Photo Journal
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Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-2600 Print Workflow
This post jots down some key aspects of my print workflow, from processing the image to final inspection of the print. Much more detail on the various topics is available on the internet and it will be better summarised by ChatGPTMonitor Brightness If there’s one single thing to do…
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The Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-2600 - Man V’s Printer
For the past few days I’ve been battling with the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-2600 in an attempt to re-print an image (Ivelet Bridge below) with same tone and colour as I’ve produced (without problem) with the Epson SC-P800 for the last eight years.For the pedants out there, I’m not foolish…
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Photographs From the End of the Road
There’s a growing tendency for landscape photographers to gravitate to the same handful of iconic locations and views. Whilst there’s good reason for this, there is an alternative that offers a different perspective, a chance for exploration and discovery, and to take the path less trodden.Labrax, Dunfries & Galloway…
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Compositional Techniques For Storytelling. Part 1 - Visual Structure
Introduction The following post, one of a series, is based on The Visual Story by Bruce Block, a book I wished I’d discovered many years ago. In the book Bruce explains how filmmakers use visual structure to complement and support the story being told. Many of the ideas of visual… -
Compositional Techniques For Storytelling. Part 2 - Visual Space
Introduction This post is the second (the first can be found here) of a series based on The Visual Story by Bruce Block, a book I wished I’d discovered many years ago. In the book Bruce explains how filmmakers use visual structure to complement and support the story being told.… -
Sirui Saturn 50mm T2.9 1.6x Anamorphic – A Review (of sorts) for Landscape Photography
Warning: The following is neither a traditional lens review nor a review for filmmaking! If this will cause distress, please look away now! I’ve recently been sporting a new lens on the front of my Nikon Z7. It’s small, lightweight, affordable and made by a Chinese manufacturer I’d not… -
The Story Behind the Photograph - Manhattan 45th & 2nd.
Nearly a year ago, Polly and I spent six days in Manhattan. Of the hundreds of photographs taken, one became my favourite, Manahatten 45th & 2nd. The photograph was taken at 9:30pm, from the middle of 2nd Avenue, perhaps not the safest place to stand in NYC.Manhatten 45th &…
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New Adventures in Film – The Leica CL
Dolomites, 2024, Leica CL So here I am, after a break of 25 years, fumbling around, all fingers and thumbs, struggling to load a film into a camera. The camera in question is a Leica CL, a thing of retro beauty. A jewel amongst a world of digital humdrum. The…
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Travel Brings a Fresh Perspective
They say travel broadens the mind. Whether it’s true is perhaps an interesting question, but for a photographer it does offer the chance to discover new subjects, apply different perspectives and rethink their approach …… and though I’m a strong advocate of spending time getting to know and understand…
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Ivelet Bridge Autumn, Swaledale
Ivelet Bridge Autumn, Swaledale Nearly seven years after first getting my feet wet to take a picture of Ivelet Bridge in the summer, I finally got them damp again to take an Autumn capture of this stunning bridge, perhaps the finest in Swaledale. Though I’ve visited the bridge in Autumn…
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Northern Lights Over Busk
On Friday 10th of May, thanks to a massive solar flare, we were treated to the best northern lights to appear over the UK for decades.Busk, 8 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400, tripod And this once in a lifetime event coincided with the night sky over Busk being clear of…
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A Landscape Photographer in New York
In January 2024 we visited an extraordinary landscape, New York City, or more specifically Manhattan Island, a place as far removed from our base in the Yorkshire Dales as you can get.
To put the difference into perspective, Manhattan’s population of 1.6m people live in an area of just 23…
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Woodland Photography
Woodland. Despite my love for it, I find it almost impossible to photograph. Natural woodland is a hoarder of chaos, randomness and contrast, there’s no main subject, limited viewpoints and little opportunity to simplify. And that’s before you reach Upper Swaledale!Gunnerside Gill, Swaledale The woodland here is found on…
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Twelve Views of Kisdon
Between 1782-1784, at the height of his powers, the Japanese artist Hokusai produced perhaps the most famous, inspiring and influential series of woodblock prints the art world has ever seen, 36 Views of Mount Fuji. The series depicts Mount Fuji from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions…
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Cap Ferret, France
Cap Ferret is the spit of land that separates the Atlantic Ocean from Arcachon Bay on France’s south-western coast. It’s now an up market holiday resort, but its western side reveals a different history; a history of occupation during the last war and its small part in the Atlantic Wall… -
North Uist - Another Holiday, Another Period of Introspection
Holiday Snap 1, Berneray Another great holiday, another period of deep introspection, it’s become a pattern. Each time we return from holiday from some wonderful location, on this occasion North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, I’m left disappointed with my inability to capture what I saw and how I felt.…
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The Fuji GFX 100s, A Real World Experience - Why I nearly ditched it & why I’ve stuck with it
21/8/2023 - One Year Later It’s been nearly one year since I last posted about the Fuji. I’m happy to report that during that time the Fuji system has been trouble free. All the problems of the early days have been consigned to the past and it’s been wonderful to…
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Muker Wild Flower Meadows 22
It’s just about reached the end of another wild flower meadows season in Muker and with my main camera in for repair, definitely the end for me. It’s fair to say that the wild flower meadows, lovely as they’ve been, haven’t reached their best this year, perhaps due to a…
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Seljalandsfoss, ICM
Seljalandsfoss ICM, The Story Behind the PhotographSeljalandsfoss, Iceland, Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) The photograph above, Seljalandsfoss ICM, is a favourite from our 2022 March trip to Iceland. It’s a capture using intentional camera movement (ICM) to blur the fall, in effect mimicking a long exposure, which, due to the…
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7 Days in Iceland
Polly and I have just returned from our first trip to Iceland, 7 days, 5 hotel stops and 1,200km travelled in our Jimney Jeep hire car. It won’t be our last visit!Much has been written about this otherworldly country, from the Sagas of the Icelanders to modern day travel…
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2021, Twelve Months, Twelve Photographs
It’s that time of year again, so here’s the obligatory selection of twelve personal favourite photographs, one for each month in 2021, from the cold snows of January, though to the … cold snows of December, with a bit of spring, summer and autumn thrown inJanuary, The Bow, Tongue…
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The North Norfolk Coast in Glorious Panovision
Click on the images for the full Panovision effect!!Last week we swopped the fells and dales of Swaledale and Wensleydale, for the straight horizons, vast sands and salt marshes, of the North Norfolk Coast. At low tide, after a short walk, and with a bit of imagination, you might…
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6am, Busk, Summer - An Unintentional Photograph
In the summer I tend to wake with the early morning light, stumble downstairs to make the first cup of tea of the day, then sit on the doorstep to let the fresh air bring me round. On this morning I was disturbed by the chattering of swallows on the…
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A Short Walk Up Kisdon Hill (& Back Again)
Kisdon Hill is a fell in Upper Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales. At 499m it’s of relatively modest height, but severed from it neighbouring fells by the actions of the last ice age and encircled by The Swale, to the north and east, and Skeb Skeugh and Straw Beck, to… -
Hoar Frost, Sleddale
On Tuesday night the air was still, the sky clear and the temperature fell to -5c. In the sub-zero conditions small ice crystals formed upon frozen surfaces. As Tuesday turned to Wednesday, fed by a gathering mist, the crystals began to grow …Hoar frost on our weather station after…