From the sounds inside my mind...

Well, that is a year of blogs that is... this is #53 so one a week for a whole year... well I never... I hope they have been enjoyable and you have all enjoyed the pictures and the trials and tribulations of a photographer trying to make his way in this car-crash economic world we all inhabit... Let's see what the next year brings...

It's been an interesting week - one that may prove to be fruitful commercially and hopefully one that is the beginning of the end of the appalling weather the UK has been hit with. I know I go on about the weather but as a photographer who loves to spend his time shooting outside the never ending rain and wind is depressing...and it means I have to revisit my archive for new and interesting shots for you all... Facebook is a hungry beast - it needs feeding on a daily basis...as is Flickr...  Luckily I did manage to get out and about once this week... a family day out (half term you know) to Aldeborough on the Suffolk coast - where Quinn got to fly is first kite...

And then Lucy took him off for an hour or so and I got to take a few pix...

The old mill...

I was taken with this beach hut... so I took a few and played around in Lightroom...

I think the third is my favourite...

I also liked the boats...

The monochrome version was requested and is probably my favourite of these...

So... what else has been happening? Well, I finally managed to get to a Networking meeting early on Wednesday morning... A really good way of meeting other businessmen and women and getting your name out there. Unfortunately the meeting time is just when I can't... middle of the school run and all. However, this week I did make it and the people there couldn't have been friendlier - even though I can't find the time at the moment to join I hope they will remember me should any photographic work be required - I certainly know now where to go for an accountant, or a builder, or a carpenter, or a copywriter etc. etc.... Talking to them reminded me that I need some more portraits in my portfolio... I have shot many but not enough seem to be prominent enough on websites, Facebook or Flickr. So I had a look through my archive for suitable images. Now many of these were taken long before I started to use Lightroom so some new post processing was in order. Coincidently. my very good friend and fellow pro photographer, Vicky Akbik who works out of Abu Dhabi (brilliant family photographer - if you are out in the UAE and need some quality family shots look her up) kindly sent me some new preset brushes for Lightroom - these designed for portraits - so both things dovetailed and I was able to have a play with some older images..

These three taken for a local school...

The first two are from a shoot I did for a real estate agent in Sharjah - formal but friendly... they asked for the grey back ground although I may have preferred white... Simple three-light set up in the office... All I need is a plain wall with six clear feet in front and room at the sides for the light stands.

The girl below was shot for  school in York as part of a prospectus shoot I did...

The two almost identical images above are of the Manager of the Real Estate Agent in the UAE - just as an example of how colour or monochrome is available depending on what is required...

I was also able to have a play with one of my favourite shots of Lucy...

And of course, whilst looking through the archives I found a few old landscapes and street scenes that you may like as well...

Old town Muscat, Oman...

Fisherman in Oman...

Whitby harbour at night...

Finally, we had some visitors last weekend - some dear friends from Yorkshire who delighted in the Fen and had a great time wandering the streets of Cambridge - these occasions never last long enough do they. But the weather (yes the weather again) was kind and I caught a couple of views whilst out and about...

Both shots...King's College, Cambridge University, Cambridge UK

And last but hopefully not least, a final shot from Aldeborough - my son's kite against the sky... What do you think?

Hope you all have a good week... don't forget to follow me on Facebook or Flickr or on Twitter or even on LinkedIn of you use that. I also have two websites - my standard one or my wedding one have a look if you feel so inclined.

Hope to see you all next week,

TTFN...

But never have I been a blue calm sea...

And another week comes to a sodden end... the southern half of the country is awash and the northern half is being blown inside out... the east (the bit in which I live) gets the dregs of both worlds... just enough to  make us feel part of it, but suffering half as much...  This all means I have been stuck in front of the laptop all week... filing pictures, marketing, promoting, networking and sorting pictures... I think my trusty Nikon will be wondering where I am... He is sitting patiently under my desk ready to come out and play... soon, old boy, soon...

I have finally got the WEDDING WEBSITE out there so please feel free to have a look and tell me what you think... the REGULAR WEBSITE is still out there but is in need of some editing... maybe next week... and of course my FACEBOOK page is constantly being updated...  as of course is my FLICKR site... you are all welcome on all sites so feel free to drop by...

This all means that the pictures I have for you this week are from the archives... I hope you like them as I do... they bring back memories of great shoots and good times... of stunning light in abundance, fantastic subjects - beautiful people and places...

What do I have...?

My beautiful boy Quinn - aged 4 above and 2 below... I love the stare... the meet my eyes look he gives... open, friendly, innocent - just as a child should be...

The next selection are from the UAE...

The three shots above are from a family portrait shoot I did out in Abu Dhabi with a delightful couple and their two children... It was a gorgeous hour or two spent with them on our beach... walking, playing, running in that lovely heat (boy could I use some of that warmth now...)... The bottom group shot was my favourite from the shoot... more because I like my processing here - the muted colours give it a traditional feel... of past times... of film cameras... of a picture left to fade on an old piano... ahh... whatever did we do before nostalgia...?

