Colleen and I got bored one morning, So we decided to have a photo shoot around the house, Enjoy.
All these were shot at 50mm f1.4. i just love the super soft depth of field that this little gem of a lens gives you.
All natural light with a very minor filter effect added using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
Tuscany Photography Workshop
As Colleen and I headed over to Italy I had no Idea what was laying ahead of me. After what was to be honest a nice trip to Tuscany via Milan, Bryon and Kellie (viewfindercentre.com) Picked up us from the Train station. We promptly headed for II Poggiolo in San Quirico d`Orcia. An ancient village of Etruscan origins. Later that evening we went for the first best meal of my life (there were many more along the coming weeks). Day One. Sorted.
At the end of the workshop, I can say that alot of things had changed, me, my style , my work flow, my energy, my ambitions and my outlook. I can confirm I shall be there next year to keep working on my sun tan.
A massive thank you to all the students, Eric and Dan, I love individual way of approching photography, There is nothing like raw talent in this world, I can not wait to see where your work takes you. Sam, I love your passion and the way you tackle the things in front you, I can not wait so see what next year will bring !
I would love to thank in person everyone who contributed to the making it a success. You know who you all are. I really hope to see as many of you there again next year for an even bigger better workshop.
John, Ian, Eric and Dan, thank you for letting me steal your cameras from time to time. Below are a few shots from the week 
Thank you to Colleen, Magena, Iveta and all the other models
Please be sure to check out the links below:
Bryon Paul McCartney – www.bryonpaulmccartney.com/
Viewfinder Center – Tuscany Workshops - www.viewfindercenter.com
Every now then we get some extra special work come in to LABB , we have a little section called LABB LOVES.
LABB certainly loves the BLUE PEARL. Created by Danish Photographer Flemming Fals Bahrt Leitorp, The BLUE PEARL spread is fantastic addition to the TEXTURE volume of LABB.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE LABB WEBSITE FOR DETAILS
One a random cold night , we grabbed the camera and headed up to the woods !
Enjoy !!
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Nkwo Onwuka is ‘AFRO-BOHEMIAN CHIC’.
Winner of the Phoenix Award at Kulture2Couture 2007,in association with the Mayor of London’s office and the V&A.
The Nkwo collection features volume created with layers of tulle, silk and the softness and fluidity of chiffon in earthly warm colours. The vibrant print fabrics come alive, with bubble hems, frill details on the necklines, tulip skirts and dresses.
The ‘print’ embroidery on her pieces is proof of her distinctive craftsmanship as a designer. It is also an exquisite complement to the fabrics as it stimulates interest in the burst, neckline and waist line of her pieces. Her collection comes off as organic; reflective of the beauty of the African soil!
Photography Dave Piper
Models- Emma Kate Dawson & Lucy Nibblet
Designer – Nkwo Onwuka
Styling – GTE Styling
Its been a while since my last Photoshop blog, so i wanted to create something fun for everyone !! Because I am nice like that.. I thought summer style Party Promo Club might be just the thing to bring summer here ! Lets make a HEDKANDI STYLE PHOTO !!
So then STEP ONE !!
Find a model, my lovely model was Nicola Stevens, My photo was taken f4.8 @ 135mm, A little light from either side and a blue gel from the back. A fan was used to lift the hair. The photo was kept darker to enusre no detail was lost . I knew there was going to be loads of post pro , so i was not too worried about make up. It was more of a snap than a proper Photo Shoot…..
Once you have your photograph, Pop into into photoshop direct. Edit up the skin, Make up , body shapes, and all the stuff that you want to do. I use a few ticks using lens blur layers after a good going over with the stamp tool Blur sharpen, repeat… If you do wanna know more about this, section… fire me an e-mail or get a make-up artist !!
STEP TWO !!
Create 2 new layers -
Make some funky over lays and pretty patterns. This is very random and hit or miss. I kept very simple and created two quick elements that sit into my comp.
These elemets very very simple and created using the Brush tool and some very simple layer styles, a simple inner glow and outer glow, A flip into screen colour mode and your done.
Lets work on the lighting cord. (Pen tool> creat wiggle>remove sections behind arm>add layer style) I used a custom shape brush and a Wacom Tablet set on the airbrush mode to let me fade in and out, a nice soft brush does work well here.
Here I again made a custom brush for my fake Bokeh effect. (create brush shape>edit brush settings>paint>done !!) Once you have your settings for the brush its half the battle. You dont have to make your own brush.. but i think its cool. The settings… F5 will make your brush manager pop if you have not got it open. play around with some stuff in there like size and shizzle.. I dont really want to say what i used.. just play and see. Its a very very Powerful tool.
After you have made your layer, add about 3 or 4 more layers.. paint some whacky colours on there (one colour per layer) , Pop them into colour mode (blending layer) and see your Bokeh colour up !! This should start to colour your background photo now too..
STEP THREE !!
Colour up your photo and merge it all !!
You should almost have your comp done.. A few more colour layers set to Colour blend mode and some more whacky colours should start to build up the over all photo..
Dont be worried if your photo looks like this !! its cool.. Build it up duplicate the layer, add some Lens Blur, Screen mode , sharpen this.. add that and add back in your elements you make and Bingp Bango
Watch it all come together..
STEP FOUR !!
Opps.. ok .. so only 3 steps.. Erm.. ADD MORE LAYERS , work some cool layer styles and build build build !! Dont be worried about trying things ! I have about 20 odd layers in mine.. some pure blue layers, some blurred up layers. Lots of screen mode layers. God Bless the Alpha Channel !!
