Endless Skies
Malcolm Cook EFIAP/p visited KCC this evening to give his presentation Endless Skies. We were treated to a superb selection of landscapes/seascapes beneath a variety of dramatic skies. Malc also included an assortment of water-based sport images for those who didn’t want to see an evening just of endless landscapes.
Malc’s enthusiasm for his subject came over very strongly, and even though his patter was filled with self-deprecating observations and humour, it was obvious he was downplaying the skill behind the compositions, colour use and monochrome conversions that made his finished pictures so eye-catching.
Many a time Malc introduced an new photograph by saying something along the lines of ‘here’s a good image’ before contradicting that comment, and then explaining why, by showing the out of camera file and then taking us through a number of alterations done in Photoshop which really brought out the true beauty of his landscapes and skies. Most of Malcs post-production work being done by dodging and burning, along with increases in colour saturation, all applied with the paint-brush tool.
This really was a stimulating evening, so much so that one of our members had a go at trying some of Malc’s techniques the following morning to great success. Hopefully more of our members will now realise that that dull, bland landscape image they have can really be made into something so much more with a little work.
Thank-you Malc for stepping in at such short notice to fill a vacant spot in our programme due to a cancellation and providing us with such an entertaining and inspiring evening that was greatly enjoyed by all.
