05th January 2009 - Happy New Year!!

Well, a bit late for that, or a bit early depending on your religion & where you live but, either way, my best wishes to all!

Just a small update for the moment to say that there have been a few more images added to the landscape gallery taken during an early morning visit to the Derwent & Ladybower reservoirs. I'd hoped to pick up a couple more from a visit to Fleetwood and a drive along Winnat's Pass but the light hasn't been too favourable of late so instead i'm now probably the only person in England who's praying for the weather to get worse! Snow & ice!! I love this time of year!

21st December - Reflections

It's fair to say that this year has been one of my best and worst in equal measures. The visit of my dear friend last month and the chance to finally show her a little of my country is without a doubt the biggest plus, but outside of that, photography has been incredibly kind to me and it's not strectching things to say it's shown me a new life.

It was during the back end of last year when I started taking photographs and the early part of this year when I started doing it seriously. The highlight of the year was meeting up with Gavin Gough, and Josie & Natalie from Digital Photographer magazine where I learnt so much, but most of all I made some great new friends. The inspiration I took away from that meeting had me dumbstruck then and still does now. It's implications on my thinking, myriad.

Sadly, i've not been able to capitalise on those thoughts in the way i'd hoped as shortly after that meeting my mother was taken into hospital suffering from cancer. She pulled through well only to then suffer the additional impact of pneumonia, septisimia, & finally a stroke. It was a massive blow to everyone and although she's still fighting away & looking forward to a recovery, things didn't end there. It took a big toll not only on me but also on my family and a few seemingly short weeks ago, my father checked himself into hospital for a feeling of being completely run down and difficulties with eating & swallowing. He too has now been diagnosed with cancer and at the moment, we sit and wait for the further results of many tests.

It's a story i've heard many times in one form or another, but the outcome is the same and despite that, I shall repeat it here. Money is not a God. The best things in life are free, and although photography isn't exactly cheap to start out with, it does give you an appreciation of what is around you and the beauty of life which itself is actually free. Family, friendship, the land we live upon, the sky we lie under, & many other things of course, they are all free and they all mean a great deal, a lot more than Ipods, playstations, mobile phones, or even a new 5dMkII (which i'd like, I confess lol).

Christmas is coming up and if ever there was a time to remember that, then this is it. If you believe in God then best wishes for the season go out to you, if you don't, then do me a favour and don't greet your friends with a "Happy Christmas!!" greet them with a "Happy getting drunk & falling about the floor day!!" instead. At least that way it's honest. Either way though, enjoy the moments and spend at least one of them reflecting on what is truly important. All the things that money can't buy. Merry Christmas to one & all!!

Back on topic: & the Travel & Landscape galleries have both been updated recently after trips to the Peak District, The Lake District, & also to Anglesey. For all the reasons above i've not managed to get more than an hour or two at most in any of the places but still, they've been visits i've thoroughly enjoyed and not only have I managed to grab a few photos from them, i've also come away with plenty of ideas for return visits. Nothing is wasted when time is spent in such places and perhaps the images will inspire you to pay a visit yourself. With open eyes, the world is filled with beauty at every turn.

24th November

Back from having spent the last week between London & Manchester, the galleries should be seeing a few updates over the next couple of days. For so many reasons, not least the visit of my dearest friend & sister, it's been the most wonderful time i've had in a long while. My photography took a bit of a backseat to the time we spent in many ways and yet, it was also a constant part. Sometimes it's nice to forget all about rules of thirds, great composition and light, and just be a complete and total tourist. Great fun!! I took something like 600 pictures and now have a collection of memories I will drown my soul in time and time again.

Give it a try some time. I highly recommend it. Just leave the tripod behind, forget to pack the filters, and go out and enjoy the world & its people. Life.. I love it!!

November 11th 2008

Well, unfortunately my photography has been taking something of a back seat this month so instead of updates on what i'm doing, here some other news, and it's big!! When it comes to photography I've known of nowhere better to go to learn and be inspired than the blogs of Gavin Gough, David Du Chemin, & Matt Brandon. Overnight, that's changed. There's now an equally good place to go and it's called The Vision Collective. It's a new forum started by David Du Chemin, and he's being assisted by both Gavin & Matt in the running of it. Get yourselves over there and sample some of that Kool Aid!

If that's not enough to inspire you along the path to goodness then I don't know what is, but with only the slightest of digressions i'll offer you this song by the truly wonderful Sade. Listen to it, enjoy, and then think about it. A picture is well-known for being able to paint a thousand words, these are words that can paint a thousand pictures.

