Digital SLR Photography

CHALLENGE3:CREATEAmoNTAGEoFImAGESOne of the great thingsabout Dungenessis that it is – how can I put it gently – abitrough aroundthe edges! It’s not a neat andtidy, picture-postcard beauty spot that’skept pretty for tourists. The landscape islitteredwith relics of a bygone era –derelictfishermens’ huts, the rotting carcassesof oldwooden fishingboats, rusting winches andchains, and weatheredropes and nets. Tothe unsympathetic eye it looks like adumping ground, but for photographersit’san Aladdin’s Cave of fascinating details.Initially, I was going to make one of David’schallenges to produce ablack &white detailimage, but giventhat there wereso manydetails to choose from, I decided insteadthat apanelof images capturing elements ofDungenesswould bemore interesting.BeforeDavid got to work, wediscussedoptions for the final paneland decided that itwould compriseof 24 images, all cr oppedtoa square format and arranged in fourcolumns with sixrowsper column. To savetimeand give David more flexibility, Isuggestedheditch his tripodand shoothandheld. As the weatherwas quite cloudy- perfectfor our needs – Davidincreasedhis camera’s ISO to 400, which meant hecould shoot atsmaller aperturesif needed,but still maintain a decent shutter speed.Initially, Davidconcentratedhis effortsaroundan old fisherman’s hut and boat.There wereso many thingsto shoot, fromrusting machinery to tar-coveredtimberpanels, and Davidwas soon hard atwork,workingthe location with his standardzoom. With at least half of the requiredimages in the bag, wethen headed back tothe derelict hut that had beenthe subject ofthe secondchallenge and Davidexploreditfromevery angle,in search of more details.woRkSHopSummARy:DavidBarker“WhenLeeannouncedthatthedaywould revolvearoundblack&whiteimages,andthattheloca tionwouldbeDungeness,abigsmileappearedonmyfa ce.AlthoughI’vevisitedbefore,itwassometimeagoandIstruggledtocreat eimagesthatcapturethemagicoftheplace.I'verecentlyjoinedtheblack&whitesectionofourcameraclubtoo,sotheopportunitytospendtimewithanexpertwastoogoodtomiss!ThefirstchallengewassomethingI'vedonebefore,butmyte chniquewasrusty.Afte rafewminutesthekeypointscameback–I'veevenstucksomenotesonmyBigStoppertinasreminder!ThenexttaskwastocreateadramaticimagethatcapturedthemoodofDungeness,soitwasbackontothetripodforsomecarefulframinganduseofNDgraduatedfilters.Forthefinalchallenge,LeesuggestedthatIshoothandheldtoallowformorefluidity,asIneeded24imagesforthepanel.Thisallowedforspontaneityanditbecameapparenthowmuchtherewastophotograph.Almostfivehourshadpassedinwhatseemedtheblinkofaneye.Leeexplainstechniquesclearlyandinarelaxedstyle.Ilearnedalot–thankyouLee!”ThePhotoWorkshop1)Davidhonesinonsomefishingnets.2)Justoneofthe24shotsDavidtookforhispanel.3)Thepanelisputtogetherbitbybit.Right)Thecompletedblack&whitemontage.58 Digital slr PhotographyNove mber20165Repeat stepthree, dragging, droppingand positioning each image. If you needto re-adjust an image, openthe Layerswindow (Windows>Layers), click ontheappropriate layer and make the adjustment.10Now that you’re happy with your black& white photo montage, make a nicelarge print, then mount and frame it andhangit onthe wall. Finally, stand back andadmire your handywork!3Open an imagethen gotoImage>CanvasSizeto increasethe canvas to hold all theimages. Input the new dimensions with the‘Anchor’in the top left corner. Davidchose awhite canvas set to a size of 125x175cm.8To adda border, extendthe canvas by afewcentimetresoneach side. To addtext, gotoImage>CanvasSize, put theAnchor onthe top edge and increasetheheight so the bottomborder is deeper.2Ensure images are JPEGs to keepthe filesize down. Also make sure the images arethe samesize usingImage>Imagesizeor bysetting parameters for the Croptool –25x25cm @300dpi in this case.7You could convert all the images to black& white beforecreating the panel, but forthis one, Davidcreatedthe panelfirst usingcolour images, thenconvertedthe wholething to black &white usingSilver Efex Pro.1Decide how many images you want toincludein the paneland select theindividual images you’re goingto use(24 inthis case). Put those files in a folder so they’reall in the same place.6Once all the images are onthe canvas,cropany excess canvas thengotoLayer>Flatten Imageto merge the layersand reduce the file size. You may want tosave a version with the layers just in case!4Openthe secondimagethen,usingtheMove tool in Photoshop, drag and dropthe image onto the enlarged canvas. Use theMove tool to positionthe image next to thefirst one and leavea border between.9Click onthe Text tool in Photoshopthendrag the cursor across the bottomof theposterto create atext box. Adda titl e andyour namethentry out different typefacesand typecolours until you’re happy.``````Within half an hour, hefelt confident that hehad agoodvariety of images, more thanenough to take homeand create the panel.Davidhad neverput together a montageof images himself before, so I gave himsomesimple step-by-stepinstructions.Why not give it a try for youself...``````1``````2 3