THIS PRODUCT PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE RECORDING - YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD.
Highlights: https://youtu.be/o-OmS135awg
Most of us photograph a flower and end up with a picture of a flower.
This is an evening about the other thing, the image that looks made rather than taken, and about how little it costs to get there. No studio. No flash. Stan Farrow told us plainly that he hates artificial light and works with daylight and a sheet of white paper. What he does have is a sheet of black acrylic, a crocodile clip, a glass brick, a bottle of Optrex and a shelf of dying roses.
He taught Biology before he did anything else, so he starts where a biologist starts, with how to photograph a specimen properly. Then he leaves it behind entirely.
What you will take from it
Backgrounds you can make at home. Black velvet on a board. A box painted black inside. Painted boards, printed boards, crackle paste from an art shop that dries overnight. One of his favourites is an old book, some muslin and a used teabag.
Soft, sharp, and how to have both. The technique behind nearly every image in this talk: duplicate the layer, blur it, then cut back through with a mask to keep only the parts that matter. He does the same to build the Orton effect that made his poppy field look like a Monet.
Poor man's ICM. Camera movement without the rails, the rigs or the shopping list. It is Path Blur, and he explains why doing it this way means you can throw it away and start again for nothing.
Shadow boxes. Copy the image, enlarge the canvas, paste it back, blur a black layer behind it. He has it saved as an Action and presses one button.
Water drops that behave. Why he uses Optrex eyedrops rather than water, and what glycerin does differently. Clear lemonade poured over Japanese maple leaves. Sea holly in half a pint of milk, and the one-step Photoshop trick that removes the colour cast it leaves behind.
Multiple exposure. The four blending modes in camera and what happens when you change the white balance between frames.
What our community said on the night
Danelle: "I could watch this again RIGHT NOW. Fascinating and inspiring."
Susannah: "Every time I watch a presentation from Stan I just want to rush off and start taking photos."
Gill: "My head is spinning with things to do."
Mandy: "I'm totally astounded by the numerous techniques shown by Stan. So inspired to have a go in the coming weeks."
Jan: "As always, Stan's presentation has been extremely creative. Lots to think about and try."
Valerie: "This has been so good, I'm off to buy some acrylic and velvet now."
Worth knowing.
This is an illustrated talk, not a live editing workshop. Stan explains how each image was made, step by step and in plain language, but he does not build one on screen. A lot of people asked on the night whether he would come back and do exactly that, and we are asking him.
What you will need.
Nothing, to watch. To try it, something that works in layers. Stan uses Photoshop, and several of the techniques he describes are Photoshop features by name, so bear that in mind if you work in Affinity or Elements.
Who it is for.
Anyone who likes flowers and would like to do more with them than a straight portrait of a bloom. You do not need a studio, advanced editing skills, or anything you cannot already find at home.
Why we love this one.
Stan is a stalwart of this community and one of the people we most enjoy having on. What we like about the way he teaches is how little he hides. There is no mystique with Stan. He shows you the technique, tells you it is easier than it looks, and is usually right.
Three for the price of two, with the code STAN
There are six Stan Farrow titles on the site, including this one. Pick any three, use the code STAN at checkout, and the cheapest of the three is free.
PhotoArt - Stan Farrow, £6. This is the one where he makes his own backgrounds and alcoves. It set half our Facebook group building them.
Abstract Photography with Stan Farrow, £6. The theory and the techniques behind his abstract work.
Abstracts, Backgrounds and Beyond with Stan Farrow, £12. A two-part workshop on multiple exposure architectural abstracts and building physical craft backgrounds.
Resource pack: Abstracts, Backgrounds and Beyond, £8. The actual files Stan used in his demonstrations. Architectural elements, natural subjects, textures, overlays, historical scripts, his slides and his technique guides. Yours to download and keep.
GUIDE: Abstract Swirls & Bubbles by Stan Farrow, £6. A written step-by-step, using Mezzotint, Radial Blur, Twirl and Polar Coordinates.
The recordings are to stream. The resource pack and the guide are files you download and keep.
Stan does not take a fee. He has not since 2021, for any talk, to any camera club the length and breadth of the country. He asks that it goes to the MS Society instead, and his page has raised over £7,300. Every one of these adds to that total.
About Stan.
Stan Farrow FRPS DPAGB EFIAP is a creative digital photographer based in North-East Fife. He holds degrees in Biological Sciences and taught Biology in Scottish schools before returning to the University of St Andrews. He took early retirement in 2005 and spent three years studying Art History, which is where his interest in the ground between photography and art comes from. He has exhibited since 2005, including three shows at Dundee Botanic Garden, and gained his Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2012 with a panel of twenty prints.
Streaming only, no downloads.
