Photography Blog Interview-an honour
26 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in photography Tags: art, camera, competitions, imagery, photograph, photography, Photoshop, picture
Many thanks to Ed of Exhibitions Without Walls fame! I’m honoured to say he asked me to do a guest interview with them. This was not an easy interview, asking some searching questions, but I enjoyed the challenge. If you would like to read it, and see the photographs chosen to accompany it, you can find me here. You’ll need to click read more at the end of the visible part of my interview to see it in full.
sempervivum
Exhibitions without walls is a website devoted to photographers and digital artists, holding competitions six times a year. It’s worth checking out if you fancy a challenge, as the quality of images is very high. It’s also worth getting your camera out and having a go! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. They have a blog too, which is where they showcase digital artists and photographers, and where you’ll find me. Thanks again, Ed, for the opportunity.
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Photographs to Treasure Forever. Brand new baby
12 Mar 2012 1 Comment
in photography Tags: baby, family, image, life, Nikon D90, people, personal, photo, photograph, photography, photos, picture
There can be no better reason to take, back up and print photographs than a new life entering this world. I have just spent my weekend visiting my son to meet my first grandchild. He, of course, is the most gorgeous baby in the world! My trusty Nikon camera was there to record those precious moments that will never come again, and I took plenty. 133, to be exact. Some pictures are good, some are great and some are no-so-good. That’s the reason to take so many. To make sure I have a good selection of photos to treasure forever.
Charlie, my grandson, two days old
If you have an event that you’d hate to miss or lose, check your camera batteries before you set off. Ensure that once you’ve captured your event with far more shots than you’ll actually keep, back them up. Can you imagine losing them? Then don’t let it happen. Then start editing, adjusting, cropping your images. If anything happens to them, you’ve always got those original backups.
Charlie with his grandad
Charlie with his mum
Charlie with his dad and sister
Charlie with me, his nana.
Of course, if you are the photographer, you’ll have to get someone else to take those photos of you in the magic moment. I often come back from trips and don’t have any photographic evidence that I was there, but on this very special occasion, I wanted those personal memories! Make sure you have yours.
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Explore with macro photography. It’s another world!
06 Mar 2012 4 Comments
in photography, photography technique Tags: camera, flowers, imagery, photo, photograph, photography, photography technique, Photoshop, pictures
I’ve had time to experiment today. Macro photography is another world to explore, and I like exploring. Here are some photos from todays batch. The fine tuning in macro is time consuming and eye-tiring, I have to say.What looks absolutely perfect when focusing doesn’t always come out as clear as I’d like. So many shots are taken to get just one or two. As I’m often asked, I’m using a Nikon D90 with a Tamron 70-300mm macro lens and extension tubes.
I don’t always focus on wildlife and flowers. There are objects around the home that make interesting experimental pictures, too. Here’s a candle pot I gave the macro treatment.
Candle Pot. Height 3"
Candle Pot Macro attempt 1
candle pot macro attempt 2
Pretty, interesting and pretty interesting, don’t you think?
Then there’s the glass ball that is part of another ornament. It’s about 2″ in circumference and has a pattern on it that intrigued me, so here we are. I’ve played with the temperature and tint settings in Adobe Photoshop RAW to get the colours.
Glass Ball macro 1
Glass Ball Macro 2
But I couldn’t resist totally the lovely colours and light on some flowers and plants today, so here they are.
Muscari macro
Leaf Macro
African Violet Macro
See, told you! It’s another world.
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Macro Photography Magic
04 Mar 2012 17 Comments
in photography Tags: floral, flowers, macro, nature, photo, photograph, photography, photography technique, photos
Macro photography is wonderful, mysterious and fascinating. I was the kid with a microscope, peeking into unknown worlds, many years ago. Now I can do it with a camera, macro lens and macro extensions. Today no gardening, we’re rained off. My partner brought me flowers yesterday, so out came the camera and macro kit.
