Sunday 30 March 2014

Ground Control!









I've written my distaste about the airfield near to my house before so i thought i'd make it work in my favour for once.The weather for the day had been gorgeous and after eating an amount of food that could of fitted in a dump truck,i thought it best to get some exercise and so take the trusted camera with me.In fairness i hadnt thought about going to the airfield as id spotted a oil seed field earlier on the day that had intrigued me.It was on the way back that i thought id pop by and see what i could snap some pictures of and i was pleasantly surprised.It was later in the afternoon and so the light was softer with a slight haze across which added to it all.There are some similar pictures in this set but i was trying out a few different styles on the edits.At least now when i hear that infernal buzzing noise above my head in the sky,i know exactly what it is causing it!

Garden Glory...





















Now im one of those people that can be set in his ways and photography is no exception! This year tho,ive decided that i need to broaden my photographic content and you may of seen my portrait project from a previous blogpost.Well another area im looking at is commercial photography,which brings me onto this post.I'd been contacted to see if i'd like to do some pictures of a local Bed and Breakfast in North Walsham called Chimneys.Its a place i'd drove by many times but it holds a well kept secret.From the front its based on a main road but what many fail to realize is that it has a beautiful and large garden at the back of it.The owners have made there garden open to all its visitors and it has many different aspects to it which made photographing it an absolute pleasure and certainly had plenty to inspire me.I haven't done anything like this really in the past but again,it was a nice break from my usual work.The owners are pleased with the results so far,even if it did take a crack team of specialists to work out how to use a apple mac to view them.Im a windows man and the arduously long winded processes on the mac have confirmed to me that i've made the right choice for doing my processing as my computer would be in tiny little pieces had i been using apple,with me slumped in a corner talking to myself.  

You Little Ripper!











There's a stretch of the Norfolk coastline that ive travelled along to get to Blakeney on previous trips with a few places along the way i've wanted to stop off at.Well that time had come.The first place i stopped off was Aylmerton,Norfolk and more specifically the Roman camp based there.Its a lovely spot and id been there many years before but never got round to going back.Its starts off in a forest area then goes out onto more open parts that overlook the village.The paths you follow go down steep paths and even steeper uphills (or so it feels).If your blessed with the legs of a powerlifter then this will be a 'walk in the park' but it certainly got mine working especially carrying all my equipment too.Its still a nice area and worth the onslaught to your thighs.The second location i went to was Salthouse,Norfolk.This is quite a diverse part with marshland when you pull up and then as you follow the path down it opens out onto shingled beaches.I do wonder about what perception people have of me when out with the camera and this was brought into question on this trip.I'd pulled up by the road there but was unsure if you could park along the road ok.I spied a fellow person admiring the scenery so thought id go ask.Well on approach i've never seen someone pack there stuff up so quickly and get into there car.I did manage to collar him before he sped off in a cloud of dust! The other problem i faced which only became apparent once i'd arrived was that the long shorts i was wearing happened to have a giant rip down one side and so giving anyone within the vicinity a flash of underwear and a pale leg! I'd failed to remember that the last time i wore them id been on holiday doing sport and had ripped them.What the family thought who'd asked me to take a picture for them,i do not know.Needless to say i cunningly used my tripod as a barrier to hide my shame as i strolled on.These two locations are just a couple of great opportunities based in this part of the county,with a pair of ripped shorts only an optional requirement.  

Friday 7 March 2014

Carriageway Carnage!












After having so much fun the last time i did a night shoot in Norwich,Norfolk,i jumped at the chance to return when asked by my friend Simon Watson.Our first port of call was to get some pictures down at one of the bridges looking into the train station to get some light trails as the trains entered and departed.It was quite difficult getting a clear line of sight as the trees round there had an uncanny knack of obscuring the view from wherever you stood.After a few jokes about nipping back to the car for a chainsaw,i managed to find a spot.It was a good solid start but still was waiting for more inspiration.We decided to head to one of the bridges overlooking the river by the train station.At night its a beautiful scene with the riverbank lit by streetlights and the reflections on the water just give it that extra factor too.Whilst setting up our shots,i did notice a group of ladies also stopping to take a glance but was quite caught up with my shot.I'd heard one say 'beautiful' and thought to myself that they appreciated the views too.If was only after,that Simon filled me in by saying they had actually been pointing to my bum and had said 'beautiful' then,so while i was admiring one view,they were taking in a completely different one.Needless to say,that was a hot topic for me for the rest of the night and was quite flattering.Now the last place we went was what you could call the most 'interesting' and when i say this i mean you have to be abit bonkers to do it! Simon had us walking along a very narrow footpath along the side of a duel carriageway in the hope of getting some impressive light trails from it.It was only halfway along he then told me that we should actually set up some of our shots from the central reservation between the two sets of traffic! Now i'm not one to shy away from getting to tricky spots for a photo but i have to say this ranks very high in the list of daredevil (or death wish) feats.Simon tried to reassure me by bringing a couple of high vi tops but in fairness i felt like we wouldn't have looked out of place at a village people reunion.I only got a couple of shots from the central reservation because the feeling of air rushing past you from the traffic flying by made it quite hard to concentrate on your shot.It was still a great spot and have to say that the photo's i did get were great to look at later on.On the way back to the car i did spy one last shot with a puddle on the carpark reflecting the lights from the buildings on the street nearby.It made a fitting end to the night and like the first trip,i enjoyed every minute of it and am now looking forward to what the next trip up to Norwich will hold.