September 08 2008 - Talking of 'Inspired'....

I've just been over for my daily dose of David Du Chemin's blog and he's written an article that as usual, 'the truth of which' is clear for all to see.

As soon as I read it, it reminded me of a similar situation I found myself in only a couple of weeks ago which taught me such a valuable lesson i'm forever grateful. I'd gone down to Manchester on day 2 of the recent Labour Party conference, mainly for a walkaround to see if there was anything around, but also with the rather wicked thought that although I don't of course condone violence, if someone might happen to chuck an egg or 3 again there might just be a good photo in it for me somewhere. That didn't happen, but what did happen was that I got pulled up by the Police a couple of times for the rather serious offence of minding my own business with a camera, and also, I got to chat with a lovely lady who was protesting nearby.

I'd walked around for a few hours already & not really taken many photos except for the usual architecture stuff in the area. As I reached the Central Library I decided it was about time for me to pack up and go but first i'd have a last look around just to make sure i'd not missed anything. As i walked past the library I noticed this lady and she was sat, wrapped up against the cold, and with a big sign around her neck asking the questions of why, in her retirement years, should she be persecuted and harrassed by various agencies of unknown origin, purely for the things she knew or that they thought she knew. Straight away I knew she'd make for a great photo and so as I approached her i asked if she'd mind me taking her picture. I thought that by asking that I was being quite polite and considerate so I was slightly taken aback when she asked me a simple question "Do you mind me asking why?".

I had no real answer as I hadn't given it much thought other than to mumble out something about "interesting" and "unusual" and she then began to ask me why that should be so? Why somebody in her predicament should be seen as interesting or unusal? She was as I say, a lovely lady, and these simple yet searching questions, made me question my own perceptions very much. I sat down next to her and she told me her story. She was a very well-educated woman, spoke a number of languages and was knowledgeable in many areas of history, religion, literature, all sorts of things. We sat and talked for maybe 30-45 minutes and during that time i discovered a wonderful human being, filled with life, filled with history.

I left to catch my train and I never did get my photo, but i got something far more valuable to me and that was a lesson in how not to be so wrapped up in myself that I only see my own little world. Until that time, if you'd suggested such a thing to me i'd have denied it vehemently. I'm a member of AI, and the WDCS, I love my planet and the people & animals within it (apart from when i'm being a miserable cynical git lol). It's funny how a short chat with a stranger can change so much. Without a doubt i'll always make sure I talk to people before I try taking their photo like that, but more than anything, i'll walk around knowing that as much as my life means to me, it's only a small part of a much greater whole.

September 30 2008 - Another udate to the gallery & some words of thanks

Again it's been a busy month with more on my plate than I would have liked but, when life has you busy with lots of other things, it doesn't mean you can't still find time to learn, to think about what you're doing, where you've been and where you want to go.

The coming month of October is a particularly apt month for me to do that as with it, it brings the anniversary of my first year in photography. October 20th 2007 was the day I took my first photograph with a digital camera, the Fuji S9600 and it's fair to say it leaves a bit to be desired in composition and quality.

It's a shot of a pub in Stockport, close-by the local Jessops where i'd bought a memory card to use in the camera just before. A forewarning of the frustrations to come, a truck decided to drive past just as I was taking it! Hopefully i've come a long way since then, I certainly like to think I have, so in recalling where i've come from i'd like to say a big "Thank-You!!" to the people who've got me here. Firstly to my dear friend, sister, and all-round wonderful lady Minja & her husband Igor, without whose encouragement I would never have got off my backside in the first place. To Josipa, for all the pictures she sent me of Croatia which inspired me to return the favour with pictures of my own home town I owe a great deal of thanks. Without the encouragement of any of these people i would quite possibly never have taken a photograph.

In my photography itself, much thanks goes to Natalie & Josie from Digital Photographer Magazine (as well as many of the readers there of course) whose help and assistance has been invaluable to me, especially through their invitation to take part in the readers feature. In that feature I met with Gavin Gough and words can't express the influence that meeting has had on both me and my photography. Gavin is a great bloke and great photographer whose words of wisdom have probably had the biggest single impact on my photography of anything to date. I learnt many things about taking photos but I also learnt many things which influence photography whilst not being strictly 'how to take photos'. Cryptic i know but it's hard to explain. Put it down as having learnt 'experience', if such a thing is possible.

