I have talked about Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) before and how to go about it, and this week I have some photographs that use that technique. These were all taken on a dull day in February, so the low light level helped in getting the shutter speeds right down in order to produce the blur … Continue reading Movement in the landscape
Following on from last weeks post I have some more images which I originally tagged as abstract, however this time I believe they actually do belong in that category. The images and their subjects are sufficiently far enough removed from their origins, that their use of, “shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to achieve its … Continue reading Shadows and Lines
Some close-up images today which when I first produced them and today when I pulled them out of Lightroom to use in this post I had tagged as "abstract". However looking at them after a certain period of time has passed has made me realise that they are not abstract images, but close-up photographs. I … Continue reading Correctly labelled
The first two photographs this week bring to an end the collection of winter images I have been showing over the last few weeks. I try and get out a couple or more times a week, work and other commitments allowing, and so a backlog usually builds up of processing work to be done. I … Continue reading The Last of the Winter
These monochrome pictures were all taken with one of my favourite combinations when I had my Nikon cameras: the D800 and 50mm f/1.8 G. I really enjoyed using the ubiquitous standard lens with the excellent D800. Once I had got used to the fact that rather than twisting the barrel on a zoom lens to … Continue reading Raising the standard
I have three colour photographs for you this week all based around a winter theme. The first is a leaf that I found in the garden after a frost. I loved the way that the frozen moisture coats the edges of the leaf. Tiny frozen droplets of moisture can also be seen on a … Continue reading Field and Frost
This week, I have some images to share taken during the winter. The scenes photographed are all close to my home - the leaf was actually taken in my garden. There is always a problem in photographing hard frost, snow or bright skies in that the camera will underexpose. It sets the light areas to … Continue reading White or grey?
The images this week are the last ones from the photo shoot that I did in Birmingham city centre. These photographs are more of an abstract nature than the previous ones. The architecture in the centre of Birmingham is awesome. There are so many stunning buildings, that it would be hard not to get a good … Continue reading Architectural inspiration
Three more images from a Birmingham city centre shoot, this time in colour. The first two photographs are of the Birmingham Library the last of buildings around the canal. I do sometimes process in colour. I just have such a difficult time in liking what I have done. I see so many excellent photographers produce … Continue reading Gold, books and reflections
I love the detail in this first image that I photographed in a church graveyard. But I didn’t see the humour in the notice until I started writing this blog post. Duh! I know I can be slow sometimes. I’ll need to go back and try and catch an image of the sign with the … Continue reading Field and Fence
These three images were, like the last post, all taken at the Black Country Living Museum near Dudley in the West Midlands. The first is a found still life of a watering can and two water butts. I did not arrange these and came upon them behind one of the turn of the century cottages … Continue reading Bricks and iron
Museums can be great places to take photographs. You have the architecture of the buildings themselves, some of them are marvels of modern architecture. Then there are the people who visit the museums looking and absorbed in the exhibitions and finally but not least, you also have the exhibits themselves. The three photographs in today’s blog … Continue reading Black Country history
Intentional Camera Movement is a style of photography that does what is says on the tin. You move the camera whilst you take the picture. In most circumstances, blurred images are usually considered a photographic mistake. But done intentionally I find that ICM can be a useful aid to clearing a log-jam of imagination … Continue reading ICM
I go to Batsford Arboretum two or three times a year. I can usually find something to photograph whilst I’m there. In winter some of the trees are not looking their best so I try to look for details or other views to photograph. The first image is of a leaf that I noticed on … Continue reading Winter Challenges
Last post I showed three colour images that I took whilst out on a walk near my home. This week, I have another three photographs from the location but processed in black and white. The first is a landscape which shows tractor tracks disappearing into the mist across the field. I got down low with the … Continue reading Countryside Studies
We British are notorious for moaning and whingeing about our weather. This is because we never know what it is going to be like from day to day. Our weather prediction services seem to be totally incapable of getting their forecasts right and you may as well hang a piece of seaweed outside your front … Continue reading One Misty Morning
It is important in monochrome images that the photographer can get his vision across to the viewer using only the attributes of that medium. The careful construction of an image should give visual weight to the components in the frame enabling the viewer to see what the photographer intended with his photograph. In the first … Continue reading Open and Shut
