articles - Page 21 of 29 - Nigel Goldsmith photography & film

Mobile pinhole photography workshops

A camera is one of the simplest creative tools there is. In this one day workshop you will learn the basic principles of photography, make your own camera, and take pictures with it. You will also see how a pinhole camera made from household rubbish can record images that a modern digital camera costing many thousands of pounds cannot.

The workshop can be delivered in any office or classroom, I bring my own simple darkroom which requires a 2m x 2m square area and all other equipment and materials required. At the end of the session attendees will have made their own camera and taken a few pictures with it.

This workshop has been succesfully delivered at Bath University, for the National Trust and for private individuals

Workshop pricing

For schools, colleges and not for profit organisations £250 for up to 10 attendees

Private individuals £40/person with a minimum of 7 attendees

There is a small charge for delivering the workshop more than 20 miles from Bath, email me for a quote.

Please contact me if you would like more information 07973 631185

1 minute exposure taken with a homemade pinhole camera

6 month pinhole photograph, Cheney Court

Some professional soul searching over a recent royal snapshot

I was with my family last weekend at the annual Beaufort Polo Club event and captured what I thought was an interesting juxtaposition. There were significantly more photographers than the three I shot here, some concealed in the hedge in full military camouflage. Perhaps by taking and showing this royal snapshot I am as guilty as the photographers that scrutinise every waking moment of these people’s existence. For me however this image also questions the tabloid media’s obsession with the everyday and often trivial aspects of the lives of celebrities and royals. Why do we need to see yet another picture of royal princes playing polo? Is it really news worthy? Discuss…..

Princes William and Harry and the paparazzi

Promotional video documenting the making of Bath based Marshfield Farm Ice Cream

To shoot this promotional video required a few very early morning starts to catch the sunrise and the first milking of the day however it was all worth while when you also get to shoot in an ice cream factory.

Industrial product photography

Many specialist industrial and scientific tools are rarely seen outside of the workplace however some are so beautifully designed it is nice to share them with a wider audience. This is a recent shot taken on location at a workshop in Wiltshire is of a paint spray gun used in the auto trade. This type of industrial product photography can often be done at your site using a portable studio set up or if you prefer we can collect it to shoot in our studio. If you would like more information give me a call on 07973 631185

Industrial product photography – De Vilbiss spray gun

Photoshop case study – How we changed the weather over London

During yet another wet summer’d day I recall how I once used Photoshop to change the British weather. This is my Photoshop case study.

A few years ago I was asked to produce a cover image for a client to illustrate ‘work / life balance’, the brief was to show a typical family spending leisure time together but with their work commitments intruding. We decided to get a shot of the family on a beach but prop it with furniture and items from the office. At the time we were experiencing the typical wet British Summer, the nearest sandy beach to my home in London was Camber Sands, a two hour drive away. Rather than risk taking the models and props to the location and the shoot being rained off the decision was to montage a picture together.

I had two tons of sand delivered to my garden in Battersea, this was then raked over tarpaulins covering the lawn to create a beach. The deckchairs and office items were placed on the sand and the models took their positions and the first pictures were taken. When the weather was good enough I went down to Camber Sands and took some shots of a clear beach.

The images were then brought into Photoshop. I started with the beach scenes, moving the shoreline to the correct position so it wouldn’t crash into coverlines on the page, I then adjusting the hue of the sea and sand so that the colour matched the sand on my lawn. The picture of the people was then placed into the collage, the rhubarb and tomato plants behind the subjects were then erased to reveal the sand behind. I moved the football and ‘raked’ the sand digitally for aesthetic reasons.

Beach and shoreline scene for background

People with rhubarb and lawn removed to reveal beach

The picture was submitted for the annual TUC Press & PR Awards, the judges thought the image was a ‘straight’ photograph so it was entered in the photography section rather than in the illustration, a category my images have won in in previous years.

You can see more examples of my photo-montages and illustrations in the gallery section of this website.

I also offer 1:1 and small group training if you would like to develop your photographic and Photoshop skills.

Image as published