Greetings from my sick bed. I roused myself to bring you this fine little number.
That’s dedication right there: in a snap shot.
So, in the spirit of “britishness”, a stiff upper lip and other clichés, here it is:
To achieve this washed out look, I added a couple of adjustment layers (see below). The most dramatic was the Black and White Layer, with a custom tint in this shade: #d1caba
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s photo !
That’s a photo a day for the less astute among you.
Why am I doing this? Well, I’m never too far from my camera, so I thought I’d share with you what my lens sees on a more regular basis.
This isn’t going to be a year long documentation of my toes clutching bath taps, nor is this going to be an accidental food blog. No, I’m going to bring out my latent adventurous side as I up the creative ante with each shot that I take.
Here’s my first photo. It’s called:
Why my cat is eternally better than your cat
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s photo!
As always I set off from home, camera in tow, and go where the mood takes me.
I’m amazed by the types of scenes I come across on my travels; dilapidated buildings and once treasured possessions, bustling traditional farms, animals that didn’t quite make it, and the uncompromising beauty of the everyday that unfolds in secluded locations.
This selection of pictures was taken in and around Bedfordshire – but I couldn’t tell you exactly where I took them. Firstly because, for some shots, I was trespassing, and secondly, some places are so rural and off the beaten track I couldn’t even begin to give you directions.
I hope the arrangement represents my meandering path.
As always, let me know what you think.
I used to holiday annually with my parents on the Ilse of Wight. We’d sit down to dinner, as a family, around 7pm most nights and watch the waves crash against possibly one of Britain’s most beautiful beaches; the golden sands of Sandown.
As dusk began to settle, and the lights of the pleasure pier sparkled incandescently, a faithful group of metal detectors descended upon the beach.
I used to be quite offended by their presence. Especially when I’d see them pick up a wristwatch, spare change or goodness knows what else. I’d work myself up more so as I began to put a story behind their treasures. What if the man who lost that watch had conscientiously scrimped and saved for months to buy it. What if that meager spare change that twilight beach comber eagerly pocketed had actually been budgeted to pay for a family meal. I guess someone would be going hungry tonight. Or possibly without a 99 flake tomorrow.
Despite my internal condemnation of their hobby, each night they returned after the last of the families and holidaymakers begrudgingly left the beach.
Then, years later, I met Ian.
Ian also enjoys the odd spot of metal detecting. I remember when he told me he had two metal detectors; my heart sank as I remembered the anger I felt towards those brazen beach combers. But Ian isn’t the type that lays in wait for families to unknowingly leave stuff behind on the beach. No. Ian prefers to scour recently disturbed patches of land. The type that are about to be ravaged by progress, cheap housing and more roads.
He jokingly calls himself a treasure hunter. He’s found old Roman coins in the past. As someone who loves ancient history, I couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect of what he might find on his next treasure hunt, so I decided to accompany him to Stewartby, along with my new telephoto lens.
Unfortunately, Ian didn’t manage to find anything. But I got some great shots. I think they capture the anticipation and the far reaching possibilities that the land could give up.
Let me know what you think 🙂
I’ve recently become the proud owner of a canon 60d. I took my new toy for a spin on a recent holiday to Wells-next-the-Sea, where I changed my mode of transport almost entirely to biking.
I’m an avid cyclist and I usually stumble upon my shots when on two wheels. This way, I’m able to jump off my bike and place myself entirely in the scene. The far reaching Norfolk landscape and mostly uninhabited locations allows me to do this undisturbed.
– Henri Cartier Bresson
I’m not the type of photographer who sets up a tripod patiently waiting for something to happen in front of me; I have too much energy to stay still. I trust my eyes to spot and intriguing, beautifully composed scene my camera is there to document it.
When I’m outdoors, I don’t want to capture scale or as far as the eye can see, I like to immerse myself in my environment, whether that’s crouching in a corn field or presenting the landscape from unusual perspectives.
Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments below.