Welcome

I am Rod Wynne-Powell, and this is my way to pass on snippets either of a technical nature, or related to what I am currently doing or hope to be doing in the near future.

A third-person description follows:
Professional photographer, Lightroom and Photoshop Workflow trainer, Consultant, digital image retoucher, author, and tech-editor for Martin Evening's many 'Photoshop for Photographers' books.

For over twenty years, Rod has had a client list of large and small companies, which reads like the ‘who’s who’ of the imaging, advertising and software industries. He has a background in Commercial/Industrial Photography, was Sales Manager for a leading London-based colour laboratory and has trained many digital photographers on a one-to-one basis, in the UK and Europe.
Still a pre-release tester for Adobe in the US, for Photoshop, he is also very much involved in the taking of a wide range of photographs, as can be seen in the galleries.

See his broad range of training and creative services, available NOW. Take advantage of them and ensure an unfair advantage over your competitors…


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Monday 26 October 2015

Autumn Cycle Ride around Stewartby Lake

 I have been considering how I might reach the far side of Stewartby Lake straightforwardly by cycling, and after taking a good look using Google Earth spotted that there seemed to be a way from the old A421 through one of the newer estates, and the weather on the Sunday afternoon favoured my attempt.

I had hoped that the geese would be in abundance, but despite the large numbers I had seen on an earlier visit when I had taken shots of some water skiers, the most abundant were gulls; and yet they were not present in great numbers. The sun was out, it was pleasantly warm and the colours were autumnal; it had rained recently so the grass was still wet, and the steep banks leading to the water’s edge were slippery, and not all had been provided with wooden steps.

As I cycled clockwise from where I had entered the track via a bridge over the brook, I would stop at each clearance to take a look at the water’s edge and a few I would venture down with the bike, so it was safe as I explored further. I was trying to decide likely vantage points for future visits. Three-quarter way through my trip, I learned that I would have to consider carrying some kitchen towels and Swarfega, as my chain came off the cogs and I needed to get it back into play, leaving me with a very greasy right hand! Also there was little point in my considering bringing a second camera with an alternative lens as this simply added extra weight and the delay in swapping would not have been fast enough, so it never came into use.

I decided also that the prominent Wind Turbine was worth capturing from different angles, it has already proved to be a good marker when I am out as the land around is so flat,  it can be easily spotted.

Altogether the trip was thoroughly enjoyable but other than a nice shot of a powerboat and its wake, it was hardly full of enticing photographs, but it added to my knowledge of possible vantage points and I was impressed by some of the sleeper creations that formed hides overlooking the wetland habitat.

Wednesday 21 October 2015

Woburn – Last Warm Autumn Day 2015?

The brightening sky was alluring and prompted me to clear any outstanding work such that I could get out and the intended destination was Woburn Park and its deers. Having readied my camera gear and finished a longish telephone call, I was all set to go, but received another, and it was one I wanted to answer, so I finished that, locked up and set off for the park and chose the main A421 route foolishly as it it has works going on at the roundabouts that lost me yet more time.

I parked up in the car park by the church assembled the camera on the tripod and set off for the lake by the entry kiosk, taking a few shots of autumn leaves and the winding pathway under the overhang of trees. The deer were just beyond, but close to the small lake, so I moved slowly closer observing the more active stags within the group and despite the main rut being over, there was still some activity, and the sun was intermittently out from behind the clouds.

Occasionally some of the visitors would alight from their cars to join me in photographing the activity cars, some merely with camera-phones, but a few with telephotos and the likes of Nikon and Canon, some were chatty; some were soon back in the cars and were off to visit the main house, Woburn Abbey.

I found myself witnessing something completely unexpected, and was lucky enough to even capture it – the sight of two deer standing on their hindlegs, and boxing like kangaroos or hares! Those frames made my trip completely worthwhile! They also provided me the opportunity to engage some of the visitors in conversation and show them what I had been lucky enough to see and record. One man in particular, Alan Goodger who it turned out had worked in the photography business for many years and we were able to recount shared experiences from before the arrival of digital photography, and we both had a wonderful conversation which lasted from before the deer had all laid down to rest until we took the path back to the car park, rounding off a very enjoyable, warm and productive afternoon; possibly marking the closing curtains of Summer and the definite onset of of Autumn.