I’m always looking for a new, fresh way to present flowers. After all, they are probably the most photographed subject apart from people. People don’t look good in macro and won’t stay still, so I prefer to work with nature, and flowers in particular.
So, today’s shots have been fun to do. Light levels were not brilliant as it’s raining, so I used a white reflector behind the flowers, raised the blinds in the conservatory and adjusted the exposure a little once I got the shots into the computer. Much has been said about photography and computers, and fierce debates continue, but I’m all in favour of any tool or paintbox an artist can utilise. Minor adjustments to improve photos can only be a good thing, in my book, and allow more flexibility to the ‘artist’.
Anyway, here are the results of todays fun. I hope you like them!
white dahlia macro
Perfect petals macro
Macro petals photo
vision in white gypsophilla
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Photography as a record
20 Feb 2012 8 Comments
in imagery, photo, photography Tags: camera, photograph, photography, picture, thoughts
Photography had to take a back seat while I was busy going through the trauma of moving house, but I didn’t stop taking photos, as they’re a great record of our move. I just didn’t have time or energy to update my files and pass on the photos to you. But now we’re settled, have got most things out of boxes and have a desk to work at, I’m back with you.
Photography can have many, many applications, and I use those that suit me. One of them is as an aid memoir or record of things I’ve seen, places I’ve been etc. Of course most of us use it that way. These days photography is cheap, and you can keep a record of anything you’d like. Wouldn’t you like to be able to look back on your life and recover those memories in great shots? Images that really remind you of what you did, where you were, what inspired you or made you smile? Carry that camera or phone and don’t miss opportunities to make memories. They fade too quickly without reminders! My thoughts often turn to my camera when I haven’t got it, so I’m going to re-aquaint myself with my little cannon point and shoot, as it’s now always possible to carry the Nikon kit around.
I’m very lucky. My dad was into photography and cinema way back when black and white film was all there was. We have cine film of us as children that he’s since scanned digitally to preserve it for us all. These records are rare, as very few people had the enthusiasm or equipment to do this. I’m continuing to record my life. My memory is awful! And with digital cameras, you can pinpoint the day, time and place each shot was taken, so no arguing years later when you look back on what had been, when and where!
Here are some shots of our new house and what we’ve been doing since I last posted. Photography doesn’t have to be picture perfect, unless you’re trying to sell it of course. These are records, not exercises in photographic perfection. Getting clear shots that give you the detail you want is the aim.
House move. Our new kitchen
Garden record. Now I know what needs sorting out in that bed!
Record of this winter's snow piled at my back door.
The beauty of our local fields under snow
Record of our first fire in our new hearth
Record of a hungry robin
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Nightmare Move, Wonderful New Home
23 Dec 2011 5 Comments
in nature Tags: Food, gardening, life, passions, people, random, travel
Morning veiw
Hello everyone and Christmas greetings to you all.
Well, the move wasn’t as smooth as we’d carefully planned. We’d done everything we could. Kept all parties informed, including our own solicitor. Why is it then that on the day of the move, the day when a lorry containing all our worldly goods was sat outside our new home, our solicitor had to be dragged out of a meeting only to say to our estate agent ‘Oh, I didn’t know it was today they wanted to complete.’ What? Nightmare begin. We ended up in a hotel overnight. Meanwhile, my son, who had been helping us move, had his place broken into and all HIS worldlies stolen. That’s another story but we’re helping him sort himself out. Dream move it wasn’t. As the solicitor had completely screwed up we spent the entire following day on mobile phones making completion happen with the sellers who were distressed to hear of our situation and trying to do all they could to help. Only problem was, they live in France and he was away on business. Our stuff went onto storage for five days as the removal company waited as long as they could but then had to take their lorry and men back for other jobs. Luckily we had the camper and therefore a bed.
