Tag: review

December 2017

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December 2017

Well, it is the end of another month and another year. December has been a little bit quiet for my photography, as it has been too dark for me to get out in the mornings before I start work. That said, the weekends have been kind to me and I have been lucky with the weather then.

Snow and mist seemed to be a recurring theme this month, which of course I was really  pleased about. On the 3rd December we had one of those misty starts to the day that last most of the morning. I headed to a a piece of very tidy woodland that I have had my eye on for a few months. I have visited five or six times but I never managed to get a image from there. I knew it would work best in winter and it needed mist to make it work. The conditions were perfect for what I wanted and I managed to get a few shots that I was happy with.

The snow was a little bit of a surprise. Snow was forecast, but nowhere near as much as we got. On top of the hills we had about 7 inches, which is the deepest that I have seen it for a good number of years. I was out most of the day trying to make it around to all the locations that I wanted to visit and was happy with the results, some of which you can see below…

Thanks to all of you for your continuing support of my work. Wishing you a very happy 2018!

November 2017

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A busy quiet Period

November has been a pretty good month and surprisingly busy. That said the amount of photos that I have taken is relatively low. With the dark mornings things tend to quieten down a little, as it is not worthwhile going out before work during the week. That said I did have a few days off for my birthday at the start of the month and one morning I arranged a later start at work, when I saw it was going to be really foggy.

With the darker mornings I try and spend my time organising some printing and selecting new images that I might exhibit next year. I also put together my calendar which is now for sale if anybody would like one. I have also had a few sales through my website that I need to fulfil.

I took part in my last exhibition of the year. It was held in Aylesbury Grammar School on the 18th. I displayed 17 framed prints along with a print rack full of mounted prints. I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone that came to see my work during 2017, especially those who bought something.

Perhaps the highlight of the month was the awards evening for the ‘Landscape Photographer of the Year’ competition. I had a really good night there and caught up with lots of other like minded photographers. My commended picture is not part of this year’s exhibition, but it does feature in the digital exhibition which is showing on the screens in Waterloo Station.

Outdoor Photographer of the Year

In other competition news I am pleased to say that I have had three images shortlisted in this year’s ‘Outdoor Photographer of the Year’ Competition. It is the first time that I have entered this competition, so it is great news to get shortlisted. Looking though the other entries it is a little daunting, as there is some amazing images in there. Even if I go no further it is still a achievement to be shortlisted.

I also attended a printing workshop with Doug Chinnery and Fotospeed. Held in the picturesque village of Lacock, Doug ran through all you needed to know to produce colour accurate prints that are consistent. It was great to meet Doug and learn from his knowledge. I really do recommend one of these workshops if you are serious about printing.

 

Here is a selection of images that was taken during November.

October 2017

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The start of the season

October is very much the start to my favourite period for photography. But at the same time it also is the start of darker mornings and limited camera time during the week. It is kind of ironic that I spend all summer longing for it to come, and once it was here I cannot make the most of it. I would love to continue wandering around the woodland up in the hills, but it is just too dark to do so. Fortunately as the clocks have now gone back, I should hopefully be able to get back into the hills for a week or two.

To maximise my photography time during October, I started shooting close to where I work. I started off by scouting a nearby country estate which has a good network of footpaths. I tend not to take many pictures when I am exploring, but when the conditions were right later in the month I knew just where I needed to be. As the sunrise got even later I started focusing on closeups of the flowers, leaves and seed heads on a small piece of waste ground 5 minutes away from where I work. I hope to continue this project in November.

Weekends of course I was free to get out into the hills and other places like Burnham Beeches. The autumn colour is now starting to show and should reach its peak in the next week or two. I was fortunate to have a couple of days off work in half term, and it just so happened that both these days had very misty mornings. I made the most of these conditions, by going to a couple of locations that I have been planning on visiting on just such occasion.

Of course the news that I have had a image commend in this years Landscape Photographer of the year competition, was very well received. Well done to everyone who managed to get something in the book. I’m looking forward to the awards evening and catching up with some of you there.

I also had two local exhibitions during October which went very well. I have already started signing up for exhibition in 2018, so keep an eye on my dates for your diary page for a up to date list of up coming events.

May 2017

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From Wild Garlic to Orchids

May is such a wonderful month here in Buckinghamshire, as I am sure it is in other places around the UK. I think the transformation of landscape during May is quite amazing, resulting in a glorious green land. The vibrant colour of the new beech leaves is a particular favourite of mine. It’s a shame the colour only last for a couple of weeks.

Most of the first part of the month I spent in one location concentrating on wild garlic. Back in March I spotted a few patches of wild garlic growing, and made a note to return in May when I knew it would be in flower. Visiting the location every morning over two weeks, I enjoyed getting to know the area, even though most mornings the light was pretty flat. Even on the brighter days the light did not penetrate through the thick canopy where I wanted it to. All of these visits and exploring were important to me, so I knew where I needed to be when the conditions where good. Eventually the conditions were right and managed to capture what I wanted one Friday morning about 5.30am in the rain. The image was well received on social media and it looks great as a print.

As much as I like this time of year I also start to find it harder to photograph woodland and the landscape. The woodland I love in the winter becomes too green and overgrown for my liking. Because of this I start to turn my lens to the smaller things like orchids and butterflies, that start to begin to appear in May. I am lucky to have some locations near by that are home to some pretty rare orchids, so I started visiting these location in the later part of the month. Some of these orchids only grow in three locations in the UK and one of them is a hybrid that is unique to the location. Although this is not typically landscape photography they are a important part of my landscape. Besides I do find photographing something a little different rewarding.

Bucks Open Studios

During May I have also been really busy getting prepared for Bucks Open Studios, which is of course taking place next mouth. I will be opening up my home to visitors who what to come and see my work. I will be open for three weekends in June, so it will be great to see anyone who wants to come and visit me.

Here are some of my favourite images from May.