Well several months have passed and I must admit not writing a blog - or more accurately, not being tied to writing a blog every month has been a release. The same can be said for taking pictures. Since last September I have been going through a creative block... couldn't take a picture and didn't really want to. Of course I have carried out paid assignments - I am a pro after all; but shooting for myself, my portfolio and the agency has taken a back seat in my life, and the longer it went on the less like taking pictures I felt.
Christmas came and went and the urge to pick up a camera didn't look like it would return. Even a stay in Scarborough for the festive season did little to encourage my creativity to return. I was more interested in playing golf, playing my guitars and being free from the need to burn pixels.
As February is now almost half over I can feel the creativity returning - slowly at the moment, but it is definitely returning.
I am on a health regime at the moment; losing weight is the main aim and I'm happy to say I've lost well over a stone already and I feel so much better already... now for the next one!
My other passion is golf. I used to play when I was a kid, and only stopped at 17 to play cricket. I started again 12 years ago, but that was curtailed by the birth of my son and then the 18 months we spent in the UAE. Now I am beginning to play again and I'm enjoying it as much as I ever have - all we need is some decent dry weather.
SO, for some images...
These are the best I could manage in Scarborough... not overly creative and a bit cliched...
A few weeks later I ventured out to the fen; just down the road from my house and a favourite place for walking (my preferred exercise regime)...
Butcher's broom (Ruscus aculeatus) - in certain places in the country an Ancient Woodland Indicator (AWI) but also a garden escape so tricky to ascertain its provenance. In this case probably a garden escape. The plant was used by butchers to sweep meat etc. from chopping blocks as the plant is spiky, similar to holly.
Recently coppiced woodland on a nature reserve. Always gives a nice open ground layer, encouraging early vernal species.
Lovely old willow (Salix sp.) standing in the middle of winter flooding, as I imagine it has done for many decades.
The Burystead - a very old house just down the road from me. I believe it is the remains of an old abbey or something similar. This is the image that re-ignited my creativity. I was taken with the colour of the building against the colour of the sky and the way it stands.
Some interesting management here - what seems to be pollarding of oaks. Presumably to allow light through to the ground layer as before. Oaks don't coppice well but they do pollard, so maybe that is the reason.
Last two images here from this set... An old pursuit on the fens is wild fowling... I'm can't say I agree with the practice, but it's legal and it's here. It looks cold and wet to be honest, but at least in this case people eat the results unlike other country pursuits...
From mid January I made a change to my camera settings. Having sort of decided to concentrate on landscapes and static macro work, I changed to shooting at 14-bit rather than 12-bit. What this means is that I get the best quality and best tonal range possible from my Nikon D3X sensor. It also means that the files are now larger - >50Mb per image. Of course I now need more storage - although I can cut down on the number of pictures I take...
Fenland in early morning snow. I was taken by the lines and the colours on this scene,
An often photographed barn. I drive past this every morning whilst on the school run and sometimes the light and sky render it worthy of stopping (leading to cries of "Oh daddy, not again") from my son!
And my final selection - from a walk out onto the fen on the 12th February. I could see the potential of a sunset and although the subject is over done, sometimes it is worth exploring. My favourite images from this shoot at the vegetation details and the birds...
Wildfowl in low light. I like the pastel hues and the subtlety of the light here.
These four are typical sunset pictures; colours are punchy and the image is the light...
These two (above and below) I like...
Swan feather picked out by late sun, and below a pair of mute swan (Cygnus olor) in a shaft of gold.
Great colours with emergent vegetation
Norfolk or common reed (Phragmites australis) seed head against a late evening sky.
Final two - vegetation with sunset colours. The last image is my favourite of this type of image. Really pleased with this one.
There is little doubt in my mind that the switch to 14-Bit has made a difference to the image quality, with both the colours and the tones.
I don't think I will be returning to monthly blogs - the rest has been cathartic and I don't want to become stale... all the rest are available to see so I hope you enjoy this one and any of the others you choose to read. Keep your eye out for others when I feel I have something to share.
