Even though it is February, the signs of spring appeared overnight with lots of sunshine, extended daylight, singing birds and the feeling of darkness that looms over my head in winter is fading.
Spring means a lot to me, it’s almost like enduring the winter is worth it just to appreciate the beginning of spring, to embrace new beginnings and live life in the moment.
The sunshine seems to have appeared at a significant time in my life, my career in both Marketing and Photography have recently taken a leap forwards. One thing that will be changing is my camera. My companion, the 500D has been sold and is going to be on it’s way to a new owner tomorrow. Today I took the chance to go out with it one last time and do a quick self-portraiture session. Seemed a fitting way to end my relationship with the camera as a lot of the experimenting I did was using myself as a subject, something which I find myself doing less of now. The beautiful sunshine evaded me behind clouds (cheeky), so I didn’t get some of that to-die-for natural light that I rave about but it was a nice morning nonetheless.
I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a full-frame, professional camera body for some time but I always knew it wasn’t affordable. More recently I’ve needed to push myself into making the step because I have planned shoots this year that I wouldn’t want to be without a 5D mk2 for. Having said this, I’m glad I spent so much time using my 500D, I feel as though I pushed what I could from it.
I’m always eager to try new things and venturing into wedding photography later this year is going to be one of them which I am really excited about. I’ve got two lined up at the moment with two really nice couples who really appreciate natural unposed portraits which fits in so perfectly with my shooting style. I’m looking forward to working with them and giving them some photographs that they can treasure.
This weekend I went to see some friends and their babies and cats. Taking photos of young children is something I’d only ever done a few times in the past, it’s very challenging for all of the obvious reasons. I got some nice photographs of Harry and Dylan this weekend, even though we were inside because it was raining and it was quite dark (acquiring a softbox is becoming essential). We are planning to do another shoot, maybe on a nicer day. I don’t ask of any of my subjects to pose but with kids you sometimes have to intervene to the point of getting them to be in the right place, facing the right way and keep them entertained. However, the photos in the post are completely natural, when I caught them off-guard.
Chasing kittens for a photo is equally fun. This kitten won me over, she was so playful and when she got tired she laid next to me, licking my hand before falling asleep.
All in all, a nice relaxing way to spend a saturday and take some casual photographs. I know there are a lot of parents that want photos of their young ones so if you are reading this and interested in a photoshoot that is not studio based, then please contact me.
The other thing I did this weekend was to put my camera and some other bits on sale. This means the long-awaited new camera will be entering my life pretty soon. Yey!
One of the best (and worst) things about good natural light is, it’s so difficult to find and utilise, especially in the colder months. You can plan to spend a day out taking photos or a great photoshoot in the woods, and the weather might totally ruin what you were aiming for. Of course you can use artificial light and editing technique to make the best of a bad situation, but for me nothing beats the excitement of finding perfect natural light and the results you can get from it.
This weekend I went along with my friend and bride to be Katie as she tried on wedding dresses. I’m going to be the photographer at her wedding so it was nice to be there as she found her perfect dress with the guidance of her bridesmaids and family.
When we left the shop I noticed some amazing light beaming down the street near the car park. It was one of those rare chances I didn’t want to miss so I grabbed one of the girls, Kym Sisson, and made her stand in the middle of the road for me. I got some really nice shots in between dodging oncoming traffic and after some light processing I had photographs that I was pleased with. I needed this!
Kym told me she rarely likes photographs of her that she didn’t take herself, but she actually does on this occasion. As a lot of my portraits are spontaneous, candid and unposed, the best thing about portraiture for me is definitely getting the thumbs up from your subjects. There is nothing better than making someone feel good about themselves because of the photo you took of them.
You know that point in your life when you realise the house you grew up in isn’t really your home anymore?
You feel like you can never get it back. It’s like you feel homesick for a place that doesn’t even exist. Maybe it’s like this rite of passage, you won’t ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself.
I am fortunate enough to have visited Norway twice in 2011. The first time during summer for five days where I got to go snorkeling by the skerries and sailing on the fjord, and then over Christmas where I experienced a traditional Norwegian Christmas with a wonderful family who welcomed us into their home.
Norway is absolutely breathtaking, the scenery is amazing, the people are amazing, and I only saw a small portion of what is an awesome country.
I stayed in Tvedestrand both times, on an island named Borøy. I also visited a “seaside village” in the summer called Lyngør, and a small city called Arendal in the winter which is where my friends Eivin & Gaya now reside.
I don’t really have to explain why Norway motivated me to pick up my camera, I hope the photographs speak for themselves.
