Here we have a few dramatic images from Beth and Gregs wedding at Canada Lake and Lodge in Creigau, near Cardiff, South Wales.
Beacause of the stormy weather conditions I decided to convert many of the images to monochrome and make local contrast and sharpening adjustments to each image after dodging and burning in photoshop. I also used a couple of alien bee 1600W heads (powered with portable packs) that enabled a balanced foreground/background exposure.
Many photographers of a certain age frown at such digital image manipulation but I’ve always enhanced monochrome images and to this day still dodge, burn, acid wash and tone my darkroom wet prints. Image manipulation has always taken place just take a look at the brilliant Angus McBean’s work from the 1930′s – and he was Welsh 
I’m of the opinion that our industry needs to be grabbed by the scruff of it’s neck and dragged into the 21st century. We have photographers who rarely photograph teaching students that will probably never become photographers – we also have dinosaurs sitting on judging panels who lack basic skills in digital imagery, and in some cases even in photography ! There are currently hoardes of former photographers (I say former because their main income now comes from tutoring rather than photography) setting up workshops and courses, selling seminars etc who really do not have a clue about modern digital image capture – there are a few exceptions of course, such as Martin Grahame-Dunn and Kevin Wilson but these are few and far between.
Although I still love analogue photography and getting my hands wet, we must all realise that digital imagery has arrived and will continue to progress with each release of photoshop, lightroom, DXO etc – this is a message to all photographers of my generation (I’m almost 50) – we all need to get with it !! – but always remember that photoshop will never magically create an amazing image from a poor one !!
