The best camera is the one you have with you

The best camera is the one you have with you - Fujifilm X100V

It’s often said that the best camera is the one you have with you, and for most of us that’s going to be our smartphone. But there is a better way, and that’s to make sure that the camera you have with you is significantly better than a smartphone.

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Create a fake Big Stopper effect in Photoshop

How to fake a big stopper or ND filter long exposure effect in Photoshop

Capturing motion in the scene when shooting landscapes is the perfect way to add a sense of dynamism to your photography. For those occasions where you don’t have an ND filter with you, learn how to create a fake Big Stopper effect in Photoshop using this simple technique.

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Fujifilm Film Simulation Modes for Raw files in Lightroom

Fujifilm Film Simulation Modes for Raw files

One of the great things about Fujifilm cameras is the ability to apply Film Simulation Modes to your JPEGs in-camera. These are a selection of settings that simulate the look and feel of some of Fujifilm’s best loved films including Provia, Velvia, Astia and many more.

Raw files obviously don’t carry the film simulation data, so what happens when you shoot Raw? The simple answer, if you process your shots using Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom, is that you can apply them as a profile during processing. Here’s are two tutorials to show you how o apply Fujifilm Film Simulation Modes

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How to shoot studio silhouette portraits

How to shoot studio silhouette portraits

Learn how to shoot graphic silhouette portraits in a photographic studio or at home using this incredibly easy technique. Silhouettes generally focus purely on shape, whereas this approach aims to capture a small amount of detail in the model’s face for a much more interesting result.

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Create punchy black & white the easy way

Easy black & white in Photoshop using the Gradient Map

There are many ways of converting colour images to black & white using Photoshop, and each method has advantages and disadvantages. This approach is one of the easiest to apply and produces a great result in less than 30 seconds, so here’s how to create punchy black & white images in Photoshop the easy way…

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The Digital Darkroom: The Definitive Guide to Photo Editing

The Digital Darkroom: The Definitive Guide to Photo Editing by James Abbott

My first book, The Digital Darkroom: The Definitive Guide to Photo Editing, is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Through tutorials, you can become an editing expert and make your images stand out from the crowd while gaining a greater understanding of Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo; what it has to offer and how to harness its power.

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Online Lightroom & Photoshop workshops

Online Lightroom and Photoshop workshops via Zoom

In light of the events over the last year I have begun to offer online Lightroom & Photoshop workshops via Zoom. Learn how to get more from your photo editing software with a bespoke one-to-one Photoshop, Elements and Lightroom training. Online editing workshops are just as effective as in person using the share screen functionality of Zoom.

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Holme Fen Nature Reserve Location Guide

Silver Birch trees at Holme Fen Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire on a misty autumn morning.

Holme Fen National Nature Reserve covers a large area of 657 acres near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, and is home to the largest silver birch wood in the UK. At 2.75 metres below sea level it’s the lowest point in Great Britain, and it’s also a Site of Special Scientific Interest thanks to being home to wildlife, insects marsh plants and over 500 types of fungi. For photographers, it’s the best woodland location in Cambridgeshire and attracts landscape photographers from all over the UK.

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The best Fujifilm X100V accessories

Fujifilm X100V

Discover some of the best Fujifilm X100V accessories available to customise and expand the capabilities of your X100 series camera. From small shoulder bags to professional filters to camera straps and much more, there’s an accessory here for every X100V and X100 series camera owner.

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Amateur Photographer magazine cover 27 June 2020

Amateur Photographer magazine cover 27 June 2020

I was delighted to discover that one of my images of sunrise at Cobbolds Point in Felixstowe was going to be used on the cover of the 27 June 2020 issue of Amateur Photographer magazine. The image was supplied as an option to illustrate the practical article I wrote for the issue covering the importance of lens calibration for obtaining perfect focus and maximum sharpness. Take a look below for examples of the cover and article.

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