Winter - part one or done?

I have been watching with photographer’s envy at the prolonged snowfalls in many parts of the UK and particularly in the Lake District and Scotland. In Hampshire, with only a few exceptions, we have been having a fairly bland winter. We had quite a lot of cold weather in late December and January, but no snowfalls settling for more than a few hours and only one or two notable frosts. I have managed a couple of shoots but I hope we get some additional dramatic episodes because I have a few locations I want to visit this year. I am prepared to wait for a late winter / early spring strike when we may even be moving out of the strictest lockdown and I could venture further afield.

The first image is of my local Dutch barn that I shot in May of 2020 and detailed in my previous blog ‘The Wonder of Light’, linked below the image.

One of only two briefly settling snowfalls of the winter so far.

The most dramatic frost of the year came right on day one; a rather nippy night on the 31st dawned to a thick frost coating the ground and trees. Fortunately the lack of celebrations played in my favour and I grabbed my camera bag and headed to a local farm on the edge of the village. I am photographing the farm through the seasons so am lucky enough to be able to wander freely. Which is exactly what the ducks were doing on the lake that morning while the resident black swans rather hogged the open water. I was out for three hours before the frost melted away.

The beech along the path leading to the farm - frost bathed.

The ducks taking a walk on the lake.

Wonderful contrast in the trees.

Dipsacus frigorissimus

A triple black swan event

So, I hope to be able to bring you a ‘Winter, The Return’ blog before we are done. In the meantime, there may well be one or two episodes of my retrospective 30/30.

Hidden Gems

When I take photographs I rarely edit them straight away. Particularly if it has been a productive shoot, I like to let the excitement and emotion of the time subside slightly so that I can approach the images slightly more dispassionately and therefore make a more balanced judgement on the photography. When I return to shoots, images that I initially thought would be the best are often usurped by others. Such was the case at one of my trips into the New Forest in autumn. During a later editing session I recognised potential in this image and was delighted with the way it highlights the individual oak in full autumn glory.

The glowing oak, now available as a print!

I shot for a while on that afternoon, continuing well into dusk. It was mid November and I knew it would likely be my last productive autumn trip to the New Forest as it did indeed turn out to be. The light was cold, indirect, shady but when rebalanced for correct leaf colour as the eye would see it, the balance becomes incredibly atmospheric. Below are a couple of other shots on that day - again these were not the images that were not necessarily ‘stand-outs’ in my mind but simple compositions work because the individual trees stand out. The more complex shots did not work as well on this day - too much confusion between trees and not enough separation.

Beech standing out against the large pines.

This time beech is the focus.

One of my final shots, requiring a 30sec exposure.

Back to the start - Broughton Down

At the end of a topsy turvy year owned exclusively by covid, we have returned to where we were at the start of it all in March - April with lock-downs and ballooning patient numbers. So my last blog of the year is going back to the location of my first lock-down shoot in late April on Broughton Down. But this time Autumnal versions of the beech.

First light, late October, colours starting to turn.

As with other Autumn locations, I visited several times to capture the different colours and varying lighting and conditions. In November the colours started turning more dramatically and there were a few days with mist. The changes in the days from 5th-8th November were particularly dramatic.

5th November, morning sun, light mist.

7th November. More mist and the focal point of some walkers.

8th October. Final drama of colour and mist.

The changes in this period, whilst not being entirely surprising, are interesting and present a number of options when choosing a prize image. As with my scene of the New Forest, I do not yet have a favourite - it often takes a while of looking at images to determine a preference. On the final morning I was serenaded by a herd of horse riders; one of whom happened to be Islay. Complete chance. I did not know she would would be on that route and she did not know where I was photographing.

It took a few shots to get them in the right places, but I did not even have to move my camera.

A changing scene - New Forest

Back at the beginning of October I went scouting in the New Forest for new scenes. I found a fabulous area of mixed deciduous woods, primarily of oak, beech and maple. Much of the New Forest is self protecting so autumn colours arrive later than in more exposed areas. The image I first shot was, even at the beginning of October, in full green finery with only some bracken giving the game away. I normally find too much green overwhelming, especially in late summer where it become a mono block, but I really like this view. A little backlighting helps to accentuate a few of the trees and branches.

Light, colour, texture, form - all the ingredients.

