jameswalkerphotographer
Jim Walker
Research & Works in Progress
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More references for the new project. Just the basics ma’am.
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Basic reference images for a new project I have in mind.
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It's my 3 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳
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There have been a few updates to the website since I was last on here.
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Jimmy and his son Chris at their workshop just outside the town centre of Beith. They make custom parts from plumbing to structural components for buildings.
I felt it was important to include some off High Street businesses to add variety.
I like this natural light portrait taken in the vehicle entrance doorway on an overcast day. I must admit I have a soft spot for portraits where the the subject emerges from a dark background. The strip light in the background was not as evident in camera, perhaps I was not looking properly. I could clone it out, but I decided just to tome it down instead as it adds depth to the image.
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Nonnas is a newly opened chip shop in Beith that was until recently Fryer Tucks, although it had been closed in that guise for a couple of years.
I really like the contrast in this shot and again I chose to include a little more of the street for context. The bright blue sky adds a dimension that was completely absent from those old black and white plate images. The newly installed sign has a flaw that is waiting to be replaced, the gold panel with the phone number is not straight. Really annoying for the boys but great as a documentary image.
I made a huge mistake with this portrait, we had been chatting and discussing options this is what I thought I wanted. I was pretty happy with the image until I downloaded it and viewed it on the larger screen and saw that he had a fish supper growing from his head.
Careful retouching in Lightroom allowed me to separate subject from background a bit more by toning down the whites and exposure overall then painting out the highlights even more with a brush tool.
I like the light on the subject's face and the way the black t-shirt blends in to the background framing his face. Half a pace either way would have really improved this picture for me.
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Debbie in the centre of the group is the boss at Envy hairdressing. The team all wanted to be in on the action and were all happy to be photographed individually despite the odd mock protest, some even came in on their day off. how flattering is that?
Once again the sun was a bit strong despite the early hour but we needed to shoot when there was a gap in the diary. The light on the blonde sandstone is great, bringing out the rich colour and texture of the stone.
The shop is one of the best dressed in the town best appreciated in the morning light as it is here.
I shot the portraits inside out of the direct sunlight with those big windows providing a great soft light.
This is Debbie who had a very definite idea of how she wanted to portray herself.I love the sparks in her eyes and the textures of her clothing and hair.
Mirrin had a great look, really striking. I chose this portrait as it shows her in the setting of the salon.
This is probably my favourite portrait from the series far, Soft light, texture, detail and a beautiful enigmatic subject. it was a close run thing not to submit this as first choice.
Denise, the second time around. The first set had a strong highlight that it did not notice initially so she agreed to go again.
I loved Leanne's tattoo and decided that it was important to include it. This was a shot between the shots, a moment she released after she heard the shutter go and thought it was over. the natural time is just beautiful.
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Diana at work in the fabulously named Dragon's Nest dog grooming studio. I included this one as there are very few "action" shots in the series. The mixed light is natural light from the window and tungsten from the house lights making for a slightly cinematic look. I have better portraits but I love the reality of this unposed picture. The wee dog needed the shadows lifted from her face in post but aside from that there is not a lot of editing. The close crop is essentially as shot due to limited space available.
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Marion at Paws n Claws on Main Street was kind enough to give me some of her time even though she was not mad keen on having her picture taken. The shadow of the chimney on the building opposite was something that I had not counted on when planning the shoot. I had to tone the shadow down significantly in post production as there was little chance of being able to reschedule the shot.
As I mentioned before Main Street is very narrow so choices are limited especially with a double shop front. Had that parked car not been there the opposite angle would have been better for capturing the sign although that would have meant using fill flash on Marion. The shutters on that end of the shop are also permanently down due to internal layout. These are the challenges that we must face when we choose documentary portraiture as a niche.
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As a variation from the flat, front on images so far in the series I enjoyed the opportunity to show a little more of the street in this shot. A happy break from parked cars and light traffic allowed me to capture this. There was a lovely warm light as the strong mid morning sun was diffused by heavy rain clouds that also made for an interesting sky. I used a little bit of on camera fill flash that was quite subtle at this distance.
Fiona is the funeral director who was joined for the shoot by the Co-op community pioneer Laura Newlands. I took a series of portraits both inside and outside together and separately. As Fiona is the core of the business I had decided to focus on her. I considered a more environmental style portrait but I really liked this one with her soft, thoughtful expression. I felt that the series also needed an indoor flash portrait as the majority are taken using natural light.
This was on camera flash bounced at an angle from the ceiling. I particularly like the catchlights in her eyes an her more relaxed pose that softens an otherwise quite formal, traditional portrait.
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Suzanne and Mark at MS Alltrades office on Eglington Street Beith. Framing a photograph means choosing what you want to be in it but also what you want to exclude. I wanted a clean shot of the frontage but there were parked vehicles that I could do nothing about, street furniture and other distractions that made this angle and frame the best option. I considered putting mark and Suzanne to the right but that would have unbalanced the frame too much. There is nothing that could be done about the lamp post other than minimise the impact by aligning it with the window frame.
