The Red Photo Challenge - and Episode 56 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Mostly when we talk about colour in photography, it's in contrast to the tradition of black and white.

However, something not discussed quite as often is the role of individual colours. What difference does it make to a photo if the subject is wearing a blue shirt rather than a yellow one? Or why will an orange grab more attention in a bowl of fruit than a green apple (unless there is only one green apple in a bowl full of oranges)?

Each colour has it's own feel, flavour, and impact on our senses. Some of these are down to our genetics – how we perceive the different wavelengths of light – and some of it is cultural – like wedding dresses being white in Western culture because it is associated with purity, but in Asia white is the colour of death and mourning – more like black is in the West.

It would take many hours to cover all the different colours, so last week in the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group I put up a poll for people to vote for a colour for me to chat about in the podcast.

Red came out the clear winner (blue was second and purple was third), so last night I talked about some of the cultural associations, how it grabs the attention, adds energy and intensity, and how it interacts with other colours. I also pointed out that unlike pale blue and pale green, we don't have pale red – pink is seen as a separate colour with it's own cultural properties and significance.

Another fun fact I discovered in my research is the reason we talk about redheads, red squirrels, red foxes, red deer and the like, when all of them are far more orange than red, is because orange wasn't introduced into the English language as a colour until the 16th Century. Prior to that orange purely referred to the fruit. The best you could have hoped for was yellowish-red, or reddish-yellow.

All this then has been used as a precursor to next week's Red Challenge for the podcast.

The subject can be anything you like, but red must obviously feature.

This could mean the photo is mostly red, or there are small aspects of red in the image that act as an accent, or draw the eye in a particular way to enhance the narrative.

I don't want to see it being used in a selective colour way though, so no black and white photos with a red patch in them.

The exception to this might be if the image is quite abstract or even has a graphic design, iconic feel to it – but unless you really feel you've nailed something special, then better to avoid it.

But if you find you're struggling, then you can still submit a photo you're having difficulty with - just explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

Stick your photo (just the one please) either into this event page in the Discussion section:
https://www.facebook.com/events/518805396156031/

or into the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Try and get it in before the end of the weekend, or by Monday (3rd May) at the latest. Anything that arrives on Tuesday runs the risk of not being included in the podcast.

You can use a phone, tablet, point-and-shoot or DSLR (or mirrorless).

And then, make sure you tune in on Tuesday 4th May at 7.30pm (UK time) where I'll go through the photos, and give comments and feedback, and hopefully we will all become inspired by some of the submissions to go and try out new things with our photography.

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 56 below!

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
4:38 - Understanding Red - it's intensity and impact - in photography and composition
42:02 - Introduction to the Critique section of the podcast
44:20 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:28:33 - Coming up next week - the Red Challenge
1:33:20 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Attempting a Live Demonstration- and Episode 55 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

In last night's podcast I set about doing a live demonstration to put across a possible solution to one of the entries submitted for the Critique section.

Unfortunately I don't have a studio with lighting and plenty of room – I just do my podcast from behind the desk I have my computer on – so it was always going to be a bit makeshift.

However, using a cardboard box to act as a small table, a cheap flashlight, and tilting the webcam to a different angle, enabled me to show how you could photograph the inside of a partially unrolled tape measure with your mobile phone, more effectively than using a DSLR.

The next problem of getting the photo onto my computer so I could show people how to edit the image took longer, as I don't have a simple solution already in place.

Basically I had to email it to myself, so there are a few minutes of watching me urring and umming and poking the screen on my phone in a not dissimilar way to how your grandparents do it.

However, it worked, and the reactions in the comments seemed to indicate a certain amount of being impressed with the demonstration, while politely not drawing attention to my lack of teenage thumb-style rapidity for operating my phone.

The only slight disappointment was numbers were much lower again last night so there were fewer people to see my moment of genius. On the upside the numbers were lower so there were fewer people to see me embarrassingly jabbing at my phone like a caveman who'd only recently left the stone age.

Meanwhile, enjoy Episode 55 below, where I also give some pretty good reasons why you should always take your photos in colour and edit them afterwards rather than use the black and white settings on your camera...

