A Tip for Photographing Boring Skies...

[@NorthWales93]

Imagine my surprise clicking on this video and not only seeing my Village, but my black cat Bruce! 😂

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

haha! That's amazing! :)

[@maxens_is_here]

Tell Bruce I said hi!

[@jordantaylorreed]

Hi, Bruce!

[@snapsbyfox]

FIRST! Finally. Life goal achieved. Back to bed.

[@cleanlens]

hey mr fox

[@grizzlyrunfast]

Fox you're a loser

[@piketubeman]

That's good stuff 😊

[@timothywelke2047]

Damn, two favorite photography KZbinrs in the same spot, this is wild

[@grizzlyrunfast]

@@timothywelke2047 I hate both of them. Roman is a douche bag and takes dog shit photos and just is a moron. Fizzle is tiny, takes dog shit photos and is lame and pretentious thinks hes gods gift to man or some shit. He's not

[@MicroFourNerds]

That photo at 3:22 is so good! Curious ladies

[@JazzyGeorge70]

Love this bright look. I've developed (nicked) this style recently, although I tend to introdue a subtle vignette as well. I also love the subject matter. Much more accessible than the big huge mountain vistas, or unreasonably early sunrises!

[@StuddMuffin99]

You've clearly found your thing, James. Manmade vs nature, love it! 👌🏻😊

[@andrewmckinney7729]

Many thanks, James ... I really appreciate your approach to dealing with skies where needed. Great advice :)

[@skinny_cam9738]

What a great way of going off the beaten track and discovering new places

[@AoyagiAichou]

Lovely area to live in. Llandudno alone felt kind of like a gem when I visited. I also really love your purposeful and kind of "organic" way of editing, or rather the approach to it.

[@peterxtrahan]

Love this type of video. And I like your skies. Granted it wasn't so appealing to me at first, but I see the importance of lessening the distractions. It gives an overall pastel look. Also love your self depreciating humor. (Meant to be a compliment.) :-)

[@carbonejack]

I love the concept of the brightened sky. Really adds to the seperation of the main subject.

[@SMOKIN-STICK]

I’m obviously only one of many viewers, and I’m a couple videos behind… I don’t think you need to have a definite topic/lesson in mind to make a video people will be interested in. I’d love watching videos like this one, just see what James is riding around taking pictures of👍🏻

[@peterwalsh4964]

Really interesting piece about editing skies this week. Thank you. I've usually tried bringing down highlights etc, thinking the eye is drawn to the light, but the sky ends up still bright and horribly HDR looking to boot. Your bright but relatively featureless solution is brilliant!

[@renlevnad]

I LOVE your videos. I always make a cup of tea. Snuggle up somewhere for some cozy minutes with stunning photos, calming pace and of course, the very best of it all, the sarkasm. Please never stop.

[@artu10alonso]

Love when you talk about editing and ways to aproach a photo in Lightroom 👏🏼

[@MacnTeensVisuals]

Lovely shots man, big fan of the bright sky edits myself. Also good luck fighting that hay fever 👊

[@ZaZu2k9]

James, I have debilitating hayfever and I’ve found two things that help if I must go outdoors. First is Allevia (fexofenadyne) and the second is a face mask with a pollen filter, I like to use Airinum masks, they’re very effective and can be used even for general pollution filtering, great for cycling. Orange blossom honey (and locally grown pine tree honeys) in your tea is also a good mild short term treatment. But ideally you want to take the tablet at the start of the day not after you’ve had an allergy fit. Wish you all the best and I sympathise with your pain all too well.

[@HedyConnor]

Was about to suggest fexofenadine too. I know multiple people (incl. myself) who have severe chronic allergies and manage quite well thanks to their fexo prescription.

[@ZaZu2k9]

You can get it over the counter but the gp can prescribe it too with a higher dose. Happy to hear you find it helpful too. Summers are tough for us

[@EJej-z5g]

I'm not a doctor, but I've heard that desloratadine (Erius) is often preferred over fexofenadine because it has fewer side effects like drowsiness. A doctor could also recommend a nose spray with something like fluticasone, combined approach could work better.

[@HedyConnor]

Just in my own experience, fexo doesn't cause me any drowsiness. But this will probably vary from one person to the next. I'll bear desloratadine in mind though, thank you!

[@Localtraveler2376]

Do allergy shots. It is worth it.

[@proksalevente]

I looked forward to this video, I'm always jealous of your blown out but silky smooth skies.

[@calebhearn1526]

That summer sun is doing wonders for your skin. Hay fever is the bane of summer photography, get well soon!

[@nrice3623]

I like the premise of what you’re trying to do. I probably need to embrace blowing some highlights once in a while!

[@andrewwillows4333]

What a refreshing change. I've lost count of how many times I hear from club judges "You could have got a bit more from the sky" 😂

[@hedydd2]

Well packed silage clamp. Could do with a black mesh net over the tyres to stop birds getting into tyre centres and gaps between them and pecking holes in the plastic sheet. Fine shiny plastic mesh over tyres over a silage clamp improves its photogenicity greatly. [is that a word?]

