Published Work - Gorgeous Freaks Magazine Issue 3

Well 2012 has certainly kicked off to a great start with my first set of published works, and first ever cover shot!

Last week i was contacted by one of the editors at Gorgeous Freaks Magazine, an Alternative fashion publication that is available in both print and online forms. They had done an interview with a very good friend of mine Ryan who is just getting into modelling and he had send them a couple of the low resolution images from one of the photo shoots i had done with him last summer, The interview was to be featured in the January 2012 Issue 3.

The magazine then contacted me to ask about using several of the photos as well as if they could also use one of the shots as the front cover, as well as retaining my logo on each of the shots and ful advertising and credit in the publication too.

As well as the front cover shot, there is also a 4 page feature in the magazine itself on pages 18-21 featuring the interview with Ryan and photography by myself.

The images included with this article are taken from the Online PDF edition and i will update with photos or scans of the printed edition when it arrives in the post. As although reading something online, it simply does not beat having a physical printed copy!

You can purchase the full magazine from HP Magcloud http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/328507 as either the printed edition or digital edition, and it is currently with a 25% discount until the 14^th Feb.

Thanks for reading!

Andy / Darkslide Photography

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Pink ...

Pink.

Image file formats - Advantages and Disadvantages

A simple table i wrote a while ago on different file formats for image storage and their advantages and disadvantages. I hope people may find it useful!

File Format	Advantages	Disadvantages
JPG	Small File Size – Ideal for web use and email. Varying rates of compression reduce file size further, at a cost of loss of original image quality Recognised file format on all computers as well as displaying on digital photo frames, mobile phones, DVD players etc. Ideal for small prints such as instant photo booths. Can embed colour space profiles as well as ITPC Metadata	Lossy compression, as the file is compressed to save space, it loses some of the original file data and therefore degrades image quality Further editing on the image can degrade quality even further. Only suitable for smaller print output, as on larger images, compression artefacts and noise can be present on final print.
TIFF	Uncompressed image retains maximum amount of image data from the camera. Can be compressed to reduce file sizes using mathematical algorithms such as ZIP or TAR without loss of image data Can also use lossy compression such as JPG algorithms to reduce file size Recognised format by most computers, cross compatible with both MAC and PC’s Standard format for printing either at home or dedicated Photo lab. Can embed colour space profiles as well as ITPC Metadata	Large file sizes, around 20mb for a 10 megapixel image, so larger storages devices needed for long term archival use. Good specification computer needed to process and load images. Most website and online images galleries do not support tiff uploading. Slow speeds when transferring to online galleries that do support TIFF files
PSD	A format created by Adobe for Photoshop use, it contains all the original image data as well as any layers, adjustments and full image history. Ideal for use when processing images as a user can save the file and then go back to it at a later date	Generally only recognised by Photoshop software and certain other image manipulation software
Camera RAW	Uncompressed image, direct from camera sensor Best image quality overall as well as flexibility in post processing Things such as white balance, exposure, colour space, contrast, saturation can all be adjusted by software easily It is a non destructive format, therefore any changes made such as cropping or adjustments can be undone and the image reverted back to its original state. Can embed colour space profiles as well as ITPC Metadata	Needs dedicated RAW converter to process images such as Adobe RAW or Cameras own software Good specification computer needed to process and load images. Most website and online images galleries do not support RAW uploading. Not recommended for use when sending to printing labs or similar due to incompatibilities and the nature of the file type. Large file sizes, approx 12mb for a 10 megapixel file.
Adobe Digital Negative	Similar camera RAW,  created by Adobe as a standardised format Uncompressed image, identical to original Camera RAW file Best image quality overall as well as flexibility in post processing Things such as white balance, exposure, colour space, contrast, saturation can all be adjusted by software easily It is a non destructive format, therefore any changes made such as cropping or adjustments can be undone and the image reverted back to its original state. Slightly smaller file sizes compared to Camera RAW, approximately 8mb for a 10 Megapixel image Cross compatible with all Adobe software so no additional RAW converter needed Can embed colour space profiles as well as ITPC Metadata	Needs Adobe Software or compatible to open and process image Good specification computer needed to process and load images. Most website and online images galleries do not support Adobe Digital Negative uploading. Not recommended for use when sending to printing labs or similar due to incompatibilities and the nature of the file type. Large file sizes, approx 8mb for a 10 megapixel file.

Published Work - Marie Claire (and the Brazillian connection)

A feature from a few weeks back in the Brazilian Edition of Marie Claire -  Click here for the link

In total they featured 12 of my photos from the 2011 Pin up for Heroes calendar, I am unsure of how or why it was featured there but good publicity none the less!

Article was Screencapped from the website, apparently it was also in the printed edition but thus far i have been unable to obtain a copy, so if any of my readers have any contacts in Brazil, get in touch!

As for the Brazilian connection. I also discovered another article on a Brazilian Pin-up blog  - Mundo Ramona  featuring images from the past 3 years calendars with a selection of my images as well as some from one of the 2012 calendar contributors, Ian Egner of Egner Photography.

Thanks for reading!

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Let there be light

My first photo of 2012

My first photo of 2012

Shot through my kitchen window after rain of the sun setting

Captured with a Samsung galaxy S phone, camera 360 app, lomo warm filter.

Pin-up For Heroes 2012 Calendar work

Well, it is that time of year again! For the past 3 years i have worked on
the Pin-up for Heroes Calendar. A project set up to raise money for the Help
for Heroes charity with 100% of the profit being donated to the charity
itself. I always tried to do something a bit unique with Pin up for Heroes, going
for that bit of cheekiness that a charity calendar should have, but also
keeping it tasteful and respectful of the models and their families. With my
background in Pin-up Photography it has always been a natural choice to go
with the Pin-up route and create something that anyone could hang on their
wall and be proud of. Now in its third year, the calendar has thus far raised almost £8000 for
Help for Heroes from the 2010 and 2011 editions, and now the 2012 edition is
available so even more cash can be raised for such a deserving cause. This year, i passed over a lot of the administration side of the work to my
good friend Lucy Jerwood, an army wife and volunteer for Help for Heroes.
For the past 2 years Lucy has helped behind the scenes with the calendar
with help to organise the launch parties, locations for the shoots, costumes
and props and so much more! At the start of the year i decided not to carry
on with the project as i had to switch priorities to look after my family
more, being a full time dad and house husband, but with a bit of cajoling
from Lucy, she offered to take over the admin and running of the project
with myself concentrating just on the photography and design side as well as
running the website and blog for the project. This year i shot all of my side of the work at Tedworth House, in Wiltshire,
the newly refurbished Rehabilitation unit run by Help for Heroes. A simply
amazing grand stately home that was restored both inside and out and a
perfect setting for the photography work to take place. I photographed 7 of the 12 calendar months, and gave the opportunity for 2
other photographers to be involved in the work, a local photographer Ian
Egner who contributed 3 of the months, and Richard Mathews who did a further
2 months. The models, who as always all hard strong military links, were Lisa Medwell,
Peta Todd, China Rose Pennycook, Cherrie Hirst, Stephanie Edwards, Kitty
LeTrash, Ely Dean, Faye Green and Pamela Boyd. Outfits for the shoots were provided by Bluebella, Heavenly Corsets, Pin up
Parade, and hair and makeup was done by the team at Andover beauty college.

The 2012 Calendar is now available to buy and you can purchase it from their
facebook page on http://www.facebook.com/Pinupforheroes?sk=app_135607783795

Thanks

Andy

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