My partner and I moved to Northumbria from the Midlands 16 years ago after retirement. By chance, we met an amateur photographer who persuaded us to join a camera club.
From there, we joined the RPS and were both successful in gaining the LRPS distinction. I also became a camera club judge and speaker upsetting one or two traditionalists in the process.
Then came Lockdown with very few opportunities to go out and take photos. I thought I’d tidy up my archive but the thought of processing 20,000 images was a deterrent.
Then I realised that several of these images bordered on the abstract. I had Topaz plug-ins which I had hardly used. I started editing some of my photos by hitting a few buttons at random. I became completely hooked with the results.
I was asked to prepare a presentation lasting ten minutes showing my abstract images to another camera club via Zoom. From the original ten minutes my presentation expanded to three one hour sessions.
Looking back through my folders, I realised that I had been producing abstract images for many years. Judges rarely liked them. However, I decided to experiment, not always successfully. But I persevered.
I see things in scenes that other people do not see. Lockdown has given me a new lease of creative life.
Now I take great care to produce a final image. I use many layers, blending different photos. I alter white balance, colour look up, saturation, inverse and anything else that takes my fancy. I do not use Lightroom. I can do more in Photoshop and Topaz.
Workflow is simple, I import into Photoshop ACR and after that anything goes. I feel that a strict workflow inhibits creation. With regard to rules, there are no rules. The most important key in producing an image is “Delete”!
Return to Lockdown Stories | Spotlights