Today it's cold, wet and windy in the southwest and it's a good time to clean your camera, lenses and filters ready for your next adventure.

When it's too wet outside you might like to try some still life photography with items from around your house. The best place I find, is the kitchen. It's full of interesting shapes, colours and reflections. Keep an eye out for good reflecting objects like metal and glass. Contrast your tones shooting light colours on a dark background or vise a versa. Explore using macro lenses. Shoot from a different angles and use a tripod to get your camera to unseen angles.

I will be in the kitchen all day and maybe only get 2-3 images, but I will have fun!

Let me know how you get on?

Enjoy

I need to get out!

Unfortunately I have bee working indoors most of this week. The yearning to visit the coast is getting painfully strong. If I couldn’t see the sea for more than a week I would find it hard to concentrate on anything. The ocean is a fascinating place with a threat in one hand and a gift in the other. It's draw is overwhelming. Prepare yourselves for a barrage of images over the next week or so.

I might have to go back to Holywell Bay again.

Holywell Bay, Cornwall

Alan Lomax and myself popped down to Holywell Bay in Cornwall on Saturday. I have wanted to view and photograph the many caves along the coastline for many years. I torn between the fantastic sunset and the dark cold caves. Seeing as we got there too early for a sunset so I decided to have a look at a cave or two. I entered one cave and I could hear water falling in the distance. When I got closer I found a delightful little waterfall in the cave. I setup the camera and flash with some small lighting around but I need to take down some decent lighting and equipment to really show these amazing natural places. However I couldn’t come home without a shot of the reflected sky over the smooth white sand of Cornwall.

More from Holywell later in the year.

April 2012 Cover of Advanced Photographer Magazine

Get yourself down to your local newsagents and buy a copy of Advanced Photographer Magazine Today. (Issue 17: April 2012)
Amazing image on the front cover and a stunning article from a talented local photographer. Some of you might know him.

Make sure you all buy the next issue of Advanced Photographer. (On sale 14th March) It features some of my best work.

Whitsand Reflections

Alan Lomax and I went to Whitsand Bay in Cornwall yesterday. We went via the Torpoint Ferry and it took us about 40 minutes from Marsh Mills, Plymouth. 

Just as we got on the ferry it clouded over and pored down with heavy rain. As we drove off the ferry, the rain stopped, the clouds broke and by the time we got to Whitsands we were left with just enough clouds for some amazing reflection shots. 

The tides were shorter that I thought they would be, leaving us further up the beach than anticipated. But never the less a great evenings shoot.

 

Hayor - A new friend.

A group of 15 or so Dartmoor ponies surrounded me just below Haytor Dartmoor National Park. With their confidence in numbers and natural curiosity the most confident leader was trying to eat my bag, nibbling at my jacket and trying to push me into the pond. The smallest pony was just licking my jacket and another one a little bigger was getting very aroused by the whole thing. Not an easy shoot. It reminds me of the saying 'Don't work with children or animals'

After the sun went down, they walked off into the darkness and somehow I felt like I had been with them all day.

Image taken 26/02/2012 at Haytor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, UK

Some interesting videos about photography

I have been looking around the Internet for inspiration and I stumbled upon these videos.

Great stories from great photographers.

Video : Vivian Maier, street photographer and nanny.

Video : Photographer vs. Predator.

Website for Vivian Maier

http://www.vivianmaier.com/

  

Paul's Website 

Paul Nicklen Photography

Salcombe Seascapes

I thought it might be nice to visit Salcombe this afternoon and try and get close to the water and sea what happens. However, most of the coastline is privately owned and access is very limited. I decided to wonder around and see what’s what.

I managed to find a Tor there that I had no idea existed. It’s called Sharp Tor and it overlooks the estuary and its around 400 ft above sea level and is identical to the Tor’s found on Dartmoor National Park complete with Dartmoor shrubs, algie and moss.

Hope Cove

We went to Hope Cove last night in pouring rain with force 4 winds trying to push us off the cliff and it looked like we would never get our cameras out. Then all of sudden around 4pm the clouds cleared, the wind dropped and we were bathed in bright blue skies and warm bright sunshine. Perfect conditions we thought. 

We managed to shoot from 4pm (90 mins before sunset) till way after sunset. We couldnt have asked for better conditions, the wet ground gave us awesome ground saturation and the rain cleared the air even the cold air kept out lenses stable. 

However, having all this was perhaps too much for the camera to handle. The dynamic range was just too great for me and I had to settle for just a few OK shots.

It just goes to show how you can have too perfect conditions.

Off to Hope Cove, Devon

Just off to Hope Cove for the afternoon. Just having a look around and maybe some shooting later. 

Conditions are not very good for photography. However you will never get the shot if your not there!

I'll post more when I get back