We Are Moving!!!

Just to let you know that the blog is moving to a new Word Press based blog on my new website

After a few years of meaning to get round to doing a website for myself, I have at last managed to get my head round some word press and the new site is now live and working.

The training courses and photography tuition really have become very busy so they needed a web place of there own. As well as course information the new web site will have many more images many more articles and a lot more reviews. It will also be much easier for you to post comments and ask questions.

Please come along a join me... feel free to ask questions and if I can help I will. Hope to see and hear from you all over at the new site in the near future.

Thanks for you past and continued support.

Perch Rock Lighthouse

Perch Rock Lighthouse New Brighton Merseyside


Perch Rock Lighthouse New Brighton Merseyside

Pictures From Paris

Following on from my last post about my interest in Lo Tec images and photography using very simple pinhole cameras and the amazing Holga camera from the 1970s, here are my latest images from a recent trip to Paris.

Most of these images were taken in and around the Montmartre area of the city. For me one of the main aims of this trip was to capture images very different from the normal stock or tourist picture. So I avoided the photography hotspots and ventured a little more off the tourist trail.

I am planning a further trip to Paris very soon to document the old cemeteries which are simply amazing places crammed with the most amazing detail. These places are becoming a bit of an obsession for me at the moment and have developed an interest in wanting to explore the older cemeteries in the UK. These are proving to be just as interesting from a photography perspective and are producing some images I am really enjoying.

Pinhole and Film

A friend just told me on twitter that its my age, it could possibly be. But I must admit to a love of images taken on film. Be it the old grainy Tri-x or the Kodak colour I grew up with I have never lost the enjoyment of seeing and holding a "real" photograph.



Hera are a few of my latest images taken on projects were pinhole cameras and cheap plastic lenses are the key ingredient. Its great to get away from the how many pixel and JPG v Raw debate once in a while and concentrate on the image.





I am finding the art market is very keen on this type of image and for me its great to be able to go out with a cheap film camera or a pinhole converted lens cap once in a while and just look for images, without the massive photo pack, tripods and hi Res camera backs.



My latest projects are using more and more film in various ways and I seem to be spending a lot of time on eBay looking for suitable cheap cameras. In fact I have just purchased a 1970s Olympus Trip (it cost less than a decent haircut) and I am looking at the possibility of building a view camera to use as my main pinhole film camera.





Its great to work on new and interesting projects and find new ways to capture images. There is a great article in this months Advanced Photographer Magazine about this very subject. Its a great read with some fantastic images. If you get chance grab a copy.

A Busy Week Of Commercial Jobs

The past week has been really busy with not only training courses but also commercial and Architectural commissions.



It has been an interesting week and just to show how diverse a week as a commercial photographer can be in the space of two days I went from photographing macro shots for a new company web site and promotional press releases one day, to my more normal architectural work the following day using high resolution Nikon bodies and specialist Tilt and shift lenses, to record images of new construction work in Piccadilly Manchester.



My daily working Life is very diverse at the moment with a very mixed bag of commercial and architectural work. The vast range of work is making for really interesting days. Some more amazing and interesting images coming up in the next few weeks.

Another Place

Late last week I spent the afternoon on Crosby Beach in Merseyside with the aim of photographing the Famous "Another Place" by artist Antony Gormley. It was one of those days in landscape photography when the light conditions I had hoped and planed for just didn't arrive.

The wind was blowing at a brisk pace and the light was not playing ball, so never wanting to leave a location without at least some images, I took a long and muddy walk down the beach. Here are a couple of images from the afternoon.

Despite going with the aim of photographing the statues I found myself drawn more to the old structures on the beach which just seemed to be more interesting in the conditions on the day.

The fist image below, was another long exposure image taken with the Lee Filters "Big Stopper" which is a 10stop ND filter, Which reduces light intensity hitting the sensor by a factor of 10stops. This gives the ability to record movement in the image over long exposure times.





On this image, not only did the filter enable me to capture some movement in the cloud it also helped remove the passing dog walkers and fishermen who passed through the frame during exposure. The walking passers by simply were moving to quickly to record in the final image. The final image was a much shorter exposure, here I wanted to capture the ferry in the distance on its way into Liverpool.

This B&W image was made using the fantastic new Nic Software Silver Effects Pro. This new software is a simple to use Photoshop or Lightroom Plug in and has very quickly become part of my digital workflow.

Formby Point & Southport Pier

On another landscape trip this time a one 2 one landscape course with a new training client who had requested some photography tuition on his home patch. My client Tim, wanted to look at long exposure photography and also dusk and sunset images which had been causing him some problems in the past.



Once again the light and weather conditions were not playing ball and in many ways were not ideal for long exposure images early in the day. It was in fact a fantastic sunny and warm spring day with hardly a cloud in the sky.

We did manage some longish exposures using a full set of Lee ND filters and an fantastic little iPhone app which calculated our exposures for the 16stops of ND filters we used in a blink of an eye.So despite the lack of cloud or indeed wind we recorded the movement of the costal grasses to add more depth and interest to our images.

After a coffee break and some time to look at equipment and the best way to carry the tools of our trade, we made our way to Southport were the clear skies promised an interesting dusk shot of the fantastic pier.



Now with some new found skills with ND Grad filters and some refined exposure skills Tim was poised ready to capture the best of the dusk and sunset lighting.



All in all a really enjoyable day which produced some pleasing images for both Tim and myself. Its always interesting to look into the history of the subjects we photograph and I was amazed to find that Southport's stunning pier was only saved from demolition by a single vote when the Sefton Council wanted to pull it down....Simply beyond belief!!