I suppose I’d better get a New Year post in before it actually gets too far into the year!

Well, firstly I’m hoping for a new me for this year. I decided that I have gained far too much weight over the past couple of years, and have embarked on a fitness and exercise regime in order to shed some of it, as well as modifying my diet. I have missed a few days, but I do feel better when I’ve done my exercises. I am exercising to a Rosemary Conley DVD, as I find that a good mix of aerobic and toning with not too much pain. Some of the DVDs I have purchased are a little too vigorous for me, at least for now. Hopefully the pounds will start to drop off soon and I will be able to get into a few more items of clothing that I haven’t been able to wear in ages.

Unfortunately, the other day I was doing some floor exercises, rolled over to get on my front, felt a twinge in my ribs when it touched the carpet, and it’s been very difficult to move about or get comfortable since. I went to the doctors this morning, but there isn’t  a lot you can do for rib injuries other than rest. A bit of a problem, in that I have booked a photography course at Aspire on Wednesday and I am driving up tomorrow and staying overnight. I’ve strapped a bandage round for some support, and it is feeling a bit more comfortable at the moment, so fingers crossed…

Secondly, I’m hoping that my business is going to move forward with greater speed than it has been doing, hence my decision to take advantage of the opportunity to do this course, when it was presented to me by the manager of the company via a discussion on LinkedIn. Aspire is one of the country’s top photographic training companies, so I am hoping that this will really push my business forward. I’ve been trying to get my services and products sorted out, but there is still a bit of juggling to do with regard to getting a maximum return on my investment of time and money.

Before Christmas I did a couple more free shoots for members of my networking group, and I also had a booking for a session with a family of six plus two dogs. That has resulted in a nice sale of images, but only on DVD rather than wall prints, but it was a start. I’ve decided not to post the session images on here any longer, so if you want to see the latest news on my business please visit and bookmark Image and Light Photography. You can also subscribe to the news feed from there if you wish. I just thought that it would increase my site traffic a bit, and get me higher up in Google. I’d be grateful for some links to the site from your sites, too, if you don’t mind. I’ve closed off commenting for now, as I have been getting a lot of spam, so I am looking into how to prevent that. I have got comment moderation on, but the spam/moderate folder was constantly having to be emptied, so I decided to switch it off for now.

We had a little trip to Knaresborough just before Christmas. The craft fair organiser at my last fair had bought one of my images for a friend and we didn’t get the replacement inks for our printer in time, so I had to have it printed at a lab and we ended up delivering it to her home in Harrogate, as posting wouldn’t have got it there in time. We then went on for a little stroll round Knaresborough, as we had never been there before, and we were also in need of some fresh air and exercise. It was a sunny but cold day, but we managed a walk along the river to the castle and then a little stroll round the town centre.

I also did some close-ups of this interesting door to use as background textures

Some of the riverside houses were built into the rock face

The river from the castle walls

At New Year we visited our friends in Lincoln for a New Year’s Eve party at their village hall. It was a good evening, with plenty of food and drink. We had a table of ten, and we all contributed some food and drink, but there was rather a lot and much was wasted. I didn’t actually drink that much, as I had started to feel a little nauseous early on in the evening. Before setting off that morning I had a slight headache, and Keith felt a little off, so we can only assume that it was something we both ate the day before. After seeing in the New Year we wandered back to the house where the merriment continued, but I was very sick and and then had to go straight to bed. I woke briefly when Keith came to bed, about 3.30am apparently, and then went straight back to sleep.

No comment!

The following morning, we became acquainted with their new chickens.

So, that’s me all caught up with recent news, I think. I’m hoping I can move around a bit better tomorrow and that I can get through the course day without any difficulties. We are shooting children – not in a bad way, of course – so it might be a bit fast-paced.

