Transmit FTP

Most of my images are now sent to the picture desks via FTP and as a result I have recently upgraded from Transmit 2.5.1 which had a number of issues running under OSX. It originally worked fine but upgrading to OSX.4 caused a couple of glitches that seemed un-resolvable. Even though it was a fully licenced version the ability to edit favorites and add new ftp addresses stopped working.

News Photography

News Pictures

Where do I start. News Photography covers so many different events and scenarios that it is almost impossible to cover on a single page, indeed a great many  pages have been devoted to news photography both on the internet and in the printed media. 

General Sports Pictures

Other Sports Hints and Tips
Most of the other sports pages on this site have been focused on the glamorous events such as Motor Racing and Premiership Football, which unfortunately the majority of snappers out there do not have a chance to cover.

We do also have to be able to cover other sporting events, anything from Tiny Tots Tennis to International Athletics events, and as a professional press photographer you need to be able to deliver results irrespective of the type of event that you are requested to cover.

Probably one of the most difficult events I have had to cover was the Oxford Eights Rowing event, which I was covering for the Times Newspaper, photographing a rowing event is not particularly difficult, however to get something that was suitable for a broad-sheet demanded a little creative thinking. Especially as the event was not a straight race to the line, it was a “bump” event.

As the river is not wide enough in Oxford for the traditional line up and race to the finish line, the teams start off at different parts on the course, and the object is to catch the team in front, having “bumped” the team in front, both competitors stop.

Bloody Old Bill

This happened to me a little while back but it still makes my blood boil. I am fundamentally hacked off with coppers that don’t know the law. I was with two other snappers, a reporter and a motor biker on a job in a village in Sussex. So three cars and a motorbike in a village where they probably only ever see two cars a day, yet alone a convoy. We were doing a reccy prior to waiting for our target to show up and whilst we could have probably been a little more discrete, the place were the target was due to appear was opposite the village pub.

Understanding USM

Sharpening is a critical part of a digital workflow. Having a good understanding the USM filter is essential to enable you to produce the best results possible.

An Introduction

If your picture is muzzy or blurred USM isn’t really going to help. If an image is out of focus, applying some sharpening to it can help improve the overall appearance, but it won’t make it a sharp image. The sharpening tools in Photoshop will not replace good technique. Firstly lets deal with why it is called unsharp mask and what its origins are; I am not old enough to remember the process being used in the commercial darkrooms that I have been involved with, but I know someone who does.

How I got started in Press Photography

I get asked regularly “how did you get into press photography, you talentless oik?” to which there is no reply, however if I was asked “you lucky, lucky bast*rd, how did you get into press work?” then the answer is a simple “I don’t know”.  “No I really don’t”. I was bought a camera as an Xmas present when I was about 10 or 11 years old.  No! that’s to far back.