Photo Journal Episode 4 - Exploring My Rules

Never having been taught anything about photography either formally or informally (or even read anything) prior to this course, I don’t really feel that I subscribe to any rules - I did, however, connect to Kate’s comment about art v reportage. I think that sometimes you want to capture a record of what you actually saw and other times your main driver is the desire to create a beautiful picture - this operates even when taking holiday snaps. 

 There is an ethical issue in here to explore in my view. For example if I buy a calendar of a place I know well or plan to visit  I want that calendar to represent reality, I want to be able to find the places in the pictures. I can cope with the elimination of the odd pylon  but I want to be able to recognize the location in the picture. For example I recently had a conversation with someone who had amalgamated two sections of a Northumberland beach moving huge boulders from one location to another - you could never find that place in real life! Maybe its something about transparency, being clear about what is represented here. 

It’s also about capturing the emotion of the moment - the sunsets on my blog haven’t been photoshopped and I would feel much less attached to them if they had, as they are more to me than a great picture; they represent the precious memory of a beautiful evening with one of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen.

That said if the enhancement doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the picture I think its fine!  in this example I took a photo of an unusual variety of potato at our local potato day - the first picture is a I took it, the second has benefited from an instant fix and  the application of a vignette - in this case I don’t feel the integrity of the picture, whose main aim was to display the vivid colour of the potato, has been compromised. As although the colour on the second picture is slightly different it is not more vivid than the original.

Photo Shoot Around and About Trafalgar Square

On Monday I had to go to London for a meeting ( for the day job) and found I had a little time to spare on the walk between Charing Cross station and Cockspur St where I was headed. The walk itself was very short and took me across Trafalgar Square where I decided to look for inspiration. When I got home I decided to spend some time experimenting with processing - see the results below!

First of all a non processed picture (I'm not counting auto enhance which I usually try but don't always keep) featuring a giant orange which was suspended by a crane and appeared to be  advertising an orange drink - it looked a lot better when you couldn't see the crane - like a huge orange sun!

I then moved on to the Fourth Plinth (it doesn't have a permanent inhabitant, rather a changing installation) which currently has a giant ship in a bottle on top of it  - I tried taking it from a number of different angles but I think these were the best - I have also included info from and about the artist.

On my way back to the station in the afternoon I was struck by the view of these classic buildings with the millennium wheel poking over the top - when I got home I decided to process it using an antique finish - I rather like the result as it looks like an old photo initially and then you are taken by surprise when you notice the wheel!

Finally I took a picture of St Martin in the Fields filtered through a tree and am including the non- processed colour picture as well as the one processed for contrast & sharpness and turned black & white - I would be interested in feedback re which one you like best.

Photo Journal Episode 3 - Finding My Eye

Review the photos in your inspiration file and look for connections - sounds easy enough but for some reason I have found it quite difficult, perhaps because of the diversity of photos I find inspiring. Eventually I began to find some common themes: lots of nature especially sea and plants / flowers bright colours and variegated textures and in terms of composition often something in the foreground. Many of the shots are focusing on small details of the scene

First of all I compared three beach pics the first two were taken on the same beach on the Isle of Wight, the third at Bamburgh in Northumberland.

I think what they have in common is water (obviously!) big skies with cloudscapes which I love, and plenty of texture both from the clouds and the sand and rock pools. The colours in all of them are striking too. I was brought up by the sea on the Isle of Wight ( this very beach in fact) and I didn't realise how much I missed the light and space and the big skies until we started going there regularly again when my son was small.

Moving on to texture and detail I have chosen three contrasting pictures but with a common core focusing on the small details. The first one was also taken at Bamburgh

the second is part of a kind of bench / installation in a designated wild flower meadow

and this third one is again an image from my garden

I love the textures and the colours in these three pictures the frosty leaves, the rich colour on the bench blending in with the pine cone and the 3D effect of the footprints in the sand.

Focusing on composition I am posting three examples where I have composed the picture with a tree or plant in the foreground. Since starting this course I have realised that for the most part I am a 'happy snapper' and haven't focused enough attention on the composition of my pictures. These are three where I have given it a go, all taken whilst on holiday in Sicily last summer.

My favourite of these is the waterfall picture where I have, (entirely by accident) ,managed a sharp foreground and blurred background which I think suits the subject well.

Have just realised that I take different pictures while on holiday as am trying to 'capture the moment' whereas at home I am often trying to see the 'sacred in the ordinary' and focus in on small details of everyday life.

Photo Journal Episode 2 - Photographing the Familiar

When I looked at my inspiration folder I noticed  that  in the majority of my photographs the subject was some aspect of nature, often just a small detail. I think that one reason for this is that I haven't got a great camera (roll on my birthday) so that pictures I take of buildings or more panoramic views  often don't come out very well ( this may not be the only reason of course). Bearing that in mind, I decided to go on a photoshoot in my garden.

This presented a number of challenges as the sunlight was very bright and my camera doesn't have a view-finder, only an LCD display, and I was shooting 'blind' a lot of the time. Also I was trying to take photos from different angles above, below, through etc which was also challenging in terms of knowing what I had actually taken. I was rather surprised to find myself in one of the Hellebore pictures below, although I think the pink in my hair blends in quite well with the colours on the plant!

When I arrived at the processing stage I had fun playing with these photo's of a Hellebore taken from above and below, with and without the photographer!

In this third one I was trying to hold the camera under the plant without lying down on the freezing soil.

What I most enjoyed about the photo shoot was searching for details to wonder at in the winter garden. I particularly liked the diversity of colours and textures in this section of the frozen pond.

similarly I was drawn to this tangle of dogwood and corkscrew hazel because of the richness of the textures, shapes and colours.

Photo Journal Episode 1 - Why Photography?

Why do I take pictures?

• to capture the beauty / joy of the moment


• to create something beautiful and personal to me


• so that I have images of those I love at certain points in time


• to enhance my awareness of beauty in the world by noticing the little things  - textures etc that when focused on are beautiful /striking


• to look at familiar things from a different perspective


• to keep memories fresh


• as an out et for my need to be creative and innovative

Sometimes I take picture for myself, sometimes for others. Below is an example of a tender moment captured at my goddaughter's wedding last summer where her older sister was putting on the garter she had knitted for her - the official photographer was not present at this point, only me with my point and shoot.

This  second photo brings back to the  memory of a glorious day in June 2006 when I persuaded my family to get up early so that we could go up on Tennyson Down to watch the Round the Island race (Isle of Wight) It was a perfect day, sunny with a clarity that made the view all round completely breathtaking. Unfortunately for the contestants there was also very little wind which resulted in many of them struggling to round the needles - my gain in terms of a photo opportunity though!

My final image illustrates an attempt to look at familiar things from a different perspective and is a photo I took yesterday of the view through the skylight in my bedroom - I really don't notice that tree most of the time!