Image Licensing & Print Products

Last week we undertook the successful integration of the Jason Friend Photoshelter Archive into the www.jasonfriend.co.uk website. The Photoshelter archive has been utilized over the last few months to store and market the Jason Friend Image Library. By integrating the Photoshelter archive, we are now able to offer a number of new features through www.jasonfriend.co.uk:

Archival quality photographic prints are now available of all of the images in the image library which means that there are now nearly 5000 images available in 3 different print sizes with prices starting from just £9.99 for a 12" x 8" print. A full range of other print sizes and photographic gifts are still available at www.jasonfriendprints.com.

Image licensing and image downloads are now available online - 24/7. We also now offer a Freedom Account which empowers the picture researcher with a simple, cost effective means to reproduce the photography of UK based photographer Jason Friend, and also a number of images from carefully selected external associate photographers.

Images are available whenever you require them, with the account enabling you to search and download all of the high-resolution (A3) image files available at the Jason Friend Photography website 24/7.

Not only is the Freedom Account extremely convenient but also a cost effective solution for your image requirements. We offer a 20% discount on your normal reproduction rates, as well as the option for deferred payments for up to 60 days from the date of notification of usage. Click here to register your interest in becoming a Freedom Account holder.

Simplicity?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking a client on a private workshop near my hometown along the Tyneside Coast, where we photographed and explored the local landmark of the St Mary's Island & Lighthouse.

As you would imagine, I have captured numerous images of the lighthouse over the last few years although I have to be honest in admitting that I have not composed any images recently that I have felt are strong enough to escape the 'delete' button.

Last night the weather conditions were quite 'interesting' with the onset of rain never seeming to be far away. However the weather can be quite fickle along the North Tyneside coast and the clouds actually started to clear shortly after sunset.

I am quite pleased with this shot although the capturing of the image was not as easy as it may appear. There was huge difference of 5 f-stops in the required exposure for the rocky foreground and the dramatic sky. To balance the final exposure I could have taken a normal of exposures and then processed them all to create a final HDR (High Dynamic Range) image but that would have meant yet more time behind the laptop. Instead I decided to use two of my Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filters staggered across the horizon (a 2-stop soft transition filter and 3-stop hard transition filter) which balanced the exposure nicely - but there was a problem.

The wooden groynes providing the foreground interest were occupying both the top and bottom of the frame, and as such were clearly indicating where I had placed the two filters. The only solution was to manually fire a strobe light across the top of groynes during the required thirty second exposure, with the strobe light being provided by a Canon Speedlite 550 EX. I captured a number of images with this one being my preferred frame.

Quite simple really.

The Lensbaby experience

Recently the nice folks at Lensbaby sent me a Canon mount version of their Lensbaby Composer with accompanying Optic set, for me to put through it paces in the great outdoors. The first question in my mind was simple - Would the Composer be sharp enough for my critical picture editors?

Anybody who has heard about the Lensbaby are probably wondering why I am even considering the sharpness of the lens, after all the Lensbaby has become famous for it's ability to selectively blur the subject. In my opinion there is a fine line between an intentionally blurred image and one that is simply out of focus - And of course I don't want people viewing my images to think that the latter reason is why my images appear blurred. So, is the Lensbaby really sharp where it should be?

Considering that the original Lensbaby could almost be considered as a toy lens, the Composer is amazingly sharp. The method used to compose and focus a shot can be somewhat frustrating, with the composer utilizing an unique ball and socket system to refine the amount of blur (out of focus effect) applied to your composition meaning that once you have focussed the lens and then start to evaluate the 'lensbaby effect' you may well slightly knock the focusing of the sweet spot. I found myself composing, focussing, adjusting the blur direction, re-focussing, adjusting the aperture (via a rather simple yet highly effective method of placing metal discs in the front barrel of the optic), checking the focussing again and then actually tripping the trigger. Of course my camera was set up on a tripod all the time while I went through these motions - I did try some handheld shots but they were quickly deleted from my computer upon viewing them on the monitor.

Although the Lensbaby was sharp where it mattered (albeit with a drastic drop of sharpness outside the sweet spot - this is a Lensbaby after all), I did find the rendition of colours slightly muted and nowhere as vivid as I would expect from one of my 'L' series lenses. In the defense of the Lensbaby, I am comparing a lens costing less than £200 to a selection of lenses which retail for nearly 3x the price of the Lensbaby. The colours are muted but in a way they add to the Lensbaby effect. Personally however, they are not to my taste and I found myself converting a number of my images to Black & White.

Continuing along the Black and White theme, I experimented using the Lensbaby Composer with a 77mm size Kood infra-red filter attached to the front of the lens with Blu-Tack. The long exposures dictated by using a filter designed to block visible rays and only allow infrared light to pass combined with the selective focus (or should it be blur) of the Lensbaby seemed to compliment each other well and produced some memorable images.

