Pray For Nepal

I'm sure you've all heard about the massive earthquake that quite literally shook Nepal and where we live.

We weren't hit quite as bad as Nepal which has been left devastated by the quake. A huge 6.9 magnitude aftershock hit it today afternoon.

I can't help but empathise with the people there and the thousands that have been affected. We live really close and yet feel so helpless during times like these. Really heartbroken after these events.

All we can do now is pray for them and help them any way we can, however small it may seem.

To my friends who still haven't been able to get in touch with their friends and family I really hope you're able to get some information soon.

Praying for everyone!

I hope you find comfort in these verses
‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaian 41:10

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Psalm 46:1-3

The Lord is near to the broken-hearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Change

Sometime last month our department went out on a picnic. It was kind of a farewell picnic for one of the best teachers we've ever had so it was bitter-sweet.

While there we met this old lady who was looking after her cattle. She seemed really friendly so I asked if I could take a picture of her. It took a bit of convincing but she eventually agreed. She couldn't understand why anyone would want a picture of her. I couldn't understand why someone wouldn't want a picture of her.

Anyway after we had eaten there was a lot of food remaining so we packed it into bags and boxes and gave it to her. She was so happy and kept thanking us.

It amazing how putting a smile on someone's face can cheer you up no matter how low you're feeling.

I've been trying new processing methods recently and this is one of them. This was shot outside in the open in natural light. The background was removed in post which is the single major change I made.

In my last post I said I would be away for a week. Things didn't work out and I couldn't go although I really wanted to. My friends will be returning from their trek tomorrow and I can't wait to hear all about it and see the amazing pictures they've taken. The place they're at is called Sandakphu. You should look it up.

Enigmatic

I'll be away next week with no access to the internet so you won't be hearing from me for a while. On the plus side we're going trekking to a place I've heard a lot about. From the pictures I've seen it looks amazing. I hope and pray that the weather is good.

This is one of my favourite portraits. I absolutely love it. Thanks to my friend for posing and for the valuable feedback on the final portrait. I can't thank you enough for everything!

Hope you all have a blessed Sunday and a good week ahead. Follow me on Instagram for updates about our trip and the places we visit next week. I will try my best to share pictures regularly. I hope my memory cards hold out.

This particular portrait was inspired by one of my favourite photographers Eli Dreyfuss. If you haven't heard of him, definitely look him up on Facebook. His portraits and processing is really amazing!

First Catch

Last year I spent a considerable amount of time photographing lizards. Not just any lizards - Oriental Garden Lizards. I really enjoy photographing them. Even watching them is interesting. You can get really close if you're careful not to spook them.

With all the new construction sites and the massive destruction of vegetation here I expected there to be very few of these lizards this year and I'm sad to say that I was right. I've seen very few of these and that's really sad. This was the first lizard I was able to photograph this year. I've seen a couple of lizards in the last three weeks but that's too few.

Hope you all have a good week ahead :)

Intense

A friend of mine is directing a short film and when she asked if I wanted to visit the set and meet the people involved I just had to say "YES!". I visited the set a couple of times and had a great time interacting with the cast and crew. They're a really talented bunch of people. I'm not sure how long they've known each other but they've really built up a good rapport with each other and that, I think, is very important when you have to work as a team.

The first time I visited we all sat down after they had finished for the day to go through all the footage that had been captured. There wasn't enough space for everyone to sit down so I was standing. I noticed the cinematographer looking intensely at the screen and really studying every single frame. I knew that would make the perfect shot for him. So I took a picture and then later sent it to my friend. She showed it to him and he absolutely loved it. So much so that the next time I visited, the first thing he tells me is that he was really impressed. That really made my day!

I decided to do something a little different by adding a slight bluish tint to the image. Don't ask me why. Once I was satisfied with what my retouching I was just playing around with the curves and liked the way it looked like this.

People from all over the world sometimes write in and send me screenshots of their profiles or their desktop and mobile phone screens where they've used photographs that I've taken. That really puts a smile on my face. It also helps me really connect with strangers who I didn't even know saw or even liked my work.

Mnemonic

We finally witnessed a really beautiful sunset yesterday which was something I was really looking forward to. It's things like these that really cheer me up and I needed cheering up. One of the best teachers I've ever had left our college yesterday. We were all sad to see her go and gave her a farewell. So it was not a really good day for us but then I watched the sunset on my way home and that put a smile on my face.

I thought I would shoot a timelapse of the sunset but the sun dipped behind some really low clouds on the horizon and didn't come out until it was too late. So I walked around the fields for a bit looking for some good photo opportunities. I came across the tree in today's picture. I don't know how I hadn't seen it before but it just might be my new favourite spot to take pictures. I'm just waiting for the next good sunset to get some really good pictures.

About the post-processing. I took three bracketed shot (-2,0,+2) in order to get the entire range of light. I ended up using just the normally exposed photography at the end. I used a few luminosity masks on this one. They work great!

Luminosity masks are still a new technique for me so I do require a lot of practice but they're great for digital blending. I've also created a handy GIF that shows you the various stages in the creation of this image - hope that helps. It's a rather large file so it might take a while to load. You'll find it after the picture.

And now for the GIF (let's hope this works)