I've been a keen photographer almost all my life but as money was tight while growing up, buying film and getting it developed wasn't as important as paying the bills so I didn't get to practice as much as I wanted but I understood the situation and was grateful of the few rolls of film a year I got.
By the time that decent digital cameras came along, I was working and I could afford to buy the gear without worrying about developing costs so that's when I really started to let fly with the shutter button and I started to learn about f-stops, bracketing and all the other stuff I had read about but never really got the chance to try for myself.
I am now the proud owner of a brace of Nikon DSLRs, namely a D50 and a D2H. Yes, they are antiques by todays standards and yes, the high ISO performance is awful on both but I DON'T CARE! I love using them, they are reliable workhorses and the file sizes aren't massive so I don't have to buy a hard drive every month to store them on. I've got good glass on them and that's what counts.
I actually think that in the same way that a knife and a stick will teach you far more about carving than a CNC machine that does it for you ever will, having a camera that doesn't have all the bells and whistles makes you learn how to use it properly. However, to totally contradict myself, I've been saving every penny I could and I'm now the proud owner of a lightly used D7000. Oh boy, what a camera! I'll be posting some photos as soon as I have the time to get out and use it.
Anyway, I hope you like my photos and you can click on any of them for a larger version. If you want to see some of the camera gear I use and some of the accessories I have made, click HERE.
By the time that decent digital cameras came along, I was working and I could afford to buy the gear without worrying about developing costs so that's when I really started to let fly with the shutter button and I started to learn about f-stops, bracketing and all the other stuff I had read about but never really got the chance to try for myself.
I am now the proud owner of a brace of Nikon DSLRs, namely a D50 and a D2H. Yes, they are antiques by todays standards and yes, the high ISO performance is awful on both but I DON'T CARE! I love using them, they are reliable workhorses and the file sizes aren't massive so I don't have to buy a hard drive every month to store them on. I've got good glass on them and that's what counts.
I actually think that in the same way that a knife and a stick will teach you far more about carving than a CNC machine that does it for you ever will, having a camera that doesn't have all the bells and whistles makes you learn how to use it properly. However, to totally contradict myself, I've been saving every penny I could and I'm now the proud owner of a lightly used D7000. Oh boy, what a camera! I'll be posting some photos as soon as I have the time to get out and use it.
Anyway, I hope you like my photos and you can click on any of them for a larger version. If you want to see some of the camera gear I use and some of the accessories I have made, click HERE.
BirdsI've always been fascinated by birds. I joined the YOC (RSPB membership for kids) at the age of 5 and my interest hasn't waned since then. Whether it's a sparrow or a wandering albatross, they're all special to me.
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Landscape (Natural)
As someone who desperately wants to live in the country but doesn't, I never miss the chance to photograph the sort of places I would love to live in one day. These photos keep me working towards my dream.
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FaunaWildlife in any form has always been close to my heart. I hope one day to have enough land that I can make a safe haven for a variety of species so I can give something back to the creatures that bring me such joy.
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Landscape (Urban)
I've never felt comfortable in large towns or cities but there is certainly a photogenic quality to them. Elegant classical architecture and stark modern design all jumbled together is a feast for the lens.
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FloraA lot of my family have a connection to plants either as keen gardeners or farmers so I guess it's in the blood. Of course they are beautiful to look at but how they work is equally fascinating to me.
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Birds
Nuthatch PerchedAlthough not directly related to woodpeckers, nuthatches behave in a similar manner and also like the same woodland habitat which can make getting a clear shot of them a bit of a challenge.
This one kept teasing me by popping out of the bushes you can see in the background for a split second and then diving back in again. After a while, I put the camera down and though I was still watching, I acted like I wasn't and luckily it worked. The little guy came out and sat on the post until I had the shot I wanted. |
Male Mallard Close-UpI don't think just because they aren't rare that common birds aren't special or not worth photographing. Have you ever taken the time to look at the detail in the plumage of a dunnock, one of the so-called 'little, brown jobs'? Have you heard their song? They're both beautiful.
I love mallards both for their plumage and their personality. I enjoy watching them dabbling, seeing their iridescent plumage flash from emerald to royal blue in the sun and hearing their call which reminds me of riotous laughter. |
Robin SingingI was walking through our local nature reserve on the way back to the car when I heard this robin singing. I don't know if it was the acoustics of the surroundings or something else but I have never heard such a clear and beautiful song from any bird.
It was one of those increasingly rare moments in modern life where everything stops, nothing else matters and you're just totally captivated by something. If it hadn't been for a squirrel crashing through the dry beech leaves just behind me while looking for a cache of nuts, I probably wouldn't have got this shot. This picture represents why I love nature so much. I live for moments like this. |
White Goose PreeningThis goose is more commonly seen stomping up and down the waters edge honking, hissing and chasing off other geese, ducks, dogs and people but for some reason, it doesn't mind me!
