I have had a very busy few days doing natural light portrait work. I have been requested to take child portraits mainly and the beach has been the location of choice!

The other work I have been doing is portraits for school leavers off to their summer ball. A once in a life time opportunity for them and a photo is a great way to remember in years to come!

I am in the process of getting a mobile lighting studio to allow a bit more variation in outdoor locations. The set up will be totally cable free and use the latest strobe lights to allow for some very interesting photographic techniques. The combination of gentle natural light and subtle use of strobes creates a lovely feel.

There will soon be other elements to the services I provide apart from portrait photography and equine photos, stay tuned.

Anyway, now for a small sample of my latest shoot. (please remember these images are low quality for the web!)

Um, I am not sure!

Black and White portrait

Portrait Photo

Thinking Child

Cheeky photo

Young man Portrait

Outdoor portrait

I thought I would share some recent photographs I took of a day old foal and mare. The youngster was very happy and obliging in standing for the camera. The mare was also great, allowing me to get up close and get some great shots of her foal. I did have one eye on the mare at all times though, just in case.

I really enjoy equestrian work and would be delighted to speak with you if you are interested in some photographs of your horse, pony or foal. Just send me a line and we can discuss your needs.

Please bear in mind that the quality of these foal and mare photographs has been reduced for publication on the internet.

Have a look at the photographs below and tell me what you think by commenting on this post. If you have any photo funnies to share, please send me an email…

Please visit the links below the funny pictures to see the original images and photographers flickr site.

Somthing fishey

laszlo-photo’s photostream

Balls of Texas

512 Photography’s photostream

Funny sign

Me-Liss-A’s photostream

Laughing at you

jpockele’s photostream

Strange Creature

Pixel Addict’s photostream

K-mart sale

Cosmic Kitty’s photostream

Hot day

mandj98’s photostream

Some things can't be answered by GOOGLE!

Mykl Roventine’s photostream

Wheal Trewavas Mine

Black and white photo

This photograph is of Wheal Trewavas Mine which is an old copper mine working of the southern tip of the Godolphin lode.

The are can be reached by walking to Rinsey and following the cliff path towards Porthleven. Far reaching views can be enjoyed from the cliff top towards the Lizard and Porthcurnow, including St Michaels mount and penzance.

This is an area that I want to re-attend soon and get some more interesting angles. There are lots of approaches to the engine houses, and I am after getting some more interesting aspects of this historical Cornish site. I think a combination of long exposure with some interesting cloud and sea conditions will provide a very special photo.

I would love you to share any photographs you have of other Mining sites – The other site I have featured here is Wheal Francis

Black and White photo

Black and white capture

This photo was taken recently at Wheal Trewavas Mine which is at Rinsey near Porthleven. The area is an old copper mine and is currently being restored by the national trust to a very high standard.

The location is amazing. Steep cliffs running down to crystal clear Cornish waters with old engine houses poised on the rock.

I did not want a formal photograph, so this capture worked just fine for what I had in mind. A relaxed, photograph of my girlfriend enjoying the view. I love the contrast of her against the hard, weathered granite of the engine house.

I have increased the contrast in the photograph to give it increased depth. This also makes the “model” standout against the background and frame.

I know its not a traditional photograph, but I really like it and as part of a trio for natural portrait work it would come into it’s own.

What do you think of this black and white portrait photo? Let me know by commenting on the post….

Long exposure of the London Eye

Long exposure photographs

“So what is long exposure photography, and how should I use it”  is a question I am being asked a lot at the moment. I thought the easiest way to explain it would be to write a brief post on the subject rather than answering each individual request.

A basic explanation of exposure is it’s the result of the 3 variables, aperture, ISO and shutter speed, used to get enough light to capture a well lit image. Generally over exposed photographs will have blown out white areas and an underexposed image will be to dark. However, both options can be used to artistic effect…

A fast exposure will almost stop time. i.e. 1/1000 s will freeze time. including very fast moving objects like racing cars. In fact a shutter speed in that region will make the tyres look like they are still and you will loose the effect of the car racing.

