Diary

July 15th 2010

I am now well into my summer editing period, so there is not much new photography being done at the moment. I have spent the last week undertaking a major transition in my office from PC to Mac. This is something I have been considering for some time as my ageing PC was struggling to handle the huge 21MP files from my current camera bodies. Thankfully the process has gone extremely smoothly, thanks in no small part to an incredibly useful website created by Lloyd Chambers called Mac Performance Guide. Anyone considering the switch to Mac should have a good read through all the information presented there. Everything is described in great detail from which Mac to buy, which components to upgrade and how to install all the upgraded parts. There are also sections on how to configure the system for optimal performance when using Photoshop and other photography related software. Lloyd also supplies his own software to enable you to thoroughly stress test your newly configured machine before transferring data and relying on it for your day to day work. I actually quite enjoyed the experience of configuring and testing my own machine, but if you'd prefer to buy all the upgrade components as a pre-stress tested kit, then Lloyd will soon be able to offer that option from his website. The results of Lloyds suggested configurations are very impressive. A full backup of my entire digital data (just over 2TB) to external hard drives took 32 hours on my old PC. I'm now able to back up the same data in a little over four hours!

With my new computer now operating to its full potential I hope to breeze through a large chunk of my editing backlog over the next five weeks. I began by sending out a few submissions of pre-prepared images to the libraries that represent my travel photography. The image below "Doorways of Chefchaouen, Morocco" was created this morning. It consists of 25 seperate full resolution images taken on an original Canon EOS 5D. The 25 72MB 16 bit TIFF files were all merged into one massive 4.55GB file in Photoshop CS5 to create the montage. My old PC would have crashed at the thought of this task, but my new Mac tackled it without even slowing down!

June 29th 2010

I have finally found time to process just a few of the many images taken during my recent Irish Seabird Workshop. Once again we were blessed with great weather with sunny skies practically all day. Winds were light, which helped with landing on the islands, but unfortunately the wind direction wasn't ideal for photographing the gannets. Even when working alongside a spectacular seabird colony many elements have to come together in order to achieve great images! With good light early and late in the day we were able to shoot both backlit and frontlit images of many species including gannet, razorbill, guillemot, puffin, shag, lesser and greater black backed gulls. Next year's workshop is already fully subscribed by those who reserved a place early and booking forms will be sent out in the next few days. I already have a lot of interest in the 2012 workshop so please register your interest quickly to stand the best chance of securing a place.

June 9th 2010

Cat and I have just returned from a short trip up to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It was well worth the 720 mile drive each way! Driving was shared and tackled overnight to save time and avoid traffic, but it still took thirteen hours to reach Stornoway. I have visited Lewis before but never in good weather. This time was different and we were able to see just how much this sometimes bleak and, at first sight, quite barren island has to offer. Exploring the coastline revealed many beautiful sandy beaches and rocky coves. There are lighthouses, rock stacks and smaller islands which all make useful focal points. The interior of the island has fewer features and it takes more effort to find good compositions - but they are there if you look hard enough. One of the highlights is the Calanish stone circle. This is probably the most impressive stone circle in the UK and a location that I have been wanting to photograph for many years. We photographed it several times around dawn and dusk, working through the short summer night. We also spend some time photographing seabirds; including puffins, fulmars and great skuas. It was a productive trip and I plan to return there again next year to photograph both Lewis and some of the other islands of the Outer Hebrides.

I'm now off to Ireland to run my annual Irish Seabird Workshop. I already have a long waiting list for this trip in 2011 so please register your interest early for 2012!

May 25th 2010

The image below was taken at dawn this morning at Portland Bill. Like most of the wildflowers this year, thrift is blooming about two weeks later than normal. I used a 24mm TS-E lens making use of both tilt and shift lens movements to increase front to back sharpness whilst also keeping the lighthouse tower vertical. Converging verticals can be corrected quite easily in Photoshop but it is then necessary to crop a significant portion of the image. For that reason I much prefer to use tilt shift lenses whenever possible.

The next diary update will in a couple of weeks when I return from the Outer Hebrides.

May 20th 2010

Just back from a four day landscape photography workshop in Cornwall. I had planned this trip to coincide with some of the best wildflower displays along the coast. Unfortunately, due to the recent cold weather, the flowers were about two weeks behind normal. However, we still managed to find some good displays. Towards the end of the trip the weather took a turn for the worse. Fortunately the weather forecasters had predicted this correctly and I had a list of suitable locations prepared in case of poor light. We found ourselves out on the moors in the rain at 4am illuminating Neolithic rocks with a torch on a couple of occasions! We also headed into the woods to make the most of the vibrant foliage on the beech trees, which always looks great in damp drizzly conditions. My next Cornwall workshop is in September and is fully booked. However, I am planning several more for 2011 so if you haven't already done so please contact me to reserve a place.

May 19th 2010

My News page has been updated with details of two new calendars for 2011.

