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Plan B
Thu, Feb 11 2010 16:18
| Stock Photography, Northumberland
| Permalink
One thing that I have learnt over the last 10 years of pursuing photography as both a hobby and an income (has it really been 10 years since I had my first ever image published?), is that you should approach each shoot with an open mind and a willingness to employ a flexible approach to the subject should it be required. The last couple of days I have passed photographing various subjects throughout Northumberland, have once again reinforced the importance of having a Plan B.Yesterday my problems were with snow and the difficulties associated with hiking through it. My first plan had been to hike down the Breamish Valley within the National Park, with the goal of reaching a suitable viewpoint overlooking the Cheviot itself. My progress was slowed down by snow and I decided to work from a lower elevation in the valley to ensure that I could return to my parked car by dusk. The Cheviot had to wait but I turned my camera towards the valley and surrounding hills - returning home with a handful of memorable winter images.
With the promise of a good weather forecast, I left my house at 5.30AM this morning and drove north towards Ross Sands along the Northumberland Heritage Coast. Why can a promise from a weather forecaster never be 100% trusted! As I drove towards my destination, a large blanket of cloud started to appear on the horizon - and I started to get worried! As I reached Alnwick, I decided to use Plan B - Cullernose Point.
I reached Cullernose Point and I was delighted to see that the blanket of cloud had remained in the north - just. It was almost as if the point I was about to photograph was the divide between the cloud and the clear skies.
I had two minutes of exquisite light before the blanket of cloud finally obscured the rising sun as it steadily started to hug the north-east coast. I doubt that I would have even taken a photo this morning if I had not taken the decision to abandon my trip to Ross Sands. Plan B worked... and I returned home with one of my favourite images to date!
Blackpool Rocks
Tue, Nov 3 2009 13:57
| Stock Photography
| Permalink
There were a handful of obvious subjects which I needed to photograph, such as the tower and the pleasure beach, but I was also looking for alternative shots which captured the essence of this infamous resort.
The new Blackpool images are now online, follow this link to be taken directly to the seaside!
Highlands Revisited
Tue, Oct 13 2009 17:14
| Stock Photography, Scotland
| Permalink
So we have just returned from a family trip to the Isle of Skye and the Western Highlands, and for once the weather was on our side! As I was actually up in the highlands for a holiday, I had no intention of shooting loads of images. I did however religiously check the weather forecast and when the conditions were looking good, guess who was out of bed and up in the hills way before sunrise?
I have waited years to get a good shot of Rannoch Moor. My own requirements were quite high - I needed a good viewpoint, an interesting sky and fantastic light. Not a small order when you consider that it seems to rain whenever I visit the highlands!
But here it is. One of my favourite shots from a sunrise session last week. To be honest I was greeted by rain when I first arrived at Lochan an Stainge on Rannoch but I waited just in case. Then I started to see a break in the clouds and a sudden flash of light on the infamous Black Mount. What followed was a typical race against time to capture the image before the light disappeared. My 5D was already on the tripod with the filter holder in place on my 17-40mm Lens so it was simply a case of creating a composition which made the most of the light, placing a 3-stop hard grad in the holder, checking the focus, locking the mirror and then taking the shot.
The light lasted just 5 minutes before returning to the kind of weather I have grown to expect from the Scottish HIghlands!
Magic Happens
Wed, Apr 8 2009 19:08
| Stock Photography
| Permalink
Dramatic sky and Mount Oakleigh seen from New Pelion Hut on the Overland Track, Tasmania.
This image is just one of a sequence that I captured whilst hiking The Overland Track in Tasmania, Australia, in the spring of 2007. I am ashamed to admit that this image has remained as an unprocessed RAW file for nearly two years! Having a backlog of images to process is not an ideal situation although it does often mean that I am busy working on personal and commercial projects - which really can't be a bad thing.
I really thought that I had to show this image to the world.. finally! There is also an Overland Track Gallery over at www.jasonfriendimages.co.uk, should you like to see some more!
The Wet Highland Way
Wed, Oct 29 2008 07:28
| Stock Photography, Scotland, Hiking
| Permalink
If only this had been the case!
Anybody living in the north-west of England or western Scotland will tell you that the weather last week was horrendous, in fact even dangerous. We were greeted at Milngavie by high winds which quickly became rain. After two days of this we had a brief interlude (just to lull me into a false sense of security) before the rain started again with even stronger, gale force winds. There was snow on the peaks surrounding us on the walk, incredibly picturesque - just a shame that the winds were strong enough to blow both Lynette and myself over! 95 miles carrying a camera and tripod for a handful of shots is incredibly frustrating.
There is an upside to everything though. At least the Midges were not causing us any problems!
One year on - Images from the Dusky!
Tue, Apr 29 2008 14:20
| Stock Photography
| Permalink
Wow. It is hard to believe but it is a year to the day that Lynette and myself finished the grueling Dusky Track.
Traversing a distance of 84 kilometres through a remote area of the Fiordland National Park, part of the Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand World heritage Area, the Dusky track has gained its reputation as a challenging trail due to its terrain and the fact that large areas are prone to flooding. Believe me, this was not a simple walk in the park!
Coincidentally, I have just completed writing an article for a british photography magazine where I recall our experiences of walking the 'Dusky' and the processes involved to create some of my favourite images from the track.
But just in case you can't wait that long, I have uploaded a showcase of images from the track.
Click here to be transported to the Fiordland National Park and the infamous Dusky Track!
If only I could get back to Fiordland that quickly in real life!