I sit quietly and mustn't seem threatening so I get to see the other side of this aggressive but beautiful bird and I feel very honoured that it lets me. |
Out On The IceIt was early January when I got this shot. Most of the lake was frozen apart from a narrow strip of open water along one edge which was packed with all the waterfowl that call this lake home, all except for one....... this one.
It seemed almost as if he'd been exiled. He stood alone and quite a long way from the open water with his back to the other birds and only turned for a brief moment which is when I hit the shutter. He turned back, stood there a little longer then began walking across the ice and into the distance. Maybe I'm reading too much into the situation but I felt sorry for the little guy. |
Landscape (Natural)
My Shangri-LaAs the title suggests, this is my idea of paradise. I want nothing more in my life than a tumbledown building that I can restore into a home.
If you've looked at my Highland dream page, you'll already know what my plans are. If you haven't, click HERE to see what I mean. Fame? erm, no thanks. Wealth? that would be nice but not essential. Happiness? Yes please, it's all that really matters. |
Thorpe LambsThis was taken from one of my favourite places in Derbyshire. Look one way and you are almost eye level with the top of Thorpe Cloud at Dovedale near Ilam, look the other way and you have a massive, panoramic view of the Derbyshire Dales.
A lot of tourists don't know about this place so it's usually quiet which is why I'm not revealing it's exact location. The two lambs were quite friendly and kept trying to come over to me but their mum repeatedly ushered them away which is fair enough, she was just being protective. It was funny to watch them trying to sneak back towards me without being caught and that's why they are the focal point of this photo. |
Derbyshire SunsetI don't know why exactly but I can tell you from visiting this place regularly for almost 20 years that Parsley Hey on the Tissington trail is one of the best places to get sunset photos in Derbyshire.
There were almost no clouds all day and the sky was still cloudless as the sun neared the horizon so I wasn't expecting much from the sunset, certainly not the usual riot of luminous neon colours and textures I normally see here in the clouds at sunset. Only a minute or so before I took this, the sky which was previously a cool, slightly washed out steel blue, filled suddenly with an intense orange. I quickly got set up and got this picture. It goes to show that even when you think the chance has passed for getting the shot you want, something else might happen that you'll kick yourself for missing if you pack up early. |
Homeward Bound
As the seasons change and the autumn colours start to show, we get treated to a daily flyover of Canada geese as they have to venture further from the local nature reserve to find good grazing. This flock are making their way back home just ahead of the approaching storm clouds you can see in the background.
Shortly after taking this shot, I beat a hasty retreat and just made it through the front door before the heavens opened. |
Climbing On The RoachesNot too far from Wildboarclough in the panorama picture above stands the Roaches, a gritstone outcrop popular with climbers. There are supposedly wallabies living on and around the Roaches and although I've never seen them I would like to!
You don't need to be a rock climber to get to the top. I walked towards the far end where the ridge dips low enough to walk straight onto it then walked back towards the highest section. Thankfully, I didn't have to retrace my steps to get back down as just out of shot on the left of the picture is a slightly precarious but perfectly serviceable set of steps carved into the rock itself. To get this shot, I sat on the edge of the cliff, next to the Queens chair which is a large, loose stone with a seat shaped area carved out of it and carved in the rock above is the inscription 'Prince and Princess of Teck visited this site on Aug 23rd 1872'. They were the parents of Queen Mary, wife of King George V. The views from the top of the Roaches are quite spectacular and well worth the effort of getting up there. Aside from the views, there's lots of interesting flora and fauna around if you take the time to look for it (see the photo below to see what I mean). Plus just the shapes, colours and textures of the rock itself is a treat too. |
Fauna
Common Lizard PeepingThis little guy was basking right at the side of the path I took to get onto the top of the Roaches. It's not the first common lizard I have seen but it was certainly the least skittish. Usually they vanish the moment you spot them but not so with this one. I moved very slowly and kept him in my peripheral vision while setting my camera instead of just staring straight at him which is what I wanted to do!
I took the first shot (which I expected to be the only shot) and he just sat there. I didn't waste the opportunity and got a few more shots. I then put the camera away and just enjoyed the chance to look at this lovely creature for a while before he wondered off. |
Pony GallopingThis pony plus another pony and a donkey aren't too far from where I live and I go to watch their antics quite often. They're usually calm but every so often they have a mad five minutes. One of them suddenly starts charging around and often the others join in. It looks like great fun for them and as well as providing me with some nice shots, it's just really nice to watch.
