PIECES OF A DREAM

Without a doubt, I am fascinated by the sun and the moon and from childhood, Astronomy and Cosmology have been a strong interest focus of mine; but with the evolution of modern cameras and lenses, it is now possible to capture so much detail, add in a bit of creative imagination and even with no Photoshop, yes zero Photoshop but a very, very good understanding of light and photography, it is amazing what my eyes can see.

This collection covers from Russia all the way through to Asia and everything in between. Many shots may look the same but what changes is either the angle, the lens size or the final exposure.

With all of these images, if you stood next to me and took the same photo at the same time with your own camera (be it a phone or small digital camera), we would NOT be (a) seeing the same thing or (b) getting the same photographic results.. and this is what I love about photography; because it gives me the chance to not just record what everyone else can see but to do what I was taught by my old photographic lecturer, Geoff Weston.. to look, to imagine, to look beyond and to capture and then record.. that thinking has served me well for over 30 years now.. 

Thank you Geoff, your years of hard work on me paid off and I have never forgotten anything that you showed me or took the time to teach me. Even though you taught me old school photography, I have been able to apply it to digital photography in a way that makes many "digital photographers" not quite cut it in my eyes and many (so called professionals) will still ask me, how did you do that or how long did that take you in Photoshop.. only to be shocked when I say, not only do I not have Photoshop on my computer but I actually don't know how to use it.. at which point they kinda feel a bit lost.. "is he a loser cos he doesn't know Photoshop, what kind of photographer is he".. or is he just a good photographer.. 

Don't get me wrong, Photoshop is cool, but it's just not for me and I liken it to modern music.. give me a real instrument any day over an electronic or computer version of the same, cos just about anyone can learn how to use a computer, but it takes real skill to play a musical instrument and even if the listener doesn't like the music, they can at least still appreciate the musician and their skills.

So all of these images are taken using my Olympus OM-D EM5 Mk11 on a tripod, exposed (my way) and then cropped and sized in MS Office 2010 Picture Editor, tonally adjusted if white balance is out and saved.