I returned three more times, initially with just first tinges, then the beech in full colour and finally the oak in its Autumn glory. I do not yet have a favourite, but do like the different emphases as the different trees turn. The widest image was when the beech were in colour and I needed more of these leaves to show. The sun was also in a good place to give another focal zone.

The maples and beech starting to turn.

Autumn drama with the beech in peak colour.

Beech fallen, oak golden.

Now all that remains is to capture the other seasons. I am not convinced this area will get any meaningful snow falls - again due to its self protection. I feel late May could be a good time; the oaks will need to be out and their leaves arrive later than the beech. Until then I have other Autumn shoots to edit; this has probably been my busiest Autumn ever - more trees obviously plus a couple of shoots of deer.

Avenues of trees.

Avenues of trees are a perennial favourite for people. The leading lines of wonderful trees, the road / path / track leading to somewhere. possibly the history that way back someone had the foresight to plant them.

Perfect beech avenue, immaculately maintained.

Some avenues are globally famous such as that one in Ireland made famous by Game of Thrones. Others more UK famous such as the long beech lined road near Shaftesbury in Dorset. I have tried to photograph this, but the problem is traffic; lots of cars to run you over. And consequently white lines to dominate the foreground of images.

I therefore took to google earth one afternoon, virtually scouring the locality for avenues of likely contenders. I found a few in Wiltshire, west of Salisbury and went off to explore them. A couple were promising, others not so, mainly because of messy ground levels. I found one of largely hornbeam on a farm-track that was also a right of way - perfect for not being run over. I found another that was on a quiet road and in fact turns out to be fairly famous. It was a perfect avenue of beech, maintained to improbably high standards.

Summer hornbeam,

The fact that I found several just from looking in one part of one county makes one think there must be a lot of these avenues all around the country. Anyway, having found them, one trip was obviously never going to be enough so I revisited them with Autumn colour (part of a pretty busy Autumn shooting this year). The hornbeam turned first and I caught it in full golden glory.

The beech is a much later tree to turn and I have visited it twice in October, with the second trip offering a lovely warm rendition but with an interesting mix of Autumn hues and lingering greens.

I now have to decide which images will win the place on one of my greetings cards. Or maybe I could allow two…

Ullswater.

An afternoon of changing light.

Quite the welcome!

Back in April I was supposed to join a group of mates for walking in Torridon in North-West Scotland. Scuppered by the first lock-down. In September we rescheduled for late October. Scuppered by the Scotish restrictions; so we opted for the Lake District. A pretty worthy substitute. I had not been to the Lakes for 20 years. God knows why. It was rather wonderful. Ian and I scheduled a couple of days photography before and after the walking element, hoping for some good Autumn photos and weathery drama and if not, then we would at least scope out locations for subsequent trips. Ian had also not been to the Lakes on a photographic trip so we were like kids in a sweet shop.

As we drove in from the North we followed the North bank of Ullswater and stopped when we saw a reasonable location and light that looked promising. We stayed in a small area for a couple of hours,taking all of these shots. A pretty fantastic first afternoon.

Long exposure to show the cloud movement and smooth the water.

Similar to the first image but more subdued light.

The details were worth capturing as well.

Probably my favourite of the afternoon. The drama, mood and layering of the hills…

A final long exposure before moving on.

We were staying the first couple of nights in Borrowdale so our first morning was planned to be beside Buttermere for dawn. Which it was. But again, enough pics for another blog.

A Devonshire estuary

Every September for the past decade I have visited a wonderful unspoilt estuary in South Devon where the River Erme meets the sea. The estuary and its surrounds barely change. The occasional tree on the surrounding hills falls down but otherwise the ebb and flow of the water and the life that come with it remain the same.

Flight of Canada geese in the early morning

Something else that does not change is that I take many hundreds of photographs. Of the same scenes, the same same species in the same light. But I love it. The photographs have, thankfully, tended to improve over the years. Both in terms of my abilities and the quality of the cameras. The light at this time of year is gorgeous and I find myself photographing hour after hour, day after day. Given the nature of a tidal estuary the view is constantly changing and I can watch it for hours. I still do not know my favourite tide height - sands exposed or water flowing in to fill the space.

Geese feeding at low tide.

