Featured Photograph for October

October is probably my favourite month. The days are starting to get shorter; something most people tend to dislike but for me it means sunrise comes back into play (you can only do so many 4am starts before they begin to lose their appeal) - and then there is all that 'mists and mellow fruitfulness'. Unsurprisingly though, the greatest attraction is the glorious colour.

This month's featured photograph shows the River Dochart at Killin with Inchbuie, the ancient burial ground of the Clan Macnab, ablaze with colour and living up to the Gaelic translation of 'yellow island'. I gather it is possible to go into the burial ground, the key to the gate being held in Killin library; I desperately wanted to explore but, sadly, there wasn't time and this has now been added to my list of 'places to return to'.


Prints are available from my website : www.landscapeandlight.co.uk

Featured Photograph for September

My featured photograph for this month was taken just three days ago in Rome and is dedicated to the very friendly New York based Bulgarian we met on the Pont St.Angelo (pictured). Like me, he had gone to the bridge to photograph the view towards St.Peter's Basilica but, while he intended to wait for dusk, I was planning to put eating with my family first (they might add 'for once'). While we chatted, he mentioned there was a good spot under the next bridge along, looking back towards the Pont St.Angelo and the castle and that is the scene you see here. We did leave the bridge before dusk but ended up at a restaurant just over the road and the draw of the photograph proved just too great for me; I quickly told J what to order for me and excused myself for ten minutes. It was a humid evening and jogging down to the next bridge and back left me uncomfortably sweaty but it was well worth the effort. I have to credit my new friend for his selfless suggestion.

Before returning to my family and the waiting beer, I also managed a quick visit back to the Pont St.Angelo where I took the following photograph:

It's hardly surprising that, in the time we were there, we saw four different wedding couples being photographed in front of this scene - the only downside being the plethora of street sellers selling tat and the cheesy violinist playing Beatles songs.

New Website

For many years now, I have hosted my website using Clikpic and I would recommend them to anyone looking for an easy way to build a site. However, I have now switched to Smugmug and my new site is live. The content hasn't changed greatly from the previous website but I am happier with the appearance and Smugmug have eliminated the issues which used to make their templates so difficult to work with. I'm happy but I will be happier still if you go and have a look.

www.landscapeandlight.co.uk

From Genesis to Revelations

A couple of things have led to this post; firstly, as you may have noticed from the last entry, I have been going through my back catalogue to see if I've overlooked any files with potential. Secondly, I've just returned from a couple of days in London where I took in Sabastiao Salgado's 'Genesis' exhibition. For this, I have to be thankful for a day of truly miserable weather; being a family outing, there is little doubt that a nice day would have meant seeing the sights. As it was, we looked for somewhere to get shelter and the Natural History Museum was my choice and not for unselfish reasons - I have long wanted to see Salgado's work in the flesh.

The exhibition was worth every penny of the £10 admission and I would urge everyone to see it although, sadly, it is only on until 8th September. We spend so much time viewing photographs on a screen these days that it is easy to forget just how much better it is to see a really well produced, large print and these were some of the finest I have ever seen - certainly some of the most impressive black and white prints. It is certainly true that Salgado has spent time in some amazing landscapes but that isn't the only reason why the prints held me spellbound.

And so it is that I have started looking specifically for images which might make a decent black and white picture. Of course, there is a world of difference between my pictures and his but maybe I can come up with something that makes a nice print of my own. I certainly realise there is a lot more work required to make a print sing the way his did but I'm going to try. The proof will be in the print.


Prints are available from my website : www.landscapeandlight.co.uk 

Featured Photograph for August

I certainly couldn't claim that this month's featured photograph is very original. Liverpool's waterfront is iconic and many people have photographed it at dusk from the Birkenhead side. Perhaps surprisingly though, this was my first attempt, exactly a year ago. J was out at a work event so I headed up to New Brighton with the intention of photographing the lighthouse (yet again) at sunset before moving on to this spot for dusk. As it turns out, that was slightly ambitious and I arrived at Woodside Ferry Terminal a little late to get the best light and I confess I was a little nervous to be standing there on my own with a bag full of expensive camera equipment. I am, however, reasonably happy with the result, especially as I hadn't bothered processing this file until just now.


Prints are available from my website : www.landscapeandlight.co.uk

Featured Photograph for July

I'm a bit late with this month's featured photograph and, as that is due to me being on holiday for the last couple of weeks, it seems only right that I should post a photograph made during that holiday. There is something of a risk in spending your main two weeks annual leave in Anglesey; I love the place and the coast is wonderful but, if the weather is bad there is not a lot to do. This wasn't going to be a problem for us as we mostly wanted to relax so, stocked up with plenty of films and books, we were set for whatever the weather threw at us. Of course, you will know by now that we were incredibly lucky and had two weeks of amazing sunshine. My legs don't often see the light of day but I wore shorts every day.

We had a fabulous break but there is something perverse about landscape photographers in that they are rarely satisfied with the conditions and such settled fair weather meant I wasn't going to get any dramatic lighting. Even so, I had established that the sun would set behind South Stack lighthouse and that is where J and I headed after a wonderful meal at the White Eagle. The image I've chosen to feature was made just after the sun had sunk behind an annoying bank of cloud on the horizon; consequently, the colours are rather muted. Compare them with the image below (the first I made that evening) where the foreground is lit with a beautiful golden light; the drawback being the unavoidable flare from shooting directly into the sun. Two quite different moods with only something like 20 minutes between them



The previous evening we watched a fascinating program about wildlife photographers in which one of them said that he was nearly driven mad by the noise he experienced during months spent with penguins and I felt I knew a little of his pain in just one evening in the company of thousands of seabirds.

Featured Photograph for June

I'm a little late posting this month's picture, largely because the last two weeks have been spent editing pictures from our latest wedding. I was tempted to use one of those pictures here; although our experience of weather for June weddings has generally been poor, this time it was a glorious day and we had some gorgeous evening sun in which to photograph the bride and groom. However, the couple have yet to see the pictures themselves and it would be wrong to post any online before they had.

The picture I have chosen is from a few years ago. It shows the sun setting over Liverpool and was taken from Frodsham Hill. It is only during the longest days that the sun sets this far round and I had been hoping to see it frame the Anglican Cathedral as it sank. I've been meaning to go back closer to the longest day to see if that does actually happen but have never had that combination of time, weather and tidal conditions necessary -for me, it is important that the foreground is broken up by the mud banks exposed by the low tide. Maybe I will have a chance yet this year.



Prints are available from my website: www.landscapeandlight.co.uk