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
4:38 - The story behind the last of the photos taken at The Open Book in Wigtown
7:38 - The techniques used to create the photo effects
24:07 - Introduction to the Critique section of the podcast
25:20 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
43:23 - Multiple ways to convert to Black and White
1:02:30 - Live demo with a tape and a torch
1:20:36 - Coming up next week
1:24:10 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Chasing the right thing - and Episode 54 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

There's no doubt the podcasts where viewers submit to a challenge have more engagement, and more energy, than the ones where I discuss a photo, or photographic technique, and then do the Critique/Feedback session.

I guess it's not too surprising to discover people generally prefer to display their creations for praise rather than criticism.

And after 2 weeks of high-energy, Challenge Submission episodes, with record breaking viewers, comments, and time spent in front of the camera, returning to a more "normal" podcast felt much more sedate.

It makes it far more tempting to scrap the Critique and just concentrate on setting challenges - displaying and commenting positively on all the entries.

But somehow that feels like a betrayal of the key aspect of "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres".

A deeper understanding of photography isn't gained by praise alone.

We need to analyse where things go wrong, and find answers to the stuff we're struggling with.

The Critique I offer up for free every week is extremely hard to find in the world.

There are countless people who will tell us how great our image is, whether it is or not, but we don't learn anything from that.

And most of those who would take the time to analyse our photos and give us real, insightful feedback, generally charge a lot of money for it, if you can even find them.

I'm driven by a passion and desire to genuinely help photographers past their sticking points to a greater understanding of how to create images that feed their souls.

But I could probably grow the podcasts and audience far more quickly if I just put up weekly – even daily – challenges, and liberally awarded Smug Points.

However, I would then be just chasing the praise myself, and not really be helping anyone.

I've been down the road before of trying to satisfy other people, regardless of whether I felt it was the right thing to do - and all it does is leave a deep hollow emptiness inside, which cannot be compensated by any amount of money, praise, or advancement.

Despite the temptations, for now at least, I need to leave the Challenges as a monthly thing.

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 54 below!

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
4:27 - The story behind the "It's Full of Stars" photo taken at The Open Book in Wigtown
11:30 - Looking at the construction of the "It's Full of Stars" photo
15:25 - Is it grey/green or pink/white? How perception differs from person to person
31:30 - Introduction to the Critique section of the podcast
33:20 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:25:20 - Coming up next week
1:26:45 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Shed Café Anniversary

It would be difficult to overstate just how important the Shed Café has been for us this past year.

The ability to remove ourselves from the house each day has been vital in our attempts to lessen the impact Lockdown has been having on our mental health.

The brain is extremely good at repeating patterns of thought based on place and emotion.

We don't have access to all our memories at the same time - instead the pathways are often dictated by the situation we are in. So when we go somewhere familiar, we quickly remember all the times we were previously there. Or when we feel love, anger, or anxiety, we only seem to recall the times we felt that way before.

The house, even rooms, we live in are so familiar that original thought often becomes almost impossible. Daily patterns repeat, and if depression or anxiety seep into them, then finding ways to counteract these feelings become extraordinarily difficult if you can't actually physically leave the space.

Maggie and I had long ago discovered it was far easier to come up with ideas and plans for the future if we were away somewhere – whether that was on holiday, or simply sitting in a café with a cup of coffee.

Eventually we scheduled a slot into our calendars where once a week we would go out for a coffee, which would inevitably merge into lunch, as we talked about anything and everything, and were able to gain a perspective on whatever might be troubling us at the time, in a way that somehow seemed denied to us while we were in the house.

A couple of weeks into Lockdown, after Covid-19 hit, and we found ourselves desperately missing that weekly trip to the café. Fears and anxieties were heightened as the future became uncertain for our health and finances, especially once we realised that all 3 of us were in higher risk categories, so we would have to remain in Lockdown until a vaccine was developed.

Despite the government initially seeming to believe it would all be over in 3 months, we knew it could be at least 12 to 18 months before we might be able to start moving freely in the world again.

I can't remember exactly where the idea came from, but this time last year I had the thought that we could take our coffee out to the shed at the end of the garden. I knew we had a couple of folding chairs, and a stool we could use to rest a small tray on, so we cleared a space and the Shed Café was born.

Initially I thought this would be something we could do once a week.

However, it wasn't long before it became a place of daily pilgrimage and now, every morning, we take a cafetière, a couple of mugs, and a couple of squares of dark chocolate out to the shed with us.

It is here we are able to talk about anything and everything, find it much easier to come up with ideas and plans for the future, and are better able to gain a perspective on whatever might be troubling us at the time.