[@gamebuster800]

they look like film pictures, amazing

[@ogshadow113]

love the ones where you are on the bike!

[@artiedoc]

James , Another fun way to start my week ! I always learn and take away something new ...Thanks Mate ! See you soon

[@paulosullivan7197]

Beautiful video mate! Love that part of the world 😊

[@brianmckeever5280]

Funny, I just watched a Rick Bebbington video where he said he had over-exposed the images and they reminded me of how you edit your skies, small world indeed. Good luck with the allergies. I really like this idea of biking and photos if you can get around the attacks from the plant kingdom. Take care.

[@skinnyhornet7661]

I love tour style of photography, it is simple and calming. Serves as great inspiration for my own style of photography. I am very excited for the human nature book. Was wondering if I could maybe share some of my photos with you see what you think about them. Thanks for all the inspiration, love watching the vids, always calms me down and boosts my mood. Keep it up!

[@heyalexjota]

Worst hoovers ever. Everytime I had to use them they got stuck everywhere. But this video is about photos... so great photos and I love your humour James.

[@dhlininger3159]

James, I like this one a lot more like it please. Also like the Irish print indeed peaceful.

[@chingymofo1]

James can point the camera anywhere and I'll like the photo

[@Kevin888yt]

Nice bike!

[@danielgoldberg2129]

I loved the photo of the cemetery with the church (?) in the backround. More of my style than power lines. 😂

[@epronske]

Great images again! I like your philosophy on the treatment of the sky. I will have to try that as well. Thanks again, Erik

[@tudorevans9306]

A one man Welsh Tourist Board, diolch James 👌

[@eorsjr]

Quick recommentation for the sneezing. I struggle with it the same way you do but Claritine does wonders.

[@Sgt_Snacks]

I love your skies and I love your Mason Bokeh. Do a video on your bike. I want to hear what you think of it!

[@MarcoBlanke]

Petition that James should wear this outfit in every video from now on

[@teepee63]

Pretty familiar with all of that cycle route. All ways out of Bangor involve climbing and it's always worth going around the Great Orme.

[@lackoliver55]

Shoutout Henry

[@oat1000]

Your composition, subject choice, and editing style is very similar to my own (although you're much more consistent than I am). I've been really enjoying a 3x8 landscape crop for prints. Maybe you could try it out - I think you'll like it quite a lot.

[@dazzypops]

I've just bought my second photo book. The first one was slapped together by some old northern codger taking a church to pieces in Nova Scotia. The second one is your book 1, which I'm really looking forward to perusing. I can only hope it's not thin enough to fit through the letterbox and is left in the porch, otherwise it might give my cat a rude awakening and he'll probably wander off to his second home in disgust. Or he might just do that anyway when I get home.

[@stefanvasilev9318]

As someone that shoots primarily in backlight situations, I absolutely will blow out my sky and background in general, so that the subject in my photos is the main thing you notice! A plant, a cloud, a window frame or a curtain - if that is the thing that dictates what to expose for, and not the person in the center of the frame, then I feel something is off. 😅🤷

[@jordantaylorreed]

Really inspired by your editing philosophy (philosophies), James. Also, how are you liking the Fidlock bottles?

[@leonamadeusivkovic911]

Hey James, Love the video Is there a Video coming from where you were in Primoštin Croatia, would love to see some photos through your eyes, as i live a hour away from there.

[@LauraF4848]

I'm not a great cyclist, so to me a 20 mile ride is nothing to sneeze at ( sorry, couldn't help myself ). Claritin tablets help a lot. Hope you feel better, James!!

[@kidmohair8151]

like you were trying to come up with a theme for this week (the biking thing didn't quite work as you thought it would) I am trying to come up with something to say for the algo-deities. (about as successfully as you're biking went. without the sneezing fit...yet)

[@DeadRemorse]

Is that the Sony 24-50mm lens? How are you finding it? Have you tried out the companion lens, the 16-25mm?

[@dancar8198]

I’m backpacking through Ireland in the coming month-any suggestions or sights for my Fuji X100V? Great video

[@RobertVE3VPL]

Do you use flat pedals or do you put up with bicycle cleats on the bottom of your shoes? Cleats can be a pain when getting off the bike to walk around a bit depending on distance.

[@Natez-vw4kd]

George. That's its name.

[@billkipper3264]

Have you tried locally made honey for your allergies? Although mine have diminished with age, when I was younger my hay fever was quite severe. Local honey helped immensely.

[@fml5290]

Would be interested to see how you edit and shoot if you know you are printing

[@DaveKingMusic]

40 miles? That’s impressive.

[@lphilpot01]

Like the Gentle Giant reference at 3:20 (Talybont). That is, if indeed it's a reference, if you even like or know of Gentle Giant. Oh well... 🙂

[@Coastographyy]

Love the photo of formula rossa

[@lindahudspeth8006]

Speak to your GP and get prescription strength antihistamines. And start taking them in March.

