Andy

Tree, Win Hill

b&w, landscape, trees 1 Response »
Apr 282011

Tree, Win Hill, Derbyshire

Whilst getting to choose your own wages is probably the best thing about working for yourself, being able to escape to do something fun when the workload isn’t too hectic comes a very close second. On one such less than hectic day Dan and I decided a trip to the Peak District would be the best use of our time and arranged to meet up with Al Brydon for a moderately paced photographers stumble up and around Win Hill.

This was taken towards the end of the walk, as the sun was disappearing behind cloud and the general mist that had been present all day.

This work is available at redbubble along with selected others

If moody pictures of trees (and moody pictures not of trees) are your thing then you’d do well to check out Al’s Holgascapes book or his work on Etsy. He’s too good – I hate him.

Posted by Andy at 6:34 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

Frosty Morning In Watermead Park

landscape, stock images, sunrises No Responses »
Feb 232011

Frosty Morning In Watermead Park

A shot from the last significantly cold morning so far this year, in late January. It’s seemed so wet and mild for the past few weeks, which no doubt will please many people as it perhaps signals the approach of spring, but I like cold mornings with comparatively late sunrises.

I usually photograph these trees from the other side of the lake but I was looking for something different this morning – the light hitting the frost on the fence and the shadow covering the path caught my eye.

Available for licensing on Getty Images

Posted by Andy at 12:39 am Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Tree in Cressbrook Dale

b&w, trees No Responses »
Feb 202011

Tree in Cressbrook Dale

Not many blog posts recently – not because of lack of enthusiasm but due to lack of time. Unfortunately earning money has to come before gallivanting around the countryside in all weathers (most of the time)

This shot was taken on a Sunday afternoon walk around Cressbrook Dale in early January with the talented and extremely pleasant Mr Al Brydon (http://www.albrydonphotography.co.uk/ or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Al-Brydon-Photography/329360448276)

I’m often tempted to try and fit all the subject into a shot, but since I took a break from using the wide angle lens I’ve been concentrating more on using longer focal lengths (40-50mm) and trying to crop scenes to make the most of interesting light and detail. Here I liked the curve made by the tree and its shadow, how the winding path filled up the left of the frame and how the branches on the left of the tree extended to fill the sky.

This work is available at redbubble.

Posted by Andy at 10:53 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Fallen Tree

landscape, trees, water No Responses »
Feb 022011

Fallen Tree

No matter how many times I visit this location I always seem to find something new, or a slightly different variation on past themes. I guess part of that is down to making sure I leave a couple of months between visits, so each time it looks slightly different – if I go anywhere too regularly I just end up with infinite variations of the same shot.

A simple shot, taken minutes before the sun disappeared over the horizon behind me, trying to make the most of the great light and the extraordinarily still water.

Purchase print at redbubble

Posted by Andy at 11:30 pm Tagged with: , , ,

One Of The Last Days Of Autumn

landscape, trees, water No Responses »
Dec 282010

One Of The Last Days Of Autumn, Watermead Park

Watermead Park, while there were still leaves on the trees. Seems like a long time ago now, but it was taken just a couple of days before the first snows and winter arrived.

As the sun was setting around 4pm and the weather had been reasonably dry I’d been postponing my lunchbreaks and taking them later in the day so that I could cycle around Watermead Park in the hour before sunset. This mix of light stopped me in my tracks and was the first of a number of shots I took this afternoon, before the light faded.

Purchase print at redbubble

Posted by Andy at 6:15 pm Tagged with: , , , , ,

Ancient Tree At Dawn

landscape, stock images, trees No Responses »
Nov 192010

Ancient Tree At Dawn, Bradgate Park

No matter what time in the morning I get to the park (on the mornings I can bear to drag myself out early), I always seem to be at this spot not long after the sun has come up. The low light often looks so good on the gnarly textures of this old tree that I have to stop and get a couple of shots.

This image and a number of others are available for licencing on Getty Images

Posted by Andy at 11:27 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Sunrise at Cossington South Lakes

filters, sunrises No Responses »
Oct 312010

Another evening by the water in Cossington

The morning I took this photograph was the first time I’d managed to get over the stumbling block of getting up really early to take photographs. Winter isn’t so bad – getting up at 6:30am in order to be ready for 7:30 sunrise seemed hard at the time, but when your alarm goes off at 3:30 it’s a bit of a shock. This morning though I had a reason to get up – I’d had some Lee Filters on order for nearly 3 months and they had finally arrived so I was keen to try them out.

