Makeover madness

Cheek detail, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

Something a little different today before I drag you all kicking and screaming back to the landscapes. First, it’s a picture with an actual real-life person in it (my daughter) and second, it’s a picture that was not taken with the wide-angle lens (which has proved especially hard to put down since it cost so much). Many moons ago in my post ‘Nifty fifty’ which appeared somewhere right at the start of the blog I eulogised about the cheap Canon 50mm prime lens and how wonderful it was for portraits and getting great depth of field. Since then I have used it quite a lot for pictures of the family but I haven’t blogged a picture taken with this lens for some time.

So here it is. On Saturday my daughter went to her friend’s ‘makeover and pampering party’ and it appears to me that the life of your average 7-year-old girl is a never-ending whirl of parties and social engagements. On picking her up I was surprised to find that my daughter had been replaced with a seemingly older child with nail varnish, hair extensions and a rather interesting facial disfiguration. It’s also fair to say that she had gone for one of the more ’subtle’ looks on offer. Of course, knowing full well that it would have to to be washed off come bath time, she asked me to photograph her new look for posterity.

It is said by many, and to a certain extent I agree, that children, especially girls, grow up to early nowadays. Certainly, in our celebrity-obsessed culture they seem to be under increasing pressure to be slim, beautiful and able to sing and dance at a moments notice. You are expected to know about High School Musical, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Camp Rock (featuting that strange phenomenon known as The Jonas Brothers) or face being ostracised from your peer group. Thankfully, my daughter seems to be quite level-headed and sensible and has realised quite quickly that feigning interest can be just as acceptable (don’t tell anyone but she doesn’t actually like Miley Cyrus that much). She seems to have a huge group of friends and works hard to ensure that circle is maintained through choir, dance classes, musical instruments, gift and card giving, friendship bracelets, etc, etc.

My son on the other hand has fewer friends but it appears that his friendships are closer. Not being any good at football has had an impact, but thankfully there are many kindred spirits who are as au fait with the world of X-Box, Doctor Who and trench warfare as he is. Maybe this is a basic difference between girls and boys and I have wasted many hours trying to figure out a certain dichotomy that exists in that my daughter, the social butterfly with a wide circle of friends, finds it a lot more difficult to interact with people she doesn’t know than my son who doesn’t think twice about walking up to an unfamiliar child and striking up a conversation/friendship. If, as a family, we’re on a beach my son will make a friend within minutes and be off playing cricket with some another family’s children, whilst my daughter will take hours to build up the confidence to join in. Of course the answer is that it’s just human nature; we are all at the mercy of our own genetic make ups and maybe first-born children have that period on their own when they have to strike-up friendships? Second-born children always have the lead of their elder sibling to follow, which can perhaps result in a lack of confidence.

Of course the wearing of a mask or disguise can do wonders for your confidence and the little girl who came home from the party with a painted face & nails and purple hair extensions was a supremely confident individual. Unfortunately, it all washed off in the bath.

As for the image, I like the shallow depth of field with the eye and design in sharp focus and the hair and ear (and, thankfully, the purple hair extensions) becoming blurred in the background. I really must do more with this lens as I have been focussed more on wide open spaces (as the rest of this week will no doubt show) than intimate close ups. Comments are always welcome on any of my ramblings…

2010
02/08
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Runaground

Runaground, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

Was burning the midnight oil last night going through all the pictures I took on the mudflats of Thurstaton beach on The Wirral. As posted previously it was one of those days when things seemed to go right and I think I’ve got some really good shots. Unfortunately, following wrangling the kids into bed, cooking tea, eating tea (or dinner if you are poncey) watching ‘Mock The Week’ & The 10 o’clock News, I did not have much time to spend on the photos and didn’t get that far into them before I had to retire to bed. Of the few I have looked at so far I think that this is probably the best, but I am hoping that better are to come. It seems to me that whenever I go out with the camera my photographs tend to improve as the day progresses.

This could be for several reasons: it could be because it takes me a while to get warmed up; it could be because the light changes as the day progresses; it could be that I get ‘in the zone’ [apologies but couldn't think of a better way of expressing it]. Either way, the longer I take the better the pictures I seem to take. This picture was taken very early around mid afternoon but has the look of a picture taken much later. I’m not sure if its the cloud cover or the darkness of the mud (I can’t really call it sand as I was up to my knees in it and it was most definitely estuary mud). Luckily for me, although it was a rainy day it seemed to only rain on the other side of the estuary (ie in North Wales) and I have high hopes that some of my other photos will have captured this. Anyhow, I’ll be working on the rest of them this weekend with a view to uploading more and blogging about them next week.