Through Gavin and his blog i also came into contact with the blogs of David Du Chemin and Matt Brandon. For any prospective photographer, the reading of these 3 guys blogs is something I would highly recommend. They're filled with more gems than a south african diamond mine and are an almost daily source of inspiration and common sense. Read, understand, and learn, and you won't go far wrong.

The future? Nobody knows that. I have many plans and many directions and I look forward to what i'm going to be able to write about the journey come this time next year. My galleries have been updated with a few more pictures taken yesterday and the week before and they show a massive departure from that first picture of the local pub. It's my intent to make the same kind of difference to my photography between now and October 2009, preferably more, and if I can do that then the enthusiasm with which I look to the future will have been well rewarded.

To all those who have helped and guided me, some without knowing, a big "Thank-You!" from the heart.

August 24 2008

The past few weeks have been really chaotic for me and i've not had a great deal of time for many of the things i'd have liked to be doing but i'm slowly catching up and as a result the gallery has been updated with quite a few new photos from in and around Manchester including this weekends 'Pride' march.

I only got to spend a couple of hours there but it was a great event that outside of a couple of protesters near the library, seemed to be enjoyed by everyone who took part or simply turned out to watch. It's a shame it only happens once a year but I guess anything more would take a little of the shine away so perhaps a better idea would be for Manchester to have a few similar events or even have one for every section of the community to come together in. There's something sadly rare about such unreserved displays of the joy in being alive and it would be nice if the words of 'The Manchester Poem' were not just engraved in stone, but actually paraded through the streets of Manchester by every section of the community.

i don't care if you're black, chinese
white or tan don't care if you're old, gay, a woman or man
you can sit down next to me
if you're mancunian

- Mike Duff

July 26th 2008

Well, the redesign has started ... Most of the actual design work is done (all that remains is additional content) so apologies if the site is messed up for a while during the transition but try an 'F5' refresh if things are looking a bit ropey and that'll most likely cure it

July 19th 2008

It's been a while since my last update as life sees me incredibly busy with all sorts of things at the moment. Knowing that would likely be the case, I still have a few months left before this site goes properly 'live' and thankfully for once it seems that i've set myself realistic targets. More photos have been added to my gallery and the next step is to organise some of them into categories and redesign the gallery menu accordingly. The Photoshelter stock library is now active with the first images now available there. To follow will be the Alamy library in the next couple of weeks and i'm planning a slightly different range of images for that.

I'll also be writing a few pages of reviews and recommendations for some of the gear that i've used in the past and also the gear i'm using now. I'll also be including my thoughts on kit that I would have bought instead if i'd known a bit more at the time. As well as being a good hands-on opinion my hope there is that it will also give some food for thought for anyone using a Canon Dslr who's just starting out and perhaps save them a few hard earned pounds at the same time as avoiding some common pitfalls.

July 2nd 2008

Not much has been happening for me over the last week but I did manage to find time for a quick trip into Manchester last monday. The results from that have been uploaded to my gallery and it was surprisingly productive. I'm not sure if it's the new perspective I have on things or if it was just a good day for photography, but it's been quite some time since I took so many photos and quite a bit longer since so many have worked. Check out the gallery for a dozen new contributions!

June 23rd 2008

Yesterday I managed to get out and about again with a quick trip down to Whaley Bridge. It's a small town near High Peak and the gateway to the picturesque Goyt Valley so even with the weather being less than perfect, it makes for a pleasant day out and a nice break from the badly organised chaos of city life.

I started off with a walk up to the Todmorden reservoir from whence comes the shot above and considering the wind and rain, was a little surprised to find I wasn't the only one daft enough to be braving the elemants. The banks were lined with eternally optimistic fisherman, the reservoir itself, with equally optimistic enthusiasts from the sailing club. I resisted the temptation to hang around and wait for some shots of capsizing boats and frenzied rescues but the way I was struggling to stay upright I didn't hold out much hope for the boats!

Instead, I continued my walk back to the main part of the town to find the annual water weekend was in full swing and despite the dreadful wailing coming from a local band on stage, the event itself was being thoroughly enjoyed. It put paid to any ideas i'd had of taking pictures of the longboats on the canal in a peaceful and secluded setting, but it did at least give me the chance to enjoy the equally traditional sights of a Punch & Judy stall along with a small fair, and the best thing of all, lots of happy and smiling locals.

Myself, i'm a great lover of nostalgia and anything old is almost certain to be appealing so the sight of an old steam-powered steamroller had me grinning away & ranting to myself like Fred Dibnah with a caffeine overdose. "Oh aye, they made these things by hand y'know .. in a shed!"