Portraiture with Claire
This past weekend delivered one of the most rewarding shoots I’ve done, ever!
Shooting in a derelict building you had to deal with “interesting” characters passing through from time to time. However with the right mix of “ingredients”, a good bit of preparation and some creative collaboration we were rewarded with a diverse collection of portrait photos.
Harley Reunion Weekend
So I passed by Pine Lodge to obtain an annual license disc of the Cape Recife nature reserve. On entering I noticed a lot of Harley Davidsons entering so I asked at reception only to discover that they’re holding a reunion weekend at the Pine Lodge resort. Needless to say I was there on Saturday. (more…)
Fairy in the forest
I wanted a fantasy shoot that had a touch of mystery and magic to it. This was a great challenge which I was determined to accomplish. First I had to do location scouting as most of the wooded areas in Port Elizabeth is littered with Port Jacksons and Blue Gums, neither lending itself to the theme. I decided to scout Longmore Forest as per previous visitation with Kevin Brown. After 3 hours of bundu bashing inside the forest I found the perfect spots. (more…)
Beginning the Yii framework
For a long time now I’ve been using pre-built CMS’s (Content Management Systems), like Joomla and WordPress, for producing a web application with minimal effort. As feature rich as these applications might be they can be very bloated when you require a web application dedicated to perform a specific task. The workaround for this is to sit down and hard code your own applications which can be extremely time consuming. To the rescue for this is using frameworks which provide a backbone saving you not only hours but weeks and months of coding.
A client approached me about developing a scalable application to handle product orders & tracking. Even though initially it seemed like a simplified shopping cart, after discussing the project requirements it soon became apparent that they needed a customised application. I reviewed my options on how to develop and deliver this and decided upon using the Yii Framework. (more…)
Taking a shot at HDR Landscape Photography
I haven’t been photographing much of late due to a bit of a creative block. I think it’s a winter thing, the gloomy weather and pale surroundings feels like a mental prison. Luckily it’s now spring time and with the addition of a new lens to my kit it’s time for the flowers to bloom again. The new lens, thanks to my wife’s generosity, is a fantastic wide-angle Tokina 11-16mm. Without elaborating on the details I can tell you this is one magnificent piece of glass.
So with new inspiration and enthusiasm I set of to test drive landscape photography since none of my previously owned lenses truly accommodated this. My first exercise was a sunset shot down at Hoby beach, Port Elizabeth. Although this shot wasn’t “wow” it definitely allowed me to understand the abilities and limitations of the new lens and landscape photography. Knowing this I planned for some shooting over the weekend to see if I could better on the first round. (more…)
Updating ReneJoy.com – Aug 2011
Through photography expeditions with Kevin Brown, I had the pleasure of meeting an exceptional make-up artist and fellow creative, Rene. This eventually lead to collaborating to showcase her superior make-up experience and skills in the film, photography, music and matrimonial environments online. With any successful site it is crucial to regularly update your content and media.
With the recent official launch a the musician’s album on which she was responsible for the make-up for the relative photo shoots this was a good time to update her site. This involved adding and removing media, updating the PDF rate cards and tweaking the flash driven site to enhance the visibility of the social links. You can view the latest updates at www.renejoy.com. (more…)
New site for Kevin Brown Photography
A great friend, and an even better award-winning photographer, needed his site moved to a hosting environment that would allow him greater freedom to enhance his WordPress driven site and display his superb photography portfolio. (more…)
Playing in my sandbox with new toys
Life as a freelance developer is hectic. You often find that you work twice as much and twice as hard. This leads to not having much time for R&R and other silly things like doing research and broadening your skill set. Sometimes however you get to a point where you just stamp your geek feet and throw a hypothetical tantrum and waddle of to the sandpit to play.
Well I’m in the sandpit at the moment and loving it! So welcome to my sandpit, let me introduce you to my toys. (more…)
Shaking of the rust – Part 3
In part one I started of with a simple edit just to get back into the process. Part two I started using more advanced blending layers, adjustment layers and filters. (more…)
Shaking of the rust – Part 2
In the first part I used simple processing techniques, the magic was all generated by using a Brightness & Contrast adjustment filter on the photo to get the desired effect after having processed the RAW file. But now this wasn’t enough and I wanted to push myself futher, I mean there’s no use of just brushing off the top layer of rust.
I scraped a couple more still life shots and started battering them. I decided to create a rusty feel on a tractor for a start. (more…)
Theuns is a self taught creative artist that specialises in web development, graphic design and photography. In his free time he loves relaxing with friends and family, gardening, cooking and playing with his three border collies.