I think that I like the ‘texture’ of this photo the mud is slimy, the boat is weathered and the clouds are fluffy. I also like the fact that the horizon seems to go on forever. This pictures was taken with my 10-20mm wide-angle lens and although it has been cropped it still has that cinematic sweep that you only get with a super wide angle. This lens has changed my photography so much, particularly my landscapes, that it has made me realise that sometimes it’s worth saving that little bit extra to pay for quality. Still no near getting that macro though; and I think a decent zoom might need to come first anyhow.

Speaking of cinematic [spot the seamless link] the Oscars were announced this week and I must admit to being underwhelmed. Whilst I can marvel at Avatar’s technical brilliance and appreciate why it’s my 9-year old son’s favourite film (100 out of 10 in case you are interested) it’s still Dances With Wolves in Space. I did really enjoy The Hurt Locker, particularly as I like films that ratchet the tension up to 11 but at the same time I found it impersonal with no female characters to connect to (unless you count a brief cameo by LOST’s Evangeline Lilly) and no real insight about what drives someone towards a career in bomb disposal. However, the biggest disappointment me for me was the best Actor nominations. Jeff Bridges probably will win (nominated 5 times before without winning); Colin Firth probably should win; Morgan Freeman’s accent slips too often for him to win; Jeremy Renner is great in The Hurt Locker but the role has little emotional clout – the character is too dulled by the horrors of war. George Clooney is brilliant in Up In The Air but isn’t he just playing George Clooney? The reason for my disappointment is that Sam Rockwell was not even nominated for Moon, possibly the best film I saw last year and certainly the best acting performance. Maybe it was too niche, too low budget, maybe the studio didn’t send out DVD screeners to the Academy voters; for whatever reason it’s a shame. Rockwell’s performance in Moon is a cut above all of those named previously. Get it on DVD and you’ll see what I mean. At least it’s Director Duncan ‘Zowie Bowie’ Jones has been BAFTA nominated…

I seem to have digressed again with that little rant but at least film is a linked discipline to photography. Comments as always are more than welcome. Until the next time…

2010
02/05
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One man and his dog (and Gormley)

Man and dog and Gormley, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

The more observant among you will have noticed that I changed the layout of the blog. One of the great things about WordPress (apologies for the shameless plug) is that idiots like me can construct a photoblog and get it up and running in seconds. This new theme is a bit more contemporary and, dare I say it, a bit more sexy; not to mention modern and shiny looking. Nearly a year ago, the pro photographer that I spent a day with urged me to start writing a blog or diary as it was the best way of tracking my progress. This was the result and, after only 9 and a bit months, it has already proved its worth in terms of generating interest and meeting new contacts.

One of the other new-fangled inventions that I use regularly is Twitter. Now Twitter is one of those things that you either ‘get’ or ‘don’t get’. I know many people who use it brilliantly to make people laugh (@serafinowicz, for example), to make people angry about the Daily Mail culture that we are now living in (@antonvowl, @uponnothing), to promote local businesses and things to do with the kids on a wet weekend (@didsburylife, @kidsguide, respectively). Twitter is a very powerful tool and there is also a thriving community of photographers using it to promote their blogs, point people towards their Flickr streams or just share photographs with friends. Yesterday I read a brilliant blog post on why photographers should use Twitter and you can read it here. Many thanks to @smashandpeas for the original blog post and @LightStalking for pointing me in its direction.

It is often said (and I am sure that its a sweeping generalisation) that young people don’t get Twitter; in fact I read recently that the average age of people that tweet is 31 which would seem to support this view. And while it is true there are a lot of ‘I am having my lunch’ or ‘I am sitting on the bus’ tweets there is also a lot of laughter, discussion, thought provocation, bubble pricking, truth-finding, channelled anger, political comment and, yes, really great photography. Twitter only works if you are focused on getting your message across as concisely as possible (there is a 140 character limit on all tweets) and have something interesting to say. People who say nothing apart from telling you what they have had for lunch are often cut loose (or unfollowed) and it is these people who think that Twitter doesn’t work, is pointless or will contend that it’s a passing fad. I myself must hold my hand up and say that I am guilty of tweeting the mundane but I try to be funny, witty and erudite most of the time.