[@jk-qe3jj]

Have you tried mometasone furoate for the hay fever?

[@najved]

Hey James, i have a question: when do you decide what focal lenght to pick and when to step back or step forward?

[@ahshan_habib]

"I've developed a bit of an obsession with small boats" Didn't realise you were standing as Tory MP James 😂😂

[@andrisstanga5938]

I feel your problem because I suffer too... as do a good many others I think. One problem I found is that, whatever antihistamine you use, it seems your body gets used to it and its effectiveness decreases. I have resorted to a pattern of mixing which works for me. That is, usually 3 weeks loratadine, 1 week certirazine (I think I misspelled that) and then one week nothing. Repeat. I'm in the tropics and there just doesn't seem to be a pollen free season, so I experimented until I found what worked for me. Anyway, thanks again for a great video.

[@yuriythebest]

Also, the way James described it, is as though that particular area had something he was reacting to. I had this particular street on the way to my old place of work where I'd go into sneezing fits which would end as soon as I passed it.

[@terryfletcher4717]

I'm a keen cyclist too James but reluctant to trust carrying my gear in fear of damage. Do recommend a camera bag to carry limited gear while cycling?

[@2LargeHounds]

If you're looking for ideas, why not show off your local area? Just looking on Google Maps; Aber Falls, Conwy Castle, Welsh Mountain Zoo or Gwrych Castle could all be of "Human Nature"

[@DavidSenteno]

Hello James. This was my first day out for photos in 7 months and boy did I struggle. It was nice to come home and watch this video. It reminded me that photography isn’t about grand slams but the enjoyment of the game. Cheers.

[@edwardtye4119]

I was taking pictures at a pary in bright sunshine the other day, and not to generalise but every person there was white. This meant that the highlights *were* the subject in the pictures I took. This meant that I had to lower all the highlights to keep detail in the skin tones when I edited, therefore completely anihiliating any sort of contrast in the rest of the scene. I tried masking only the subject, but because in a lot of the pictures there were a lot of people so the subject masking software couldn't only select the people, or sometimes it missed people out. I did my best to get around it, but some shots were beyond repair, so to speak. I ended up keeping about 170 of the 3,300 photos.

[@barrylyons8102]

How do you expose

[@rjmachin]

Nice. Over-dramatised skies are one of my-most disliked photo cliches (along with slowed-down water) so I’m much more drawn to your style.

[@RH1812]

Yellow Car!

[@nickjessel7759]

A fellow landlubber. Leave the sea boats to the professionals. No self respecting skipper wants their passenger’s breakfast decorating the hull.

[@Enderg42]

I think you accidentally put one of your prints as "starting at £0.59" instead of £59.00 on your store

[@stowgood]

classic less is more philosophy I guess (lol just saw that was also in the title...)

[@olo101olo]

I swear there's one called James....

[@Localtraveler2376]

Do allergy shots. They work wonders.

[@marlenehazlehurst8666]

I love your images...they are so interesting. This latest video made me think...I'm a novice photographer and belong to a camera club ..in competitions so many things you or other professionals do they would hate eg your bright skies (even though your reasoning makes perfect sense), half a tree and a myriad of other small irritations that judges seem to have. Sometimes I feel my photography is being choked by all their rules...well that's my excuse for being mediocre

[@traceybartlam7737]

I doubt you are mediocre. I imagine a fair amount of “old” thinking in certain clubs 😂

[@wayneclayton5426]

I thought Rhyl was the end of the world?

[@_Murky_]

Do masks stop pollen?

[@myoung48281]

You have a kinda weird esthetic with clouds. The clouds are in the background, the boat in the foreground. To enhance the clouds enhances the viewing experience by providing 2 subjects, one dominant, where the boat is prime. Toning down the elements around the boat will enhance the boat. Convert the image to BW would change it into a much more interesting image.

[@williamschultz8198]

Is your son walking yet?

[@EJej-z5g]

I understand that you may not always want your skies to distract the viewer, and that's okay. I also agree that the typical 'HDR-look' can be more annoying than blown-out skies. I'd like to comment specifically on the highlights and shadows sliders. In my opinion, if you find yourself pulling up shadows because you've under-exposed the shot to retain details in the skies, then you might not be doing the best job shooting. Quality-wise, it's better to use a real gradient filter while shooting to expose shadows more without blowing out the skies. For black and white photography, there are also colour filters that can enhance the appearance of skies. People often rely too heavily on editing, they believe that simply by underexposing, shooting RAW, and using editing software, they'll achieve the best quality. That obsessive editing consumes time and often results in artificially-looking images. A well-thought-out photo requires little to no editing.

[@patatipatata9726]

nice tips about the sky. I agree. HDR is so boring! It looks so iPhoneish, so Samsungish, anything digital, bit not organic looking photo.

[@grizzlyrunfast]

First

[@grizzlyrunfast]

This is terrible advice

[@Me-xo5tw]

Why

[@grizzlyrunfast]

@@Me-xo5tw homie is just spouting out shit that isn't useful. Dude is a moron