Thank you !! send me your versions !!
Jessica Nurse’s work is stunning, I had been wanting to shoot with her for a quite a while, so when the chance cropped up I jumped at it !!
There was an under theme that I wanted to bring though , A sort of East meets West. The idea of the shoot name being ‘The Lines’ was a reference to not just the lines on the skin but a change in direction in my work, a line in the sand .
If you have not already checked out my new 2010 portfolio be sure to click here to view the Fashion or Portrait website sections.
Be sure to check out Jessicas website !
This shoot can also be seen www.behance.net/DavePiperPhotography
If you have not already checked out my new 2010 portfolio be sure to click here to view the Fashion or Portrait website sections.
The first time I had heard of the The All Time Low was an album called Punk go Crunk, They did cool cover of Umbrella by R&B singer Rihanna. I am big fan of Punked up covers so I kinda thought I would be a fan of band live. Turns out the best thing about this band was how they party after the show. Which is not leave you in any doubt about how good they are live. Amazing, does come close to there stage presence. But the Double Jack that I was bought after.. well .. Thank you.
These photos are from the Birmingham leg of the Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2010 With The Blackout, My Passion and Young Guns.
All Time Low Hail from from Baltimore, Maryland, they formed back in 2003
So far they have 3 releases
These boys are ones to watch for sure. American Pop Rock for the Win. But when a band formed to play Blink songs and named them after a New Found Glory Lyric, It was never going to bad.
The band was eventually selected as Alternative Press Magazine’s Band of the Year for 2008
I have been waiting to catch these guys ! Tonight there are on the support bill for REEL BIG FISH.
Sonic Boom Six are a Ska-punk outfit from Manchester, and they are pretty cool.
“Grand statement time: Sonic Boom Six are, simply, the most exciting live punk band in the country. They cater for chin-stroking social commentators, wide-eyed rave kids and big-shorted punkers all in the space of a single gig and will – yup, will – own 2009″
- Scene 2009: Punk&Metal, NME (Jan 10, 2009)
“It’s taken a while but Sonic Boom Six are rocketing out of the underground – a hefty shot of ska-punk, hip-hop, reggae and even jungle in the mix, not to mention big, sinuous rock dynamics and hooks.”
- Tick, Tick, Boom!, Kerrang! (May 30, 2009)
“It might have taken until their third album for SB6 to break the UK underground’s glass-ceiling, but their massive grassroots following practically guarantees success for City of Thieves. The fact it’s a fantastic stew of punk, ska and hip-hop helps too; finally, their time has come.”
- The Panel, Music Week (May 02, 2009)
“This isn’t good, it’s way beyond that and deep into the realms of something special. A hundred word analysis cannot do this album justice, so let’s just say it’s one fucking excellent album and get on with our lives? Agreed? Agreed.”
- City of Thieves Review, Rock Sound (Jun 01, 2009)
“Sonic Boom Six have always been one of the most diverse and inventive bands to get lumped into the British punk scene. It’s smart, joyous music that has plenty to say and does so eloquently.”
- City of Thieves Review, Big Cheese! (May 30, 2009)
http://www.sonicboomsix.co.uk check there shizzle out !!
The role as Art Director for LABB MAGAZINE, has been almost a total life consuming role. But I am told that is the Fashion Industry, and to just get on with it… Which is exactly what I have done. On the LABB team, There is George Eko (Editor in chief ), OscarAlexander Lunburg (Creative Editor) , Ozzy Shah (Features Editor), Abiola Salami (Managing Editor) and myself. Quite a small team!
“LABB is a quarterly ‘coffee table’ glossy which will be aimed at designers, photographers and artists from all different backgrounds. It’s very easy to read as the written features will be minimal and main focus will be on the editorial spreads.” – OZZY
As I am writing this blog, half the team is in London preparing the final order for the magazine. Its a strange feeling, I have been working on the layout for months now, sometimes 20 hours a day. Its a strange feeling to think when the next few changes that I make (when i get the new notes) will be the last changes, LABB will have its first ever magazine.
Its been a Rocky birth, its been hard and stressful. But I am very sure I speak for the whole of the LABB team when I say that , “we are confident in our product”.
I have a duel interest in this magazine as a number of the submissions and commissions in the magazine are mine. Whats really strange is that putting the layout together is not the scary part for me. there are 238 pages of pure Photographic and Fashion goodness, each of those pages is a worry, each tiny element on the cover pages, each tiny drop shadow, the position of each photo, each page should be able to stand up on it own yet work with the page next to it and with the whole of the magazine. Its be a learning curve that’s for sure. But still, for me, my big buzz is that my photography has been included in the magazine. Seeing my work along Danny Tang, Andrew Bainbridge, Squiz Hamilton , Natalie J Watts and Karl Baxter, is an amazing feeling. Which is a bigger achievement for me? that’s hard to answer. But on thing is for sure. I feel a MASSIVE sense of achievement for just being where I am.
“If Vogue is your bible then LABB Magazine is going to be your Qur’an, Torah & Bible all in one!It is a fashionista’s dream put together all in one and oh my… Its definitely a rollercoaster to go through!” -OZZY
Below are some screen shoots from my computer of the magazine, Please be sure to check out www.Labbmagazine.com
( oh.. if you are on Facebook too.. there links to our Facebook page via the website)
