Using photographic effects sparingly

click photo to enlarge
There's a place in photography for effects, that is to say, the post-exposure (or in-exposure) manipulation of an image away from what the camera ordinarily offers. Photography has never been about recording "reality" but rather a form of a reality as mediated by the photographic process. Consequently, any further manipulation should properly be seen as an addition to already existing manipulation rather than the adulteration of some kind of pure vision.

But, and its a big but, though effects have their place, they are much more effective (pun intended) if they are used sparingly, and we are very familiar with straightforward photographs. There's an analogy here with swearing: if it happens every other sentence the effect of the forbidden word is much less effective. If it's reserved for just the right occasion then it can have a very big impact. At least that's my view - on photographic effects and swearing. By extension, my view of Instagram and similar services is that eventually they dull the vision of its users and create a desire for ever wilder photographic effects.

My way of using effects is to wait until I have a photograph that looks like it could wear one well. Today's shot of an antique shop in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, had that appearance so it had a vignette, tonal contrast, a brown "grunge" cast and a few other things thrown at it. To my eye it pushes a photograph that advertises only through the phone number and the burglar alarm box that it resides in the twentieth or twenty-first century, back to somewhere in the grubby nineteenth century.

© Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 27mm (40mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
ISO:100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The colours of stone

click photo to enlarge
One of the pleasures of visiting medieval churches is not only admiring what the medieval masons and sculptors did with the stone, but appreciating their choice of stone. "Country" stone, that is to say the local stone, is the choice of many churches for obvious reasons. However, churches in areas lacking building stone as well as larger buildings such as abbeys and cathedrals frequently sourced specialist stone from more distant locations - perhaps Caen in France, the isle of Portland, or the quarries at Barnack, or at Ancaster in Lincolnshire..

Time always shows whether builders chose well. I've seen churches with stone that has been crumbling for centuries and others where the mark of axe, saw and chisel are almost as clear as the day the block was first shaped. But, good building stone was not always available and the masons had to make do with what was supplied. Sometimes the local discolourations of a stone mean that the building takes on a patchwork hue, especially when a restorer has sourced original stone with which to make repairs. This example at Horncastle in Lincolnshire exemplifies that.

At Great Malvern Priory in Worcestershire multiple hues are evident in the stonework of the fine tower. The reds, browns, greys and creams reflect the geology of the area. The number of colours is multiplied by fresh-looking replacements sitting next to worn and weathered pieces and is complemented on the north side by the green of lichen. The colours greatly add to the charm of the building. I noted them the first time I visited the building fifteen or so years ago, and I determined to photograph them on a visit we made the other day.

© Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 122mm (183mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
ISO:250 Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On