The feet seemed like a good idea at the time :)

Here's another shot from my recent trip to Hong Kong, taken somewhere near Lyndhurst Terrace in the southern Central district of the city.

A bit of a random image that I shot during the Photokina photowalk, but I like how it turned out.

I came across this image in a long forgotten folder of images I took back in 2006, when I was still shooting with a Canon 20D, and while I have no memory of why I didn't post it at the time, I did think it was worth sharing now.

This is the second shot I mentioned yesterday, and while it doesn't do quite such a good job of describing the context - the fact that this is a rooftop washing line - it's definitely my favourite of the two.

The first of two related shots from the weekend. Of the two I definitely prefer the one I'll be posting tomorrow, but this one does a better job of explaining the context.

If you asked me to describe Bulgaria this image comes close to summarising an aspect of many Bulgarian towns: an old concrete building, that probably dates back to Soviet times; adverts that might have been cool in the 1970s; an old, partially dismantled vehicle; and (less obviously) a stork's nest atop a disused industrial chimney.

I guess there isn't much I can tell you about this one.

This was more of a happy accident than a serious shot. I was idly snapping through a bank window while waiting for a friend to finish his transaction when the guy in the bottom right of the shot paused, raised his arm, and glanced across the street.

Shot in Troyan, Bulgaria.

This is another shot from Istanbul, taken from a roof bar which I think was quite close to the Galata Tower. What amused me about this scene was the restaurant across the way, which looks like a gazebo perched on the top of a five storey building. I'm sure it was safe enough, but it did look rather precarious.

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2.31pm on 8/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 90mm f/11.0 1/30 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 2x1

This was taken from the roof bar of the Four Points Sheraton hotel on Sheik Zayed Road in Dubai, the location from which I shot one of my favourite night shots in Dubai. Unlike that shot though, which was all about capturing as much detail as possible, this one was an attempt to create a slightly different impression: shallow depth of field, the reflections in the glass, and so on. I don't think it's anywhere near as successful as the previous image but, as an alternative way of capturing the location, I am pleased with how it turned out.

Let me know what you think.

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7.47pm on 15/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/2.8 1s aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

This was taken from the roof of the Executive Tower B in the Business Bay area of Dubai when I was shooting with Catalin Marin back in November. It's not as striking as the other two shots I posted from this location (see here and here), but I am pleased with it, not least because it's a different take on a familiar location.

Let me know if you think it works.

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5.15pm on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/8.0 1/60 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor rotation

I spotted these two labels on a shop window just round the corner from the Creative Live studio in Seattle when I was over there in October presenting my Dramatic Post-production workshop. I'm not quite sure what the message refers to, so please let me know if you've come across the OMG label elsewhere.

Update: this label is for sale here, but I'm none the wiser about exactly what it refers to ... if anything.

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2.15pm on 4/10/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 45mm f/8.0 1/60 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

While this isn't as immediately striking as some of the shots I've been posting recently it's one that I really enjoyed working on, mostly because I knew that it had the potential to look a whole lot better than the original. Overall the post-production wasn't especially complicated – eight masked curves for contrast, another for tone, and a channel mixer adjustment to partially desaturate the image – but the key to this one was the curve I used to adjust the back of the chair: a very steep S-curve, that brightened all but the very darkest shadows. This balances the light between the seat and back of the chair, but also gives the impression that the chair was lit by a harder light source than the rest of the scene.

As always, let me know what you think.

If you're a subscriber to our tutorials you can download the image as I've added it as our latest Mini-PSD.

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11.21am on 11/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/2.8 1/50 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

I'm now back from my travels, having had a great time in Istanbul and Dubai. I'll write more about both trips over the next few days, but in the meanwhile I thought I'd post this one. It was taken last week, before the start of the GPP FotoWeekend, and was taken from the roof of the Executive Tower B in the Business Bay area of Dubai while I was out shooting with my good friend Catalin Marin. I should also add that my inspiration to take this one came from Catalin's shot of the same scene that he posted back in September. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to shoot from the same location too.

Anyway, more on both trips soon ...

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5.57pm on 14/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/16.0 30s manual n/a evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

Officially the Gulf Photo Plus FotoWeekend event begins today, but I started yesterday with the first occurrence of my new Shoot the City workshop. This is a one day shooting workshop covering three locations: the Ubora building at Business Bay (where this shot was taken), Palm Jumeirah at sunset, then the Four Points by Sheraton hotel on Sheik Zayed road for some night shooting. This is the first time I've run a shooting only workshop - I normally end up teaching at least some post-production during my GPP workshops - so it was great to see that this one turned out to be popular enough to schedule an extra occurrence.

As for this image: it's a shot of my extremely capable and talented assistant, Khaled Termanini.

Let me know what you think.

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2.12pm on 15/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm f/8.0 1/640 aperture priority -1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 16x9

As I mentioned when I posted my last entry, I'm currently in Istanbul. I've been running a Faces and Places workshop with Bobbi Lane that started on Tuesday and finished earlier this afternoon. It's been a great week, the students have been fantastic, and I've got some great shots that I'll be posting over the next week or so.

As for this one: it was taken during one of our photo walks and is probably one of my all time personal favourites. Let me know what you think.

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2.50m on 8/11/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM 70mm f/4.0 1/250 aperture priority +1 evaluative 800 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no

I've spent a long time wondering quite why someone would choose to paint this figure upside down, and haven't managed to come up with a single reason that makes any obvious sense. It does make an interesting photograph though so I'm not complaining :)

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3.03pm on 20/9/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/5.6 1/500 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail no

I know, I've been crap at updating the blog lately, but there don't seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment to even cover the basics, let alone find time to go out shooting.

Fortunately, I'll be heading back to the UK soon – for some one-to-one training sessions and my The Art of Black and White Photography and Creating Dramatic Images workshops – so will definitely be out and about shooting some seascapes :)

As for this shot: it was taken in Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria) and I may well use it as next week's Mini-PSD as the processing was quite interesting. Take a look at the original, and see if you can tell me why.

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10.08am on 1/6/11 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/8.0 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none no