Hey!

The handsome Mr Cranwell

I wonder how transient such stylised photography is? It's so temping when looking at a straight rendition of a portrait shot next to something stylised like this, tweaked for high-contrast and de-saturated colour, to be drawn to the ‘sheer f**k off-ness’^* of the latter. Looking back in a year or two though, will this image scream 2008 styling and the handsome Mr Cranwell take second place? In funky 1970’s magazines I have found in charity shops, it almost looked like soft focus and star-effect filters were fashionable. Probably best to stop thinking about it and go take some pictures.

*Apologies for implying swear-words on a photography blog, in my defense though, it’s a quote from the rather good film Sexy Beast.

Click image to view larger

Iceland #3- Coast

Iceland #2- buildings

Iceland #1- Foss (waterfalls)

Seljalandsfoss,Iceland


Svartifoss (Black Falls), Skaftafell National Park, Iceland


Seljalandsfoss,Iceland

Iceland is possibly a photographer’s paradise and definitely a geologists paradise. The landscape a step back in time – where the rock isn’t still being shaped by glaciers, there are large-scale examples of perfectly-formed volcanoes, lava fields and black volcanic beaches.

I came back from 10 days in Iceland with over 800 photographs. It’s taken me until now to make some sense of these images. The first set of images looks at the impressive waterfalls.

More to follow...

Click images to enlarge

New Brighton

These images I like. When I started taking pictures with my first film SLR as a wee lad, I could never understand why the disappointing colour pictures I got back from Jessops didn’t compare to the dark blue skies and lush green foregrounds I had imagined when I looked through the viewfinder. I didn’t realise that the camera wasn’t telepathic, or that the dynamic range of film was less than the dynamic range of the human eye. If I knew taking pictures was that complicated, I think I would have given up taking any pictures at all.

These images are created using a technique called HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging. This technique lets a photographer capture something similar in colour and contrast ranges to the range the human eye experiences. I am hooked. The results look just like the pictures I imaged I would be getting back from Jessop’s when I looked through the viewfinder on that old film camera. The only slight disadvantages with this technique is that you have to shoot at least 3 separate exposures of everything, it needs fiddly processing to merge exposures into a usable image, you can’t shoot moving objects, oh, and the results are totally unpredictable. Minor details. Click images to view larger.

Mountain Bike Trials action

Thanks to Adam and the rest of your talented mates for letting me do these mountain bike trials shots with you on Sunday. It was great fun watching you ride and I hope our plan of meeting for another photoshoot in a few weeks time comes good. Click images to view larger.

Cherries, wooden plate.

I might try something like this again, but using a more diffuse light and a spray of water on the fruit. I also think a wider depth of field could be beneficial.

I am getting a bit tired doing of these 'filler shots'. These are really only taken, and always in a hurry, to fill up all the blog days out in this 356 photo project. Time for a change of concept I think...

I thought this candid shot of a girl removing her make-up was quite sweet. Click image to enlarge.

WoolFest Cumbria

These images are compiled from shots taken at [WoolFest] in Cumbria this weekend. The festival was a series of lots, alternating between rare breed sheep, textile artists and old ladies knitting hats. Great fun. Click images to enlarge.

A portrait in Cumbria

Patrick is our little mate who lives in Cumbria. His big brother just got a lovely old scooter. Here is Patrick wishing he was old enough to go for a ride. Click images to view larger.

Two dogs

Melissa, thanks for the suggestion in your comment to try this image in Black and White. Here is how it came out, the reflective glass is less of a distraction here, in fact it's starting to look like a cheesy art birthday card now. Click image to view larger.

'To the beach'

This is an photograph I have been working on today, in search for that fine-art black & white style. Click image to view larger

Cheeky bugger.

I would like to do a lot more portrait shots, they are fun to do, and the results are probably more engaging to look at than pictures of old trees. I am a quite shy though, and asking strangers or indeed friends if I can photograph them, I find hard. So, if anyone wants to just walk on up and volunteer for a portrait session, feel free! Click images to enlarge.

An ancient windswept hawthorn tree.

I was trying a technique on this image using a long exposure, where the movement of the leaves and branches can be seen as blurred motion against the crisp foreground and sky. Unfortunately it was so windy up here, almost everything in the scene was moving! Click image to view larger.

Sunday 22nd June

Thistle, near Llanferres, Wales

In the language of flowers, the thistle is an ancient Celtic symbol for Nobility of Character. Looking at these majestic, but heavily armoured flowerheads, it’s easy to see why.

21st June 2008

Mountain bikers often times take themselves pretty seriously. There's the expensive bikes, the tight leggings stretched over rippling thighs, the layers of technical performance fabrics, the hard-won fitness, the sizing-up of other riders, the unwritten competition. Occasionally though, someone comes along and laughs in the face of all that. Here’s to that man!

There is a word for it in Welsh; Hiraeth.

It means 'a longing for home'. I don't miss my old cottage in Bollington so much anymore, times move on. That is until I return there. There is magic in that valley. Martin and Rachel have had baby Guy since I left. He is nine months old now, going on thirteen.

Hiraeth - the link with past, the language from the soul, the call from the inner self. Half forgotten - fraction remembered. It speaks from the stone, from the earth, from the trees and in the people. It's always there.

14th June 2008

'Breathe Out', Jan Singleton.

These fabulously expressive glass pieces are by glass artist Jan Singleton, who runs the beautifully converted Pandy Mill Gallery and tea rooms in the village of Pandy, Ceiriog Valley, North Wales.

The top image I photographed 'quietly' while I was there (sorry Jan), the second image 'Breathe Out', Jan sent over since. With a backdrop of trees and the river, the pieces have the appearance of shimmering as the trees move behind the glass.

WoodFestWales has been going for a few years now. It’s a chance to meet makers from all over Snowdonia and North Wales, watch axes being throwing, and buy some beautiful craft works at a fraction of gallery costs. This year it was a lot bigger. It’s such up-scale that it has you looking for the camping field and the live music tents. The crafts people looked a little bewildered at the volume of people passing by. The fairground ride owners looked overjoyed.

28th May 2008

"The average person thinks they're more intelligent than average. Do you think you are more intelligent than the average person?"

I could only fit the second half of the artwork in my little viewfinder. There you are.

London Road, Liverpool