Everyone knows that to get the best landscape / nature photographs you have to go off the beaten track, you have to get yourself to that place that no one else normally goes... so, when my car gave up the ghost earlier in the week I felt sure that I wouldn't be able to get out and about with the camera this weekend. I could have taken the opportunity to complete my house bound challenge, but I really didn't want to. I think because I knew that how far I could actually go would be restricted by how far I could walk, I wanted to get out into the wilderness even more than usual.
That's...
I was recently asked by a friend where I get my inspiration from? I thought about it for a moment or two and then gave the incredibly glib and oh-so-cheesy response "everywhere". Urgh. I quickly apologised and attempted to give a more sincere and genuine answer... only I couldn't. Where do I get my inspiration from? The conversation moved on to other things and I never did come back with a proper answer.
And it was only today that it really struck me - Mother Nature is my biggest influence. Looking through my back catalogue of images there is an obvious pattern, sure there...
So here we are then, 2012 and all that.
The last 365 days have been quite eventful for me, from travelling across Europe, to meeting up with photographers, to producing several books, but this post is not a look back instead it's a look forward - to the potential of 2012. I have a few things lined up (including a trip to America in the summer - but more about that nearer the time!)
But the thing that I want to really talk about now is the set of Challenges I have drawn up, 34 different mini-projects that are definitely going to keep me going throughout the year. It...
I ventured onto a nature reserve this morning, by the time I arrived most of the decent light had gone, replaced by a dull, overcast greyness that I'm sure anyone living in the UK is familiar with. I decided not to let the poor light quality get in the way of trying to get a reasonable shot, and so I took a walk around the reserve pointing and shooting (ok, DSLRing) my way around.
Then, as I was about to give up the trip as a generally bad idea, the sun poked out from behind the clouds and everything came to life. This robin (and about a dozen others) appeared out of the trees...
I have yet to shoot anything new in December (a combination of feeling a little under the weather, and a distinct lack of time are my current excuses for not picking up the camera over the last week), but I have spent a little time going through the archives. The first four shots uploaded into the December gallery were all taken several years ago, but these are the first time they've been polished up and shared online.
One of the shots - The Photographer - is a black and white self-portrait. I decided to share this one in preparation for next year's Creative Self Portrait challenge. I really...
Having finished with the Challenges for 2011, I have now created a set of 2012 Challenges to keep me inspired, motivated, and... well, challenged throughout the next 12 months or so. There are 34 individual Challenges within the 2012 set, and whilst I'd love to say that I'll get them all done, I really don't know if I will. What I will do is give each one of them as much attention as I can. Right now it looks as though 2012 will be a busy year.
The Challenges themselves break down into 9 sections:
Beyond The Camera
Additional
Animal
Landscape
Macro
Night
People
Action
Street
I had the pleasure of attending a cyclocross event today.
If you're not sure what cyclocross is, here's a handy link to help you out. The cyclists taking part today had the challenge of riding around a circuit of just over a mile (it looked about that far, at least), riding down some steep hills, running / riding up some other steep hills, and even hurdling (with their bikes) over a couple of shin-high boards. It looked quite challenging, but it made for some great photo opportunities, helped by the low winter light, which was bright and beautiful today.
The chap in the featured...
Overnight last night I self published my 16th & 17th photobooks, titled: TimeFrame 2 and TimeFrame 3. They are, as the name clearly suggests the 2nd and 3rd volumes in a series I have called TimeFrame. The intention behind the TimeFrame books is to capture a set period in time, and all the best photographs I have produced in that time (including those shot many months, or even years, earlier now taken out of the archives and polished up ready for sharing online).
TimeFrame volume 1 covered a period of 13 months, from April 2010 to April 2011. TimeFrame...
I am a big fan of minimalist photography. Images that take full advantage of negative space, contain just a few visual elements, and exude a feeling of calm. It's a technique that I haven't tried very often, but I'm kinda in the market for trying new things (what with December's "Challenges" not too far away). Anyway, here's a triptych of minimalist shots taken during this morning's foggy start.
Earlier in the year I visited Hay-on-Wye, during the world-famous literary festival. Hay-on-Wye itself is a small town packed full to bursting with bookshops - and when I say full, I mean full! Almost every shop on every street is a bookshop, it's a book lovers paradise. During the Festival (the Glastonbury of Books) Hay is also packed full to bursting with people, and street performers. And so we come to the reason for this blog post - The Clown.
I have no idea what his name is, but he was an impressively agile French clown (I saw him feed himself through a tennis...
