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NKW 1709 - A Busy Week

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The Challenge What a week!  As the owner of a small business I find that I am stretched not so much in time as skillsets required to be able to move things forward.  This week just gone was a prime example.  Having the ability to research, pick apart, learn and adapt makes life easier. Sometimes it is frustrating as the solution, whilst eventually obvious, are often obscured by technical jargon, unfamiliar systems and interdependencies. Assumed knowledge us a hindrance, throw in the myriad of access controls and you can lose hours.  YouTube and Google are the modern day Encyclopedia Britannica, although there us a lot of crap out there.  As quickly as the hurdle is overcome, the knowledge can be lost.  It is helpful to make a note! Building The Website I have had a domain for sometime now and almost a year ago I started learning to code using HTML and CSS.  It was really a ground up approach.  Incredibly slow and limited in terms of practicality.  My recent introduction to Photoshop in
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In which I Serve

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I wanted to start a new project, one that would tell a story and have elements in it that would speak about my journey so far.  I will limit what say for now because the image, when it is done will have the narrative as well.  Depending upon how I feel at the time I may or may not reveal all. I have taken inspiration from my brother regarding a composite image and, as I have no natural art skills in the sense of drawing or painting by hand, I am making my image a composition of a number of photographs and styles to get my message across. As part of this I wanted to capture my service career and thus I chose to represent that by using what are normally wooden boards for battle honours. I have replaced the battles with names of ships and places that I have served.  Arguably, they were battle honours in their own right and some harder won than others.  There are stories behind each name and maybe one day they too will come out. This first one charts my early career when I served as a Roya
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Imperial Palace Tokyo

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 When I got hooked, really hooked on taking pictures I found myself with a firm view that the image should be pure in the sense that there should be no tricks to change the image.  I viewed it as a kind of cheating. I would allow myself the luxury of re-composing or changing the highlights and shadows.  It has been a long time for me to finally realise the power of photo manipulation.  It used to surprise me how stunning some photographers can be with their images and how I just was not getting that depth of colour that made my photos stand out. I am and have been on a journey of discovery and the big turning point just recently was when my brother showed me some features of Photoshop.  My brother is a traditional artist in the sense that he has a fantastic imagination and the skills to use art materials to create high quality pieces.  He has also studied as a graphic artist and therefore he can produce some equally amazing works on the computer. For me it has opened a door and I have
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Hello Darkness My Old Friend

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Darkness I stare from the darkness, almost without shape, I blend into your shadows.   Am I a thing to be feared or am I just the darker part of your mind?   What trials have I seen with those eyes, what pain have they bore witness to? Take me to the light, lead me from my prison. Rescue me with your love. Where has this image come from?  Well, my wife often tells me that this creativity is showing the darker side to my mind.  She has not yet seen this one though! For me the creation of this image is a voyage of exploration as I check out new looks and combinations.  It is the combination of a rather serious self portrait, with a single studio light against a black backdrop.   The texture is provided by a sample of bark taken recently whilst out cycling.  Cutting and shaping the layer to be applied over the face.  They eyes are enhanced just a little. Source photos: Image taken in loft at home with Canon EOS 5D MkIII, F13, 1/125sec ISO 200 50mm focal length. Image taken near Langdorp w
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Zulu Alpha!

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 I am going through a phase of turning everyday naval phrases and sayings into simple designs that can be applied to products, both clothing and other decorative and practical items. In this case I take my inspiration from my earlier career.  When approaching a known high risk area we like to be prepared and ready to face the threats, so we adopt a manning state where everyone is at their action station, this is called State 1 and we close and prepare the ship itself to receive and resist damage and attack, this is called Condition Zulu.   For defence against nuclear, biological and chemical attack, we further make the ship into an overpressure citadel by going to Alpha.  The result is that we force any bad things in the air out using air pressure. So we have a State 1 Condition Zulu Alpha.  It means we are ready for pretty much anything.  The inside of the ship is considered safe and, to go on deck you must be completely kitted out in protective clothing.  It is a most uncomfortable w
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The Panther Tank

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 What do you get if you cross a beach in Brighton with a cornfield in Belgium, a hint of blue filter and a model Panther tank? You get this: Corn Panther First of all the base image was taken in my studio loft, a model, painted black, shot using studio flash and my EOS 5 MkIII: f18, 1/125 sec, ISO 200 focal length 40mm.  I have lightened this image from the original taken. Base Panther Then I added a brush made from a pebble beach photo taken whilst at Brighton. Pebble Panther To add some depth and colour I added a filter layer, of course this is all about taste and so you can imagine the fun to be had here trying to choose a suitable colour and that is before adjusting the layer itself! Blue Panther Then I took a picture of some corn stalks in a field in Belgium near where we live, this again was applied as the background layer. Corn Stalk Panther So the final composite image produces the first one seen at the top.  Subtle variations can be seen by switching on and off the layers.  Ti
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NKW1709 - An Introduction

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  What is NKW 1709 and what is it all about?  Well, it is best to start with me.  I am a photographer interested in developing my creativity, taking the skills I have, with my imagination and the resources at my disposal to produce art.  It can be rather arrogant to call things art but then when you look at anything in life, it can be considered as a form of art or expression, depending upon your perspective. It doesn't have to be associated with any particular leaning, you can be anyone you like, you can say or do anything you like (at the risk of causing offence, perhaps too many do so deliberately?) So the name, well that is straightforward, it is my initials followed by the time.  Maybe more later but it is a quirk rather than a mystery. I have several outlets for my work, although I really must get a bit more organised. Instagram - phwe1709 Facebook - nkw1709 Redbubble Shop NKW1709 Photwest   Flickr   In essence I seek out different subjects and creative angles and more recent
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Location: Gateshead, UK
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