I seem to have been in a bit of a whirl lately – not sure where the time goes. We’ve both been busy with one thing or another, and dashing here and there, and yet there are still things to do that seem to get lost by the wayside. And then I hit a day, like today, where I wake up with a banging headache and then the whole day goes to pot.

I had some more IT issues, when I managed to download something that messed up my computer and had to spend a week getting advice from a tech site to get rid of it. Not easy, as the site is US-based and the replies have a bit of a delay due to time differences, but it got sorted in the end. It was a bit worrying, as at about the same time someone tried (or succeeded, not sure) to get into my Facebook account. Apparently there was no sign of a keylogger on my system (according to the logs I had to post), but it was quite scary. All this from clicking on an innocent-looking link to a photographer’s website, and this was on LinkedIn, which is a reputable site. Whether the poster’s site had been compromised, or whether they joined LinkedIn to cause mayhem, I don’t know. I can’t really remember the site now, as it all happened very quickly. So, be careful what you click on, however innocent it seems.

While I’m on the topic of social media, I have disabled my @digibirder Twitter account, due to constant follow requests from dubious accounts. I have now set up follows to some of the Twits from that account using my @imageandlight account, so I hope I haven’t missed anyone. I think it will be far simpler keeping one account. I hardly visited that old account anyway, other than to block the unwanted followers.

I did another free photoshoot a couple of weeks ago – for a relative of a member of my network group. This was two sisters, aged 11 and 3, and we managed to get a few shots in the garden, despite the fact that it was cold and late in the afternoon so not brilliant light. The little one was quite a poser!

Last weekend I shot a session for a family of six (five adults and a four-year-old) and two dogs. I am still in the process of editing these to show the family. I took a few images inside then we went into the garden for a few shots, but it was a bit cold and windy so that didn’t take too long. Indoors I used a flashgun on a stand with a reflective umbrella to spread the light, but on reflection (pun alert) I should have used it as a shoot-through to diffuse the light more. I’ll post them at a later date.

After the photo session, we drove over to see our friends in Lincoln, as we had been invited to stay overnight, and take part in a Christmas meal and quiz at a nearby village. The evening was very good, and especially so as we won the first prize in the quiz! The prize was four bottles of wine, which we shared between us. The following morning we relaxed a little before heading into Lincoln for the Christmas Market. I wanted to go last year, but it was cancelled due to the snow. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the photos I wanted as it was very busy and there wasn’t a spare bit of pavement to stand on. There was a one-way system in place so you had to mooch along at a very slow pace all round the market and it was very difficult to stop at some stalls due to the crowds. Then, of course, you were stuck till someone else decided to move on. Madness. We had arrived a little early, so by the time the light was ideal for photography we were knackered, so we headed back and started preparing dinner, watched a bit of telly and then headed home.

Yesterday we had a stall at a craft fair in Wetherby, and this time, don’t faint, we made back the stand fee and a bit extra. We sold a mounted image to one of the organisers wanting a Yorkshire Dales image for a friend who has just moved into that area, and then a large mounted image of a wild flower meadow. Oh, and two greetings cards. So, a successful day for a change. I have booked one more fair – same place, same organisers – in March, and that one is a craft/art exhibition, which is something new they are trying. I think if that one produces poor results I will call it a day on the fairs. Although I don’t quite know what to do with all the stock I have. I will probably have to try and sell the stuff on eBay or via my website. It’s been a lot of trouble and expense for very little return. I didn’t expect it to make a fortune, but it’s been dire. I suppose I lost the real purpose of the fairs, and that was as a vehicle to promote the portraiture business, but I didn’t do very well at local fairs (probably didn’t give it chance) and stupidly moved further afield, where it wasn’t practical to offer portrait sessions as the distance to travel would not make it worthwhile.

Anyway, things seem to be moving in the right direction now, after some false starts and hesitation on my part. I still have a long way to go, but at least I know what’s required – more practice, mainly.