The next selection are from a similar family portrait shoot I did also out in the UAE... different light, but just as much fun to shoot...

Once again the last one here is my favourite... Abigail is lovely to photograph, but this one where she is almost unaware of the camera has a lovely, natural feel to it...unposed... relaxed... The light is delightful, just highlighting her hair and the tones are soft...

Another couple from the Middle East now... another side of the country... one many visitors don't see...

Workers clothes and alloy wheels... taken separately but intended as a pair...
Taken in the industrial city of Musaffah...colours and light inspiring... but not the rich man's play ground to which many think Abu Dhabi is restricted...

One other from the gulf is a fun one... I call it wooden signature...

The shadow of the small piece of wood to me creates a signature on the stone beneath...

Looking further back in the archives I came across a family portrait shoot I did three years go at least... another lovely family to work with... but this time in a completely different location... a small farm in North Yorkshire... I really liked shooting these as the light was a challenge but the people a delight...

A lovely series that has benefited from more up to date processing techniques...

If any of you are missing my nature shots... here is one for you also from the archives...

Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca) a common wild flower and one I love to photograph due to the colour and the patterning on the petals... I'm sure I will post more shots of this species during the summer (if we ever have one...)

I have a meeting next Wednesday which could lead to some work so wish me luck with that - you never know what will happen with a positive mental attitude...

Valentine's day is here of course - hope you all have an enjoyable weekend and you didn't forget the card/flowers/chocolates/wine...

TTFN...

 

As one door opens...

Hard not to mention it and in comparison with those in Cornwall and Somerset we have had it easy, but the weather (for an outdoor photographer) has been just appalling this week... hardly an hour to get out... The upshot of that was that I had to spend the week sorting images for websites (new) - (more of that later) and of course submissions...What has been the result? Well, I sent off 70 images to a calendar firm - and they have accepted them!!! This means, of course that when they are used I get paid.... A selection of these images...

Museum gardens, York... in the spring...

York Minster...

Street scene, York in winter

Wicken flour mill...

Garden geranium detail...

Wind pump, Wicken Lode, Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve

Pubic park in autumn, Ely Cambridgeshire

Those of you who follow this blog regularly will have seen most of these before - indeed it is good to have decent images in the back catalogue to turn to when climatic conditions prevent me from shooting... Now they have been accepted and I have their wants list I can concentrate on shooting what they want...some projects for the coming months...! I remember when I first set out to be a professional photographer - over 30 years ago  submitting a box of slides to a calendar firm - they came back with a letter saying "...great, can we have 75-100 at that quality per month" Now in those days we all shot film - cost was about £10 per film including processing. To get that many top quality images I would have to shoot hundreds of films at a huge personal initial outlay... I just couldn't afford to do that... Now with digital I can shoot whenever I want at no extra cost...One of the great advantages of this modern age...

Now, as I mentioned before I have also been promoting my self as a wedding/portrait photographer... the upshot is that I have been added to the RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS LIST at The Maltings in Ely - a local Wedding Venue... To do this I had to submit a selection of images to the Manager for approval... some of those images...

The first three shots here are from the engagement shoot I did with Heather and Sam... one of the parts of my wedding packages is the Engagement or pre-wedding shoot... A chance to work with the couple on their own; get to know each other and get used to working together...

 The shot below was from the morning of the wedding... great light from the sitting room window...

The couple below, Sharyn and Tom were a delight to work with and the wedding was fun... there was only the two of them...

Below is an Egyptian couple, Emmy and Mohammed, with whom I worked in Abu Dhabi... great light below the palm trees... (love the shoes...!)

The slideshow I created was done using Lightroom and had no soundtrack due to copy write issues... what I intend to do is write and record my own guitar parts and add them to the slideshows... why do I create so much extra work I wonder?  The biggest stress is asking for approval... when you go out and create it feels part of you... when you look at the images and post process them you desperately want others to like them... always a feeling of joy when you get a like... despondency when not... To get accepted by the calendar firm and the wedding venue constitutes a good week...

Unfortunately my postings on my FACEBOOK page have suffered... that must be sorted as well during this next week... I have managed to do some updates on my FLICKR SITE...

I have two additional tasks for the following week... to update my WEBSITE and as mentioned... creating a new site purely for portraits and weddings... I have started that one, but it is a long, drawn out process so some midnight oil will be burnt... Once that is done, I will then have to change the other site...which will predominantly concentrate with the Natural History/Landscapes/Ecological images that I also shoot... slowly we are building a brand... slowly we are building a reputation... slowly we are getting there...

Well, what else have I been up to? Well, whilst trawling the archives I found some family pictures worth sharing...

Dad...

Mum...

Lucy & Quinn...

Lucy...

Quinn...

Me...

My favourites of these are the one of my Dad and the one of Lucy reading to Quinn...

That about wraps it up... hope you all have a good week and the jet stream finally moves back to where it belongs - giving the SE of the UK a break from the appalling weather they have had for seemingly ages now...  Winter Olympics and Rugby Union await me now, with some work on the website on the second screen...

TTFN