The old Cokin set I’d used previously weren’t a great deal of use on my new lens – the filter holder was visible right up to 24mm and I’d become too aware of (and fed up of working around) the purple colour cast they produced.

Anyway, luckily for me I was treated to a pretty sunrise that day – if it had been overcast I might never have bothered again, and I would have missed so many relaxing mornings wandering about in the countryside. Now it seems to be an addiction.

Purchase print at redbubble

Posted by Andy at 10:21 pm Tagged with: , , ,

From the summit of Bowfell

landscape No Responses »
Sep 272010

From the summit of Bowfell

Taken during a weekend in the Lake District with friends. I’ve always loved the Lake District but since becoming interested in photography I have grown to like it more and more each time with every visit. I wish the rest of my family shared my enthusiasm – they seem to find it a little too wet though unfortunately.

The sun wasn’t really in a favourable position for this shot, and the composition reflects this – I kept the sun well above the top of the frame to get the best exposure possible. As I was concious of how difficult a shot this was going to be to get right, given the extremes of light, I only rattled off one shot – I also wasn’t helped by the 5D LCD being almost impossible to review shots on in daylight. Fortunately though the camera was more than capable :)

Purchase print at redbubble

Posted by Andy at 6:19 pm Tagged with: ,

Rainbow

landscape No Responses »
Sep 132010

Rainbow

Something a bit different today. As a landscape photographer I spend so much of my time trying to take photos that have a large depth of field and worrying (or at least thinking) about whether all parts of the image are as sharp as they could be.

Often though I get really bored of this – the more practice you get, the more robotic the process of taking photos can become – so occasionally I like to stick one of my cheap prime (fixed focal length) lenses on and use them wide-open (at their widest aperture/lowest f-number) or thereabouts.

Whereas shots with a large depth of field can end up leaving nothing to the imagination, a shallow depth of field can make an image about something totally different – about the light, colours or textures.

Purchase print at redbubble

The shot above was taken using the Canon 24mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon 5D. The 24mm is perhaps my favourite lens – I don’t use it anywhere near as much as I should, but it always makes me happy. Using it wide-open (at f/2.8) on the full-frame camera gives such heavy vignetting – something that some people try their best to avoid, and others spend time trying to recreate, but I think if you know when to expect it (it’s generally gone by f/8) you can use it to your advantage.

Canon EF 24mm f/2.8

Above, the Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 – old, clunky, no full-time focus, and not the quietest motor in the world – but great value for money, especially considering just how cheap you can pick one of these up for on ebay.

Reviews

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/canon-ef-24mm-f-2.8-lens-review.aspx
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=21&sort=7&thecat=2

Posted by Andy at 11:26 pm Tagged with: , ,

Daybreak in Bradgate Park

landscape, sunrises 2 Responses »
Sep 082010

Daybreak in Bradgate Park

Recently I decided I was going to make the effort to get up early a bit more often. I like going out in the evening, but timing my trips out to make the most of the best light was getting increasingly difficult with the needs of the rest of the family to consider.

I had no real idea about where I was going to go, but after looking at Google Maps and checking http://www.gaisma.com/en/ to see where and when the sun was going to rise I decided on Bradgate Park. I have a few shots that I like from here, but I never really felt like I’d seen it in the best light.

I made three trips there in the end, and the conditions were different each time – one morning of low lying mist, one morning clear and one foggy. This was taken on the second morning, which was mostly bright and clear, but for a small amount of mist.

I have taken pictures of this stream (the River Lin) in the past but they were all taken before I really started to learn what I was doing and were dreadful. For that reason I’ve always avoided this part of the park. The day before this was taken though I’d seen mist rising from here as the sun hit the cold water so had made a note to wait for the sunrise here. Conditions were different though and I didn’t get the misty stream, but the light on the water caught my eye so I set up here and waited for a gap in the passing cyclists and early morning dog walkers :)

Purchase print at RedBubble

Posted by Andy at 5:13 pm Tagged with: , , ,
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