Well, it wasn’t intended to be so, but it sort of happened that way. Woke up not feeling great, so lounged around in jim-jams for some time before getting ready, then wasn’t really into doing much else. So here I am. I’ve been editing some images, catching up on a couple of  forums, and just basically chilling out.

Since my last post I have progressed a little on the business front. I did manage to get my first portrait session done, and then had another one booked with a member of my networking group. These two were just for the children of the members, but there are two other members wanting a session, and a relative of one of those has booked a session, which I am doing next weekend. And since announcing on Facebook and Twitter that I was offering free photoshoots in order to build my portfolio, I’ve had another enquiry for a family shoot of four adults, which will be in December.

The first session, with a very confident three-year-old, was a bit hit-and-miss as it was quite sunny, causing hard shadows – not the most flattering light. And the session was held in their small garden so there wasn’t really space to get a suitable background in the best light. Also had to watch out for the chickens running around! Anyway, at least I’ve made a start and I managed to assess what to do and what not to do for next time. Now that the first ones are in the bag I feel a bit more confident. It’s certainly different from shooting models on a workshop!

It was a little windy and she had very flyaway hair!

I had to postpone the second session due to bad weather, but the rescheduled date wasn’t a lot better. At least it wasn’t bright sunshine, but it would have helped to have had at least some direction of light. I think I need more practice on creating a direction of light when there isn’t any. It was a bit damp and dull, but we managed to find a corner of the park where some colourful autumn leaves had fallen. This was a three-year-old girl and her 18-month-old brother. The little boy was a bit hesitant, but soon cheered up when mum threw some leaves about.

Back at the house with some window light

I’ve decided to go ahead and offer the photo restoration services, so we’ve invested in a scanner and I am going to get on with scanning some of my old prints, negatives and slides. I bought an excellent book on various recovery techniques, so that should get me going.

Keith has been having some issues with his computer, with blue screens coming up and slow performance. I tried to scan the drive for errors and managed to get it going again, but this week there was another blue screen and it just would not boot up, even in safe mode. I tried a trick I read about on a forum some years ago, of putting the hard drive in the freezer for a few hours. I did this with a hard drive at work, and was advised to work quickly to get any important data backed up before it failed again once it warmed up. That drive continued for another two years. Unfortunately, Keith’s failed again a few hours later. A new hard drive might have been an option, but as happened with my machine a little while ago, the rest of the components were also quite old, so it’s like trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. With that in mind, a trip to PC World resulted in a brand new shiny PC and monitor! I could have made one myself, but the price of components compared to ready-made these days make it hardly worthwhile, unless you really need to specify certain components. And it’s a question of time. With so much happening in our businesses now, we felt we just needed to get it sorted quickly.

So, that’s it for now.

A little while ago, I joined a photographic organisation called the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and I have been on one of their workshops a few months ago. That one wasn’t too good, but I decided to give them another chance and I went on another ‘Lighting and Posing’ workshop last Thursday. I had to get up quite early, as it was held in Leicestershire – a one hour forty minute drive away – and started at 9 am.

When I arrived I was told by the organiser that there was to be only two of us on the workshop! They couldn’t cancel it as they had already cancelled another one recently and they can’t be seen to cancel too many. So myself and a chap named Dave had the tutor to ourselves for the day – and it was a fantastic day. I’m sure I wouldn’t have gained as much had there been the usual numbers there. The speaker and his wife had stayed overnight, SWPP had paid for the room hire, and they hired two models for the morning session, all for two people paying a bargain £80 for the day. So it was fairly informal and we had the chance to ask lots of questions and benefit from a personalised tutorial geared to our level of experience.

The morning was spent in the room learning studio lighting with the two models, then after lunch a real family arrived (related to the organiser) and we had the chance to take child and family portraits. We finished the day off with a discussion covering marketing, networking, pricing, etc, and finished much later than we should have, but the speaker was quite willing to help with anything we were asking.

