I stayed in the most amazing Air bnb this weekend and the location just lent itself to more photos inspired by old paintings. We had such a typically English feel set on a farm near Petworth, that Victorian style John Constable influences were in abundance.
The old farmhouse is surrounded by lovely gardens full of roses and fruit trees, meadows and ponds.
To make the photos more atmospheric I applied some effects using Florabella. With these applications in your photoshop you can mess about with filters and overlays, adding sun, flare, brown tones, hazes and so on. You can see a few of the effects here ...
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| this photo has actual real lens flare which happened at the time of taking it. |
Shopham Bridge Farmhouse Petworth have three places to where you can put your head down and unwind, the Hay Loft, where we stayed, A shepherds hut and a converted horse box. Set alongside a stream with weeping willows and a hammock, the setting is like something out of a painting. So we took lots of photos in the style of old English painters, part of a series that I'm working on.
I can see why Mary is a Super Host, as I've never been to such a well equipped and well provided for Air bnb before. I didn't expect to be writing a blog review of Shopham Bridge but we had such a magical time that it would be impossible not to recommend.
By taking the dslr out of auto mode, I am shooting more dark and moody photos at the moment, however, despite the fact that I learnt on manual cameras some forty years ago, I still find the digital settings confusing. In fact dslr's are so advanced that they can be overwhelming to someone who just wants to take photos and not get bogged down with instruction manuals and techno babble.
Deliberate lens flare adds a sparkle of magic. Sometimes it's good not to get too technical or controlled. When I shot on film I would use a black and white film which I would then get processed in a colour developer, the results were extremely random, Sepia tones, and, of course, you didn't know what the results would be until after you had the prints developed.
The wind blew the willow branches across the frame .. the sunlight streamed through the tree catching highlights of hair and hand.
And with a slightly sad heart to leave, we packed our bags and set off to the a secluded beach at Clymping.
The clouds looked like they had been painted in the sky and the wind blew away the cobwebs.
I hope this may inspire you to take up photography and play with the idea of unusual portraits, ones with atmosphere and memories.
To find the Air bnb I stayed in search for "Shopham Bridge Farm House Petworth" they have three listings on there. We stayed in the Hay loft and it was ample space for two and includes the roll top bath seen above. The coast was about 45 mins drive away.
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