The estuary is a haven for birds. Canada geese are the main bulk flying up and down the estuary to various feeding grounds depending on the time of day and the tides. They fly in wonderful formations, breaking as they come in to land, their combined wings making a wonderful noise as they fly past. Heron and egrets are constant lookouts, feeding in the shallows or waiting for the high tide to fall. Gulls flock to and fro the coast in large numbers. Ducks busy about. Comorants self isolate. Curlews haunt the air with their cries feeding in the sand and mud. Swans patrol up and down, sometimes flying with amazing air rush wingbeats, sometimes drifting lazily back up with the tide.

Oaks line the sides of the estuary - they are not banks but a merging of water to hiil. When the water is still the reflections of the trees make incredible backdrops to the birds in the water.

Heron feeding in the shallows, oaks reflected in the water.

The mornings frequently offer mist, the evenings a calm or vibrant sunsets. All conditions add to the wonder that is September light. Even the boats that anchor the images looking towards the sea remain constant from one year to the next. My winter mission is to edit and collate the best of the images from the last 10 years. Compare and contrast, but most likely find myself looking at the same images over and over again.

Evening flight of the geese

Autumn's coming

The title is an obvious thing to say, but it actually really feels like it. The mornings are crisp and the evenings chilly. Will an Indian summer prevail or will Autumn bluster in with a vengeance. A recent trip to the New Forest to see what what happening in matters arboreal reinforced the latter train of thought. Some of the birch are turning early - probably due to the really dry summer forcing them into shock. The bracken is definitely on the turn.

A rainy day led to saturated colours

On the turn

I went to an area I have shot a few times before but found entirely new compositions which was satisfying. I will try to revisit them over the coming season. I now have a long list of possible sites in the forest to return to, which along with finding new views, makes for an abundance of choice.

I also have a couple of trips coming up including a postponed trip to Scotland. I am looking forward to this because it is in the Torridon area, famed for its hills and trees. A first visit for me.

My other trip is to South Devon where we go every year in September. A haven of an estuary between Plymouth and Exeter.

Trying to keep trunks separated to avoid a visual muddle.

Reccy of a Rock

The end of a lovely cliff walk

July and August are often difficult times to get out into the landscape and get inspiring shots. The trees have turned from vibrant and varied to mono green blocks starting to feel the summer heat as the sun is burning and drying them and that is even more true this year. In the past I have relied on visiting coastlines - Dorset and Cornwall in particular but some of my favourite spots have been out of action due to simple common sense. I am not prepared to get caught up in Durdle Door mayhem for more photos. It’s the summer holidays, and I have just been away to North Devon (this was a good year to vow not to fly) for some surfing with Charlotte and a friend.

On one of the afternoons when we finished surfing early I persuaded them that a trip to an amazing rock was in order. A glorious cliff walk leading to Blackchurch Rock. They agreed / obliged and I was able to scope out the scene with a camera. I have visited before but in fierce conditions when it was barely safe to walk over the striated rocks. This time I was able to find a good viewpoint with good leading lines which I can return to in the future for dawn / dusk / sidelit photography.

Not great conditions for photography but perfect for a walk and location scout.

The point of view is almost exactly West-East which means during the week or two around the Spring or Autumn equinox, the sun should / could rise almost perfectly through the rock. Failing that a summer shoot late in the day with sidelight from the North East or a winter shoot with sidelight from the South would also work. The other factor to consider is that it needs to be shot with the tide off high, ideally on a falling tide for safety and ideally about 3 hrs off high to get some water in the striations. Other than that, it is simply a question of turning up and clicking the shutter…

30 / 30 - 03 - Living Grants Now

In 1992 I started at Leeds University studying Geography, Sociology and Politics. Whilst interesting and offering an excellent chance to learn about the world, the hours were not onerous. This left me with a lot of time to pursue photography which I did so as photographer and, later, also photo-editor of ‘Leeds Student’ the newspaper which served Leeds Uni and the then Leeds Polytechnic. It was a formative time and strong in my mind are the demonstrations against the reduction in grants and the introduction of loans that took place fairly frequently in Yorkshire and in London. This shot below from 1994 is one of very many I took at such demos.

Jim Murphy, President of the NUS.