Then, BT and our service provider both screwed up, meaning that we only got a landline three weeks after moving in and broadband a couple of days ago, while I was busy trying to stay alive on the M6, the most dangerous stretch of motorway in the country. After the chaos I witnessed driving home from visiting family, I can see why. It was ram-jam-packed, drivers were taking lunatic chances with their own and other people’s lives. I saw two crashes in the fast lane, fifteen mile tailbacks on the northbound and experienced three tailbacks on the way home What should have been a two to two and a half hour drive took four. I only travel fifty miles on this road and was very grateful to have made it out in one piece. You’d think people would be more careful at this time of year. After all, who wants to wake up dead or in hospital at Christmas?
Anyway, all that off my chest, the house is wonderful. Such a sense of peace here. No-one shouting at each other, views that gladden my heart every morning when I open the curtains and birds everywhere. I’ve counted 16 species so far, including a heron that seems to have landed to scope out next door’s fish pond. My binoculars have never had so much use. The food I put out for them is being eaten so fast I can hardly keep up, but I’m not complaining. It’s great to see them all. Help nature, see wonderful things!
I’m spending time looking at greenhouses. To produce the food and flowers I want to I’m going to need one. My son will help with the garden as he’s trained in landscaping. Hopefully, he’ll also help erect the greenhouse once I find one. Meanwhile, there’s Christmas. We’ve done the shopping, delivered the presents, put up the tree and made our new lounge cosy with a wood burning stove. There’s lots of scrap wood lying around so free fuel will help with the bills and less fossil fuel will be burned.
Post holiday season, I’m going to have to invest in more water butts. We’ve been forced by legislation to have a water meter and lots of veg means lots of watering next summer. So preparations will begin in the new year.
Have a wonderful stress free and happy Christmas everyone, wherever you are.
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I’m Diversifying. New blog announcement
16 Oct 2011 6 Comments
in nature, photography Tags: conservation, gardening, home, home and garden, inspiration, life, lifestyle, musings, personal, photography, random
Hi Everyone and welcome. I just thought I’d announce proudly my new blog. I’ve developed it separately because I want to keep this one for photography, but I’m not JUST a photographer. I want to document our impending move to a new home. It’s the one I’ve dreamed of for a long time. A bay-fronted 1940′s semi with a long garden (120ft) that backs onto fields. It’s a world away from where we live now. My current view from my bedroom window is a car park.
A Fresh Start in a Fresh Place
The new blog is intended to take you on my journey towards a more ecological, sustainable lifestyle that will ultimately be more satisfying. I hope to share what I know and what I will surely learn on this journey. There’s a link to it in the sidebar or you can click here to take a peek at my first post.
There will be photographs of my progress, but the aim is to document the changes and pass on what works and what doesn’t. See you there!
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Druids Temple or Folly? – a photographic trip into the past
14 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in image, imagery, photo, photography, thoughts, travel Tags: camera, image, imagery, images, musings, photo, photography, pics, picture, random, thoughts, travel
As you know if you follow my blog, we travelled a lot this summer around the UK. One trip was a camp with friends that ended in a rather special treat. Our good friend Pete took us to one of his favourite spots. A so-called Druids Temple in Yorkshire. Built in the 1800′s, we think it was used by the wealthy family for ceremonial purposes but can only guess just what kind of rituals were performed here. Some say it was just a folly, but the scale, detail and magnificence of it gave me the feeling it really wasn’t just a showpiece but a large piece of working kit. What do you think?
My Friend Pete proudly waiting at the entrance
A First Glance Inside. Scale.
Inside the Temple Space. This thing is huge!
The Inner Ring-not visible when you enter, with cave-like structure
Taken from above the 'cave'
Inside the Cave Structure. The standing stone in front of it shields it from view.
Friends above and behind the Temple - barely visible through the trees. Well hidden!
This is one set of photographs that was hard to pick out for you. In the three hours we were there I took over 100 shots trying to capture the flavour of a very mystical space. I hope these do it justice. A hidden gem from the past still there for us to enjoy. I look forward to visiting there again, probably next summer. Come on, what imagery of unusual place have you got on that hard drive of yours? Care to share?
