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Blog 55 - Happy New Year 2019! January 2019 where did 2018 go, I had good year with photography in 2018 visited many places throughout the UK and some bucket list places did get ticked off, some great experiences from places I visited, it was year I picked up a new camera D500 and have to say very pleased with it and I was shortlisted for the British Photography Awards. “Review” I like to look at my 2018 images at the end of the year and pick my best 12 but also look at ones that didn’t work as well, doing this will often help you improve, it could be location / composition wasn’t correct or the light a sunrise would have worked instead of a sunset etc I find this very therapeutic and also a mental note of places i want to visit again. “Printing” is a must I did Print a lot of my 2018 images and will continue to do this as you really do feel satisfied once you hold the print in your hands and the memories of that shot come back to you. I have for the second year produced calendar which is great to look at monthly and makes you look at image for whole month and it really makes you think how I could have taken the image differently. “Software”I use Adobe Lightroom for the very good asset management of my photographs and of course to edit the RAW images but It's easy enough to keep using software the same old way even after an update, especially if you choose to auto-update the software you often don’t even realise what’s the new features etc so i’m going to push myself in learning a lot more with the Lightroom / photoshop suite. “Gear” I like gear as everyone will say it dose not matter what camera you use or how much it costs etc, but i still like gear I have camera I’m very happy with and my lenses are ok, my drone is ok but at the moment I am thinking no purchase of gear for me in 2019 I do actually have everything i want! its a first for me, but my goal for this year is no gear. “Stock” photography in 2018 been good, Shutterstock my images work well, then Adobe and Getty images just tick over, then other agency very little so need to explore other options and put the time into the ones that work. Video is something i didn’t get round to in 2018 so going to try a few ideas this year for stock. 2019 for me is open plan at the moment I will try and get a London trip in January and one of my goals is to photograph local this may be city / street photography or my local wood I would like to do a different motorsport this year and interested in photographing the DTM at Brands Hatch in August. and of course aerial photography new challenges with laws coming into effect in 2019 The most important thing is just to get out and enjoy. 
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Blog 54 - London V&A Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is a stunning building with old and new contemporary additions, from its early beginnings as a Museum of Manufactures in 1852, to the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1899, to today's state-of-the-art galleries, the Museum has constantly evolved in its collecting and public interpretation of art and design. This was just a few photos from having 1hr free, certainly not enough time even look at a the galleries, if you come into the museum down Exhibition Road entrance and you will see a real mix of modern and old architecture. Web site: https://www.vam.ac.uk Post Code: SW7 2RL Tube Station South Kensington Blog 53 - Birmingham Considering Birmingham is on my doorstep I tend to neglect photography here and its daft as really are some great places to shoot, not sure why but really struggle to see compositions in place I know very well or don’t know that well not sure which it is. So the Cube Birmingham was running a photo competition, and the final day was today, The Cube is a 25 storey mixed-use development in the centre of Birmingham. Designed by Ken Shuttleworth of Make Architects, it contains 135 flats, 111,500 square feet of offices, shops, a hotel and a 'skyline' restaurant. A good excuse to get the camera out on a cold Sunny Sunday so walked around Birmingham and got a few shots of the Cube and ended up grabbing a coffee and cake and felt better for a walk. It's good to get out and shoot with a subject in mind what but no other plans, you have to be a lot more creative but its fun. Blog 52 - London London is a just great place for photography ranging from beautiful and historical landmarks, great architectural exteriors, breathtaking views and lots of people. With London i always have a shot list that i want to get and today was no different i new with the limited time what tubes needed and where i had to get to. London Clapham Junction with i think the only underground with island style of platform so trains roll either side of you Tate gallery staircase just has to be photographed it has beautiful curves made out of raw concrete just art on its own from all angles looks good. Just outside the Tate you have the millennium bridge and of course St Pauls went for a slightly different angle and went down to the waters edge for this one Just a few street ones as i walked, always need a camera when visiting London Blog 51 - Marine Lake West Kirby Surrounded by water on three sides and with strong breezes from the Irish Sea, Wirral is a haven for "Windcatchers" and there is no more perfect place than West Kirby Marine Lake. Set on the very tip of the Peninsula with stunning views of the Welsh Hills and the Dee Estuary, this