I do take a fair number of close-up photographs, not as many as other styles of images I take, but a few. The three here are a fair representation of the subjects I sometimes take when I get in close. I do take flowers, both in colour and monochrome, but the latter are by far … Continue reading Get In There
I have three photographs this week that were taken at the very atmospheric Magpie Mine in Derbyshire. This former lead mine is one of the most famous lead mines in the area as it is the only one that has a significant part of its buildings still standing. The mine was first recorded in 1795 … Continue reading A Light on the Past
You may have notice that I have changed the title of the post this week from the generic "Photographs #XX". This is because the titles didn't give any indication of what was in the post and didn't give a reader a mental link to the photographs featured. I hope that this new will work better in … Continue reading Kingdom of Madness
I have three colour images for you this time. All three were taken with the Nikon D800 and Nikkor 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. The first is a view across Weston Super Mare towards Brean Down which you can see on the horizon. Brean Down is a promontory extending one and a half miles into the English … Continue reading Photograph #21
You will all be pleased to know that the three images into today’s post are the last images from the Weston Super mare shoot. Two of them centre on the famous Weston Pier, which was built in 1903 and opened in 1904. The original theatre situated at the pier’s end was destroyed by fire in … Continue reading Photographs #20
All the images I am posting today are in colour. Once again taken in Weston-Super-Mare. I got so many different types of photograph whilst down there, that it was worth the drenching from the storm. All three photographs were taken with the Nikon D800 and the excellent Nikkor 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. I followed my usual … Continue reading Photographs #19
Today’s images are again from the Weston-Super-Mare shoot. Despite the weather (or should I say because of it), it was such a great day for photography. The light was that really translucent type that seemed to just emanate from everywhere. These next three images are again in the 1:1 or square format that I like … Continue reading Photographs #18
Ok, I make no apologies for showing some more photographs that I took on the trip Mrs M. and I went on down to Weston-Super-Mare. I got some great pictures on that trip. As I have said before, the weather was stormy and the first photograph below shows the magnificent display of clouds we were … Continue reading Photographs #17
Following on from my last post, these are some images taken from the visit that Mrs M. and I made to Weston-Super-Mare during September. The weather was stormy and very, very changeable. The clouds were boiling over the sea and pushed by a brisk wind were heading for a collision course with the town. These … Continue reading Photographs #16
This collection of images were taken on a short break in the west country during September. The weather as is usual in the United Kingdom was variable. Indeed, on that break, we encountered warm sun, as well as torrential rain, a hailstorm and buffeting winds. The upside to this was that the cloud formations were … Continue reading Photographs #15
I like taking abstract photographs. The individual’s visualisation of something on which they are laying their own interpretation is both gratifying and exciting. There is always the risk of course that someone may not be able to see what it is you are trying to pull out of an object or a scene, but to … Continue reading Photographs #13
The three images in today’s post appeal to me for different reasons. One for texture and detail, one for the questions it asks and the other both for its suggestion of mysterious overtones. The first picture is in my favourite format of 1:1 or square and monochrome. The plant, is a thistle, with its seeds … Continue reading Photographs #12
Colour photographs by their very nature rely in some way on their main characteristic of colour to draw the viewer into the image. So, when you are looking to take a monochrome image, you have to discount that attribute and rely instead on other aspects of the subject to give to your viewer. There are … Continue reading Photographs #11
In Photograph #7 I said that I enjoy taking photographs of flowers in monochrome but of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t also process flower photographs in colour. The following two images show two different approaches to flower photography. The first is a single bloom with the lens opened to an aperture of f/1.8. … Continue reading Photographs #10
These two images are part of a series I have been working on for a couple of years now. The series is called Senescence, which is a biological term meaning “the condition or process of deterioration with age.” The subjects I am photographing are not biological. The images are studies on the effects of age … Continue reading Photographs #9
The following three pictures were all taken at St Mary the Virgin church at Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire. I was using a Nikon D800 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens which really came into their own inside the church and to take pictures of the tomb inside of Sir Thomas Wykeham and his wife. The … Continue reading Photographs #8
