Just Before Dawn

Well I decided that rather than working that I would sneak off and get my camera out in an attempt to try and get some nice night time pics. I only had about half an hour before it got light so started off with the bridge,it is one of my favourites and I always seem to get at least one decent picture out of it. I did venture out onto one of the landing stages to take this pic and very nearly fell into the river.



After I had played around by the river for a bit I thought I would head towards the Town Hall but only got as far as this street as it had started to get light so decided that I would take a pic with cobbles in it. The picture turned out fairly reasonably but I have to say I personally prefer the bridge one.



I also took a couple of pics of the suspension bridge which I am not sure about yet, I cannot decide whether I really like them or not. Still I think my little exercise in low light photography was a success just because of the picture of the bridge.

Back to Education

Well for the first time in 24 years I am about to go back into the classroom. I have decided that I need a little bit of help with my photography and photoshop skills so have signed up to do a college course. I start my course tomorrow night and am a little bit nervous and also quite looking forward to it at the same time.
I have been learning about photography and photoshop by reading books,reading a few online forums and tutorials and also a lot of trial and error.I think that without some hands on tutoring I have probably gone as far as I can on my own.I think that I am reasonably competent but don`t really have a benchmark to set myself against so will hopefully find out on this course whether I have learned as much as I think I have.
I have a few things that I feel I need a little bit of help with so hopefully I will be able to find the answers on this course.I intend on keeping this blog a bit more up to date in the future too so I can have a sort of timeline to my studies.

"Proper" Stock Photography !

Well it`s been quite a while since I have even had time to post anything on here never mind take any new photos as I have been rather busy doing other things.Still in the last few days I have managed to make a lightbox and also get out with my camera around town and take a few pics of one thing and another.

So first of all these are just 3 of the lightbox pics I took the other day which have been submitted and accepted onto the various stock sites I subscribe to.I had real trouble with the trumpet as no matter which way I tried to photograph it I ended up with reflections I didn`t want.I have quite a few more that I intend to submiy once I have the time to process them.If I am completely honest though I am not sure whether this is the type of photography I want to spend a lot of time doing as without the correct equipment I find it really difficult to get the white balance etc spot on.Maybe I will invest in some proper studio lights and see how I get on with them.

I also have a selection of pictures that were taken on a nice sunny day around town including a few of the old black and white Tudor buildings which seem to be on every corner.They can wait for my next post though which I hope won`t be too long.

Self Portraits

I have not really had time lately to do much with my photography but seeing as how we have had such appalling weather lately I decided that I would try and get the hang of off camera flash.I knew that my D200 had the commander mode and that I could actually do it but as usual I only read the instruction manual when I cannot work out myself how something works.
Anyway earlier today I was playing around with the flash and the effects that moving it around had on my pictures and came up with this self portrait,which I then played around with in photshop to give me the other versions.
I am by no means a master of photoshop but I can do a few basics and am pleased with the end results.

Flowers in The Rain

As it was raining all day today I couldn`t really go far with my camera because I didn`t want to get it or me soaking wet through,I was out in the garden at my mums when I saw this Dahlia all covered in raindrops and thought it would make a nice picture so got my camera out of the car and took a couple of pictures.I like the way the rain reflects the light but I think the pictures could be a little bit sharper.I do like them though and think that for my first try at this kind of picture they look reasonably good.

The Fast and the Furious.

Today we went for a walk in the countryside of Cheshire with some of the family.Thomas my nephew was more than willing to be a model for these pictures which involved him running and jumping over a big mound so I could take some shots on continuous mode with these results in mind.I am sure he had fun but was very tired by the time we finished.The results were very good and I am really happy with how these pictures have turned out and am sure that at least one of them will end up being hung on a wall by at least one of the family.

Roman Ruins of Chester

I decided the other day to have a walk around Chester and visit all the places I never usually bother to go,I am interested in the history of Chester and there are many really interesting relics from the past that you can find without too much effort.I must admit however that most of the historical sites in Chester tend to pass me by as living here you tend to take it all for granted.So for once I thought I would have a look from a tourist point of view and take a few pictures on the way.These Roman stones can be found in the Roman Garden situated between the Ampitheatre and the City Walls.







These are just a few of the Roman artifacts that can be found all around Chester and I wonder whether anything we make today will still be around in 2000 years,somehow I don`t think so !!

Swans In Love

Whilst out walking along the river today I came across this swan just gracefully floating along with the idea in my mind that swans are beautiful things I decided to take a few pictures.This one turned out particularly well and I decided to have a play around with it in Photoshop.I have seen this particular idea done somewhere before and thought I would give it a go and see how I got on.Whilst my Photoshop skills are somewhat limited I do think the final result is not too bad,I have submitted this picture to the carious stock sites and wait with baited breath to see whether it will be accepted and make any sales.

Just Trees

When I say just trees I don,t mean just any old tree but one of the oldest trees in England the Oak tree.I don`t know what it is about these trees but I think they always look quite good.It makes me think when I realise how old they are and what has passed them by in terms of the landscape and how it must have changed whilst the trees have been growing.
This particular tree can be found in a field in a small village in Cheshire and although you can see it has been in the wars slightly it has no doubt outlived many generations of residents.

