AJP Photography Blog

A week in Cumbria

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:54:56 +0000

This trip was my fifth to the lakes. I have still not mastered the way to get the best results from a one week trip. I now think the key is to be in the right place at the right time but of course this is easier to state than do. The weather was pretty helpful, showery and ever changing. I did only one really early morning start and that was a trip to Wastwater arriving about 7 am. The results were fairly rewarding as the rain ceased at about 8 and then the sky and general lighting changed rapidly and dramatically for a few hours. Although the camera was pointing for the most time in the one direction, the view was ever changing through a range of dramatic scenes giving scope to capture a location looking very different over a period of a few hours. I did explore a range of areas over the few days that followed the Wastwater venue; I intended to stop my car when I saw something that I thought might make a good or interesting picture. Again it sounds easy, however so many good potential shots were spotted from the road but were not to be had for a number of reasons. Often the road was narrow and it would be a hazard to stop. At other times a white van would be on my tail and prohibit a stop. Sometimes I would stop safely but some way from the viewpoint only to find that by the time I had assembled the kit and walked back to the spot the light had changed and the shot was lost. All very frustrating. Anyway I reckon made the best of what was on offer, I tried to be intelligent about my plans and routes etc but I remain convinced that a lot of luck is still needed to get the best from a trip despite the planning that one tries to do. Follow this link to see what I managed to spot and capture this time. http://www.tonesshots.com/galleries/mostrecent/Cumbria%202012/

A workshop in Liverpool

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:49:52 +0000

This weekend I joined two other experienced photographers and a professional who provided location advice and tuition in the Liverpool area. We were mainly looking for industrial landscapes in preparation for an upcoming competition. The Friday weather was Ok(ish) but lighting was a bit flat. However on the Saturday morning we were treated to some very interesting golden lighting which provided a rapidly changing and developing set of photo opportunities around the New Brighton area. The afternoon was less good but a visit to the cathedral showed some great promise for a future visit. Here is a link to a selection of images from the trip. http://www.tonesshots.com/galleries/mostrecent/liverpool/

Westbury on Severn bell restoration

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:56:45 +0000

This series of documentary style images is the third since the project started. The slideshow on the web gallery is intended to tell the story of the bells being returned from factory refurbishment and refitted in the bell tower which itself has been updated and strengthened. Here is the link to the web slideshow. http://www.tonesshots.com/galleries/mostrecent/Westbury%20Bells%203/

A trip to the Lake district October 2011

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:20:13 +0000

This is the first trip that I have used my new blog facility to describe and discuss. I have twice before visited the lakes to take pictures but this is the first time since acquiring a really good camera and some excellent lenses. I stayed in the Hydro hotel in Bowness on Windermere which is a fine central location and a nice photographer friendly hotel. The do not have a problem with my going out early and was happy to exchange the breakfast I missed each day with a healthy packed lunch. Also they did not charge me a single person supplement.

Having learned from past ‘Photo Safaris’ , my jokey term I use for photocentric trips in the UK, I had a pre planned list of locations all programmed into my TomTom satnav. The list was not long, it is a mistake to try and cover too many spots; better to do a few well than many poorly. The cost of fuel also makes this planning element important.

I sent the first day doing recces for the next few days, learning where to park the car in the morning, where the sun rises and sets, promising viewpoints etc. I had teamed up with another member of the Cheltenham Camera club and so we setout on the next day to Keswick and began to warm up on a few locations, we managed a few reasonable shots before the bad weather set in. We experimented with multi exposure HDR versus the use of graduated filters.

The next day we set off early for Blea tarn. This looked very promising at the start of the day and we got setup. Then the rain came down. Never seen anything like it before. Hailstones the size of peas that stung and went down ones neck. In no time I was soaked and shivering. However it was not long before the skies cleared for a while and some rainbows and reflections appeared. One had to work quickly as soon the heavens opened again. My Poundland umbrella disintegrated and for a while my wresting with this provided much mirth and a source of entertainment for my photo buddy. Eventually I managed to fashion a camera water jacket out of the remaining material from the umbrella so all was not lost. Eventually the weather got so bad we had to packup and go home.

We did revist Blea tarn once more that week and managed again to get some good material in between the showers. Take a look at the gallery on the main website – a link to the page is here. http://www.tonesshots.com/galleries/safaris/lakes2011/