250824 - Hi, I’m DC…
Daniel Cook, @mrdanielcook and @the.drone.dc . I’m a photographer and this isn’t a blog. I’d like to think of it more of my thoughts and feelings about my approach to my photography.
I am lucky to have experience across a number of genres. I shoot a lot of Interior Architecture which I enjoy immensely. A lot of this has to do with the people I deal with that make the experience enjoyable and the spaces they design and build. So thank you to my Interior Architecture/Building/Joinery clients if you are reading this. I also get in the water with my camera and shoot surf action and water landscapes. I do portraits and have done a few underwater portraits which I’d love to do more of. This past weekend I shot in a gym which was a fun throwback to where I started to take photos with a mirrorless camera. A lot of my photos prior to this were drone photos - see Surfing Whale for more of those.
One of the things I dislike about social media is 1) the algorithm, and 2) it’s so fast paced. One swipe and it’s onto the next photo, video, tutorial or recipe. This is my attempt at slowing the process down and communicating what I was thinking before, during and after I have taken a photograph, and the process and decisions I make throughout the editing process.
Let’s start with my most recent shoot…
I got in contact with a local gym Tribe HQ that was running a fitness competition this past weekend - CrossFit style. I have previously been a member of this gym, know the owner well and have a number of friends who still go there. I am also very familiar with the layout of the space and having shot there multiple times before, so I know it photographs well.
I don’t know if it’s me and the point I’m at in my photography career, but doing ‘regular’ stuff in my personal work doesn’t excite me at the moment. Sure, I can shoot the event and whoever I capture through the lens will be grateful that they see a photo of them competing. But that doesn’t do it for me at the moment. I need more of a challenge and to make things a bit more difficult (kind of) in order to make it interesting. I decided to take one camera and one prime lens (fixed focal length): my Sony A7RV with my 135mm F1.8 GM and I added a 1/4 Black Mist filter. I almost changed my mind before I left the house, thinking I should change to a shorter 85mm focal length. But thought nope, I’ll make it work. Get creative with framing, think about compositions, take an extra step back and work the angles.
Here are a few shots from the event:
Looking back at the gallery now, there’s a lot of Black and White photos. When I was doing my Diploma in Photography, one of my teachers told me to always click your photo over to B&W just to compare it (or before you delete it lol). I’m a sucker for B&W photos and have developed a number of presets specifically for B&W photos.
Some will say that a half of photography is in the editing… and they’d be half right. Lighting composition, colour, balance etc. all come into play.
The editing of these photos was very simple - straighten, add lens corrections and apply one of my presets. All photos are edited using a Lightroom preset I developed while in Thailand a few weeks ago which I call “Phuket”. The B&W preset is called “Phuket B&W” - original, I know. I usually develop a preset when I travel to a new location, but it’s great to see that this one works for photos that aren’t of Thailand. They have a touch of grain, a touch of warmth, a touch of contrast and a bit of haze. They have a quasi-film look which I love as it introduces some nostalgia into the composition.
Photography is very personal, though. I think the edits work but you might hate them.
Applying my “Phuket” preset is a lazy way of editing, but it’s also not. It took me a few hours to develop the preset (plus 2 years of formal study), so it is more efficient once the initial work is done. You know what “look” you like, and a preset is a convenient way of applying it instantly.
OG Amy Alessi overhead squatting 90kg using my Lightroom preset “Phuket”.
I was only at the gym for 90 minutes. Quick in and out, home with a coffee and a croissant to do a quick edit before going to a baby shower which boys were invited to (and they had a margarita bar). Baby showers aren’t that bad after all!
So, that’s it. My first ‘not a blog’ entry. I guess it’s more about me talking photography to anyone who wants to listen. But that works for me.
Cheers, DC
P.S. You can view my portfolio above.