Tuesday 6 October 2015

PENHA Fundraiser at Calumet – Exhibition of Vanessa Champion’s Photos

The exhibition sponsored by Fuji and hosted at the Calumet UK’s London Showroom in Drummond Street entitled ‘A Change in the Air’ is an exhibition of photographs from Vanessa’s trip to Uganda; it documents and celebrates the nomadic pastorialists in Africa.

I had been lucky enough to be invited to the Private Viewing, and the evening did not disappoint, I have met several of the PENHA people in the past and they are all very friendly and welcoming. The evening displayed and supplied samples of the indigenous fare of the region and the audience was even informed not only of the content but the preparation of the food provided, along with wine and juices to moisten the palate to aid mingling and conversation. I mentioned the event to two colleagues, Adam Woolfitt and Geoff Dann, who both came along, both are fellow photographers, and this event was not short on other photographers; due to Vanessa’s assiduous efforts at enticing all her photographer friends such that there is no stone left unturned in her efforts to ensure maximum publicity for her endeavours on behalf of the charity PENHA.

I hope I have given a flavour of the fun of the evening against the backdrop of Ness’ images from her trip. I certainly enjoyed meeting some from previous engagements and new ones with whom I was introduced. For the observant some may notice that the colour can sometimes vary despite my best efforts to correct the shifts in post-processing, at certain shutter speeds the fluorescent tubes sometimes displayed bands of magenta or cyan horizontally across parts of the scene, due to the interaction between the frequency of the mains and the shutter speed in use, but I have done my best to conceal this, also since in a group sometimes one person might catch the colour shift and not another or they might be presented less favourably I have taken some groups at different moments and included both, thereby minimising offence and hopefully pleasing a few more.

Sunday 4 October 2015

Brogborough Becalmed then Vulcanised!

I had done my chores – Shopping, Gardening and Washing, the mist had lifted and it was a warm and although we were not forecast wind, there were a few gusts here, which is not too far from Brogborough Lake, so I felt that the exercise of cycling there might just be rewarded by a few gusts and some activity amongst the windsurfing fraternity; I therefore gathered my camera, 100-400mm lens, tripod and gimbal head, and collected my bicycle.

Arriving at the lake, I was not exactly swamped by windsurfers! There was also less of a breeze here than back at Marston Moretaine! I did learn that Sam Barnes was going to venture out shortly and there was one other person getting his sail ready, so I took the opportunity to pump up the front tyre which I had noticed was low before getting the camera set up. By the time I was ready two people had taken to the water, and soon that number was increased by a mighty 50% – two men and one lady. Today was not going to be a day of action and drama, so I noted that reflections on the water could add to the challenge of providing some interest and proceeded to attempt to capture this in the shots I was taking.

The young lady who I later learned was Lisa, looked very poised as she crossed serenely in front of me; I imagined that staying up with so little wind must be quite tricky to remain balanced, and I never once saw her down in the water which was impressive to me.


I had found a spot close to the water’s edge, but I spent most of the time at an awkward angle because the two men spent a large part of the time off to the right, and I had chosen a low viewpoint on the slope so I would be at the correct height for the eyepiece and this was really more suited to the action being in an arc immediately ahead. I spent a relaxing time till the wind dropped completely and then I started to pack up the tripod, when over the new A421 I spotted the Avro Vulcan flying in the direction of Stewartby and Bedford, and immediately realised this must be the day of its last Airshow at Old Warden, and so I took to standing on a table for added height and hoped we might yet catch another glimpse of it. We were very much in luck as we were treated to three passes before it headed off for home, which I took to be Scampton in Lincolnshire. I was thrilled because this was to be its very last flight. I count myself very lucky indeed as I was up at Cottesmore in Rutland for its first Air Test after refurbishment and sadly witnessed the failure of its undercarriage flap to close which meant it lost a whole season of flying, so to accidentally take pictures on its last flight was a very good way to end the day!

Thursday 1 October 2015

Season End Visit – Stockwood Discovery Centre

A Light breeze and warm sunshine giving an Indian Summer Day and the chance to pay a visit to the gardens at the Stockwood Discovery Centre opened a window of opportunity to nip down to see what could be captured before Autumn closes in.

I did wonder just how much might still be on show, but gardener, Jan said there was nothing much new, but she reckoned I would still manage to find something of interest, so I grabbed the moment, and my camera.

You certainly could not say that the place was a riot of colour, and because schools were back the area was not swamped with families visiting, but there were rewarding images to be found by diligent searching, both in the greenhouse and outside around the gardens themselves. I reckon my short time was well-spent and I hope it shows within the five pages of the gallery.