Anyway, before I go I have a lot of preparation to do, both physically and mentally.  Travel may be good for the soul, but it’s not good for those of us who are notoriously bad at packing (honestly, check out any of my Scotland travel journals – available here at Blurb – and you’ll soon understand what I’m on about).  Packing is like a foreign language to me, it seems cool at first but I’ll never get the hang of it.

One of the things that I know I need to do before I leave the UK, is make a Shot List.  I need to have a clear and detailed plan of the shots I would like to capture whilst I’m exploring.  I need to have targets, otherwise I won’t focus my attention properly and I will most likely end up with hundreds of similar looking shots which will end up being really boring, and something of a let down.  So, this shot list needs to be completed.  Something else that I need to consider, although I shouldn’t get too hung up about it, is equipment – what do I take?  How much?  What sort of lenses?  Extra batteries, etc… these things need to be carefully calculated in order not to go beyond the specified weight limit, and so as not to limit myself too much, creatively speaking.  Sure there may be little or no need to take that 170-500mm zoom lens, but if I don’t take it and then find out I need it, I will come home thinking that I missed an amazing opportunity just because I wasn’t fully prepared.

So, here I am.  Not long to go and I’ll be on my way.

This is my first real experiment with shooting movie pictures on my DSLR… it’s not perfect, but it’s a start.

Style, in photography as in life, is about how you see the world and more importantly how you express what you see.

Whilst I may not have a singular defining style, as some of the great photographers have, there is one thing I can be sure of.  I am diverse.  From subject matter to post-processing, I do like to try different things.  No two moments in time are the same, and each new one is as important as the last.  I try to treat each of these moments as unique, from the thought processes going through my mind as I take the picture, through to the way I process the images before completion.  I don’t have a preset called “my style” that I feed every image through.  Instead I wipe the slate clean and start again, each and every time.  Sure there will inevitably be a few similarities along the way, just by the very nature of the work that I do (there are only so many ways to shoot a daisy, for example).

But is being diverse (rewriting the wheel) a style?

I don’t know.

I don’t think that I have a defining style, and I’m glad of that.  You see, there’s always a new way to see the world just around the corner – and I wouldn’t want to limit myself.

That’s when I decided it was time for a photowalk… so, this morning whilst the world was still dark and grey I set out with my Samsung NX10, looking for the sunrise.

A quick check of the local weather told me that I wasn’t in for anything special, that it would be a dull grey morning, with some sunlight in the afternoon.  This wouldn’t deter me, if the weather was that bad, I would simply turn around and walk home again.  However (and thankfully) the weather prediction was very wrong.  Instead I was greeted by an amazing sunrise (as seen below), which allowed me to experiment with both my NX10 (see the “featured imaged above”) and my iphone (see below) in low light conditions.

pre-dawn light, as seen by an iPhone

I was reasonably happy with the results from both cameras, but I was definitely pleased with the display Mother Nature presented – and how light my camera bag was

The sun rose slowly, majestically, and mercifully behind some interesting trees, allowing me to get shots like the one below:

some very strong backlighting

Though shortly after these shots, the clouds rolled in, the sun disappeared, and I was left with a grey, flat light that wasn’t of any use.  Until this inquisitive swan came along and allowed me to take its portrait (even if I did have to resort to a black and white conversion and high contrast processing):

high contrast swan portrait

All in all it was a great start to the day, very much worthwhile, and proved that getting “off the beaten track” doesn’t have to mean travelling very far.

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 are a handful of people shots (which, you could arguably say exist because of Mother Nature), and perhaps one or two architectural images, but other than that almost every shot is either of an animal, a landscape, or a close up examination of something natural (leaves on trees, blades of grass glistening with dew, flowers …)

All of which means that my cringe-worthy answer wasn’t too far from the truth.  Mother Nature is everywhere, from buzzing insects to enormous forests of ancient trees.

I guess next time someone asks I’ll just have to try to say it without coming across as pompous.  Everywhere…

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 may only be the 1st of January, but already I have plans to tackle one of the challenges today, or at least to begin taking on one of the challenges.  You’ll find out which one later on, when I post some results (assuming I actually get some results, that is… after all, I haven’t actually gone out with the camera at the time of writing this).

So, here’s to a new year full of untapped potential.

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 and basked in the brief but beautiful daylight, before heading off once more into the dark and shady undergrowth.

I suppose the moral is never give up on the light.

Image details:

Focal Length:  200mm

Aperture:  f/4

Shutter Speed:  1/250

ISO:  1600

For the larger version, check out the gallery below:

December 2011

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 don’t like having my picture taken, but that is going to have to change over the next 12 months – how could I expect others to enjoy having their picture taken by me, if I don’t like it myself.

The above image (and several others) can all be found in the newly created gallery:

December 2011

The Challenges themselves break down into 9 sections:

Beyond The Camera

Additional

Animal

Landscape

Macro

Night

People

Action

Street

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 image above was the overall winner.

I took a few shots, and I should have one or two to share over the coming days (up to the end of November).  Check back soon.

Image details:

Focal Length:  200mm

Aperture:  f/4

Shutter Speed:  1/800

ISO:  400

For the larger version, check out the gallery below:

November 2011