So already we need to balance shutter speed to capture more of the emotion of the image, rather than just a snap shot of time. The above refers to fast moving objects. but it can be applied to anything, people, water, seascapes, trees and clouds for example. So by increasing the exposure time we can add a new element into our photography, capturing time it’s self!

Here are a few ideas:

1. Long exposure of large bodies of still water will remove wavelets and make it look mirror smooth.
2. Cloud will track in the sky.
3. The sea will look soft and more like mist.
4. Trees will show the effects of the wind.
5. People will move around townscapes, showing action.
6. Car headlights will turn into traces.
7. Stream and water falls will look soft and inviting.
8. Special effects with light sources can produce interesting abstract photography.

Considerations of long exposure photography

The primary problem will be camera shake. So you need to purchase a stable tripod to get crystal clear images. This is because the amount of time your shutter is open will be increased and any slight movement will be captured. Some long exposures can last 10’s of minutes.

Increasing exposure time in bright light can be a problem. Your camera ISO is as low as it will go, your aperture is stopped down as far as you want it, yet because of the amount of natural light the exposure time is still only a few seconds. The way around this is with the use of filters over your lens. You can buy a number of filters which will reduce the amount of light entering your camera. For long exposures in strong light you might consider a 10 stop filter. These filters were design for taking images of strong light sources, like furnaces, but work very well for creating long exposure photographs in bright daylight!

image from: wilfried.b’s photostream

I love wave photographs and I have found some great ones here to share with you all. Waiting for a great ocean swell to pick up and running out with your camera to try and capture the power and beauty of these swells really gets me excited. I enjoy surfing, but only small swells!! There is something intoxicating about waves. A stormy day in Cornwall will see thousands of people heading to the coast to watch the waves and feel the wind in their faces. Now for the photographs:

Sunset Wave

Hamed Saber’s photostream

Big Water - Ludington North Breakwater Light

mandj98’s photostream

Sea spray

*clairity*’s photostream

Surf thunder

colmsurf’s photostream

El Surf

Lanpernas 2.0’s photostream

Windy day at Sandys

RKHawaii’s photostream

I am a wave

Hamed Saber’s photostream

Wave at Cape Cornwall

From Digital Scene

Leven Wave

From Digital-scene

Porthleven Storm

From digital-scene

Coast Guard takes on the wave

kevincole’s photostream

I just love that last photograph, if you have any similar photos then please share them with us.

An Apple a day

Still life natural light photography

An area of photography I am working on getting more involved in is Product photography. Shooting still life objects for print, online and other advertisement mediums. As well as stock photography.

It’s an intersting line of work. There are so many products out there to photograph, some more challenging than others.

Smaller products are generally easier. They can be moved quickly, accurately positioned and easier to light. However, it’s far more challenging to shoot a large object, light it well and produce a dynamic image…. You would be surprised to be honest if you choose the correct natural light conditions, a small amount of strobe light, in the right place can give you some of the most outstanding effects, for example lighting a house!

Black and white wedding photography

Brides Maids photo

Wedding Photography

This is an area that I do not currently offer, but a friend of mine asked if I would take some photographs of his wedding day. Of course I was delighted to be asked and jumped at the offer.

Fortunately the weather was lovely, almost to nice in fact for photographs. It’s interesting, but grey overcast days are much better for outdoor photographs. Its creates a more mellow, filling light, than pure sunshine. The wedding party knew what photographs they wanted, but i added a few more of my own ideas.

The brief was to capture casual photographs, and get the atmosphere of the wedding. I took about 250 shots, with about 100 being great pictures. Very few were of posed groups. The vast majority were sneaked photos of people chatting and milling around, soaking up the atmosphere of a lovely wedding in Cornwall.

Flora Day dancers in motion

Helston Flora Day Dancers

Helston flora day was again another great success this year. The dancers and spectators enjoyed some great weather. The dancers looked fantastic in all their finery, dressed for the traditional occasion.

The flora dance follows route around the town of Helston, accompanied by the Helston town band playing the tune of the Furry Dance.

The whole town and hundreds more supporters were there to watch all the dancers from 7pm onwards. The atmosphere in the town was superb!!!

Anyway here are some more images to share with you. The faces of some of the dancers have be obscured for obvious reasons.

Please share any flora day photographs you might have.