subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 1 June 2019 21
Cracked Mud
Hal Gage
Highly commended Intimate Landscape
Occupation Graphic designer
http://www.halgage.com Twitter halgage
‘While out walking in my downtown Anchorage
neighbourhood I have a tendency to stroll down
dirt alleyways, which often feature mud puddles. On this
occasion I found a few with interesting spotted patterns.
In order to get a square composition (which is my
preferred format), I made two images: one slightly
above centre and one slightly below centre and
I stitched them together later using software. In this
instance, I worked the dried mud for about an hour
before coming up with the image shown here. The
gradual increase in the size and frequency of the
cracked “cells”, and the decrease in the “spots” is what
really made it for me. The final step was the making of
the print file. I use software to create a type of split
toning to give my black & white images a feeling of
increased depth and separation. This is why the b&w
image has a slight brown tone, in this case to the
darkest values, leaving the mid and high values neutral.’Hal’s top tips
1 Buy a tripod. Use the tripod!
2 When composing over the top of a subject it’s hard
toget everything completely level, which can make the
picture look like it’s never right-side up. To overcome
this,tryshootingat a veryslightangletogivethefinal
imagea feelingof
toptobottom.
3 Usea macro
lenstoensure
edge-to-edge
sharpness.
Experiment
withfocus
stacking.Technique
Sony RX100, 28-100mm (effective focal length), shutter speed unknown, f/11,
ISO100. Accessories: tripod, remote release. Post processing: Lightroom
andPhotoshop tweaksiPhone 7 Plus, 1/17sec at f/1.8, ISO 100.
Post processing: Lightroom where
small adjustments were made to
white balance to give wintry feel, and
tweaks made to highlights/shadowsmy iPhone and then experimented with
blending them “in-camera” using the
PhotoSplit app, which has a multiple
exposure mode. I tried various blending
modes before achieving this look.’
Jane’s top tips
1 Be patient: multiple exposures are
unpredictable, and it takes time to get
a pleasing result.
2 Forget the ‘rules’ of photography and
have fun experimenting.
3 Remember there is
always something
interesting to
photograph no matter
what time of the year
or how dull the
weather seems –
sometimes you just
need to look.
Jane likes using the
PhotoSplit app with
the iPhone 7 PlusThe Sony RX100 is light enough to take
on walks around Hal’s neighbourhood© HAL GAGE
© jAnE simmonds