Playground equipment in fresh snowGoalposts in fresh snow

Swings in fresh snowChildren's climbing frame in fresh snow

I love it when it snows, not just because I’m a big kid who enjoys throwing snowballs at his kids, but also because it can totally transform a scene. Lighting is more even thanks to the brighter foreground, structures (both natural and man-made) become isolated and it’s possible to wring some nice pastel shades out of the camera with the correct exposure.

Normally when it know its going to snow I’ll set the alarm and get up and out early but that wasn’t possible on the day that these were taken – ‘er indoors already had plans to go out – so the plan was for me to spend the day entertaining the kids whilst she went walking in the Peak District. Fortunately for me the kids were also excited by the prospect of playing in the snow so they were up at dawn and I managed to steer them in the direction of the park, having seen it covered in snow the year before and thinking that it might be worth a few shots.

We were the first people to arrive so there was not the slightest footprint in the snow and fortunately for me the kids were so engrossed in throwing snowballs at each other that they forgot to a) thrown any at me and b) deliberately try to spoil my shots.

Selected images available for licensing on Alamy

A print from this series can be purchased at photo4me. Other prints/prices available on request.

Sunlit sunflower against a blue sky

One of the first images from my first digital camera – back in November 2008. I don’t take many pictures of flowers – I should probably try more often.

Available for licensing on Getty Images

Whitesand Bay, Sennen Cove, Penzance, Cornwall

Conventional wisdom might say we picked the wrong week to go on holiday – one and half days of sunshine out of seven – but fortunately dragging the kids up hills in all weathers has made them pretty hardy and they seem to appreciate any time whatsoever that we can get to the beach. For me, bad weather is more interesting than blue skies, just so long as it’s not too wet to get the camera out.

My eldest makes a rare appearance here – I’d spotted the flag and him walking along the beach so I wandered ahead and waited for him to walk by.

Available for licensing on Getty Images

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

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