The Twitterverse (sorry, but I couldn’t think of a better word) has real power; think about the political dissent in Iran – it is only via Twitter that we know that there is a young, switched-on, tech savvy generation of Iranians that do not agree with their political leaders on every issue; think about how Jan Moir of the Daily Mail was exposed as a homophobic bigot following Stephen Gately’s tragic death.

It is thanks to Twitter, or more importantly my friend @uncouthamerican, that I am in the position of framing some of my photos to hang in a small gallery space. This is proving to be a very difficult process as I just cannot decide what to include. I find myself changing my mind on an almost hourly basis. Pictures that my wife really likes I’m a bit less confident in and vice versa. Should I try and theme them or is an eclectic mix better? To try and help make the decision I asked friends on facebook to suggest their favourites but this didn’t really work either as everyone suggested different pictures and pictures that I hadn’t even considered. It seems that beauty or ugliness for that matter really is in the eye of the beholder and this was proved beyond doubt with the reaction to my lighthouse picture (the one where I was playing about with spot colour) which people either loved or hated.

Thankfully, there are a few pictures that everyone agrees on and this seems to be one (sorry I’ve taken so long to get to this point). It’s probably not the most striking of the pictures that I took in Crosby but it is probably the one I like the most. I think, and this is only a theory, that it’s the human element that lifts it. I took this picture on one of the coldest days of the Winter and although I was on Crosby beach for almost 3 hours saw barely a living soul apart from this man and his dog. Presumably a Crosby resident he must be as used to the Gormley statues now as if they have always been there. And while I, the visiting photographer, was marvelling at their beauty and power – especially when coupled with stunning winter skies – the dog walker shrugged his shoulders, pulled in his neck against the cold and carried on with his 4-legged friend. In other words, I think that I might have made a decision about one picture at least.

2010
02/03
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Hill view with fluffy white clouds

Hill view, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

It’s February already and today’s date 01/02/2010 is a palindrome (reads the same backwards as forwards) which must be a good sign. To be honest January went a bit too quickly for my liking although it was certainly eventful what with the extreme weather and the developments on the photography front. To recap, January saw acceptance of some of my images into a large photo library, a connection made through twitter that has lead to some exciting projects to get my teeth into and a gradual realisation that there are people out there who genuinely like what I do and who read the blog regularly. So results all round. I think therefore the key word for February is going to be ‘collaboration’ as may well be undertaking my first commissioned work this month. I also hope to press on with selecting and framing more pictures and have asked all my friends on facebook to select their favourites with a view to whittling the field down somewhat; however, as it’s all subjective I am getting some suggestions that I would not have contemplated myself.

Today’s picture is a landscape taken last week in leafy Cheshire. The great thing about my workplace being located in Bollington (despite the daily commute from Chester) is that it is only minutes away from the countryside. Last week was a very hectic one at work and sometimes the only way I have of escaping the stresses and strains of office life is to get out at lunchtime and take some pictures, no matter how few. When I took this picture I had in my mind that it was going to show that Spring is on its way – the sky is blue, the grass is green, the clouds are fluffy – but overnight it has snowed again and the temperature is back below zero; nevertheless I think it’s quite a nice picture, primarily because of the clouds.

Yesterday (Sunday 31st January) I managed to get out with the camera and headed for Thurstaton on the Dee Estuary. As usual I ended up taking loads of pictures and have got quite a good feeling about them as things seemed to go well; in fact the location, the lighting and the general vibe were very reminiscent of the Crosby beach shoot which probably ranks as one of my best so far. I have written in the past about how sometimes things just go right (or wrong depending on the frame of mind) but it has also been heartening that friends have suggested framing up some of my pictures from the shoot I did on the River Dee in Chester one early Saturday morning, a shoot (you may remember) in which, to my mind at least, almost everything went wrong.

In Thurstaton, despite wearing wellies, I ended up knee-deep in estuary mud and also covered in it so I hope the pictures are going to be worth it. I seem to be getting into the habit of getting wet, falling down holes and getting covered in sand/mud on a regular basis but like to think that this is helping to improve the photographs – some of my best pictures have been taken whilst going out on a limb, dangling precariously or knee deep in water, so much so that my wife has suggested buying me some fisherman’s waders for my birthday or maybe that’s a fetish thing ;-)

I often ask myself ‘what am I trying to achieve in my photography?’ and I suppose the answer is simple: either to capture things and places that have probably never been captured before or to make the familiar seem fresh/unfamiliar. Whether I am succeeding or not I will leave up to you good people

2010
02/01
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Your name in lights

Your name in lights, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

More of a fun post today, although I am well aware that this could be construed as shorthand for ‘that photo’s a bit rubbish. The ‘fun’ part comes in the form of my new photographic assistant, Mia (7 and a half – that half is very important) and the fact that this is my very first attempt at ‘light painting’. When done well this is a photographic technique that can yield some truly stunning results and I have always wanted to have a go at it. I suppose that light painting correlates quite strongly with actual painting in that you need a steady hand and an artistic flourish, which I simply don’t have. But hey, at least I gave it a go and as a first attempt it’s OK.