man-made saltwater lake has a lot photo opportunities, It is 52 acres in size, and has various jetties along two sides. The day i visited it was blowing an absolute storm the wind was one of the strongest I have stood in, the car park is on one side so you can just get out of your car and set up, which on this occasion I did exactly that. Storm clouds building and the sun was rising, incredible sky so with a 30 second exposure f/11, Iso 100 captured just one shot before the heavens opened Location: CH48 3HZ  Blog 50 - Birmingham Photography Festival The Photography Festival took place on Saturday 20th October at the Birmingham & Midland Institute in the city centre. The event incorporated a number of speakers, a panel discussion, there was time for attendees to put questions to each speaker. and bring along a photo for the pin up gallery. Must admit it was inspiring to hear from likes of Walter Rothwell with his street photography, Emma Case with her passion for wedding photography and many more a great day all down to the organisers that have been involved in photography in Birmingham for many years as the team behind IGers Birmingham. Fraser McGee, Beth Astington and Martin O’Callaghan For lots more information please visit the web site as hopefully more in 2019 https://birminghamphotographyfestival.co.uk/about/ Just a few shots from my lunchtime walk Blog 49 - Berlin I had a few hrs before a flight home from Berlin and the Autumn colour is stunning in this diverse city of old and new buildings is must place visit and will certainly come back for a city break and would probably choose the same time of the year. Managed to visit the Berlin wall and follow it through the city is incredible to think a wall was even put up, of course had to visit the 18th-century neoclassical monument of the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial built 2004 out of different sized grey pillars. Blog 48 - Ryton Pools Country Park Ryton Pools Country Park one mile south west of the village of Ryton on Dunsmore in Warwickshire, just outside Coventry. The park occupies an area of about 100 acres and contains four pools, the largest of which covers approximately 10 acres and “Instagram Coventry” had organised a meet on the Saturday afternoon, the weather was dull day and been raining all morning, but made the effort as was getting a little stir crazy at home looking out the window thinking a bit of fresh air was needed. Not many turned up approx six of us walked around and it was good to get out and walk it does world of good i must admit i just snapped a few shots as we walked and chatted about anything putting the world to rights, i like these type of events as it makes you look at something else you wouldn’t necessarily visit or go out and photograph. Visit @igerscoventry and @Igerswarwickshire for more information on instagram Blog 47 - Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills rise dramatically above the Severn Plain on the border of Herefordshire and Worcestershire and with great views and a free supply of natural spring water at the side of the road. The hilltops offer archaeological remains from many different time periods. The most iconic of which are the two large hillforts – Midsummer Hill (owned by the National Trust) and, one of the best examples of a hillfort in Britain - British Camp I can get there within the 1hr so it was sunrise i was aiming for and a good walk along the ridge is must and at this time of the day you are on your own, you have choice carparks around the hills, but some are expensive and only accept cash. Full details of carparks can be found on the trust website http://www.malvernhills.org.uk/visiting/parking/ Please be aware that taking off and landing a drone is only permitted with prior written agreement from the Trust. Its worth taking a long lens when on the hills as the fields below are magical as the sun hits the them Cornwall Lizard Peninsula Cornwall full of childhood memories and as an Adult with a young family, now returning with my Grandson to the beaches i played and to the ice cream shops, just a great thing to do, this part of Cornwall the villages are picture book perfect with tiny thatched cottages clinging together at the ends of the valley in coves where a small fleet of fishing boats catch fresh crab and lobster. Also i had planned a 2019 Calendar of Aerial shots around the coast of Cornwall, A lot went into the planning of this week, with the correct authorisations and take offs as this part of Cornwall has a lot of fast jets and helicopters from the large RNLI base at Culdrose, and have to say speaking directly to these guys at the tower is excellent and not an issue flying as long as you give the relevant flying area they gave me a timed slot to work in and once complete i phoned back to say i had completed, the only problem was the wind. every day for a week i had planned a sunrise and sunset shots so was up early but the wind beat me every time we had 50mph winds and gust of more, it died down now and again and managed a few outings but nothing i was happy with. A week went by and my shot list didn’t get done well and truly beaten by the weather. It wasn’t all bad as the rest of time was eating great pasties, cream teas and of corse Cornish ale at great pubs and walks and relax in great little cottage in the village of St Keverne, which also home to the great Roskilly Ice Cream even in blowing gales I will eat an Ice Cream |
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