In retrospect

Now that 2010 is here, I've been thinking back on 2009 and there have been quite a few things that have happened for me, which have opened my eyes:

Workshop leaders learn something too

I always thought that being the leader of a photo workshop would mean that I would have to fill the role of the expert, but if anything, what I have learned is that workshops are a melting pot of ideas with people who see differently, work differently, and it's not just the participants on the trips that learn something.

I learn a lot too: some of it is an improve awareness of my own thought processes when making my own images. This has had a massive impact on my images and I feel my own compositions are getting more and more simplified. I'm unsure if this is a good thing as I believe very much in going with your gut feeling, but on the other hand, I'm pleased to see my photography moving on a bit.

But on each trip I've been on, I always find something new to take away with me.

Digital technology is improving at a pace

It's always hard to get a feel for how much things are changing and we always tend to rely on reviews of camera gea. One of the things I've found very interesting on the workshops is the access I get to new equipment and this year I have been stunned a few times by what is now capable with digital SLRs....

1. Dynamic Range is on the up. Yep, some of the cameras I've seen this year hardly need grad filters at times and I've had a few occasions where a scene I knew would not fit onto my trusty Velvia 50 film would more than easily be recorded on a digital camera without the need for grads. The Nikon D3 records 8.5 stops dynamic range while the new Leica M9 records around 10 stops I believe. The Phase One medium format digital backs are supposed to record somewhere around 13 stops of dynamic range.

2. Not all high end DSLR's are created equal, and comparisons between different manufacturers at the same price point does not often mean you get the same level of quality.

3. I love the new Nikons. I never thought I would say this, but if I were to go back to Digital at the moment (financially not possible and more importantly from where I feel I want to go - digital is not an avenue I wish to pursue), then the D700 or the D3 would be the camera I'd choose. The D3x would be more of a contender because it has a mask for composing in 5x4 aspect ratio, which is one of the reasons why I went back to my Mamiya 7. I'm sure this will stir those that are 'gear-heads', but the way I see it, digital technology moves on at a pace, and sometimes one Camera manufacturer is ahead of the others. For a long while, it was Canon, but over the past few years the Nikon's have really moved on. This of course, will change again. I have no time for the Canon vs Nikon debate. It's just equipment.

Photography is many things to many people

Well, this is not a new observation for me, but even so, I'm still amazed at what I've seen some of my participants shoot, how they like to shoot and what they find aesthetically pleasing. All this is great.... Photography should be an inspiring, enjoyable process that takes you somewhere - to a new reality in your mind.

A breath of fresh air

It's all so easy to become very staid.... to keep within the same comfort zones. This applies to our reading as well as our art. How many of us find new photography web sites each week? Or are we all just going back to the same select group of book marked sites?

It's very easy to start to see the web in a shrinking way, and to think that there are only a handful of photography sites worth visiting.

So today, I went over to see what David Alan Harvey is saying. He's got a great site where he frequently shows off the work of emerging photographers. Granted, the work is possibly not to your taste if you are strictly a landscape photographer. I love it though. My tastes over the past decade have moved from pure landscape to nocturnal photography and then onto photojournalism. The story, not just a pretty picture. I feel my sensibilities have been broadened by my venture into these realms. I'm certainly no photo-journalist.... but there is something wonderful about Harvey's work and something doubly more compelling about his site.

If you're in the market for seeing something that is not the usual bag of tricks (Ken Rockwell, Luminous Landscape, DPreview, Photo.net, Flickr, Nikonians.... etc, etc) then you can possibly do no worse than check out David's Burn Magazine.

Skye Portfolio

Well, I know this must seem like I'm pumping out the photos at the moment, but it's not often like that for me.

Skye Portfolio

So to get to the chase, here is a new portfolio from Skye.

There are often spells of what seem like 'inactivity' to others, but for me, it's actually the opposite - if you're seeing me on the blog a lot, it's because I'm not out shooting! And if you don't hear from me on my blog for a while - it's because, well, you know - I'm out there practicing what we all love to do when we get some time.