So, on to the explanation… Most SLR’s have a ‘bulb’ mode which means that you can open the shutter for as long as you like. Of course, for light painting it needs to be dark so you shouldn’t even attempt it without a tripod for keeping the camera perfectly still and a remote shutter release. Basically, you take a really long exposure in bulb mode (this one was about 50 seconds)  and using a light source (here, an orange carrier bag elastic-banded over the end of a torch) you can move about and ‘paint’ with the light source. Here, my glamorous assistant attempted to stay still for the allotted 50 seconds (a miracle in itself) whilst I traced her outline and then wrote her name above her head. Because of the long exposure, the ‘painter’ (ie me in this case) does not have time to register on the camera sensor, but only as long as he/she keeps moving. I suppose the other thing to mention is that it EATS battery power like no tomorrow, so if you are going to attempt it keep a spare battery handy…

And with that I have ticked another technique of my list. Admittedly, it’s somewhat crude and the picture isn’t that great but it was certainly fun playing about…

2010
01/26
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Full steam ahead

Glastonbury steam boats3, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

Hi there readers, it’s another post from your friendly neighbourhood photo blogger. Cutting to the chase, I need to apologise because this is an old photo; not that old you understand (it’s from June of last year) but old in terms of how far I’ve come. I really agonised about what to blog about today; writing this blog is undoubtedly one of the hardest things I’ve done because I thought I might paint myself into a corner. I mean there is only so much you can write about photography and photographs isn’t there? Which is my my posts tend to ramble and go off topic slightly.

Until yesterday, I thought that my ramblings did not reach beyond friends on Facebook, family members and the odd poor soul that wandered in unannounced from Google but I have been proved happily wrong. Last night I met up with some very kind people from Didsbury-based WeAreLifeUK who had read this blog after a friend of mine retweeted one of my posts on Twitter (Diana aka @uncouthamerican, I owe you a drink, as well as that print that you have asked for). It was strange to meet people I don’t know that a) not only read this blog, but b) actually enjoy reading it, like my photos and, furthermore, would like me to maybe do some photography work with them – starting with a mini exhibition in their Didsbury office. This has really blown me away. Of course I give thanks to all those very good friends, you know who you are, that have said positive things about my photos and supported me through the crippling self doubt that has occasionally surfaced. Who knows what will come of this meeting but it feels like a step in the right direction.

So, in other words, I might soon have some other things to waffle on about. In other news I have also been asked to photograph a friend’s sister’s wedding which is taking place in Devon in June. Thankfully, they have hired a professional wedding photographer to get all the family shots, etc so I have a roaming brief to capture the other things that are going on. Which sort of leads me to this photo… The wedding idea was first mentioned last November but as I hadn’t heard anything I thought the bride had quite rightly thought ‘no I don’t want some amateur idiot ruining my big day’. But again I was wrong. Over Xmas my friend showed her sister some of my Glastonbury images on Flickr and they convinced her that maybe I could do it. I’m already looking forward to it as it means that I will be able to practice my portraiture in an arena where people are expecting to have their picture taken; also it will let me be creative without having to shoulder the huge responsibility of being the official wedding photographer.

So this is a Glastonbury photo. And why this one? I think because it’s intimate (this was a tiny stall selling candle-powered steam boats), it’s colourful and it’s not your typical Glastonbury photo. Hopefully I can bring the same intimacy to any new projects that arise this year.

Of late I seem to have concentrated of late on wide open spaces, landscapes, etc and a lot of this is due to the hours that I have spent playing with my wide angle lens. This photo serves as a reminder that I can do small and intimate, that I can do depth of field and that I have other lenses in my camera bag that I should use more often.