Jim Murphy headed this demo in Leeds while he was President of the NUS. I think it was the following year he dropped the NUS’ policy opposing the abolition of the student grant. The year after his Presidency ended he was chosen by labour to contest a seat in the General Election (hmm). I always rather hoped he would be made Eduction Secretary but I guess that made too much sense with his experience of the system so I was never able to sell this image for £££ when he may possibly have denied supporting grants over loans.

The slogans of ‘Living Grants Now and ‘Grants not loans’ seems a distant dream given the escalation of loans and tuition fees taking the cost of a university education to about £50k now. What will happen to universities after this crisis remains to be seen. I suspect a large number will struggle as students decide to take vocational courses instead of expensive, socially distanced university courses.

Anyway, with the highest print run of any student paper at 35,000 weekly Leeds Student was an excellent forum and I was amazed given the number of people taking photography at the poly and the experience that could be gleaned that none of them wanted to shoot for the paper so I found myself, with one or two others, covering about a dozen stories weekly.

When there was a demo, I would go on a bus to London (or other city) with other students, photograph the demo all afternoon, take a bus back to arrive at about 10pm, process the film and print a few of the best, then scan the prints ready for inclusion when the paper went to print on Thursday morning.

Most of the images were shot in monochrome but during my final year the paper excitingly became the first in the country to print with colour covers. I shot mundane student stories but also sportsmen, politicians, royalty and even Richard Whiteley who gave me a tie from his legendary collection. I still have all of the negatives neatly filed but much ignored.

A go-to tree - the Field Oak

This summer I have been re-visiting an old friend. In the way that up until now you have only been able to visit old friends that aren’t human. Many photographers have a scene, a tree, a hill that they visit repeatedly over the years. This oak is only a couple of miles away yet I have neglected it for too long. I photographed it a number of times about a decade ago but never more than passing snaps in different seasons and with different crops. This year I decided to step up a gear, get more serious with it and try and do it justice by photographing it properly ie with an image in mind, not just in passing.

I decided raking evening light would be the way to go and shot it over a couple of evenings. The shot needed pretty clear air because I am about 250m away from it and haze would detract too much. Timing was also key - the shot needed the shadows to add depth so the sun had to be close to setting but not blocked completely by surrounding trees . I like the fact that shadows are cast both by the rolling field and by trees off stage right. I am looking roughly WSW in this shot and in the summer the sun sets sufficiently far beyond west to give the side of the tree some interesting light to make it stand out from the background.

The farmer practises good crop rotation and therefore the field cycles between different crops. Below are versions shot in flowering rape seed and flowering linseed. With lock down easing I am this very evening going to cycle past this tree on my way to see another old friend. But a human one. Even though it’s about 25C outside.

Lone Oak in Linseed

Lone Oak in Rapeseed

Lone Oak in Wheat

Further afield - Windsor

Last week I made my longest journey in months to meet my good friend Ian in Windsor Great Park. Despite visiting Windsor several times over the years to meet up with clients - notably The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award who are based there - I had never explored the park. We wanted a location where we could meet easily, ideally halfway between the two of us and Windsor fitted the bill. As it turned out it also fitted the bill photographically. The weather was pretty poor - lots of rain and drizzle but there were a lot of deer in the park some of whom liked hanging out in the woods, which made for interesting compositions, even if the lighting was a tad low; overcome by shooting at ISO 2500.

glorious stag

With velvety antlers

I would have preferred him turned slightly more…

It was not all about the deer. There was a friendly squirrel having a snack and some lovely ferns, freshly grown so not yet weathered and tatty. We did discover from a warden that tripods are not allowed to be used without a license - something that is not hugely uncommon on ‘private’ land. So at least I will not have to carry a tripod unnecessarily in future. It was a great day out and good to see Ian after several months and we have definitely found a new location to shoot. Autumn would be great when the deer are rutting and the trees starting to turn. The oaks are famously impressive and there is an avenue of them leading to the Castle from a high point in the park - so a wonderful view down the avenue.

Spring Fern

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Smile for the camera

Snacking Rodent

A bit of a rest after all the eating.

Peak Poppies

One feature of most summers is the emergence of poppies in recently ploughed fields, This year has been no different, apart from perhaps a greater than normal proliferation in the immediate locality. Which has been lucky for those of us (me) wanting to photograph them. The emergence of the flowers is a gradual one and lasts a surprisingly long time with fields flowering for 7-10days. They have also survived the recent winds well, which one might not expect from such a fragile flower.

