January 2020
Well this isn’t the best start to 2020, already in the second half of February and I’ve only just managed to write my January update! My new year’s resolution was to be more organised (and frequent) with my blog and social media posts… if anyone has any tips on how to do social media properly I’d love to hear them!
Anyway, January was a bit of a busy month , looking back at my calendar I spent 21 days either running, preparing for or travelling to workshops, I also managed to squeeze in a couple of camera club talks, two or three days of paperwork and processing, a few trips shooting here and there around Essex and not very many days off. I am often told by my family I need to take more time off (apparently I’m no spring chicken) but when you earn your living doing something you enjoy it doesn’t feel like work, so why would you need days off? Apart from the paperwork, I’d quite happily take time off from that!
Endless mudflats at Bradwell, Essex
Essex & Suffolk
The benefit of working for myself means I can get out with the camera whenever I want, well that’s the theory anyway. In reality workshops, commissions and everything else to do with running a business takes up just as much time as having a proper job but at least I no longer have the restriction of only being able to go out at weekends. The thing is, when I could only go out at weekends I would often go out rain or shine and just see what happened because I didn’t want to miss out on camera time… now, if the weather isn’t perfect I find myself thinking, I’l leave it until the weather is better and as a result am taking fewer shots for myself. So, with this in mind, I started 2020 as I meant to go on by taking the opportunity to get out with the camera whenever I had free time.
Sadly, on the three occasions I went out in the first week of the year, before starting the workshop marathon that took up the rest of the month, the weather was largely rubbish but that’s the joy/misery of landscape photography for you. I did however manage to come away with one or two worthwhile images and a bit more knowledge of some new locations so all was not lost.
I do my best to explore a bit further each time I visit a place in an attempt to discover new views and gradually build up a more complete knowledge of the area… with 350 miles of coastline, I still have a lot of Essex to cover but I’m getting there!
Bad weather minimalism at Dovercourt
Constable Country monos
Stormy morning at Durdle Door
Dorset
Early in the month, after a couple of 1 day workshops in Constable Country, I headed down to Dorset for a few days running a 3 day group workshop on the Jurassic coast. This was my second workshop here and it’s proving to be a popular one, which is hardly surprising with so many stunning locations crammed into a small area. I particularly enjoy these 3 day workshops as they are more in depth, there is not only more time out in the field so people have time to put things they’ve learnt into practice but there is also time to review and chat about the images and look at processing as well. On top of that there is the social side and the chance for everyone to get to know each other and often form friendships.
Dorset is a popular area for landscape photography for very good reason, most of the locations here need no introduction but, apart from bumping into Mr Matthew Cattel, we actually encountered surprisingly few other photographers over the weekend. Perhaps the weather had something to do with it, which at times was windy enough to warrant switching locations rather than risk standing on a cliff top. I run my workshops here in winter when there are fewer people and the sun is in a better position so it’s unsurprising that the weather is unpredictable but it has proved to be a lucky place as both times we have avoided any rain showers and been rewarded with dramatic light.
If you’d like to join me in Dorset to explore this wonderful area, there are still a couple of places left on the next workshop here in December 2020.
Find out more >>
Corfe Castle sunrise
Valley view, Yosemite
USA
Halway through the first day of checking all of the locations ahead of the workshop it started snowing, ever so lightly at first but enough to reduce visibility to the point that there was no point carrying on. By the end of the day it was still going and we were getting excited about the prospect of finding a snow covered landscape in the morning. Sure enough heading up intonations Yosemite National Park at dawn conditions were perfect. Almost a foot of snow had transformed the valley into a winter wonderland and with just a few light clouds in the sky, conditions were perfect. After breakfast we would be driving over to San Francisco to recce the second leg of the workshop so after shooting the dawn colours at tunnel view we set about capturing as many snow covered locations as we could before breakfast.
Talking of breakfast, here, on my plate along with the familiar egg, bacon and sausages were pancakes. Sweet pancakes. Just sitting there on the same plate as if it were the most normal thing in the world. A strange concept for us Brits and until my American friends, Steve and Kay, arrived on the workshop and explained, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with them… do I eat them with the egg and bacon or do I leave them until the end and have them as dessert? Apparently (and this is considered normal behaviour here), you ‘slather them in butter and drown them in maple syrup and then eat them with the bacon etc’ . It actually tastes better than it sounds (when in Rome and all that) but I could actually feel my life expectancy going down with each mouthful! Incidentally, you should have seen the look of horror on their faces when we put ketchup on the bacon!
Anyway, having recovered from breakfast, San Francisco beckoned. It was a complete contrast going from the cold wilderness (well sort of) of Yosemite to the warmer urban landscape of San Francisco but no less exciting. The city has a great atmosphere and it’s an interest place with stunning views of the bridges, waterfront, architecture and city skyline, perfect for twilight blue hour photography. We had a great group of clients on the week long workshop that followed and we had a lot of fun while photographing an amazing part of the world. I think they all appreciated the variety on offer and it is that contrast between urban and mountain landscapes that makes this one of my favourite trips… roll on next year!
Tunnel view, Yosemite
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
Pier 7, San Francisco
Horsey windmill, Norfolk
Norfolk
I ended January with a 3 day group workshop on the Norfolk Broads and coast. As much as I was looking forward to this trip, I was a bit worried as having failed (once again) to properly plan things, I only had one day off between a long flight home from America and the start of the next workshop (and that was the day of my father’s funeral). Luckily this was a private workshop for a group of regular clients who have become friends so I knew they’d go easy on me if/when the jet lag kicked in… or at least I hoped they would!
It’s always a pleasure to be on the Broads, the accommodation and food here always make for a good atmosphere, all we needed was some nice calm, atmospheric, wintry weather. In the end the weather was cold but in a wind chill way rather than a frosty way and not at all ideal but it didn’t deter us and with a few location changes we made the best of what we had and were rewarded with some decent light… judging by everyone’s images on show during the evening image review sessions it was a productive trip!