Delighted to have been invited to record Jo and Paul's wedding in Poole recently - a lovely couple with many excited and friendly relatives and guests - congratulations!
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One of the most rewarding things about photographing children is being invited back to Chronicle their progress as they grow up. I really enjoyed crawling around on the floor with this young lady when she was around 10 months old, was delighted to shoot her at home at 2 years old and now she's 3. If Mum and Dad continue to like the way I capture her, I'd love to be photographing her for her prom in a few years' time!]]>
Having never worked with a model before, it was with some trepidation that I approached this portfolio shoot! As it turned out, I needn't have worried - the session was fun, creative, and Kylie was friendly and vivacious. We managed to capture some really great shots between us - I won't have the same concerns next time!
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Spent a great evening at Houghton House, near Ampthill with my good friend Jon Downs - lovely location and a grand, if dilapidated old building. Good place for a theme shoot of some kind - must try it in the near future!]]>
Shot this little lady just before the break! I wouldn't normally suggest s shoot with one so young - we normally go for 6 months +, but I know Mum and Dad wanted some images for relatives at Christmas. I love the unpredictability of baby-shoots - clearly, they're not models and can't be "directed!" Waiting for the right moment to press the shutter can capture some wonderful expressions - this one really makes me smile!
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Another baby-shoot! I really enjoy these - nothing so much fun as crawling about on the floor with an infant, and trying to capture those moments when the expression is just right. I really like this shot - it seems to work well in monochrome, the tight crop adds impact and the hand position and eyes are wonderfully expressive, almost as though he's pondering the deepest mysteries of the universe. Which, of course, he may be!
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Thoughtful activity! I was delighted to be asked to return and re-shoot this gorgeous young lady at nearly two! The original shoot took place at about eight months and boy, has she changed. Apart from anything else, it's a real compliment to be asked back for a "return match..." the family must have liked the first shoot!!
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"Gold"
One of very many sunset photos on Polzeath beach. No option but to shoot into the sun, however it produced this interesting, backlit silhouette. Decided to post-process using layers to allow some of the gold from the beach to paint into the sepia. Rather pleased with the result, I have to say.
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Serendipity!
So, we were closing the day on the beach at Polzeath when the sky erupted into this spectacular array of colours! What struck me more than anything else was the reflection of the sky in the wet sand. Nothing obvious to include as foreground interest, so I backed up to try and use the structure of the surf as the tide came in. A lucky happenstance overall… All feedback gratefully received :-)
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Early Morning Bath
Following my early early encounter with Stonehenge (photo yet to be posted) I moved onto Bath, 7.00 a.m, in the rain! This wedge shaped development is similar to many I’ve seen in older cities, and they always make me smile! With the dismal weather, my shots in Bath seemed to work better in black and white. This one in particular suited a more retro, antique “plate” look.
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Clifton Suspension Bridge
One of those days…. Planned it all out to be in the right places for sunrise and sunset, and the weather and light were just plain cruel all day! Not a peep of sun through a blanket of featureless, grey cloud, the entire day. Took many shots of the bridge with my Canon, tripod, remote release - all done according to the book. This shot’s the only one of the day that I really like, and it was taken on my iPhone, handheld, and processed on the phone using phototoaster! Time to flog all the photo gear and go back to the phone…..?
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Calverton
It may sound daft, but there are times when you’re reminded that all the things you’ve been told or read on a particular subject, are in fact, true! ”Go out one hour before sunset, or just at dawn if you want to photograph landscapes,” is the advice. ”The colours of both sky and land are richer and warmer, and the flat direction of the lighting brings the texture of the landscape into relief.” Had an opportunity to nip out locally to take some shots a week or two ago, just before sundown, and although the subject matter was perhaps a little limited, the vibrancy of the colours was amazing.
I think a few early mornings and late nights may be in order!!
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A Brush With Jail
A lucky happenstance! Whilst visiting Lincoln Castle on bank holiday weekend, it turned out there was a tour of the Victorian Jail on offer. A salutary experience, especially listening to descriptions of a number of hangings, delivered by an excellent guide, in costume no less! I waited until she took the party into a side room and then took this shot with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone. Apart from being impressed with the app, I feel it accentuated the desolate, austere, cruel atmosphere. I only noticed the leaning brush much later, on review - decided not to edit it out. It added a suggestion of human occupation I rather liked. Not somewhere I’d have liked to occupy myself though.