Car Crash

Driving along last night whilst working I came round a bend to find a car on its roof,as it had only just happened the driver was still in the car in a funny position so myself and a truck driver who was right behind me smashed one of the back windows in the car to make sure he was ok whilst we waited for the emergency services.The police were on scene almost immediately and checked that the driver was ok and managed to get a response from him.After a few more minutes the ambulance arrived and the driver was a bit more responsive once all the services were there we were in the way so moved back and let them get on with the job,after about five more minutes to my surprise the driver stood up and walked to the ambulance.I think it was his lucky night !!!

Industrial Stuff

Went for a wander around Ellesmere Port today looking for some photo opportunities.First of all while on the way there I stopped and took a few shots of the motorway and thought that one in particular looked quite good.I went into one of the industrial estates and saw the Carbon factory which looked like it would make a reasonable pic and turned out quite well.I also went down by the river near the boat museum in the hope of finding a big cargo ship coming up the river and all I could find was this little boat being unloaded.After
I have also sorted out some of the settings on my D200 now and am getting my pictures a little bit sharper.It is also giving me a bit more picture so I can be more creative with my cropping.I took my D50 out later in the afternoon and can really notice the difference in quality.

D200 The Next Installment

Well I have just got back from an afternoon walk with Tigger in the fields to try out some of the new settings I have saved to my Nikon D200If I am really honest then it is a lot more complex than I expected it to be and I am having a trouble getting it to do exactly what I want it to.I guess its my own fault as I was just about getting the hang of my D50 and then I went and changed it.Still it is early days and I am not planning on buying another one for a while so I will have plenty of time to get my head round it (I hope).I was shooting on the settings that I loaded for action shots with continuous focus and I seem to have caught Tigger in mid air again so things are not all bad.

First Pics with D200

So I have finally managed to buy my Nikon D200 and have been out to the river with my dog Tigger,he is an English Springer Spaniel who is just so full of energy you would not believe it.Every time I take him out with my camera he manages to do something worthy of a picture or two.I have previously managed to capture some action shots with my older D50 but it was nowhere near as fast as my new D200.This picture has been compiled from four different pictures taken in a high speed burst which I have stitched together in photoshop.I think it looks quite good.I still need to read the instruction manual a bit more though because when I shoot in RAW the pictures just don`t seem as sharp.I have got a spread sheet from the Nikonians website with lots of custom settings so I will try some of those and see how I get on.

Going Ape In The Trees

Well what an experience,spent the evening swinging through the trees in Delamere Forest on a high rope bridge ,swing and zip wire course tonight.
Although you have a safety harness it still makes your stomach churn here or there.The whole course takes about 3 hours to complete including a safety talk.I t is quite a physical activity and I am feeling a bit tender in places today.The worst part was one of the Tarzan swings which had quite a drop off the platform.Apart from that it was a good night and I may even go again at some point.
Not sure whether I would take the camera with me though as even though I got some great pics it was a burden to carry around.

Tigger In The Sun

Tigger seems to be the focus for my lens more than anything else,he almost seems to know that I am taking his picture and starts to pose now.. He was a bit more laid back today compared to how he was at the beach and this enabled me to get a few candid shots with him lying down on the grass.
I picked up my new D200 today so I expect I will be posting some more action shots before long,I just need to figure out how it works.

Pictures From The Beach

I got a bit bored taking my dog tigger to the usual haunts so deicided to take him to the beach for a change.Managed to get a few good pictures whilst I was there using my D50 and nikkor 50mm f1.8.

Going up in Flames

For most people in the stock photography world reaching 100 downloads is not a massive achievement,for me however it is my first picture to get any flames ( as soon as you reach 100 downloads on istock you get a flame to show how hot your pic is).
I realise that if you are a really good photographer then getting flames on your pictures is likely to be a more regular occurrence.Hopefully as time goes by then more of my images will collect flames whilst at the same time earning money for me.
I must say however that this image was rejected by shutterstock for being badly cropped so was a bit of a surprise when it sold so well over on istock.


















If I had to choose which picture of mine I thought would sell more than any other then it would be this one which is doing quite well but not at 100 yet.

Latest Approved Photo

This is actually a photo would you believe of a real snakeskin which was lying on a table in the museum,as soon as I saw it I thought that it would make a good background.I have submitted it to all the various stock sites that I subscribe to and up to now it has been accepted at Shutterstock,I will have to wait and see whether it gets approved anywhere else.

Welcome to my Blog

This is my first post as I try to get the hang of this blogging thing.Not only am I trying to get the hang of all this html etc but I am at the same time trying to learn how to master my camera and create some pictures that I can be proud of.

I am not a complete novice with regard to photography as I have owned a Digital SLR for the last year,in which time I have started to submit some of my pictures to various stock photography sites in the hope of making enough money to fund the next piece of kit I purchase.

I currently submit my pictures to 6 different stock photography sites of which only 2 have actually earned me any money worth talking about.