans...

These cold and wintery times call for one thing to get yourself ready to face the day...Coffee, and plenty of it! The concept of this image has been in my mind for a couple of days now. Little did I know, that with the help of another very creative mind we were about to make something even better than I had first thought.

Initially I set the shot up on a granite work surface, against a white tiled wall and used a red gel'd speedlight zoomed @ 105mm to create a hot spot on the wall. The coffee cup would be in front, lit by a seperate speedlight and have coffee beans poured into it, spilling everywhere (literally).  The image was sharp, well lit......but it wasn't quite right.

This is where two creative minds are always better than one. It's great to team up with someone who has similar inspiration and drive as yourself to bounce ideas off each other.

The image was too cold, quite literally the opposite of what coffee is. So to warm it up, I wanted a background with a similar tone to the coffee beans. I would then light this with an orange gel'd speedlight to add seperation. With the help of Hannah Couzens we turned her kitchen into a complete and utter mess. I'm sure she'll be finding coffee beans for many weeks to come, and for which i'm sorry! Hannah managed to find this fantastic brown leather box lid, which made for a perfect backdrop.

The above is a setup shot, shown where my strobes were placed. A Canon 580EXII Above Cup and Canon 430EX Zoomed Right of cup with Full CTO Gel. Triggered via Pocketwizards. ISO160 | 200mm | ƒ/7.1 | 1/100th second

The final image is actually a composite of two shots which gave me the beans falling how I wanted. A simple crop to give the desired frame, et voila! Perfect print for a kitchen I think! :)

Photoshoot - Honda S2000 GT

Something I haven't done in quite a while, is photograph the other passion in my life. I'm a keen automotive enthusiast, stemming from a background in racing during my teen years. Owning a Honda S2000 GT has always been a dream of mine. Everything about the car appeals to me, from the convertible roof right through to the 240bhp 2.0Litre 9,000rpm screaming F20C engine. Theres something particularly nice about their only being two seats?!

Having owned this car now a total of three weeks, I am happy to say it exceeds every expectation i've ever had of owning one. Truely a superb car which has sparked me into dabbling abit more with my automotive photography. Hopefully I am able to adapt all that i've learnt over the years into producing some cracking shots to show off this iconic sports car.

Location - Durdle Door

Durdle Door is quite possibly one of the most iconic seascapes on the south coast, and because of this it's hard to capture a unique take on the fasinating structure. Taken at 2PM GMT on Saturday in what was some rare "October Sun" it was difficult to get a long enough exposure without the use of an ND filter in broad daylight.

In comes the use of high aperture which meant my camera is now crawling with sensor dust (Hurrah!). Nevertheless this allowed me to give my new Wacom Bamboo Tablet a good work out.

The above photograph is captured using three exposures, blended using a technique called HDR (High Dynamic Range). I'm not usually a fan of HDR, but processed in a certain way I think they can give that unique effect/feel.

• ISO50 | ƒ/22 | 1 Second
• ISO50 | ƒ/22 | 1/15th Second
• ISO50 | ƒ/22 | 1/4 Second

Starting to really enjoy landscape photography now, as it always provides me with an opportunity for new prints in the house :D

Photoshoot - EkuiLibriuM

Aspire, Apply, Achieve is fitness trainers Kim and Larry's motto. Based in Hertfordshire their friendly approach to fitness  inspires wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle. I was commissioned alongside Hannah Couzens to shoot some new images of their business in action at their exclusive studio based on Foxholes Farm. The whole atmosphere of the place depicts a healthy and positive outlook.

If your interested to find out more about EkuiLibriuM and the services they offer, then click here to visit their website.

Location - St.Pauls Cathedral

London at night is fantastic, as the city takes on a whole different look/feel due to the light radiated by nearby sources. After a great days shooting at HCPhotography, I found myself on the train to London with family for a birthday meal. Not the shot I was intending to get, as by the time we arrived at the London eye it had stopped rotating. I believe everything happens for a reason, and as such I've still managed to capture a great image which I initially hadn't set out to get. This is one of the reasons why I love photography, it's spontaneous!

This is a view along Millennium Bridge to St.Pauls Cathedral, part of the iconic London skyline. Thousands of people cross this bridge daily, so shooting at night not only allowed me to shoot this without disruption, but also capturing the fantastic light given off by the city.

Kit Bag - Pocketwizards

The Holy Grail of light control. PocketWizard systems are renowned world over, for their ability to trigger off-camera solutions efficiently and effortlessly. When I discovered the new features of the Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 system I had to upgrade from my (still great) ST-E2 Transmitter. They are by no means cheap in comparison to other triggering systems out there on the market, but at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

Built on the new ControlTL platform, the dedicated MiniTTI Transmitter has both E-TTL II and manual power control capability, creating the perfect solution for triggering strobes via radiowaves (meaning no need for line of sight).

It has two main feature upgrades over the original PocketWizard Plus II's, the first of which allows us to use TTL (through the lens metering) with your strobes off camera. The second is "Hypersync", which, by offsetting the hypersync value in the firmware (this value depends on your camera and the strobes you are firing so it will require some testing) you are able to achieve much faster flash sync speeds (without the use of high speed sync). As photographers this means we can now cut ambient light and use wide open apertures in bright sunlight, achieve faster shutter speeds to freeze action and all without draining power or experiencing long recycle times, Hurrah!

Another great little function on these, is the pre-flash boost. Which means the pre-flash is fired upto two stops brighter, allowing the camera to make more sense of the information it receives for TTL. The updateable and customisable firmware also means we can set parameters such as when you automatically want the rear curtain sync to enable, and oppositely when you want high speed sync to enable (if at all). They are backwards compatible, and even fitting a Flex TT5 to your camera body will enable you to remotely fire your camera. All in all, I love these little things and wish i'd bought them sooner. The ST-E2 will still remain in my kitbag, as you can use this in conjunction with the PocketWizards for ratio and AF Assist.

Purchased from Lovegrove Consulting where you can grab a great deal, saving £105 when buying a kit of 2x TT5 transceivers and 1x TT1 transmitter. Did I mention you can also trigger them upto 1200ft away?!