Category Archives: photographer

A – Z Photography tips and information… starting with A

Thought it would be worthwhile and interesting to create an A to Z of photography tips and information… in bite size chunks, not too technical or long winded. While I’ll cover some photography ‘jargon’ and try and make it as ‘non techie’ as possible, will introduce a few less obvious things to consider… all relevant and my own take on the subject.

So (A) is for… aperture (an obvious one)! Very simply, this is the hole in the lens that allows the light through to record your image onto the sensor of your camera. Measured in something called ‘F’ stops, these just represent a ratio between the diameter of the aperture (hole) and focal length of your lens. The lower the ‘F’ stop number, the bigger the aperture (or hole) and more light gets allowed in – the higher the ‘F’ stop number, the smaller the aperture and less light gets allowed through.

(A) is also for ‘angles’ – an important part in the composition of an image. Just one example below regarding portrait images – notice body angles, face angles… angles are all over these images, all creating an interesting an appealing position, BUT, kept in perspective and looking natural. The same angles are not right for everyone in a given situation and it’s important for the success of a shot to find those that best suit your subject… even if you are taking a selfie!

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Subscribing to the blog will keep you up to date with the next letters and more pieces of the information puzzle will fall into place – enjoy your camera… 🙂

Awesome Autumn 2014 promotions…

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Well it’s been a long and busy summer, with shoots as varied as I can remember!

I have a bag full of blogs waiting to share with you, but in the meantime have launched a couple of Autumn promotions.

The first is so important to those of us in business and was recently reminded by a clients quote… a strong indication that good profile photographs can draw people to you.

“I get a lot of compliments on the photo’s that you did! I ask all my clients where they found me and a good majority of them reply from my website. They chose me because they like my photo and I look approachable! ” 🙂

I will be arranging the first session dates in the next week if you would like to take advantage of this promotion.

Click on the image, or, the following link for further information – LATEST PROMOTIONS.

The second is making the most of our lovely autumn colours that have started to appear and a great opportunity to enjoy some valuable downtime to yourself or with your family.

I won’t mention the ‘C’ word yet, but a promotion worth considering if you would like gift ideas!

These shoots will be arranged and held at a beautiful outdoor Suffolk location – flexibility with our lovely British weather will be allowed for!

Click on the image to read all the information.

You can get in touch via email, phone, or my website for any further information.

Jump Into Spring With The Kids… and more…

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Spring seems to have arrived perfectly this year and gardens are already full of colour.

I’m seeing people out and about enjoying the improved weather with their friends and families and there is something irresistible when observing those brilliant moments children give us… and wanting to capture it… every image tells a story!

With Easter round the corner, a perfect time for a Special Spring photo shoot offer to celebrate your kids and available to book until the end of April.

For full information, please download the attached leaflet, or get in touch directly via my website.

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Jump Into Spring with the Kids

And….

At the very end of last year, I shared a first ‘Wall of Fame’ and being in a spring like mood, thought I’d take this opportunity to share the second ‘Wall of Fame’ from the last years photographs:

Who can you spot on the second wall of fame!

It gives me a lovely reminder of all the great people I get to meet and photograph! #feelinghappy #loveyourimage #naturalexpressions.

Summer family photo shoot…

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While I don’t blog about all the different shoots I do, had to share a few of the photographs from a recent family group.

Happy to say, a returning client (3rd visit) and this time I got to meet and photograph the grandchildren. Three wonderful little characters and their mum out in the garden on a scorching hot day. The lovely walled garden and angle of the sun (all pre considered) provided a great backdrop and shaded area down one side… however I was over on the sunny side with my camera, slowly melting…

Not a pretty site when trying to stay professional and friendly and your hair is sticking to your forehead! However they understood and appreciated what I needed to do to get the best out of a 6, 5 and 2 year old and kept me plied with necessary fluids and the offer of food to keep me going!

After lots of games later, including mum and grandparents, the children were allowed to play in their paddling pool and I turned my attention and lens to mum to do some portrait shots.

I had been shown 3 generations of wonderful black and white portrait shots of the female side of the family and this would add a 4th generation to the collection – it created a beautiful keepsake… great grandmothers picture looked quite like Helena Bonham-Carter 🙂

This is an ideal time of year, when the children are on holiday for this type of shoot and so much opportunity to capture their wonderful personalities.

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Gig in the Garden – Action Medical Research…

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Now if there is one thing I love… apart from photographing horses… oh and people… and that’s capturing live performances on stage 🙂

This wasn’t so much a concert, as a mini festival in the heart of Suffolk and a whole afternoon and evening of different singers and bands, entertaining the crowds who turned out to enjoy a scorching hot summer afternoon and support everything there was on offer. It included a beer tent, tea tent, various eateries, giant Jenga, bouncy castles, face painting, putting, laser tag, rodeo bull, stalls… yes plenty was on offer.

The music was opened by the lovely Jade Donno and the evening was finished off with the great tribute band Ultimate Madness. As the day progressed the sunlight got lower and the stage lights took more effect. It can be quite a challenge to photograph, but so great when you capture the mood and theatre of a performance.

Just over 500 people attended and raised in the region of £6,000 for this worthy cause – Action Medical Research – raising funds for premature and sick babies.

Help a Children’s Charity Today

It’s definitely one for the diary next year, here’s hoping they do it again.

For images from the day and all the bands, they are here on the website – click here.

Chasing Storms

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Ultimate Madness

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Noughts and Crosses

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Jade Donno

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Chasing Storms

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Suffolk Hunt Pony Club – Peter Pan Hunter Trial and Showjumping…

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Did I mention a busy summer so far…? Wanted to share with you the fun of covering this event for the Suffolk Hunt Pony Club on the 23rd June – now my pony club days are a few decades ago… and was with the Thetford Chase branch, BUT, I still have my rosettes, which are truly treasured.

