Stealing the World’s Statues

As convincing as this picture is, I didn’t actually steal Gateshead’s Angel of the North. Had I committed that crime and then posted these pictures, I think I’d probably have a lot more followers on this blog and be sat in the cold comfort of a cell in one of Her Majesty’s finest. Thankfully I’m sat at my desk shortlisting the photos that I took this weekend. It was more of a flying visit for family festivities, but I managed to squeeze in some touristy time with the camera, though not as much as I’d liked, there’s always next time.

I’ve seen photos like this before,

Trying Something New

Have you ever been on a photo shoot and wondered what would happen if you did something you’ve never tried before? Have you changed that setting you’ve never played with, or pressed a button that you’re not exactly sure about? If you’re anything like me, you’re in your comfort zone when you take photos. You like things just so and tend not to stray too far from what you know.

Breaking out of the box doesn’t have to be drastic, and as long as you’re not governed by time or money, what will it hurt to take a few minutes try something new? Not many cameras have a self destruct button that I know of, so it’s likely you’ll be safe. Though I did read recently about a long exposure camera toss that seemed like it could be a little risky if you didn’t know how to catch.

In my last shoot down on the banks of the Severn, before packing up, I took some time to change from my Sigma lens that has served me so well for night time landscapes, to my Canon “nifty fifty” f1.8. It wouldn’t be my go to lens for this kind of work, but why not? It’s a quality, affordable lens that every amateur should have in their kit bag. I’ve taken some great portraits with it and it’s the lens that lives on my camera if I go to weddings.

I shot the scene and I was pleased with the results. That was box number one broken out of. I liked the feel of it. The photo above is the result of me breaking out of box number two. It’s one exposure, no photoshop, is it easy to tell what I’ve done?

Down by the Riverside

Some time ago, I was looking for and found a location that would be great for long exposure photography. I stumbled upon this rocky beach on the muddy banks of the River Severn with perfect views of the Second Severn Crossing; the bridge that charges time conscious people to enter Wales from the south. This place had a lot of variables that would make for an interesting long exposure photograph providing the conditions were right.

At the time, on this windy, cloudy day, I was equipped

No Escape

There was a lot of cloud cover and a breeze in the air, and compared to the recent spate of weather, 10 Celsius felt tropical.  While the city centre appeals to me as a photographic playground I decided to avoid it on this particular occasion. Being a Friday I didn’t really want cider and kebab spilled on me, or my equipment. Escaping the city wasn’t really an option either. With my fuel gauge on the red

The Happiest Day of your Life

I’m told the money is really good, and while I have been asked once or twice, I’ve never been unlucky enough to actually go through with the task of cramming a whole day’s worth of wonderful, beautiful memories in photographic form in to a little book for a happy couple. While weddings are a special, magical time for the couple in question, and even some of the guests when there’s free food concerned, I get the feeling that wedding photography is a stressful occupation and there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. It’s not quite as easy as turn up, take some photos, print them off, then swim around in your cash room like you’re on Duck Tales.

I have assisted a friend photographing a wedding. I feel that I employed myself as a guest to take the candid shots, the kind that fill empty spaces in the wedding album. All day, going around in my head was the idea that my memory card or camera would fail, like neither had done before and the wedding album would go to print with those empty spaces. Luckily, my good friend dealt with the hassles of directing the bodies and facial expressions of all the friends and family, I wore my wedding ghillie suit and blended into the surroundings and the day went without a hitch.

The invitations to two weddings were sat around until this weekend when my girlfriend and I finally got to dress up and attend. I wont bore you with the arrangements we needed to make to attend both weddings, but we managed it, though we did spend considerably more time at one than the other, but they were both fabulous. Different, but brilliant in their own ways. This was wedding photography that I could handle. No pressure. I could shoot away without a care in the world. If my camera exploded and my memory card disintegrated, the bride and groom weren’t expecting any photos from me, so there’s nothing to lose. But if I ended up with some half decent photos, then maybe they’d make a nice gift or a good profile photo on Facebook.

It’s not that I don’t like weddings, because I really do. I just don’t think that I’m ready for the responsibility of being paid to take photographs at weddings just yet. I am quite happy just taking my camera along watching the pros and seeing how things progress, who knows… maybe one day. It’s all experience.

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Follows (pictured) and Mr and Mrs Lovelock. I wish you all the best in your happy new lives and thank you for the opportunity to be a small part of your big day.