Let's hope the world sorts itself out soon, there isn't enough love, peace and grace in the world and that is what we need...
Peace and love to you all out there...
TTFN
Alex
Christmas came and went and the urge to pick up a camera didn't look like it would return. Even a stay in Scarborough for the festive season did little to encourage my creativity to return. I was more interested in playing golf, playing my guitars and being free from the need to burn pixels.
As February is now almost half over I can feel the creativity returning - slowly at the moment, but it is definitely returning.
I am on a health regime at the moment; losing weight is the main aim and I'm happy to say I've lost well over a stone already and I feel so much better already... now for the next one!
My other passion is golf. I used to play when I was a kid, and only stopped at 17 to play cricket. I started again 12 years ago, but that was curtailed by the birth of my son and then the 18 months we spent in the UAE. Now I am beginning to play again and I'm enjoying it as much as I ever have - all we need is some decent dry weather.
SO, for some images...
These are the best I could manage in Scarborough... not overly creative and a bit cliched...
A few weeks later I ventured out to the fen; just down the road from my house and a favourite place for walking (my preferred exercise regime)...
Butcher's broom (Ruscus aculeatus) - in certain places in the country an Ancient Woodland Indicator (AWI) but also a garden escape so tricky to ascertain its provenance. In this case probably a garden escape. The plant was used by butchers to sweep meat etc. from chopping blocks as the plant is spiky, similar to holly.
Recently coppiced woodland on a nature reserve. Always gives a nice open ground layer, encouraging early vernal species.
Lovely old willow (Salix sp.) standing in the middle of winter flooding, as I imagine it has done for many decades.
The Burystead - a very old house just down the road from me. I believe it is the remains of an old abbey or something similar. This is the image that re-ignited my creativity. I was taken with the colour of the building against the colour of the sky and the way it stands.
Some interesting management here - what seems to be pollarding of oaks. Presumably to allow light through to the ground layer as before. Oaks don't coppice well but they do pollard, so maybe that is the reason.
Last two images here from this set... An old pursuit on the fens is wild fowling... I'm can't say I agree with the practice, but it's legal and it's here. It looks cold and wet to be honest, but at least in this case people eat the results unlike other country pursuits...
From mid January I made a change to my camera settings. Having sort of decided to concentrate on landscapes and static macro work, I changed to shooting at 14-bit rather than 12-bit. What this means is that I get the best quality and best tonal range possible from my Nikon D3X sensor. It also means that the files are now larger - >50Mb per image. Of course I now need more storage - although I can cut down on the number of pictures I take...
Fenland in early morning snow. I was taken by the lines and the colours on this scene,
An often photographed barn. I drive past this every morning whilst on the school run and sometimes the light and sky render it worthy of stopping (leading to cries of "Oh daddy, not again") from my son!
And my final selection - from a walk out onto the fen on the 12th February. I could see the potential of a sunset and although the subject is over done, sometimes it is worth exploring. My favourite images from this shoot at the vegetation details and the birds...
Wildfowl in low light. I like the pastel hues and the subtlety of the light here.
These four are typical sunset pictures; colours are punchy and the image is the light...
These two (above and below) I like...
Swan feather picked out by late sun, and below a pair of mute swan (Cygnus olor) in a shaft of gold.
Great colours with emergent vegetation
Norfolk or common reed (Phragmites australis) seed head against a late evening sky.
Final two - vegetation with sunset colours. The last image is my favourite of this type of image. Really pleased with this one.
There is little doubt in my mind that the switch to 14-Bit has made a difference to the image quality, with both the colours and the tones.
I don't think I will be returning to monthly blogs - the rest has been cathartic and I don't want to become stale... all the rest are available to see so I hope you enjoy this one and any of the others you choose to read. Keep your eye out for others when I feel I have something to share.
Let's hope the world sorts itself out soon, there isn't enough love, peace and grace in the world and that is what we need...
Peace and love to you all out there...
TTFN
Alex