I was up in Skye about a week ago for 3 or 4 days. I'd booked another trusty camper van for the trip, and almost didn't go. So bad were the weather warnings and advice not to leave home unless it is absolutely necessary. So I went!

The weather was pretty mild, but the landscape was still arctic. For those of you know know Skye well, the river at Sligachan had around seven inches of ice on it. I wasn't quite sure sometimes if I was standing on the ice or firm ground while roaming with my camera.

Skye Workshop

So you won't be surprised that I'm now offering a workshop to Skye for this December (3-8). This trip is strictly limited to 4 people as I thought it would be nice to do a much more intimate group size. The hotel we will be staying at is not far away from the Storr, and caters for 5 people max.

As I type, it looks like there is now currently only 1 space left on this trip, so if you're interested in coming, email me for more details.

The Storr, Skye

I've just begun to process my images from my trip to Skye last week. It's strange to be back in Edinburgh, with the weather being very damp, grey and cold, instead of clear blue skies, crisp dry conditions and lots of snow.

Ok, so this is (part of) the famous Storr situated at the far northern tip of Skye. I had to use crampons and four season walking boots to get up here because the snow was so deep and icy in places too. This shot was taken in the evening. The sun in the winter is practically south, so as it turns out, being here in the morning or evening has pretty much the same effect - shooting into the sun. I got here a little bit late in the morning (trudging through snow waist deep in places, it robbed me of my time), so I didn't really have much of a chance to survey the landscape and make some good decisions. So I resolved to come back in the evening to shoot, now that I knew how difficult the terrain was to get around, and had already picked out a few spots for the evening shoot.

I've only processed a handful of images at the moment, but some of the films show some pretty crazy colours, courtesy of a polarizer used in a landscape where the ground is white and the sky is dark.... when you see the images I'm sure you're going to think I did something very strange to them.

Hope you enjoy this photo of the Storr.

Skye

I've just been spending the last week on the isle of Skye, again in a trusty camper van.

There is something quite liberating about a camper van. It means you can stop anywhere and be there for sunrise, or sunset, and if the weather isn't working in your favour, then you can always pop on the kettle and have a nice cup of tea (I'm British, that's what us British people do - we love boiled water in copious quantities).

Having said all that, I find spending a week or so, anywhere, on my own - a bit too much. So this time I brought a pile of Audio books. Some were great (thanks Bill Bryson for your humour and company).

So what was Skye like this January?

Well, I parked below the magnificent Storr landscape and trekked up there early one morning. I did however have to use crampons and four season walking boots to get there. Icy, perhaps three feet of snow in places, it was hard going, but well worth getting there.

The only issue I have with Skye is that it's simply too big an island. I did around 700 miles all in, and I'm knackered. Happy, but knackered. I've shot in some of the most bizarre winter conditions we've had here in the Uk for over 30 years... and I'm curious to see how the pictures turn out.

The trip started in Glencoe a week ago, and it was -15 there in the morning.... I was out taking pictures in snow drifts for about one hour, perfectly happy, but when I returned to the car, I met another photographer and we got chatting. Well, he got chatting, I got mumbling.... my face was so numb, I'd lost any coordination of it - it was just like I'd been to the dentist!

I'm looking forward to a bath when I get home, and then I'll work on my images from Skye.

Assynt Portfolio

In the last week of December 2009, I spent most of it in a camper van in the far north west of Scotland - specifically, the area known as Assynt.

I love this area very much, and since I'm keen to do an Assynt workshop (October 22-27), I felt that I needed to gather together some good images of the landscape. So without further delay, you're very welcome to view my new Assynt portfolio.

As you can probably gather by the dates specified above, I've also set up a corresponding workshop for Assynt which you can find out more about here.

This landscape is in the far north west of Scotland, about 1 hours drive from Inverness. But what I love about it, is that it's not on the tourist trail as much as some other locations in Scotland. Unjustified as it is, I think it's predominantly because it's a little bit more out of the way.