Introducing the Michael Rammell Photography Podcast
It's official, I'm back in iTunes with a brand new show. The new show will basically feature the content that I write here on this blog (recorded as audio). So, if you prefer to listen as you go about your daily activities, instead of reading, it's now even easier to do that! Just head over and subscribe to the new show through iTunes.
Those of you that have a keen eye may have picked up on the fact that I said that I am 'back' in iTunes...well, that's because I used to host a very successful show by the name of Ready Steady Pro. It was a great show with over 20 episodes. I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing some wonderful photographers and massive names, including David DuChemin, Frank Doorhoff, Valerie Jardin, Andrew Hellmich, Damien Lovegrove and Neil Buchan-Grant, to name but a few. As part of the launch of this new show, I will also be re-releasing the old Ready Steady Pro content too; digitally re-mastered (with a less cheesy soundtrack!) for 2017 and beyond.
So, if you love podcasts and like this blog why not head on over to iTunes and subscribe The Michael Rammell Photography Podcast!
What was Ready Steady Pro?
The reason so many of you may not be aware of the old Ready Steady Pro Photography podcast is because it existed some time before I really started to commit to this blog and the content I put out here. Then, back in 2015 I moved house and simply stopped recording episodes. Since then however, over 450 of you have subscribed to the mailing list to receive the content from this site direct to your inbox, and so there is a very strong chance you'll be reading this very post in your email. Thanks for subscribing if that's you!
So, rather than allowing those old Ready Steady Pro episodes (which are full of great gems of advice and content) to gather digital dust and remain hidden on my hard drive, I'll be re-releasing them. Just like an old EP they'll be remastered for 2017 with new intros too. You'll be able to hear all manner of discussions about the business of photography, the art of photography, some chats about gear and some otherwise massively interesting and inspiring interviews from the likes of Valerie Jardin, David DuChemin, Andrew Hellmich, Frank Doorhoff, Olympus Ambassador Neil Buchan Grant and Fuji X Pro Photographer and all round good guy Damien Lovegrove.
Why the rebrand? Why not continue with RSP?
As much as the 'Michael Rammell' show in iTunes will play host to the original content i recorded for the Ready Steady Pro Photography Podcast, the new content and audio I'll be recording will be about various other things too, not just the process and work required to start a photography business. The content that you have come to know from MichaelRammell.com will also feature too. For example at the time of releasing this post the other available episodes include my reviews of the Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 and also my MeFoto BackPacker Tripod too. So, as such I just felt that it wasn't appropriate to call it Ready Steady Pro any more.
Today's episode.
So if you hit play at the top of this blog on that audio player, you'll be greeted by a new intro recorded in February 2017, followed by the very 1st ever episode of RSP, which was recorded back in September 2013. It's rough around the edges, I think you'll agree, but I was joined by some good friends and like anything in life, if you wait for something to be perfect before you start it - you'll never get started at all!
The point of Ready Steady Pro was always that it was being put together and released by people in the exact same position as those listening; that being that those tuning in are photographers spinning the two plates of a day job and a photography side-income with the long-term objective being to transition between the two.
I listen back now myself and realise just how far I've come, but that's not going to stop me from putting this early episode back out there. But please do be gentle! I'll be the first to admit that a number of my own opinions may have changed over the course of the last few years, but I see this as a natural progression and growth of myself as a person and a photographer.
This episode was never intended to be polished or perfect. As I always say it's better to start something and get it out there, rather than perfecting for so long that it never eventually gets out there anyway!
So, get comfy and enjoy the listen. If you're new to this brave world of photography and are trying to make a go of it in a professional capacity I hope that this early recording gives you hope and belief that with enough time, practise and filled pages in notepads, that you will get there too!
Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and here on the blog too.
I'll be re-releasing the old RSP content mixed in with new content from the blog every few weeks. I hope you enjoy it and find it valuable.
As always, thanks for being here, thanks for subscribing and thanks for even reading this far! Until next week...
Competition Winner Announcement!
Today we find out who has won my own personal copy of David Gibson's 'The Street Photographer's Manual'.
If you can watch the video below, great! If not, here's the audio: (failing that, you can read on below)!
First off though I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who entered. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and thank you for subscribing to the blog. Subscribing was a pre-requisite of entering and so I sincerely hope that you remain a subscriber even now that this competition has ended, not least because I do hope that you'll find my future posts of interest and value, but also because I will be running more competitions just like this one on a quarterly basis.
