I’d very much class myself as a black and white photographer. There are many photographers that produce black and white images but they often produce colour images regularly too. Yet you wont find a colour image on my website and would need to go back a while to find anything posted on the internet from me that is in colour. That being said last week I processed and posted a photograph in colour.
There are many fascinating cities to visit across Europe, but none more so than Venice. The place is just so different. From the moment you get off the bus after crossing the bridge from the main land you notice how different this place is. The lack of roads and cars change the way of life for Venice’s residents, and us tourists. It is a pain dragging your luggage through the little alcoves, having to go up and down steps and over bridges. All this to finally get to your hotel that looks run down, has dim lighting and the room isn’t very big. But that is the charm of the place, this is why we are here.
In old New York….
It’s been a while, I was planning on doing a blog post every month but after the first 5 months of doing so I haven’t managed to post one since November. Hopefully this time I’ll keep on top of it and post more often.
So this post is to update anyone that’s interested about a couple of changes and some exciting news. First of all, I’ve decided to start a mailing list. Please feel free to sign up. I’m not going to bombard anyone with lots of emails, only when a new blog post is up. This normally indicates that I also have some new photos up somewhere too. Like I’ve said, the plan is to try and do an update once a month, we will see how that goes.
On my revisit to Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences I was hoping to get something different, something better, something that I didn’t get the first time around. It’s so easy to turn up to a location you have been before and head straight towards the spot you took that photo you were very pleased with last time, and just take the same photo. I’m sure we have all done it. While I still want to shoot the amazing architecture and take shots close to those I took last time, I really wanted to get something new.
Photographers are often creatures of habit, often shooting the same locations time and time again. This may be because that location is close to them or they feel that it’s a place they get their best photographs. It may just be as simple as they really like the place. I shoot London more often than anywhere for all of the above reasons. It’s a big city though with many things to see and an ever-changing skyline so I’m not often taking the same photographs. I do really enjoy visiting other cities too, and try to do so as often as I can. There isn’t one city that I’ve been to take photographs that I’ve said I’ll never revisit, yet here I am questioning that very statement. Next week I revisit one of the best locations I’ve ever been to, Valencia. More specifically Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences. So if it’s one of the best, why am I questioning my revisit?
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be able to go on two very different back to back trips.
The first was a photography trip to the north of Norway and the Lofoten Islands, with their mountain peaks and Artic fjords. Then less than 24 hours after returning to London, I was flying out again. This time to Germany, to photograph the skyscrapers and urbanscapes of Frankfurt. The two trips couldn’t have been any more different, yet both very enjoyable.
Travelling for me is a big part of photography, it was in fact travelling that first gave me the idea to take up the hobby. Having been places like Australia and Peru, but having no memorable photos just “snaps”, I decided to get myself a DSLR. Most travellers will own a camera but wouldn’t call themselves photographers and most photographers will go travelling. Yet most won’t come back with what they class as “keepers” or fantastic photos. The travellers will be happy with their selfies and the snaps of all the landmarks. While the photographers will normally be disappointed with what they have come back with. This isn’t due to lack of ability or setting their standards too high, it’s simply due to lack of time. The weather conditions you get for that hour you spend at The Eiffel Tower are the conditions, there’s no waiting for better light or a clearer sky. You want to wait and see if the conditions improve but your list of places to visit for the day is long and time is already running out.
I’ve noticed over the last year or so that finding a photograph on social media that makes you stop and really have a second look is getting less frequent.
I’m sure that those special photographs are still being posted yet the amount of mediocre photographs we have to trawl through is growing at a far faster rate.