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Study and Starbucks
Really enjoying some iPhoneography at the moment - taken with Hipstamatic and edited with Snapseed. A good place to discuss candid or street photography. There’s considerable debate at present concerning the right not to be photographed - some of my family feel it’s taking liberties to capture a stranger unawares in this way. Yet, we’re imaged hundreds if times each week by huge numbers of public security cameras without our consent. Will street photography wither, do you think, because of people’s reluctance to be photographed? Let me know what you think?
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Wedding Nerves
OK, so I shot my very first wedding this week! A truly terrifying experience - I was so aware that the failure to capture a fleeting moment here or there could prove to be a horrible omission. And the speed of events… for the first time, the thought occurred to me how accommodating landscapes are. OK, you have to wait for the right light, which may, or may not be forthcoming; but here’s the thing. Once you have your tripod set up, the landscape doesn’t go anywhere - it stays right in front of you. It doesn’t blink, or sneeze, or fall over, or wander off, or pull a funny face just at the wrong moment.
I enjoyed the day, and I think the bride and groom will have some memorable shots, thank goodness. But I’m going to need a great deal more practice in speedy camera adjustment before the next one. And maybe a large whisky!
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Outlook
Robin Hoods Bay - we happened to arrive at a point where the tide was out, revealing a number of flat, rocky outcrops. Low angles seemed to work best to accentuate the perspective, and somehow, a conversion to mono really seems to pick out the structure of the land and sea at this point. The slightly stormy sky makes a great backdrop to the landscape.
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Whitby Abbey
Anyone who knows a photogeek, will have been bored silly interested and enlightened by a dissertation on the need to take landscape photographs during the “golden hour” - the hour just after dawn or just before dusk. It’s the quality and angle of the light, you’ll have been told. So, Jon and I are in Whitby, and the weather is pretty ghastly, so good “light” seems unlikely, even during the supposed golden hour. At around 4.00 however, the clouds part and the light suddenly improves, so it looks as though we might be able to get some shots of Whitby Abbey up on the Hill. When we eventually climb up there however, the powers that be have decided that one ought to pay to gain access (this didn’t used to be the case,) and that it should be closed to the public at 4.00 each afternoon. Undeterred, I decided that some images were going to be taken, IN the right light, AT the right time, whether they liked it or not, but had to compromise a little and shoot with my compact camera whilst hanging over the wall. A litte dabbling with Silver Efex Pro and this is the result. Well, I can promise you, if YOU’d walked up all those steps, you wouldn’t have come down without a shot either!
Torchlight
Still in Whitby, this time at night (no, really?) I hear you say! Yup, Jon persuaded me to try some long exposures - I’ve done this before, but a new experience this time was opening the shutter for 90 seconds and lighting the boards with a small pocket torch!! Nice effect though :-)
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Dance to Your Daddy
Spotted this street musician whilst walking through the old part of Whitby this weekend, during a visit with Jon Downs. The puppet was attached to his waist via a T-bar, and he not only played, but sang and manipulated the puppet at the same time. Difficult to convey the liveliness, movement and sheer fun in this performance in a still shot. He was very happy to be snapped, and even happier with the donation I dropped in his collecting cap!
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Huntingdon
Visited last year for a one-day course and couldn’t resist the opportunity to take some shots of this wonderful old bridge. For some reason it seems to work better in black and white - it was difficult to know which one of the many shots taken, to show here. I think this one captures the mood though!
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Sea Wall
This view is along the sea wall near the Martello tower at Aldeburgh. The concrete is unattractive, but my eye was caught by the converging lines of the steps and the repeated patterns made by the rust marks beneath the sea wall bolts.
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Frozen In Time
Near Potterspury - beautiful tree at the edge of a snowy field! It’s difficult often to find landscape shots where the subject is obvious and uncluttered by its surroundings. I’ve often been impressed by the images of some great landscape photographers, where they’ve been able to capture something very clean and graphical. I feel this one’s definitely a step in the right direction :-)
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