In this shot, the game seemed to be to hide just behind the ridge then run over it when you hear the others coming and chase them. Sounds like fun, right? |
Black & White CatThis is my boy, Ted. I got this shot while learning how to use off-camera flash and testing my wireless triggers. Believe it or not, this shot was taken in the middle of the day with nothing covering the windows that were either side of him.
I set the shutter speed as high as I could and ran the speedlight at full strength which totally overpowered the natural light. I've never been that much into flash photography until I took this one shot but now I've learnt a lot and like it! Oh and by the way, yes, he is cute and no, you can't have him! |
Grey SquirrelI was been feeding the song birds in the local nature reserve when this squirrel turned up and joined in. I like to go there when there isn't much natural food available and help to get them through the times where they would struggle otherwise.
Anyway, the squirrel took what he wanted and sat on a mossy branch that crossed the track just above head height. I had put out all the food I had with me so I quietly walked towards him but he didn't notice me as he was grooming his face. I was only a few feet away when he noticed, turned, shook his tail and shot off up a tree! Too late buddy, I got the shot! |
Blue Butterfly & OrchidMy Mum regularly tells me about when she was young and as she's from 'dahn sarf' (or 'down south' for the benefit of northerners, Guildford to be exact), she spent a lot of time playing on the South Downs where there were a lot of chalkhill blue butterflies and since moving 'oop norf' (or 'up north' for the benefit of southerners) she's not really seen any blues and she missed them.
Luckily, I knew a particular spot on the Tissington trail where there are usually a few fluttering about. I hit the jackpot on this occasion, there were dozens and the wild orchids were in flower too! You should have seen her face, she was a kid again. To top it off, they kept flying round her and one even landed on her head!!! Okay, they aren't chalkhill blues but that didn't matter to her. This photo might not be perfectly composed but the meaning it has is priceless and to be honest, that's all I care about with this one. |
Landscape (Urban)
Blackshaws CafeIs it just me or do modern buildings just not have any character? Look at all the little details in the picture, where's the modern equivalent? I'm not saying that we should be stuck in the past but seriously though, what has happened to the little details these days?
I got this shot just as a rain cloud started filing the sky. I bracketed the exposure and developed it into an HDR which I although it looks a little overdone, is actually quite faithful to how it looked when I was there. My absolute favourite weather situation for landscape photography is quite specific and a bit risky for my camera gear. I like to have a well lit, warm and colourful foreground on a sunny day but with a dark and brooding sky full of stormclouds above. The only problem is that it quite often starts raining heavily before I can get my gear under some form of protection. It's usually worth the gamble though. I do have a set of neutral density graduated Cokin filters so I could get a similar effect by using them but I like the challenge of doing it my way! |
Stormclouds Over StockportI was hoping this would come out well when I took it but I wasn't counting on it. A lot of things were less than ideal but I'm so happy it worked out as well as it did.
I had the wrong camera with the wrong lens for landscapes (I had my D2H and 70-300mm VR which is my wildlife set-up), no tripod so I used the cars roof, no polariser, it was hazy and those towers were a good half mile away. See why I was surprised now? I love the work of Ansel Adams and I hope that comes across here. |
Alamein SunsetI like this shot because it could be anywhere. There's just enough detail to make out houses and cars but are they American? European? Is this the deep south or somewhere on the Mediterranean? Well, neither actually. It's round the corner from where I live!
I was coming home one night and saw this. The sky looked like lightly creased and crumpled satin gently shifting and undulating in a slight breeze. The sun slowly rippled like its reflection would do on a calm sea as it sunk behind layers of cloud and although everybody was home from work and school, it was totally silent. |
Bridge Street Brow, StockportI've walked up and down here many hundreds of times in my life. It's steeper than it looks, take my word for it!
Even though it's nowhere near the coast, I always thought it looks like a part of a little coastal village and just round the corner is the harbour or a beach. Perhaps it's just the scent of fresh fish for sale at the bottom of the hill that makes it almost seem like you can hear the waves. I developed this as an HDR as the dynamic range of this scene really needed it and this shot does closely represent how the naked eye would see the same view with the same lighting conditions. |
Clouds, Tyres & RazorwireI saw this and something just caught my eye, thankfully not the razorwire!
I'll never be able to see something like this as beautiful just as it is. I know that quite a few people like this just for what you can see but I saw something different so let me explain. The razorwire reminds me of brambles climbing on a fence with the tyres almost looking like a dry stone wall behind that. I think it's one of those times that because I took the photo and saw more than is in the picture, I see it differently. Know what I mean? I've also noticed that if you look straight into the middle of the photo, it looks like the clouds are moving very slowly to the right and downwards. I'm not trying to tell you what you are meant to see or justify why I took it. It's not a metaphor or anything fancy like that, I like it but I don't really know why. If you don't like it, I totally understand. |
Flora
Black & White FlowersThe osteospermum also known as the cape daisy or African daisy is one of my favourite flowers. As well as being very varied in both colour and form, pollinating insects love them so they get a feed and if you're like me and you grow fruit and veg too, the same insects will pollinate them while in your garden. Everybody's happy!