My bluebell image (below) was used as a double page spread in the Guardian last Thursday! It was nice to get it published this year as my bluebell images are normally taken for use during the following spring and for next year's calendars.

May 12th 2010

Another early start this morning. I recently started using a mountain bike to enable me to reach some locations more quickly and to cover a greater area when checking out new locations. This morning I cycled over Ballard Down to reach Old Harry Rocks in time for a 5.25am sunrise. It wasn't the greatest sunrise I'd ever seen but it's nice to be able to capture the sun rising behind the rock stacks at this time of the year. The temperature this morning was -1°C in south Dorset! When cycling I usually carry a lightweight kit of 5Dmk2 body, 16-35mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm lenses. I also manage to fit my Gitzo GT1341LS tripod into a Berghaus Freeflow hiking rucksack.

My next diary update will follow the spring workshop in Cornwall where we will be photographing colourful wildflowers against a backdrop of stunning coastline.

May 11th 2010

Bluebell time is finally here! I headed out at 3.30am this morning in order to make sure I was set up in one of my favourite bluebell woods for sunrise. Although the bluebells still had a few days to go before they reach their best there was still plenty of colour to enable me to capture some nice springtime images. It didn't feel like spring though as the temperature was only 3°C! In southern England is seems like next weekend will be prime time to be out and about photographing the stunning displays in our woodlands - about two weeks later than in recent years. The downside of the delayed blooming is that the woodland canopy is thicker than normal, making it more difficult to find locations where it's possible to capture rays of sunlight illuminating the flowers and casting shadows across the woodland floor.

A few days on Guernsey last weekend revealed a few more interesting locations for the workshop I'm planning to run there in November 2011. Guernsey is a great location for a short coastal landscape photography workshop. The coastline is varied, with interesting and photogenic locations all around the island. I found a good hotel to stay in and some nice places to eat! Travel is easy on the fast ferry from Weymouth to St Peter Port and the crossing takes less than two hours. If you are interested in joining me please email to register your interest. As usual for UK based landscape photography workshops I will only be taking three participants. 

April 30th 2010

I can now report back from a rather unusual workshop in Tuscany! I arrived in the Val D'Orcia region on 14th June. This was my first workshop run for Authentic Adventures and we had seven participants booked to fly out to Rome on 17th. However, due to the volcanic ash only two (who drove from Switzerland and Slovenia) managed to make it! Jeremy and Tomaz were both experienced photographers so I changed my planned itinerary slightly to cater for their requirements and to enable us to make the very most of the best light early and late in the day and to explore some new locations in the region. We were out well before dawn most mornings and stayed out to shoot floodlit buildings into the evening. The weather conditions weren't ideal as most days were very hazy. However, there were periods of very good light as well as some dramatic storms. On one afternoon we had some amazing thunderstorms where the clouds appeared almost low enough to touch - it probably wasn't a great idea to be stood out in a field with a tripod! Most mornings were misty in the Val D'Orcia region which provided some great opportunities from very close to the hotel. The landscape was very green but the vineyards looked a little bare as the foliage had not yet emerged. With this in mind we have decided to run the trip in the autumn next year when the vines will be colourful and loaded with fruit. This should present much better opportunities for photographing patterns in the landscape as well. This was my first time in Tuscany and I was very impressed with the region from a photographic point of view. The people are very friendly and helpful....and the food and wine is not bad either! The 2011 workshop is expected to take place in early October so please email me to register your interest now.

April 12th 2010

The last week provided an opportunity to process more of the images from last month's Northumberland workshop. The images below were taken on a fantastic beach where small areas of colourfully patterned rock are exposed at low tide. The overcast conditions were perfect for recording this type of subject.

Next week I shall be running my first photography holiday for Authentic Adventures in Tuscany. I will update the diary page upon my return. There is currently one place still available on my Westcountry wildflower workshop on 5th May.

March 29th 2010

The latest Northumberland workshop included more bad weather with several days being effected by rain and poor visibility. This meant that we had to work hard to find suitable subjects to shoot in these conditions. Thankfully the Northumberland coast offers plenty of potential with colourful rock formations, perfectly round boulders and beautiful sandy beaches. Floodlit castles and the architecture of nearby Gateshead and Newcastle also provided plenty of subject matter, especially at dusk. The eider ducks in Seahouses harbour were coming into full breeding plumage and we managed to photograph them on a rare sunny afternoon. Thankfully we did get one decent sunrise from the beach at Bamburgh! We ended up with quite a good variety of images, even though we didn't secure some of the beautifully lit coastal landscapes that we had hoped for. Most of my UK based landsacpe workshops are limited to only three participants. This is especially important to me when working in coastal locations as there is often only one perfect place from which to shoot. If there are too many photographers trying to work then inevitably they will all get in each others images leading to frustration and missed opportunities. I have two more workshops in Northumberland later this year and these are both fully booked. New dates will be announced for 2011 very soon but please register your interest now to be sure of securing a place as I already have quite a long waiting list! There are still a couple of places available on my next trip to Tuscany with Authentic Adventures from 17th to 24th April - see the workshops page for more information.