I went slightly beserk last year shooting individual poppy portraits so I have tried to be more restrained this year. One shoot picking out individual portraits, some snaps on a walk to capture the path view and a couple of longer shoots at what I considered to be the best individual field (below).

The field in the foreground of the path shot is now steadily being eaten by the buffalo on the farm. Nice salad bowl for them.

Photographing poppies is quite tricky. A long lens to compress the image risks turning the poppies into a red mush and direct sun on the subject often renders it too much of a homogenous mass while backlighting in poppy portraits risks being too contrasty. The shot below I think works because the backlightling gives good colour while there is enough green visible to stop the field turning into solid red band. A shot from this angle without sun did not have the same impact.

For poppy portraiture I find direct sun too much - the light needs to be more subdued. I managed to get my hit in just one session this year and was pleased with the results. I ended up with 4 or 5 good shots to add to the dozen or so from last year. I think I will have to have an extended range of poppy cards at some point given the amount of images I now have.

I shot a few panoramic shots in camera as well and my favourite shot below has no further cropping - it is as I shot it in camera. The blue-purple tint comes from the fact I shot it at dusk with light reflecting from the darkening sky. This would blow up to 6 ft wide if anyone is interested! Using the minimal depth of field to isolate the flower can be tricky given their predilection to wind movement - a few mm and they are no longer pin sharp.

My favourite poppy portrait so far this year.

30/30-02 - Child eating noodles

In 1992 I went on a big adventure during a year off after finishing school before going to university. I travelled on the Trans-SIberian train from Moscow to Beijing and overland through China to end in Hong Kong. Then through some of Asia and on to the Antipodes.

By this time I had become more interested in photography and had been given a new SLR for my 18th birthday - the Canon EOS 1000. A great camera that lasted me through university and beyond. However I did not want to take a big camera set up with me on this trip but instead took a Canon compact with dual lens options. Not even a zoom but a button to switch between 35mm options and 70mm option and no manual controls which I did regret at times; as a novice though I think this was a sensible decision and I ended up with a full backback anyway so an SLR system would have been difficult to manage.

Photographically this trip was a great experience but there were not many images I would look at now and rate terribly highly which is understandable. This would be a trip I'd love to repeat now - or at least in the future.

28 years on and this print is still looking good!

The photos were taken on Kodak Ektar. I did not see any images until I returned after 5 months – I sent all film home at various stages so my family were seeing what I was up to. How different are travels be now. The ability to see images instantly and improve them and your own skills at a rapid rate; social media with instant connection to home. I’m not sure if I would prefer it or not. I used to fax home when I arrived in different countries because it was cheaper than calling.

This image was taken in either Chongqing or Wuhan. I cannot remember without referring to my diary from the trip. Which is stored away deeply. I think I took a couple of shots and this was the better ‘expression’. I was really pleased with the framing and correct flash exposure and entered the image, unsuccessfully, for at least one competition. This boy could easily have a child this age himself now.

Hoping for the impossible?

Over the course of May I spent some early mornings sitting in beautiful morning sunshine waiting for what may be an impossible image. A vista I have known about for some time on the farm is particularly good in the morning light. A track leads through the image to a row of trees. This makes the eye stay in the image within which a sculpture stands on a high point to give a focal point. At dawn the scene is pretty much side lit but with a fraction of back lighting to add punch. The light is good for about an hour after dawn and then the shadows shorten and the drama disappears.

Early morning mist on the farm track

I have photographed the scene several times over the years and returned to it this year in early May to find a number of hares that were, without stating the obvious, haring around - playing their chase game. The idea dawned of trying to get a pair of hares boxing in the pool of light that crossed the track between the shade of the hedgerows from an open gateway - an area the hares seemed to use as a crossing . One week I was there for three mornings in a row, getting mixed results but each time blessed with the sunshine that came with the sunniest May on record. I gave it a couple more attempts the following week but as dawn became steadily earlier and the hares retreated into less action I decided I was perhaps asking the impossible. I did however manage to shoot some lovely images though including a hare looking into the light. The first image below was taken later than the others (though on a different day) as shown by the shorter hedge shadows. I like the hare looking into the light and the fact it is the same colour as the stone sculpture.

A brief pause, a look into the light, nicely balancing the stone.