Still part of the Asteraceae family, the marigold is a great companion plant if you grow tomatoes as they deter greenfly without the need for chemicals or really any effort or maintenance. I know this is a photo gallery but I wanted to share that tip and it's my website so there's nothing you can do about it! Back to the photo, the flowers had white petals with a slight pinky purple tinge to them and the centre was almost black so converting to black & white seemed to make a lot of sense. Once I made the usual adjustments, I also added a selective beautifying filter which gives a slightly soft focus & dreamy look to the finished image. |
BluebellsFrance has hillsides covered in neat rows of lavender, Holland has acre after acre of it's famous bulb fields, and in spring, Britain has broadleaved woodlands carpeted in bluebells. If you've never witnessed this, make the effort.
Like a lot of things in nature, you need to be there and see it with your own eyes to really appreciate it and I reckon that even if you live in the middle of a city, you're probably closer to a bluebell wood than you might have thought. One of the best shows I've seen is at the bluebell walk in the grounds of Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire and their website lets you know when are the best times to visit and if you have kids up to the age of 11 and they dress up as a fairy or a prince, they get in for free! Check it out HERE. As I have in the photo, you're best bet is to go to a bluebell woodland on a sunny day. They look beautiful even if it's raining but the sun really seems to have an effect on the flowers. It brings out the violet tones and natural iridescence which makes them look like they are almost glowing. |
White Stargazer LiliesI love very bright, showy and colourful flowers but there's just something about white flowers that appeals to me. Maybe it's the simplicity or the fact that you can appreciate the form without getting distracted by anything else.
My grandparents always considered lilies to be 'funeral flowers' and I know that they weren't on their own, lots of people seem to share this opinion but I don't. They're just big, pretty flowers to me. The first lily I bought was a Mona Lisa and it was one of the most fragrant flowers I had ever smelled. Musky but sweet like a mix of jasmine and gardenia. It was so nice that I ended up with stains around my nose from the the pollen! I took this quite late in the day during the golden hour to give the image a nice warm feel. I bracketed the exposures and made them into an HDR composite but I didn't mess around with it too much other than increasing the saturation to bring out the bright rusty orange of the pollen on the stamens as the original photos didn't pick it up well and they looked more brown than they really were. |
Forget-Me-NotsIf you don't like forget-me-nots, you have no soul. There, I've said it!
I don't have a proper macro lens yet but when I do, these little gems will probably be one of the first things I'll be using it on. I actually used my Tamron 70-300 LD lens on its macro setting which is the only reason I'm hanging on to it. It's not a bad lens and it's quite sharp throughout the focal range considering the price but the chromatic aberration is terrible on anything with strongly contrasting tones next to each other. It does a decent job of shots like this though which gives it a stay of execution...... for now! |
Purple PoppiesThese beautiful poppies were growing in a wildlife border on a grassy area near my house that had been seeded by the council. They stood out a mile and were the only ones which I guess is why some thoughtful soul decided to rip them out. Not just the flower heads but the whole plant. Whether it was mindless vandalism or plain old thievery, things like this really annoy me. Everyone who walked past could enjoy them, now nobody can.
I had planned on going back to gather some seeds to grow at home once the pods had opened but I was also going to scatter some all the way along the border where they were growing as well. I'm glad I got the photo when I did so at least I can share them with you. |
UPDATE!
I have finally given in and bought a GoPro Hero. It's just the new entry level version but it's a start and I've already ordered a set of Bulldog ABEC 9 bearings to build a glidecam rig. As soon as they arrive, I'll be building it and once it's done, the build will be on here so stay tuned!
I've fancied getting a GoPro for a while and having seen the footage I definitely can tell that a glidecam will be useful for what I want a GoPro for as the image quality is great but it will benefit massively with good stabilization. As soon as I've got to grips with filming and editing, I'll be adding videos on YouTube and I'll post links here (or hopefully the actual vids if I can).
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE !!!
Well, I've built my glidecam and got a quick video uploaded showing how well it works and you can see that by going to my new camera gear page by clicking HERE and the vid is at the bottom of the section on how to build it. This is the first video I've ever uploaded and I'm fairly new to videography so please don't be too critical!
At the time of making the video, it cost me a whopping £3.95 to build thanks to my extensive collection of bits and bobs I have and I only had to buy the bearings for the gimbal. Now I have tested the theory for myself and for very little initial outlay, I have bought a few extra parts that will make it more convenient to use, namely a quick release plate and a 2 way macro rail to make balancing it quicker but it's fully functional just as it is in the video.
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