This branch of the pony club have their base in the grounds of the beautiful Ickworth Park. Having visited the venue and course previously had some idea of where the best shots would be, but as the sun gradually moves round during the day, so the best positions change. Plus I wanted to catch a good variety of fences, rather than sticking with the same ones for most classes.

Light, angle and a good mix of experience all help capture great action photographs, so have shared quite a selection with you and hope they bring that sense of excitement, challenge and fun that you can have if horses are your love.

We had an Olympian in our midst! Caroline Powell took a couple of her horses round the bigger classes.

Have included a link for anyone wishing to know more about the pony club.

The unexpected thing from the many photographs that went online from this event was the amount of traffic I subsequently got to my website. Ok, there were quite a few competitors, but across 5 days, had around 6,000 unique visits!

A big congratulations to Terry, who bravely covered as much of the show jumping as possible, while I was out on the cross country course. Thrown in at the deep end, he did really well.

‘It’s a long way down…’

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Concentration… one of the shots Terry captured in the showjumping.

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Another one of Terry’s, this pony knew how to look straight at the camera!

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Love this young ladies determination…

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Further round the cross country course… some very solid logs…

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I did mention enjoyment…

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This pair were very much in harmony…

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Having your tongue out, helps get over the fence…

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Heading for home…

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Some excellent riding…

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Beautifully cleared….

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and then a few steering problems…

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A well deserved winner in the showjumping…

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Eagerly into the water…

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Stretching for home…

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Coming out of the wood…

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Olympian Caroline Powell…

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The pairs are soo much fun…!

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You’ve both got to clear the fences…

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Well cleared…

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Go faster mum…!

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I love the ponies…

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Side Saddle Association Area 4 show at Beyton…

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Well it’s proving to be an exciting and busy summer, with continued opportunities to photograph horses and equestrian events.

As a result of images I took at a very cold, but very enjoyable Side Saddle Demonstration at the Topthorn Arena, for the members of the Gipping Valley RC, (back in the cold days!), I was invited to cover a summer show on the 9th June. It was still a little chilly, but a brilliant event.

The venue was perfect, in the grounds of Beyton House, just outside Bury St Edmunds. It was a relatively small event in terms of competitor numbers, but is an annual event for the Area 4 of the Side Saddle Association. They all seem to know one another, we were made to feel very welcome and the lunch, for which EVERYONE stops is famous… and quite superb!

I’ve included a selection of shots taken across the day, from the smallest (and youngest) duo, to the beauty and elegance of this equestrian art.

A great double page spread of photographs from the day have been published in the July edition of The Showing Journal – which is a new nationwide equestrian magazine, plus a link to the full selection of shots on my website.

I’ve included a link for those of you who would like to know more about side saddle – click here.

The youngest competitor … and smallest duo!

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Beautiful chestnut showing his paces…

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The fun of the ‘Champagne Challenge’…!

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You really are much safer on board than you think…

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and … its made to look so easy…

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Love the top hats…

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Fancy dress…

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One of my favourite shots…

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This is Gorgeous George, captured by Terry… and I love it!

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Photography Art Exhibitions… two of them!

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Last month I wrote about a photography art exhibition coming up at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. With great anticipation, this has just opened, with the official opening/viewing Friday 3rd May for ‘All The Worlds a Stage’. This venue is perfectly placed in the middle of Bury, the gallery being upstairs overlooking The Arc shopping area.

So much has happened since then, including a second exhibition that opened on the 19th April and continues until the 12th May, at The Gallery Highwaymans, just outside Risby, near Bury St Edmunds.

The whole proces from being invited to exhibit, through to deciding which pieces to put forward, how they will be printed, framed and displayed; costing; arranging and ordering to arrive on time. Once received, two weekends spent carefully sourcing and fixing ‘D’ rings and hanging wires, plus labelling and finally lovingly wrapping and placing them into safe carrying containers, to transport to the exhibition venues.

So a fortnight ago, we went to a well attended opening evening for ‘Through The Lens’, at The Gallery Highwaymans… I say ‘we’, my friend and colleague Paul Cooklin is also exhibiting several of his beautiful pieces from Cuba. I would thoroughly recommend visiting, not only to see a great selection of photography, but the venue is a truly beautiful place in itself.

Five different pieces have been placed in each exhibition, both on the subject of shadows, both quite unique in their discovery and creation. All these pieces can be seen on my website via the following links and are available to buy as limited editions:

All The Worlds a Stage

Through The Lens

I think one of my favourites from the work has to be this one… ‘Face The Demon’

The stories behind both sets of work are different and can be read by visiting the folders of work on my website… better still, visit the exhibitions if you get the opportunity :).

Radio Suffolk – James Hazell’s Saturday morning show…

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So the 9th March, saw me trundling down to Ipswich for a short interview with James Hazell on his Saturday morning show Radio Suffolk. Another first I guess – he has a slot during the show, called ‘A beginners guide to…’ and this week it was ‘How to be a professional photographer’. In hindsight barely scratched the surface on the subject, but did my best to impart a few tips and some worldly information on the topic! Inevitably, after walking out of the studio, you realise some of his questions could have been answered far more informatively… I guess there were a few nerves kicking around…

He’s obviously a keen photographer himself and a really easy guy to chat to 🙂

If you’d like to listen, click on the following link. Have added a few photos, that we captured while in the studio, mostly thanks to my partner Terry, sitting at the back of the studio with his camera!

Penny Morgan on Suffolk Radio

Radio Suffolk - James Hazell's Beginners Guide to Photography