A couple of mornings were frosty as the temperatures had dropped low overnight and one morning there was a glorious mist hanging over the fields - the first picture in this post. I really hoped for some perfect hare cooperation as the sun rose with the mist still hanging but clearly it was not to be - though a couple did appear in the zone at different times. It may interesting to know that the stone is about 50yds from the lit crossing point.

Earlier light than above and this time facing towards the stone.

Crossing the track. I was hoping for a pause in the paws hopping.

Amuse-yeux

When I was selecting images for my range of cards I wanted many to be scenes that could be sent to a range of people for a range of reasons. Or kept, simply because someone loved the image. There were images that appealed to me, some for the quality of light, some for the content, some for the colour palette. They are not necessarily earth shattering images but they are easy on the eye and capture a moment.

I was trying to think what it was that was making me select certain images and trying to think of a term that described all of these images. Some were details, some wider landscapes, some a bit quirky but they all had something that made you look at them despite being printed fairly small on cards. I finally came up with a phrase adapted from the French cooking term ‘amuse bouche’ - a small, delicious, edible treat, often reflecting the taste and character of the chef. Thus the term amuse-yeux came into my thinking - small, visually appealing images reflecting my style of photography.

The range takes images from the UK, Europe and beyond, frequently taken on holidays and family trips. Often spontaneous, occasionally planned. I have lots more images ready to go for another printing as the project develops.

The wonder of light

As part of the requirements of lockdown I have not driven anywhere to take photographs. My photography would not necessarily be deemed an essential journey and I did not want to travel far, have an accident and burden the overrun NHS. Increased local exploration led me to this barn. I have long known of its presence but a run past in the late afternoon showed me how good it was looking at the moment. Late spring, crops coming through in different shades, a neatly trimmed hedge, the glory of the rusty barn.

I first shot it in evening at last light - in this case just before 8pm. Long raking shadows, tramlines leading you through the image, with the late light giving rich, saturated colours.

Beautiful evening light, plenty of leading lines.

I then got up for a dawn shoot the following morning so less than 12 hrs later the light was at its opposite effect. At 06.15 a gentle mist rose from the fields and absorbed the colours rendering the scene in lovely muted pastel tones.

At dawn the light is waking up the scene.

I stayed a while, taking shots as the sun rose so this last image is from 07.20 and sees the colours emerging more. It is rare that getting up early is not worth it - either from images or just the feel-good factor of being out at dawn. Something I have repeated a number of times - including three times over the last week in search of a particular shot. As I will describe in a subsequent next blog.

An hour after sunrise the light and shadow adds definition to the rolling landscape.

30/30 - 01 - The Invasion of Kuwait

This first post comes from 1990, my second year of photography and the first roll of black and white film I ever shot. The story really starts earlier in the year when I accidentally found myself cameraless in the midst of the Poll Tax riots in London to witness the full force of rioter v police. Seeing cars on fire, rioters destroying scaffolding to use as weapons and fleeing a mounted police charge are all scenes that have remained in my memory but left me kicking myself for missing opportunities through not having a camera. It may be that the images would have been rubbish or they may have got me lynched, but a lesson was learnt. I have rarely ventured far without a camera since. And meant that the images here were taken with a fair disregard for the fact that I was being slightly reckless.

Iraqis invade Kuwait city

A couple of months later, In the summer of 1990, I was with my family visiting my dad who had just started working in Kuwait. The Iraqis invaded the country on the second day of our trip and I was held under house arrest for several weeks with troops dug in in the grounds of the apartment and on the road outside. On the first day of the invasion I took some photos of the troops from the window of our apartment as they overtook the city. My episode of journalism did not last long - I was spotted and some soldiers bustled into the flat (with AK47s) looking for the camera. I managed to hide it, my family all assisted in persuading them I had been using a small point and shoot and they pulled the film out of this one. I was able to pass the film to a western journalist when we travelled to Baghdad to board mercy flights out of Iraq to Jordan and onto the UK.

Looking back, I could have preserved the negs better (though I do at least still have them and I have not done much cleaning on the scans). The images were not great BUT I did get paid for them (£250) by a newspaper and the foreign office looked them over to see what weapons the Iraqis were sporting. The exposures could have been better (all manual), and focus was questionable on several but it did in essence kick off my photographic career so the images are important for that, if not for their technical acumen. I had been bitten by a bug that developed further during some time travelling after school. I soon went to university and spent much time volunteering on the student newspaper and making money photographing events, which I then spent on travelling and taking more photos. All paving the way for my career.