Flowers and plants have to be one of the most popular subjects for photography. For the most part they are easily accessed, they are usually colourful and striking and can be taken indoors or outdoors. Probably the first thing we notice about flowers are their colours and as you walk about the many gardens that … Continue reading Photographs #7
Most of the images that I take, and have taken, over the years are monochrome. That’s not to say I don’t like colour images, I do, very much, it’s just that l like to produce black and white photographs. I find it easy to visualise the monochromatic values of a scene when I look at … Continue reading Photographs #6
These three images were taken at Stowe gardens like those in 2015 Photographs #4. Once again they were taken with the Nikon D800 and the 24-120 f/4.0 lens. I do like taking statues, as they are not usually prone to moving and with some creative positioning, exposure techniques and post processing a decent image can sometimes … Continue reading Photographs #5
I always try to inject some atmosphere into my black and white photographs and the following images taken at Stowe gardens are indicative of how I try to make my photographs more interesting. When I’m out on a shoot I tend to see most of the pictures I take as monochrome. I look for … Continue reading Photographs #4
These two images were again taken with one of my Nikons that I had in 2015. This time it was the superb D800 and the lens was the very good Nikkor 24-120mm f/4.0 zoom. Both images were, as I normally do, shot in RAW, imported into Lightroom CC as DNGs and then processed mainly in … Continue reading Photographs #2
As we come to the end of 2016 I am reminded that although I have tried to maintain this blog as much as I can, I have gone for some periods of time this year without posting. I would like to do something about that. So, starting today, I am going to post photographs I … Continue reading Photographs #1
I was looking through some of my photographs the other day in particular the ones that had been in galleries and had sold quite well. What come to mind as I looked at them was that it didn’t matter what camera they were taken with, it was the picture that counted. The image below is … Continue reading The best camera…
With the wet weather we’ve been having lately, it’s been very difficult to get out and about without having to get into scuba gear. Today though, the clouds cleared and we actually had sunshine, so I took a trip over to Stratford. I thought that though the water level of the river Avon may be … Continue reading Out and About: Stratford
Today was a visit to the Black Country Living Museum. The last time I was there nearly a year ago, it had snowed and I got some very nice images. Today however there wasn't any of the white stuff although it was very cold and as the day went on it got even colder. The BCLM … Continue reading Out and About: Black Country Living Museum
After attending the talk by Nicki Gwynn-Jones I decided to have a bash myself at multiple images at Baddesley Clinton. The last time I did multiple exposures in-camera was when I was using film with Olympus OM-1 and OM-2 cameras many years ago. I wasn’t expecting any great shakes at the first … Continue reading Out and About: Multiple Exposures
I was at the very nice Batsford Arboretum today with a couple of members of the photo club. It started off pretty dark and overcast with some fog still sticking around the base of the trees. Knowing that light was going to be scarce, I took my monopod on the shoot, and I’m glad I … Continue reading Out and About: Batsford Arboretum
I trudged across the fields of Berkswell today in an effort to get some foggy, autumn pictures. The fog was quite dense and the only noises piercing its sound dampening properties were the cries of the crows in the trees, the seagulls on the lake and the drip, drip of the water on the leaves of … Continue reading Out and About: Berkswell
This was just a quick visit to the property today to get one of their sausage batches and to accompany a club member who was trying out a new standard lens on their Olympus OM-D E-M1 (can Olympus camera names get any longer or more complicated)? The weather was overcast and there was a spot … Continue reading Out and About: Baddesley Clinton
I have an old Nikon AI-S 50mm f/1.8 lens that must be twenty years old that I sometimes use with a reversing ring with my Nikon DSLR’s for close-up work. One of the good things about the Fujifilm X-E2 that I recently bought is that with the aid of a convertor you can use various … Continue reading Fujifilm to Nikon lens convertor
I have just added a Fujifilm X-E2 and 27mm pancake lens to my Nikon cameras. I wanted a smaller camera that I could just slip into my shoulder bag when my wife and I were out and about. I originally thought I would get the X-T1 but after looking at it realised that it was a little too … Continue reading New Camera Aquired
Today we were at Upton House in Warwickshire. After the tumultuous thunderstorms of the night before, the weather was getting hotter again. The National Trust have made a really great show at the house decking it out in a second world war style. There were tents outside, sandbags, posters and staff were dressed in costumes of … Continue reading Out and About
Yesterday I went to Whipsnade Zoological Gardens in Bedfordshire. I went there last year with the family, but this time it would be purely to take photographs. I used the D7100 and partnered it with a 70-210 f/2.8 zoom, which on an APS-C D7100 would mean it was acting like a 105-315 zoom. This is … Continue reading Out and About