Whilst testing the Lensbaby, I mainly used the excellent Double Glass Optic which is the standard optic shipped with the Lensbaby Composer and, as I mentioned above, I found extremely sharp. This can not be said of the optional Optic set although if you consider that a optic designed to replicate a pinhole camera is included in the selection it is hardly surprising! Unfortunately I found the Plastic, Single Glass and Pinhole / Zone Plate Optics to be little more than a selection of toy lenses which I would have absolutely no use for.

Perhaps the most important thing I found from trying out the Lensbaby Composer, is that whilst it will obviously let you down at times in regard to the image quality it will probably more than make up for any disappointment in the pure pleasure of use whilst actually capturing an image. This lens is not for everybody but, for those willing to persevere, it can produce some amazing results.

Edinburgh Illuminated released

It's here! My final book to be released this year is now available from all good bookshops.

Edinburgh, Dunedin, Auld Reekie or Athens of the North – regardless of your choice of name, it is unquestionable that the capital city of Scotland is one of the most spectacular cities to be found within the United Kingdom, and indeed Europe. A city where the past is never far away yet the modern is always present. A city considered so unique that its future has been protected by the awarding of World Heritage status.

During the light of day, the city of Edinburgh holds a charm that will delight any visitor or resident. Arguably, however, to fully appreciate the splendour of this city one has to experience its delights as it is transformed during the periods of darkness. As the sun sets the lights turn on, giving a new appearance to the streets and features, ones that could not have been anticipated by the original architects.

The powerful visual impact of this spectacle is captured by nationally-known photographer Jason Friend. He has directed his camera towards illuminated Edinburgh and produced this stunning collection of more than 140 images. They offer a fascinating nocturnal perspective which shows how the gracious yet teeming city lives and breathes in the hours of darkness.

Jason Friend lives in the North East of England. He is a regular contributor to Outdoor Photography and Country Walking Magazine and supplies images to a number of worldwide image libraries. This is Jason’s sixth book – his previous titles including Portrait of the Borders, Portrait of Tyneside and Spirit of Cumbria, also for Halsgrove.

Imprint: Halsgrove. ISBN 978 1 84114 887 8, hardback, 214x230mm, 144 pages. Published July 2009.

Click here to view a promotional leaflet showcasing a number of images from the book. If you love the images, why don't you click here to order Edinburgh Illuminated from Amazon.co.uk?

Back on the road

Please do accept my apologies for the lack of news recently but I do have a very good excuse for the missing posts. I'm a Dad! To a gorgeous baby boy whom Lynette and myself have called Rhys.

After a couple of weeks paternity leave, dragging myself away from mother and son was something of a struggle. Luckily a spell of good weather made it all the more bearable! Last week I found myself exploring the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty capturing images for my forthcoming Northumberland books, rural Northumberland in search of wild flowers (armed with my new Canon 100mm Macro lens) and Talkin Tarn in Cumbria where I discussed a forthcoming commission with a client - and also managed to get a couple of nice stock shots.

So it is now business as usual, and I am looking forward to a busy few weeks with a number of forthcoming group and private workshops, judging of the Port of Tyne Reflect Awards and the ongoing capturing of images for my three books to be released by Halsgrove next year. Of course I will also be making time to keep you all up to date with the latest news and images - That is a promise!

The Tyneside Experiments

Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead Millennium Bridge and Baltic Gallery.

The last few weeks, I have found myself making the most of our outstanding north-east weather to continue work on my forthcoming 'Perfect Northumberland' and 'Spirit of Northumberland' books. However, last week I decided to take a break from the projects to revisit one of my favourite city locations to experiment with a couple of pieces of equipment to hopefully fuel the creative process of capturing a photograph.

The first has been used to capture black and white images of the outstanding Newcastle upon Tyne & Gateshead Quayside, not a particularly cutting edge technique except that I have been using a special filter to block all visible light and to allow only infrared (IR) light to reach the sensor. I have been using this filter on my trusty Canon Eos 5D which is not designed for infrared photography so it has a factory fitted filter to reduce the amount of IR light received by the sensor! However, over a 30 second exposure enough IR light is still registered by the sensor to deliver a RAW file which can be converted in Photoshop or Lightroom to produce a pseudo-infrared image such as the two shown here.


River Tyne, Millennium and Tyne Bridges and Sage building.

I have also been using this technique whilst experimenting with a Lensbaby Composer which I am currently testing for a forthcoming review for this website. The small filter size thread of the Lensbaby has meant that I have had to utilise a high-tech method to attach my 77mm size Kood filter to the lens. A huge thank you to the inventors of Blu-Tack once more!

Free Tyneside Screensaver

To celebrate the launch of 'Portrait of Tyneside' last month, we have created a very special screensaver featuring 30 images from the book. The screensaver is totally free and features a number of locations from Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as North and South Tyneside.

So what are you waiting for PC users? Download it now by clicking on the button!