Needless to say the whole middle eastern conflict has remained of interest, but not enough for me to pursue photo-journalism full time. I did revisit a war zone though when photographing a regiment during the Kosovo war. A story for another blog…

Starting to dig in for the long haul.

Lock-down photography

As has been the case for everyone, the Covid crisis lock-down changed many of my plans, and rightly so given the need to flatten the curve and which frankly I will happily accept in exchange for staying healthy. The factor that we should only drive when essential to avoid any kind of accident and impose on the NHS has led me to take no car journeys for photography - these are definitely not essential. No trips to the coast or to the New Forest. A cancelled trip to Scotland. I am definitely living the Think Far, Travel Near philosophy.

The whole nature of the crisis did for a while stop me wanting to go out and take photographs at all. I did not take my camera out for over a month and only ventured out with it again in the second half of April; Islay had taken the dogs onto the downs near our house and reported the beech in full youthful bloom. When there was a forecast for light rain one morning I thought it would add some atmosphere to the trees so took a soggy walk up the hill. The scene lacks a focal point and there was too much wind but it was good to be back out shooting and I saw noone until I got back close to the village.

A drizzly morning in the trees. A first shot back in the saddle…

Our neighbours have a very large ash tree in which nest several families (practically a flock) of rooks. They are annoyingly noisy, unless one wants to be woken up just before dawn in which case they are the perfect alarm. Over the last couple of weeks I have resisted the urge to roll over and go back to sleep (or at least try) a few times so have crept out of the house into glorious mornings. Without sounding smug, I am lucky enough to live in the countryside with a brother in law in the village who owns a farm. Thus I can escape into fields and photograph the wildlife. I have seen a surge in hares on his farm this year - I think due to the combination of pasture grass affording living space and arable providing plenty to eat. Anyway, I have been photographing these wonderful wild animals again. I have seen up to 8 hares at one time - often in groups of five or six chasing each other in the ‘playing tag’ way that they do. I saw one, very brief, boxing match. I have taken a lot of photos just because I can, many with the hares too small in the frame to be effective but it’s all good practice and just watching them through the lens helps to understand their behaviour. Sometimes the light has been lovely - subdued morning light or raking evening light.

Dusk on the farm. Small in the frame helps show the environment ;)

It got to about 20 yards away before scarpering

One morning there was some mist and I was heading out to find a tree to photograph and as I walked past the water meadow area there was a beautiful barn owl hunting. I spent a while taking shots, mainly of it flying far away, but some perching as well and even one flight straight towards me. I have tried to find it again since, but with no luck. I have more shots that I like so may well write a post just on the owl in the future. They are spectacular birds.

The graceful flight across the water meadow. Even eye contact.

I have seen much other wildlife in these dawn and dusk forays including a trio of roe deer that hang out on the farm a lot and plenty of calling pheasant and scuttling partridge who have survived the winter cull and are now replenishing their numbers. As yet no badger or fox - a couple to look out for.

Think far - Travel near

A few miles from home

Through the end of 2019 and early 2020 when I started designing my new range of cards, the environment was high on the agenda of people and politicians. I will print ‘Think far-travel near’ on the back of my cards to encourage people to think a little more that lovely images can be taken close to home. I think social media has played a massive (negative) role recently in encouraging travel and flying simply to get ‘the shot’ that everyone else has. Of course I am not innocent in this regards - there are a number of classic vistas both from the UK and overseas in my work and I was lucky enough to travel a fair amount in the days of innocence and ignorance before widespread environmental concerns and pressure; however many of the images that will feature in my range are non-specific in location and I believe that such amuse-yeux can be found close to home for most people. An open mind on what to photograph and an eye for the visual can be trained rather than simply copying what has been created by others before.

Of course, covid is rather putting any plans for travel into disarray for the foreseeable future. But this means that the principle takes on a new resonance. We will simply not be able to travel so will need to find something new in landscapes and scenes close by. Travelling to a different place often opens the mind to all that is new, exciting and exotic. We will need to find that fix through domestic and local travel opening our minds to seeing the space through new eyes.