Not all office workers wear a tie with their collar. This is one of my favourite images from the whole series. A pop of on camera flash bounced off the ceiling added a sharpness and some texture while supplementing the natural light from the window.
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Gary is the new owner of The Smuggler's Tavern in Beith. This narrow street with tall buildings can be tricky to get the light right. As you can see from the reflection in the window at the top right of the frame it was another very sunny day although the tones are cooler in the shade. A lot of sunlight was bouncing from buildings to my left as I took this. I chose to lift the shadows in some areas, particularly the doorways to revel depth and detail rather than have black holes of deep shadow.
I like this shot and Gary's choice of outfit, even if it did require a bit of balancing in Lightroom. It is a close shot from a slightly low viewpoint with a wide angle lens to fit everything in. Even after correction there is noticeable distortion particularly in the top right. I do not think this distracts significantly from the image which is overall a good documentary photograph.
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This is Holly a Pharmacist at Penman's in Beith. I dropped in to arrange an appointment to do this portrait but there were a few issues around finding a suitable time. Holly suggested we do it right away so it seemed rude to refuse. The downside was that the sun was very strong creating bright highlights and deep shadows so this was not the most flattering portrait that I'd wish for. Despite this I think it is a successful portrait that captures her joyful youth. The plan is to reshoot when the light is more favourable.
This is probably the most difficult shop front to photograph in the intended style due to the very narrow pavement and high pedestrian fence. The pavement is significantly below the level of the road surface with a different gradient as well, making horizontal lines clash in a way that is not pleasing to the eye. The sun is in the wrong place for this shot to be right. I do like a cross light portrait but this is way too much causing the ladies to squint in the sun and Holly's face to be in full shadow.
I was very aware of time passing towards the deadline for this part of the project so I adopted a "bird in the hand better than two in the bush", approach. Taking what you can at the time in the hope of a better shot later if there is time is in my opinion always the way to go.
I considered this as an alternative viewpoint from an elevated footpath across the road. It highlights the footpath and road layout I mentioned before. Having the staff looking up would do nothing for the aesthetics especially when coupled with the harsh light behind them.
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Harking back to an earlier post this is a manipulated version of the outside shot. The vertical lines have been brought back upright and the perspective flattened. I prefer the previous image as I think it is more interesting. This version is for the purist and once again closer to those Victorian wet plate images.
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Speaking of longevity in business, as I was in my previous post, meet Maurice Irvine. Maurice is a third generation craft baker, the bakery having occupied the same premises on Eglington Street since 1918. it was a bakery before his grandfather bought the shop back then although not in the same family.
This is also a predominantly natural light shot, the source being a large window to the right of the frame. I used a little colour balancing while lifting some shadows during retouching but not very much at all. The main issue was reducing those specular highlights on the oven doors.
This is a really natural pose that he adopted while we were having a blether. One of those ' stay exactly as you are" moments as I sparked up the camera.
I felt it was important to add a little bit of detail now and again as the formula of portrait and outside shot, although interesting and relevant can become a bit predictable.
I have wider shots and that tray of lemon cupcakes looks like a field of flowers in spring. I spotted that translucent piece of candied lemon and we set this shot up to replicate live action.
I really like this edit. It is all natural light from a skylight above the workbench. There is a bit of lightning of shadows and reducing highlights in post production. I also toned down the bruising on the poor woman's fingers, I didn't ask how she had hurt herself and she didn't offer.
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The First in the Series.
This is Lorna the owner of one of the longest standing businesses in the town that she took over from her father. I began at her end of town and was glad I did as she is taking a sabbatical at the moment.
This shot is probably the closest to any of those old photographs that inspired the idea in the first place. I never intended to slavishly copy that style, even if it was possible, but I'm delighted that this one was pretty faithful to the concept.
I was actually quite surprised and pleased when Lorna agreed to the shoot there and then. It was a fairly dull day but that meant a lovely soft warm light. There is very little editing in these images other than cropping and a little bit of dodge and burn to balance extremes.
Thanks Lorna I hope that you are well and enjoying the time off.
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Hannah and Rachel from Salon 40 in Beith were two of the first people I spoke to, even before the project had formed in my head. They were the freshest, most recent session though.
As I was researching the business and looking for a potential studio I dropped by the salon to see them. I discovered that they had also just opened and in fact still had the flowers around the place. They have been working for years together but their beautiful new salon is only a few months old.
I'm very grateful to them for their advice and for their co-operation in making these images. I really like this natural light portrait in the salon. it did not require very much editing at all.
Ideally it would have been good not to have had the white car parked outside although one chap offered to move his. The reality is that this is mainly a documentary project so that means accepting what is there as part of the scene.
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