Finally, I need to take more photographs. Always difficult with family commitments and even more so this weekend (son’s 9th birthday party and dad’s 70th). Also, the weekends are taken up with swimming lessons, rock school and other extra-curricular activities the likes of which just didn’t exist when I was a kid. In these modern times when your children can’t disappear outside for the whole day (as I did growing up in the 70s) most interaction with their peers comes from other, organised activities. I suppose I’m jealous really. My son is growing up learning how to play the guitar and the drums, my daughter is learning jazz and tap dance. But then again I had long, hot summers, bike rides for miles, jumpers for goalposts, scrumping for apples, throwing stones at greenhouses and setting fire to the railway embankment. See, I’ve wandered off again…

2010
01/22
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There is a light

God light, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

OK, so my last post was quite divisive. Some people really liked the manipulated lighthouse picture (my wife included who is thinking of putting a print in the bathroom) and some people didn’t. Unfortunately, the ‘didn’t’ included a friend who is a professional photographer, his opinion being that spot colour should be illegal. Some you win, some you lose [secretly I still like it though but don't tell him].

So I am stepping away from the digital paintbox today and heading back into the arena of pure, unadulterated photography. This picture was taken on Crosby beach, Merseyside during the same shoot as all the Anthony Gormley pictures. It serves to show that even though ‘Another Place’ is undoubtedly impressive it can’t hold a candle to the natural world. After working my way out from the shoreline to those statues that were only revealed when the tide went out it was a long walk back to where I parked the car. As it became too dark and my second camera battery began to reach critically low levels this brief break in the clouds let through some fading light and I was able to get this shot.

In my opinion seascapes can be just as rewarding as landscapes and I really like this picture; certainly it’s composed quite well – the eye is drawn towards the light by the reflected clouds and the pole in the sand in the distance leads the eye out. Also, the light is great and although it’s not a particularly colourful image I do think it’s striking.

Not much else to say other than I hope you like it. In other news I am heading over to Didsbury in Manchester tonight to talk to some good people that like my photographs and more of my pictures have made it on to the Photolibrary Wales website. So, reason to be cheerful mostly. I have also entered some of the Crosby pictures in to the Renaissance Photoography Competition 2010 in the ‘Reflections’ category, so fingers crossed…

2010
01/21
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Playing around with spot colour

Lighthouse, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

Today has been a funny sort of day… I learned for the second year running that I have not been successful in the RHS photography competition. I am not disheartened, it’s a major competition open to professionals and amateurs and has 1000s of entries. It’s more a case of trying to figure out what the judges were after when making their final decisions. Looking at the winners and the runners up there are some very good pictures, but at the same time I feel that, knowing what I entered, some of mine were just as good. Am I being big headed? Probably, but regular readers will know that that’s unusual for me; self-doubt is my usual default mode. Last year, one of my unsuccessful images was picked up as a greetings card so you never know…

As a flip side to this, today is the day that some of my pictures went live on the Photolibrary Wales web site. Of course, it’s very early days but if people start using them then it will become a handy source of income to fund the photography. So the usual swings and roundabouts as far as my photography career goes. But this success begs another question – as I am listed as a ‘photographer’ on this website does this mean I can drop the amateur prefix? Maybe the blog should be renamed ‘confessions of a non-professional photographer’ or does that make me sound rubbish. Amateur for me means that I don’t make any money from my photography; it’s a hobby that I love but I still have a day job that pays the bills, clothes the children, etc, etc. So by that definition I am certainly still an amateur. But am I in term of technique? To be honest, I am unqualified to judge. I know I am getting better, I know that I am not about 75% along the road in terms of what my camera can do and it’s limitations. So does that mean I am no longer an amateur? Is the word ‘amateur’ a tacit admission of defeat? Answers on a postcard please. Until I have sold an image, managed a commission or been hung in a gallery I think I will keep things as they are but I would be interested in hearing any views on when one ceases to become a beginner and moves up to the next (intermediate, semi-pro?) level.

As refereed to on a previous post, a design agency from Manchester approached me recently to say how much they liked my photos; furthermore their e-mail said that my pictures were better that some of those they had seen from ’so-called professional photographers, which I take to mean photographers that are paid for their work. This sort of feedback is very heartening and makes me think that I am doing something right. 18 days into 2010 and I have made some inroads into turning my photography into something that is more than just a hobby. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that has helped, supported and encouraged me thus far. Thanks for reading, its very much appreciated.

