Oct
Earlier this year I was approached by Zoner Photo Studio X to test out their powerful but lesser known photo editor.
Zoner Photo Studio X is “the most universal photo software there is.” It is something that bridges both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop with RAW processing, layer support, presets, retouching tools, video editing and cataloguing.
During the past six months I have been photographing for InterGen at their UK power stations. The photography is a challenging mixture of portraits, reportage, architectural, interior, and exterior stock photography that I decided would be a perfect test for any photo editing software.
There is a logical progression from image “Management” to “Development” and then advanced options of “Editor” and Create”.
Like all digital imaging software this is something that you “grow with” and never stop learning as Zoner updates the program.
I was impressed with the “Presets” which produced some great results and really liked the offer of cloud storage.
The magic wand auto seemed to work really well and I liked the Split toning “colour Wheels”. It was slightly frustrating that I could not double click the sliders to reset the adjustments as this is a useful function in Lightroom.
Everything else seemed to work as I would want it, crop tool, filter brush and graduated filter.
I think there is an initial problem when coming from using Adobe Lightroom, which is that it has taken me the best part of twenty years to learn. When I fire up Zoner X I get frustrated that I cannot always work as fast, even though I have only been using it for a short time.
It is the equivalent of swapping my flagship Nikon’s in for the equivalent Canon’s. I know how to use a digital SLR and I know that the Canon camera is pretty f*({ing awesome, but I also know my Nikon's back to front so am a little "unsteady on my feet" with something else.
Overall, I warmed to Zoner Photo Studio X in a short period of time. There are some incredible features and I like the flexibility that it offers being somewhere between Lightroom and Photoshop. I don’t think everything always works as well as Lightroom or Photoshop, but I do think there is a lot to shout about.
Intergen, Coryton Power Station The Manorway, Stanford-Le-Hope SS17 9GN - 17 September 2020
Sep
I have been photographing with InterGen for 13 years, providing them with commercial photography for their annual reports, website, & marketing material.
Originally, I photographed all 3 UK sites going on to capture 2 power stations in the Netherlands plus 5 sites in Mexico which they no longer own. I have also photographed their corporate portraits & various events along the way.
InterGen is a world class developer, owner & operator of power generation facilities in the UK & Australia, with over 25 years’ experience in energy markets.
Earlier this year InterGen asked me to return to the UK sites to produce a new set of pictures for a rebrand which required fresh content for their new website.
This time Photobanks Ltd. in collaboration with VisMedia supplied photography, film, drone photography & 360 degree content for online tours.
We spent a day at Spalding Power Station in March & then went into lockdown immediately after. The website was launched shortly after
We have recently covered the two other UK sites which I will showcase in the future.
Sep
Following the announcement of Project Natick’s Phase 2 results on Monday, the “wild experiment” has seen increased attention as influencers continue to recognise the research is “less crazy than it sounds.” Called a “bizarre idea”, ”wild and creative”, and even “Davy Jones’s data-centre”, the effort has driven articles around the world, spanning a variety of audience types including top press, tech forums, business platforms, policy focused communities, sustainable media and channel press.
The photography and film have also featured on the Microsoft website –
https://news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/project-natick-underwater-datacenter/
and performed strongly on their blog, YouTube channel, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn feeds.
Across all audiences the reliability of the underwater solution was a key point and overall, articles highlighted the project’s overall success and “promising findings” while illustrating Microsoft as an innovator with a customer-led focus. The “high-quality imagery” was noted as a contributing factor to the success of the coverage. Steve Clayton’s (Chief story teller at Microsoft) Friday report commented that “There are a ton of lessons we’ve learned from this experiment that will improve the sustainability of datacentres on land and underwater in the future. I share the story for two reasons beyond the tech though – the first is, it’s just beautifully told story that embraces the power of visuals to draw you in. The second is to celebrate the audacity of the idea”.
Oct
My photograph of a storm clearing in the Highlands, photographed with Vismedia during a recent assignment for Drax Group plc has been shortlisted in the Motif Collective “Storms” photography awards.
The photograph was taken as I waited for the low clouds to clear from the Cruachan Power station. I looked back down the valley and saw this incredible moment where the storm clouds still lingered but it was clear in the distance.
The Motif Collective was set up by photographers for photographers as an online gallery to host monthly contests devoted exclusively to fine art photography. Their ultimate goal is to present the finer works of talented Photographers from all over the world to help them become successful in one of the most dynamic and challenging times on the global art scene. The Motif Collective online suite of International Fine Art Photography contests gives artists the opportunity to both be recognised and present their best work to the world.
To see all the winners go to - https://www.motifcollective.com/winners-sep-2019.html
