Its been a pretty decent start to 2024 for my photography with some really interesting winter conditions and enjoyable trips out with the camera. However, with being a fickle photographer, what I really wanted was a massive dollop of lovely snow. We had been treated to snow at the back end of last year, however I was unable to get out into the Lake District to enjoy them due to utter travel chaos which unfolded because of the severity of the snow. Well it looked like lady luck had been watching over me and granted my wish with a really health dump of the good old white stuff in Janua ..read more

Final delve in to 2023. Probably going to be slightly shorter than the previous as the end of 2023 was a little bit leaner due to weather, work and family stuff. Winter is always a tricky one for me due to the daylight hours and as a result my productivity drops significantly. However I did manage some trips out and a couple, I have to say, being pretty darn memorable to say the least. In fact the two trips out in general will probably for the basis of this blog. So less of the waffle and let's get straight to it. I avoid that place like the plague:  Certain locations I really don't like ..read more

So we move through to Spring and Summer at my retrospective look back at my favourite images of 2023. Spring is possibly my favourite time of year for Landscape photography for a number of good reasons. The main one being the colour palette within the landscape is beautiful and filled with vibrancy and freshness. The summer deep greens haven't set in and the some times bleak look of winter, when it's not presented in its wintery finery, haven't taken hold. It is a highly photogenic time of the year. It also becomes a time that signals an increase in my activity with the longer evenings be ..read more

So here we are again, another retrospective glance back of the last 12 months of photography. I will be honest, this year has been a struggle for me. I've found the balance of work, family life and a huge helping of demotivation hasn't combined well with my photography. Having said that, when I have managed to get out I've very much enjoyed myself and produced some images I'm really quite pleased of. So much so as I planned this blog and started looking at images it became apparent that I'm going to have to split this blog up as I was simply not willing to chop down my selections. There h ..read more

First things first, I'm a very lazy photographer. I don't like too much technical faff. If I can get an image in a oner then I will do it. I don't like shooting into the sun.....too much faff, don't like bracketing images....too much faff, I HATE panoramas......beyond faffy. Well that was until a couple of years ago, now I absolutely love panoramic images and shoot them all the time. Why the change of heart? Well the biggest influencing factor was my increasing love of shooting handheld with my 70-200mm lens. My biggest beef if you like, was messing around with the tripod and getting it l ..read more

I often get asked what skills you need to become a good landscape photographer and my answer is usually greeted with a little surprise. The obvious one is you have to have an 'eye' for photography, yes you do but I think you can develop this over time and your 'eye' definitely changes over the years, I know mine has. The next is technical ability, again this can be learnt. We don't pick up our first camera and instantly know what we are doing do we...it takes time to develop. More so, I don't actually think you need bags of technical knowledge to take great photos, the basics are more tha ..read more

If you want awesome landscape images then you MUST shoot in the golden hour. It is without doubt the best time to be out and about with your camera. The light is golden, warm and caresses the landscape. There is no point in getting your camera out of your bag at any other time of the day.....as the light will be too harsh and your images will be awful. Well thats what I thought for years....madness. Ok there is a degree of truth as golden hour is definitely the optimum time to be out with your camera. Big but time...but that's not to say that we can't get great conditions and images outsi ..read more

I don't think its been a vintage winter, well not from my point of view anyway. Ok, don't get me wrong, I've experienced some joy but not nearly as much as I would have liked. The really great conditions have been fleeting at best and usually have fallen when I'm stuck at work. Sadly for me I don't have the flexibility to drop everything and get out with my camera when the conditions present themselves. So I'm relying on a huge slice of luck and all the elements aligning perfectly on either a Saturday and Sunday........which rarely happens in my experience. In all honest I'd com ..read more

There are many elements which make up a visually appealing image....subject, composition, editing but without doubt the single most important factor for me is light. Light transforms images, it gives them depth, it helps create mood and atmosphere. If you want people to be wowed by your landscapes then you need to consider how to use light to its optimum. For me it's the most important part of photography and its something I look to incorporate into all my images...if possible. I look for that lovely golden light which warms and casts lovely light across the landscape ..read more

sale 20 I pleased to announce that I will be offering 20% off all my Lake district Photography fine art and standard prints and mounted prints. Simply use the discount code JAN20 to receive your 20% off. This offer will run for January only, so if you are looking to spice up your walls then don't delay and pick yours up today.  ..read more