Oh, almost forgot today’s photograph. It’s a subject that you have seen before but as I was unable to get out this weekend to take any pictures (my long-suffering family finally putting their collective feet down) I was restricted to a couple of hours messing about in Photoshop. I am not a Photoshop expert and have had no training (something else on the list for this year) but I have a few basic skills based on magazine tutorials, asking questions at work & trial and error at home. Now don’t get me wrong I know that highlighting areas of colour in a black and white photo has been done to death and can sometimes be a bit tiresome (a certain high-street portrait photographer seems to be unable to do anything else) but with my limited skills it’s a major achievement. And sometimes, done subtly, it can turn out OK. Hopefully, this is the case here but I will leave you to judge if I have been successful or not.

Obviously, it’s one of my lighthouse pictures but with a black and white filter applied (high-contrast red) and the colour retained on the lighthouse itself. The filter serves to highlight the footprints, which got a bit lost in the original colour photograph. Comments welcome as always

2010
01/18
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Among my swan

Dee swans, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

Have not had much time to blog of late as work has kicked back in so this will probably be a short place-holding post until the weekend. This is another of the pictures that I took last Saturday that I am happy with. I actually really like wildlife photography but being a city dweller have not had much opportunity besides bugs and insects in the garden and the occasional bird. It’s something that I intend to do more of but it’s a skill that takes practice, patience and a really decent zoom lens. I have a zoom lens but the motor is a bit shonky and it’s a bit difficult to get pictures with it as I keep having to manually adjust it. Top of the wish list then is now a decent zoom and a dedicated macro but who knows when I’ll be able to afford them?

In the spirit of proactivity I have entered some more competitions this week and I was also delighted to find out that a national photo library wants to licence 50+ of my images. Of course, this means nothing in itself; it’s all very well being accepted as good enough for inclusion but if the killer is if no-one buys your images. Still its a move in the right direction. Also, now the thaw appears to be in place I hope to get around to meeting up with that agency in Manchester I told you about.

So, to the picture. It’s of the same two swans that were sleeping in the previous post, their peace having been disturbed by a man in a motorised dinghy. I think its quite a nice shot with good perspective, a decent reflection – in the background you can see that the river is still frozen – and some subtle ripple effects. Hope you like it. And the blog post title? It’s an obscure music reference. There will be a prize for the first person to spot it without using Google or Wikipedia. Or then again maybe there won’t…

2010
01/14
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Sleeping swans

Sleeping swans, originally uploaded by Zardoz67.

So this weekend in the spirit of behaving like a proper photographer I got up very early on Saturday morning (6 AM as it happens) and headed off into town to try and get some pictures at that special time an hour before sunrise and just after. There was still snow on the ground and parts of the river were still frozen and I was emboldened by the great night’s photography I had experienced in the blizzard conditions of the previous Tuesday. Now, as regular readers will know, 2010 is the year of positive thinking but sometimes things just don’t go as planned. Don’t worry I am not going to descend into yet another pit of self-doubt but I got the general feeling on Saturday morning that something was not quite right.

Not sure what I can put it down to… the ungodliness of the hour, the freezing conditions, the pissed-offness of losing yet more lens caps; a slight miscalculation in lens choice and camera setting; yet try as I might I had the overwhelming feeling that things weren’t going too well. This was confirmed when I got home to discover that of 150+ photographs taken there were only 20 or so that I was remotely happy with. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t upset about this but, in the new spirit of positive thinking, I began to reason that surely 20 or so good photographs is better than no good photographs; after all, don’t professionals take reels and reels of pictures to get the shot they are after?

I do think that I have a tendency to be over critical of my own efforts and I have an annoying habit of considering every photograph I look at on other peoples’ photostreams on Flickr as being better than a single one of mine. I don’t know if this applies to other amateur photographers but when it comes to my own pictures I have difficulty seeing the wood from the trees; I find it very difficult to critically appraise my own pictures and I have lost track of the times that my wife has said ‘oh, that’s good’ just as I was about to hit the delete button.

This post is not meant to be negative, in fact far from it – it simply serves to recognize (at last) that sometimes I have good days and sometimes I have bad and that even the bad days can produce images that I am happy with… such as this one.

Taken very early Saturday morning, the sun not yet risen behind the houses on the other side of the river. The two swans were obviously fast asleep, on a river that was half frozen. I got a few good shots of them before a man disturbed their peace my motoring up river in a dinghy and breaking the ice. I like the light in this picture and the houses reflected in the water but most of all I like the swans, totally at peace, tranquil and mysterious. Comments on any of the above ramblings welcome as always

2010
01/11
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