March 17th 2010

We weren't exactly blessed with good light during the last Birds in Flight Workshop . Nevertheless, we still managed to take some very nice images of barn owl, little owl, buzzard and eagle owl. Flight shots were difficult due to the low light levels, but we managed to secure a good few sharp images using a combination of high ISO settings and flash. The light was good for portraits of the birds so we spent some time working on these with various props and perches I had sourced from my Uncle's farm. The next two Birds in Flight Workshops are on June 18th and 19th, when the weather is more likely to be on our side! These run for the same length of time but from 3pm to 9.30pm in order to make the most of the summer sunlight late into the evening.

March 6th 2010

Cornwall provided some nice opportunities during the two workshops I ran last week. The weather wasn't exactly on our side, with either cloudless blue skies or completely overcast! The winds were surprisingly light as well, so unfortunately we didn't manage to make use of large waves in our images this time. Nevertheless, some of my favourite locations presented us with chances to get creative with our cameras, especially after sunset when we could work with torchlight (see Crown Tin Mines image below). The advantages of the calm conditions were that it was much safer to work close to the water's edge and our cameras didn't get too much of a soaking! I now have the unavoidable task of cleaning all my equipment to help prevent damage from corrosive salt spray. I always soak my tripod (legs only) in a bath of warm water for an hour to loosen the salt. I then brush it off in the water and rinse it under the shower. Once dry I apply a small amount of sewing machine oil to all exposed nuts and bolts (never lubricate the legs or leg clamps themselves). This can prolong the life of your tripod considerably if you work in coastal locations on a regular basis.

Dates for new Cornwall workshops will be announced soon but please register your interest now to guarantee a place. During the next couple of weeks I shall be lecturing around the country and running a Birds in Flight workshop in Gloucestershire.

February 25th 2010

Back from a fantastic trip to Tanzania with 12,500 new images to add to my backlog! We began at Lake Manyara which proved especially good for birds. Next stop was Ndutu on the border of the Ngorongoro Conservation area and the Serengeti National Park. This proved to be a great area for a whole range of wildlife. We photographed mating lions, huge flocks of storks and enormous herds of wildebeast and zebra out on the plains. We then moved on to the centre of the Serengeti at Seronera. The herds had moved on from there so we concentrated on hippos instead. We went back to explore different areas of the Serengeti around Naabi Hill and finally on to the Ngorongoro Crater. This was our first African safari and we learnt a great deal. There were places that we will return to and things that we would do differently next time. It was a great introduction to working with African wildlife but next time we will devote more time to achieving some more specific goals. It will take a while to edit and process all the new material but I hope to have some images added to the latest work gallery quite soon.

While we were away Cat found out that she had won the landscape category of the Wanderlust Travel Photographer of the Year competition...a great achievement!

Wanderlust Travel Photographer of the Year - Landscape Category Winner

I will be in Cornwall next week running two coastal landscape photography workshops....fingers crossed for some good light! The next diary update will reveal how we got on.

January 30th 2010

Welcome to my new web site! I thought it was about time for a complete revamp of the site. I also needed to introduce the ability to update certain sections myself. There is still a little more work to be done but I wanted to get the site online before I depart for a three week trip to Tanzania. Aside from the new design and layout you can expect the workshops and events pages to be kept fully up to date from now on. New material will be added to the latest work gallery on a regular basis and I will keep adding features to the articles page. The biggest change is the creation of the diary page, where I will add entries as often as possible and at least on a monthly basis. Here I will be able to keep you informed about the work I am currently undertaking and also provide advance notice of new workshops, events and projects that I have in the pipeline. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mac at CamacWeb Services for all his help and design skills and for getting the site up and running in a short space of time. I am really pleased with the results we have achieved and I look forward to developing the site even further in the future.

Early last week I was in the Julian Alps in North West Slovenia running my annual winter workshop with my colleague Marko Trebusak. The weather was fantastic with plenty of snow on the ground and clear blue skies for much of the time. The temperatures hovered just below freezing during the day and dipped to -13C at the night. This provided our group of six participants with some great opportunities and fantastic light on the snow covered mountain peaks. Aside from beautiful winter landscape scenes we managed to shoot frozen waterfalls, close-ups of frost and ice crystals and trees covered with hoar frost. On the last night we stayed out until almost midnight shooting one hour exposures of star trails over the alpine summits from a mountain pass at an altitude of 1600 metres. Our decision to move the Winter in Slovenia workshop from March to January certainly paid off! We are currently waiting for Easyjet to update their flight schedule for early 2011 but dates for next year’s winter workshop will be around the third or forth weekend in January once again. Please register your interest now.