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Travel, Photography, Life and Death
12 Oct 2011 4 Comments
in musings, photo, photography, thoughts, travel Tags: inspiration, life, photography, photos, random, random thoughts, thoughts, travel
I took a lot of photos this summer. We travelled, saw friends, saw some beautiful places. One of them was Whitby, famous for Jet and of course Vampires! It’s not hard to see why Bram Stoker was inspired when you go up to the Abbey and take a look around. Life and death appear side by side – opposite sides in fact, of the same town. A strange, thought-provoking juxtaposition to see. A cemetery right above a thriving town full of living people. Quite a picture. But what a place to end your days!
Whitby life and death
The Abbey itself is an imposing structure. It’s a very impressive image and very provocative for any writer. My partner writes Vampire and horror fiction, and he loved the atmosphere. He has visited Whitby several times in the past and doesn’t tire of it. You can see why. Perched high above the town, Stoker had the perfect breeding ground for a fertile imagination.
Whitby Abbey
It’s a wonderful old town, crammed with little shops and craftspeople. But the approach to the Abbey is a daunting one. We took our time climbing the steps, stopped and admired the view, getting our breath back at the same time.
Approach to the Abbey
Whitby Bay. A view from the climb
Here’s another view from the steps.
Abbey Steps View
Where have you been? What have you seen? Did you gain any new insights or inspiration from your travels?
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Inspiration for Photography – Where does yours come from?
10 Oct 2011 4 Comments
in image, imagery, photo, photography, Uncategorized Tags: camera, image, images, inspiration, photo, photograph, photography, picture, random, travel
Where do you find inspiration when you take your camera out? Do you shoot friends? Do you concentrate on wildlife? Architecture? Do you experiment and see what happens? Are you willing to think outside the box? Personally I can’t help but keep trying new ideas. I can’t help shooting anything that takes my eye. When you look back on this blog at previous posts, you may be forgiven for thinking that all I’m interested in is flowers and animals. But here are a few of my experimental shots. I’ve never done night photography before, but on holiday this year, high on a hill overlooking the Brecon Beacons I was wending my way back to my camper when I stopped, looked and felt compelled to return with my camera. I’d been at a wedding all day. Then our camper had got stuck on the way back up to the site and I’d trekked, still in wedding gear, up the track to the site and across the field to our new found friends. They’d wrapped a blanket around me and the farmer helped get our van back on site. By now it was one in the morning so I was very tired But I had to try to capture what I saw for my own memories of the place. The wonderful, scenic place we’d found ourselves in after booking over the internet. Memories of my partner’s son’s wedding, memories of the friends we’d made on that hill around a camp fire in the dark. We’re still in touch, months later with those new friends. And the memories of the place are preserved.
Brecon Beacons at Night
This was the place during the day. Still beautiful, in not the best of weather conditions for a brilliant shots, but these aren’t intended for sale or for competitions. They’re for me and my partner to fondly look back on and share with friends and family.
Brecon Beacons
We left Wales and crossed the Severn Bridge. I’ve never been over it before and was interested in getting pictures of it but slightly worried because of my heights phobia. So I focussed (pardon the pun) and got busy with my camera. Of course you’re not allowed to stop on the bridge and my partner was driving. I could only point my camera out of the window and hope I was getting a good shot. I didn’t want our slightly grubby windscreen to interfere with the images, so used auto focus and kept my fingers crossed. I’m pretty pleased with the results.
Severn Bridge
Then I went for some more obscure angles, to see the structure of this wonderful bridge.
Bridge detail
Severn Bridge detail
No, they’re not perfectly composed. No, they wouldn’t be judged as great pictures. Does that matter? Quite frankly, no. What matters is that I have my memories and I have experimented and got interesting detail of that bridge I couldn’t have otherwise captured.
Wellies
When we reached our next destination on our trip, we were greeted by these in the entrance to our campsite. This is an image that was inspired by someone else’s inspiration to brighten up their site. If only more people helped to make the world a brighter, more recycled place. Delightful!
So where does YOUR inspiration come from?