It's amazing how important those 4 flimsy wooden walls have become to us.

And they keep the lawnmower dry too...

(The balloons were left over from my Podcast Anniversary earlier in the week, so I thought I would stick them on the shed for this morning's coffee)

Interviewed by a Butler

I've just been interviewed by a Butler for his YouTube Channel!

A few years back I met Simeon Rosset of Rosset Bespoke Butlers.

He'd learned and honed his skills for several years at Leeds Castle and was now hiring out his services for events such as exclusive gatherings, weddings, and shooting parties, and could be found butlering anywhere from Scottish castles to European palaces to Super yachts.

He'd also started a Butler School, training people up to the high standards required and it wasn't long before we started talking about a promotional photo shoot.

We ended up doing this out at Craufurdland Castle with the current descendants/owners/custodians - Simon and Adity Houison Craufurd and their two daughters.

When Covid hit, like me Simeon decided to look to video options for his social media presence. But rather than a live podcast he began introducing people to the different aspects of being a butler – from tips on how to serve wine, to polishing silver, to a bluffer's guide to brandy.

More recently he's begun a series of interviews – from private chefs to bodyguards, and now me!

Here's the interview (done via Zoom, of course), but do check out Simeon's YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEFIfOCAT-xGVIOukkRf_cg
for a fascinating insight into a completely different kind of life.

Accepting the Praise - and The 1st Anniversary Edition of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

A few weeks back when I realised it would be coming up to a full year since I began the weekly live video podcasts, I started thinking about how to mark the occasion.

What content would I provide for it? Should it be a clip show of the best parts, or perhaps I should construct a blooper reel (I could certainly fill a couple of hours with the number of cock-ups I've made over the last 12 months)?

Eventually I decided to ask viewers to submit their best images – a chance for everyone to show off a bit, rather than put in for the usual Critique. It's a time for celebration so why not have a bit of a smug-fest?

Truth be told, I hadn't really absorbed the sense of achievement this 1st anniversary actually represents – I was too busy trying to think how I could make it interesting and entertaining for everyone else.

I've had to remind myself these podcasts only exist because I made them happen.
They have only lasted as long as they have because I made it happen.
People only give up a couple of hours of their time every week to watch, learn, and be a part of this warm and welcoming community, because I made it happen.

The problem is I can often only see what I haven't managed to make happen. I can see all the mistakes, all the things I've been unable to accomplish.

And yet the viewers only see what has been achieved, not what hasn't.

Those who come back every week are gaining something positive from the experience, regardless of what I feel I've failed to provide.

And this week, many have taken the time to congratulate me, to tell me how much they enjoy the podcasts, and what a difference it is making to their own photography and self confidence.

It's so easy to dismiss – they're just being kind, or polite, or are actually feeling sorry for me so are trying to give me a bit of a boost.

Besides, isn't it a bit too egotistical to accept praise? Isn't Pride one of the deadliest sins?

But when a person takes the time to congratulate, praise, or let us know what a positive impact we have had on an aspect of their lives, then they are offering us a gift, crafted especially for us.

To reject it  - to dismiss their tribute - is to be insensitive. 

The best response is not to say we are not worthy of it, but to genuinely thank them for this personal recognition. 

It also helps to tackle the inner voice that constantly tells us we are not good enough.

Confidence can only grow if we can build on each success. If every time we get something right we dismiss it, we will only ever be able to see the faults and things that have gone wrong – and that eventually becomes crippling.

I have to remind myself that to accept the wonderfully warm and heartfelt compliments, is not the first step down some kind of megalomaniacal road where I will end up too full of myself to care for anyone or anything else.

Instead there is a humbling side to people wanting to tell me I have had a positive effect on them, and I should allow myself to absorb it. 

Meanwhile, so much for trying to rein in the length of the podcasts. Last night was a record breaking 2½ hours long with another record breaking 400 comments.

You might need to stop for a comfort break or two if you watch this episode in one go...

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
3:50 - Looking back at the start of the podcasts a year ago
16:00 - What counts as a "Best Photo"
18:16 - My "best photo"
24:25 - Reviewing images on the theme "Best Photo" submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
26:54 - Anniversary Cake
1:19:05 - How to be inspired rather than intimidated by other photographers
1:45:39 - Creating interesting photo opportunities with your local theatre companies
2:23:10 - Coming up next week
2:26:00 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres  Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/