Today's photograph is from Charlecote Park where I went on Wednesday after an abortive attempt to go to Compton Verney to see the Martin Parr exhibition. Anyway the latter didn't happen so as I was passing Charlecote I popped in. I spent the next two and a half hours, wandering around the gardens, watched herds of deer … Continue reading Out and About
My Nikon D7100 has some spots on the sensor. I've tried the rocket blower, but they just don't want to move. It's time for a proper sensor clean. I know I should do it myself - and I have in the past - but I hate doing it. The last time I tried cleaning my … Continue reading I know I should but…
Mrs M, Miss M and I decided to have a walk around Packwood House estate this afternoon. One of my reasons for wanting to get out and about was to try out an old Vivitar Series 1 zoom lens on my D7100. The lens is in mint condition and is a version 3, 70 – … Continue reading Out and About
Today I was out and about at Lyveden New Bield a National Trust property in Northamptonshire. The lodge and garden were created by Sir Thomas Tresham between 1595 and 1603. Upon his death in that year, the family wealth depleted, the estate passed to his son Francis Tresham. However Francis along with his cousins Catesby … Continue reading Out and About
Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire is one of my favourite places in the county. The ruins of this former Cistercian abbey are huge and magnificent. At the time of the Dissolution it was the richest Cistercian abbey in Britain, which no doubt helped in its demise. It was a lovely warm spring afternoon when Mrs M … Continue reading Out and About – Fountains Abbey
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Today I paid another visit to Witley Court. It was promising to be another lovely early spring day and I had three photo projects that I had to be getting on with. Witley court started off as a medieval manor house but was bought by the Foley family in 1655. Over the next two centuries … Continue reading Out and About – Witley Court
Today I was in Worcestershire just outside Bromsgrove visiting the Avoncroft Museum. The museum is home to over 30 different historic buildings that have been rescued, dismantled and debuilt in 19 acres of countryside. I took the D800 and the 50mm f/1.8 standard lens with me today, as I thought that I would need the … Continue reading Out and About – Avoncroft Museum
Today I was out and about at the National Trust property at Croome in Worcestershire. It has had a chequered history over the years being owned by the Earls of Coventry who emplyed Capability Brown to design the house and gardens and some of the interiors by Robert Adam. During the Second World War it … Continue reading Out and About – Croome
Today Mrs M and I took ourselves off to one of our favourite NT houses, Calke Abbey. This is the stately home that the Trust obtained in 1985 and found rooms that had been shut off for years and piled with the belongings of the Harper-Crewe family. Rather than restore the estate, the NT carried … Continue reading Out and About – Calke Abbey
Today I was wandering around Bradgate Park in Leicestershire with the D800. The weather was bright and sunny, but with a vicious northerly wind that cut across the top of the hills and sliced into the valleys. I decided that I would use the camera on manual with auto ISO which I have never done … Continue reading Out and About – Bradgate Park
It was off to a favourite haunt today as I headed south to Stowe Gardens. It was a bit of a last minute choice as I realised that it was half-term week here in the UK and the schools were on holiday. That means virtually everywhere is going to be over-run with parents, baby-buggies, pre-teens … Continue reading Out and About – Stowe
The basin in Stratford today was frozen over. The commercial barges that lay at berth were locked in by the ice and the ever-present ducks and swans looked bemused as they ambled about wondering why the water which hitherto they had floated on, had gone hard. The sun was bright, and obviously showing-off, but it’s … Continue reading Out and About – Stratford On Avon
I’m sitting here at my desk currently going through RAW images that I took in June 2014 and wondering why on earth I took them. I know at the time I saw something that I thought was worthwhile recording and then working on, but looking at some of them now I can’t for the life … Continue reading Why did I take that photograph?
Not having got the chance to go out for a walk yesterday, Mrs M and I decided to go out this Sunday morning. It was a crisp, sunny day with occasional blasts from a very cold wind. We decided to go to Stratford and walk from the free car park by the side of the … Continue reading Out and About – Stratford on Avon
Mrs M and I set out after lunch today for a short walk along the Hatton locks part of the Grand Union canal system. The weather was cold but sunny and we decided to walk towards Warwick for a short while before turning back and getting a coffee at the excellent Hatton Locks café. As … Continue reading Out and About – Hatton Locks.
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Wet cleaning the sensor on your camera is something that most photographers have to face at some point. When I used Olympus DSLR’s I never needed to worry about dust or dirt on the sensor their superb automatic sensor cleaning process seemed to take care of any problems. Since moving to Nikon and full-frame cameras … Continue reading Oiled and feeling dirty
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