{ Ian Furniss }

It's one of the simultaneously frustrating but equally exciting things about landscape photography that no matter how much you check the weather reports, you never know what you're going to get until you get there. So it was when I got myself up at 2am one sunday morning, to be greeted by a "You've got to be kidding??!!" look from the dog, and travelled down to my chosen spot in North Wales.

Visibility down to about 1000 metres and skies as grey as a party political broadcast. Somewhat perturbed I made the best of what was there, rattled off a dozen shots of the only things around, and returned home to an annoyingly smug little puppy with what was now an "I told you so!" look on his face. Next month I listen to the dog! This month, some wallpapers of a grey day in North Wales. A larger preview can be found in my gallery here.

June Wallpapers - both colours, available in 1920x1080 widescreen, & 1280x1024, 1024x768 alternatives included Here

One of the best photographers around and one of the nicest blokes too, David duChemin is about to release a book that you just can't afford not to have in your collection. I've trawled my way through a good few books trying to learn things, pick up hints and tips, or just be inspired by the photos inside. Very few have had any real substance and most of the time i've come away thinking my money could have been much better spent on a train ticket and a couple of hours practice. I'm half way through reading the sampler pdf that you can find on his site http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/2009/04/wtf/ and I can tell you already, this book is going to be an absolute stunner! Ok, so it's not much good for the environment and global warming could increase significantly as your bedside lamp is likely to be burning for a fortnight but, it'll be worth it in the long run. As Fred Pontin used to say {and yes, I am that old :( } "Book early!"

Continuing on and the site redesign is progressing quite nicely. Some of the old galleries have been removed as things are slowly moved that bit closer to my vision. The Landscape gallery remains and it is there that you'll not only find 3 new images from a recent morning in the peak district, but also, it's where all of my future work will be heading. Landscape is my passion. It's what I love and it's what I do best. It's a long overdue shift but that's what i'm going to be sticking to, at least for the foreseeable future.

The past month or so has been a busy time for me as ever so there's some catching up for me to do. On a personal level there have been a few updates to the various galleries and they are something i'm also intending to overhaul a bit over the coming months. Additions to the landscape gallery see the inclusion of what I feel is some of my best work to date and it continues my love affair with the beauty of the Welsh hills and waters.

'Introspection' has also seen some wonderful additions, not least of which are a few photos of my dearest friend & sister, Minja, taken during her recent visit here. A heaven sent reunion if ever there was one!

Further afield and once again i'm recommending you take yourself over to check out some of Gavin Gough's latest work. Apart from being one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet, he's a complete genius with a camera and his latest shots from the Wai Kroo tattoo festival really capture the awesome sense of power and frenzy what must have been an incredible event to attend. Stuck for something to do this autumn? Check out his forthcoming photo expedition to Bhutan and book yourself a place.

Hot news from David Du Chemin is that his up and coming book entitled 'Within The Frame, A Journey In Photographic Vision' is now available for pre-order from Amazon. Get your orders in now, it's an absolute bargain for sure and although nothing has been confirmed that i'm aware of just yet, if there's any tour to coincide with its release then make sure you attend that and get a signed copy as well!

Away from photography completely and today marks the tenth anniversary of the NATO bombing of Belgrade. For three months, NATO forces bombed a civilian population in an action for which there is absolutely no justification whatsoever. The respected humanitarian Noam Chomsky has written extensively on that subject here and it's a far better read than anything I could write so, enough said there. What remains to be said, is that a beautiful city and people were bombed, in support of an organisation officially designated as terrorist only a few short months earlier by those same people, NATO. It was a crime on a scale equal to that of the recent Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people, and the west has covered it up equally well. To paraphrase the speech many years ago by Roosevelt, March 24th - a date which will live in infamy.

Regular visitors will have noticed a completely new design to the site and what I think has been a much needed overhaul. Designed by Gordon Mackay it's something I feel fits perfectly with the direction my work is currently taking me and hopefully you will to.

The galleries have been reorganised with some new work added from a recent trip to the Peak District. I'd be tempted to say there are few things as beautiful as a Northern Landscape were it not for the simple fact that nature is such a beautiful, unprejudiced thing, that it has filled the whole world with its beauty in equal parts. To see it is a blessing, to live alongside it is the purest joy, to walk amongst it and capture the briefest of moments ... ahhh, now that is bliss!.

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!

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.

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!!