new equipment tests (community gardens, London)

Two days ago I became the proud owner of a new laptop. I've been wanting a new laptop for years - I bought my last one to replace a Chromebook which wouldn't type the letters I or K (also it was really slow and kept freezing, would not recommend), which I bought to replace a thousand-year-old thing which only had a functioning screen at two specific angles and would shut itself off if anyone else got on the WiFi. I didn't really have the money for anything decent so I got this giant cheap clunky thing and I've been hating it for the last four years. But finally, the time has come. I have a tiny, beautiful new machine with an extra-crisp screen. It's also a Mac. I've never used a Mac before, but everyone I know who does any creative work uses a Mac, so that's what I've gone for. It's a weird learning curve. 

Along with that, I also got new editing software. I have been using an - ahem - acquired version of Photoshop CS5 (possibly even CS3) for a looooooong time. It wasn't possible to transfer that to the new Mac, so I bought Affinity Photo. For the first time, I legally own my editing software! I'm still in the process of working out where everything is, but it seems to be user-friendly and do most of the same things as Photoshop. 

In order to test it out, I went to the community gardens near my flat. I've only ever used it as a short cut, but I have thought many times that I should take the camera in. Turns out, it's HUGE. It just keeps going further and further back. It has about nine different seating areas. And there was nobody there. I don't know what it'll be like on sunnier days or weekends, but I could legitimately take a tripod and do a photoshoot there with nobody to see and judge me. I think I might have to make a pact with myself to actually do that before we move. 

Full disclosure: I'm not thrilled with any of these pictures. They're all quite mediocre, largely because I wasn't putting thought into my angles. I was just standing and snapping. If I hadn't wanted to test out editing on the new laptop and program I probably wouldn't have done anything with them. I'm posting them anyway in the hope that it will inspire me to be more considered next time I do a photowalk. 

Picnic area. I was testing out "non-editing" editing, where I correct the levels and values without making too much of an artistic thing of it. From a different angle this would have been a much better picture. 

There's a pond and a bridge in one corner of the gardens. At least I always thought of it as a corner; turns out there's a whole other section through the gate next to it. 

Gate! I'm always drawn to pathways leading into the photo. Again, the angle isn't quite right here. 

Another seating area. I liked the idea of the composition here but I didn't take enough care with the light. Something I have been thinking of is having another go shooting RAW - Affinity has the capability included whereas Photoshop required a complicated add-on. What I've also been thinking of is a former friend of mine who said he was into photography and "oh, I always shoot RAW, of course, otherwise you lose the quality" then looked genuinely baffled when I asked him what he used to edit it. "Edit? I've never done that."

And another. I think I could have done more to this; I didn't think much of while I was editing but looking at it now I could probably make something more of it. I might go back in and have another pass. I haven't tried out the erase function yet and I could have got some more vibrancy in this if I masked out the sky when editing. 

This was in the mysterious other section I'd never really noticed. There's a couple of swings and other bits of playground equipment, and technically I shouldn't have been in there because I didn't have a kid with me. I decided it was fine because it was completely empty, but I did feel a bit creepy being in there with the camera so I scuttled out again after a couple of minutes. 

Testing the black and white adjustment layers. I'd really love to do more B&W work - I'm mostly motivated by colour but B&W is my favourite when it's really good. 

Always a couple of flower close-ups. They're how I got into photography in the first place. Most of the ones I took I didn't end up liking; I think my compositional skills have gone a bit rusty. 

I had several goes at this shot and I don't think I really got it, but I'm not sure what it is that's missing. It's possible that the light just wasn't working yesterday. I couldn't edit the berries to be as vibrant as I wanted without completely blowing out all the highlights. 

I actually didn't do much to the greens here, they were exceptionally lurid from the off. 

This gives me a headache. I can't work out if it's just the pattern or if it's not quite sharp enough. 

There are dozens of these little panels embedded in the pathways. I took tons of pictures of them but I don't think I got the framing right. I got very excited about colour palettes without really thinking about what the finished photo would look like. I want to go back in and retake some of them when I've worked out what I'm trying to say. Also when I've done a bit more mobility work so I don't wobble when I squat down. 

This is set into the top of a low wall. I want to retake this from a lower angle so you get more of a sense of the length. 

Now that I've paid a whole £23 for my own editing software (it was half price) I'd quite like to learn a bit more about what it can do. Because I've been using my camera almost exclusively for photographing my sewing projects I haven't really done anything other than crop, sharpen, screen a layer, and maybe editing out a stain or a spot in years. Maybe if I had a bit more artistic freedom with the editing I'd be motivated to take proper photos more often. Certainly I'd at least like to learn what options I have available to me other than editing out human flaws. 

I'm hoping to have another photography session this month and come back here with a couple of photos (to a theme as of old) that I'm semi-happy with. I really want to start taking pictures regularly again.