If you didn't win this time round please don't be disheartened, so many people entered and there could only be one winner after all. At the end of the day I ran this competition to give away a book that I purchased with my own money; the prize was not donated by some large company or sponsor and I shan't be exchanging or passing any of your details onto companies or third parties.
That said however, I am hoping to get some companies on board in future to contribute prizes that you can win. I will keep you posted on those efforts in future posts and hopefully I'll be able to put some big prizes up for grabs!
Now for the big announcement: The winner of the 'The Street Photographer's Manual' is...
JAMES MARSON!
Congratulations James, well done!
I'll be in touch with James within a couple of days to get his details and get that book sent out.
Please do note that the winner was chosen completely at random. If you must know I had all of the entries collated into a spreadsheet and them simply chose a number at random. That number was the row in which James' name was!
That's all for this week. Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox, I'll be announcing the next giveaway later in February and also some big new projects that I'm working on too, where you'll be able to see exactly how it is I post process my images and produce the work you see here on the website.
As ever, in the mean time if you have any questions for me or want to chat, drop me a line via email or connect with me on social media!
Making Mono Macro Tulips (Video)
This week I started working on a new video series that I will be launching later in the year. In my upcoming series, I'll be sharing my entire post-processing method, from the moment I insert the memory card and import the images, through to the settings I like to apply, the way I crop, make use of brushes and my tips for exporting images too.
It will be a massively comprehensive series of videos with hours of footage broken down into bite-size chapters. If you're new to Adobe LightRoom this will serve as your one-stop shop to learn the program! Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already and you'll be notified when that is live and available.
If truth be told, though, it's been much harder than I had thought it would be! Creating high-quality videos takes far longer than you may think!
So, today I decided to take a break from producing that series and very quickly threw together this video: totally unscripted, quick & simple and hopefully it goes to show the sort of results you're able to achieve with a very simple setup and very little effort. I filmed behind the scenes and my post processing to show you how you can go from this to this:
All I used for this shoot was my Olympus OM-D E-M1, the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, a large window, a purple tulip and Adobe Lightroom. Check it out:
It is a bit of a long video, so perhaps enjoy this on your commute or during your lunch break with a cuppa! :)
Download Wallpapers
Just in case you were wandering what I did with the other images that were left un-processed in the video, they're right here for you to take a look at. You can also download them (18Mb) to use as desktop wallpapers, but, please do note that they are copyright (details at the bottom of the post):
Copyright Notice
Please enjoy these photographs. But be kind: Do not edit these photographs and claim them as your own. Don't sell them without my permission. Do not use commercially without contacting me @ michael@rammellphotography.com.
All works are Creative Commons Licensed:
Mono Macro Tulips by Michael Rammell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at www.michaelrammell.com.
London Photo Walk - April 2017
Come and join me on the first of my London Photo Walks for 2017!
Click the audio player just below to listen to the audio, or watch the announcement on YouTube instead. Can't listen or watch right now? All of the details are below if you'd prefer to read instead!
On Sunday 30th April I'll be hosting my annual walkabout in London. As always this is a completely FREE event and a chance for you to come and meet myself and some other like-minded photographers. With limited spaces available I would encourage you to register your place as soon as you can using the form at the bottom of this post (those of you viewing this in your email may need to open it in their browser), or head on over to the events page to register.
As is very much the tradition with all the walks I host and as past attendees will attest; we will start out at one of London's best coffee shops - The Department of Coffee and Social Affairs on Carnaby Street. We'll then hit the streets, with plenty of stops for discussion (and more coffee!). We'll cover a couple of miles before then ending with a meal to discuss the day (optional)
What, Where, When?
Date: Sunday, April 30th
Meeting Time: 13:00 (UK Time)
Finish Time: Circa 17:30 (UK Time)
Meeting Location: The best coffee shop in London! If you've been on one of my walks previously you may well be familiar with The Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, on Carnaby Street (W1F 7HD). I'll be there from around 12:00, so if anyone wants to meet for a delicious pre-walk coffee, stop by and we'll get acquainted. This rather small, but superb coffee shop is located at the North end of Carnaby Street down one of the small alleys. Look out for the Black signs.
Transport: To get to Carnaby Street you'll need to take a short walk from either Oxford Circus (Central Line) or Picadilly Circus (Bakerloo Line)
Register
To remain up to date with any possible changes to the walk and to register your FREE place, be sure to complete the form below. I look forward to seeing lots of you there!
[NOTE: registering for this walk will subscribe you to the Blog. You can unsubscribe at any time, but to ensure you remain up to date with changes to the itinerary, please be sure to remain a subscriber until after the walk]