The only downside was the room we were in. The hotel (Rothley Court Hotel) had their other conference rooms booked, so we had to go into the chapel, which had no heating whatsoever. When it came to the afternoon family shoot in the hotel grounds, it was actually warmer outside!

I was a little intrigued by the window being behind the roof trusses

Matt was quite serious and moody looking, so I thought this suited B&W

They knew each other, but are not a couple

E was not on her best behaviour

M was a little better, being older

Thought I’d try a B&W effect on this one

M was a more willing model

E just kept acting up

So, the afternoon was very helpful in learning how to deal with real children, rather than models. Which will stand me in good stead for tomorrow, when I have a session booked with a couple and their three-year-old daughter (if they confirm it’s still on). This will be my first ‘official’ portrait session, which I booked with a woman from a new networking group I joined. I offered a free shoot for network members and she took advantage of the offer. It’s all a bit up in the air at the moment, as I haven’t been able to contact her today to finalise the arrangements.

Keith has also been progressing with his framing. When he went on his framing course in Wales a few weeks ago, he was hoping to learn about framing various items of memorabilia, but the tutor was not experienced enough himself to teach that very well, and so it was really a bit of a waste of time and money. Since then, Keith has been researching and practising and has now worked out the best way to do this, and he has now managed to frame the football shirt and medals that his sister gave him to take to Wales. The shirt has been delivered back to them, as it belongs to their son, but Keith now has the medals, which were his father’s war medals. Both items needed a deep frame and so are very fiddly and time-consuming to do, but I think he has mastered this very well.

We had been intending to get away camping for a few days, but the weather turned a little unpredictable so we thought that we would have to wait till spring for our next getaway. However, on watching the long-range forecast the other week, it became evident that we were in for a bit of an Indian Summer, so we rang up a campsite in the Yorkshire Dales last Monday, found out that they had room for us, and packed up on Tuesday and off we went.

We stayed on the Caravan Club site in Hawes, which is in Wensleydale (close to where we went for the day the other week), and it was in a very nice location on the edge of the village. Once we had set up the camper, we wandered into the village for some provisions, and then returned to relax before having our evening meal.

I had hoped for some nice sunrise and sunset images, but in the end I didn’t feel like rising early so we opted for just the sunsets. Having worked out where the sun would be setting, we walked around the local area to get into a good position. Unfortunately, there were some distant hills in the way, and the sky was too clear to give any good cloud colour. We returned to the campsite and went over to the facility block to wash the pots from our meal, but when we emerged from the washroom the sky had turned into a wonderful pinky hue! Unfortunately it was a bit too late, and dark, to get the gear ready again, so that one was missed.

When we camp in the summer, the daylight hours are much longer, and although we are tired, it just seems strange going to bed when there is still some light in the sky. However, now that the days are much shorter, it was going dark at about 7pm. Now that is too early to go to bed, but trying to read my book in the cosy camper was near impossible, as I was quite tired and kept nodding off. By about 8.30pm I was really struggling, so I decided I was just going to have to get ready for bed. Keith decided he was getting rather tired too, so by 9pm we were in bed, with lights out, ready for nodding off. Not unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long before I was fast asleep. What did surprise me was the time we woke up the following morning, which was around 7am. I had woken briefly during the night, changed position, and then fell asleep again straight away. I think it’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages – certainly better than some nights at home in a large comfy bed. Anyway, that certainly put a stop to any thoughts of sunrise photos! Not that there would have been much colour, as the sky was a clear, cloudless blue.

We decided to walk from the campsite to Hardraw Force, a waterfall in a nearby village. In fact, it’s England’s highest unbroken waterfall, and access to it is through a pub in the village where you have to pay a small fee. On the way, there was a nice view back to the village of Hawes in the early(ish) light. The nice thing about the shorter days is that you still get long shadows even when it’s gone past the normal early morning and late evening ‘Golden Hours’ for photography. A little while ago I found a source of free presets to add to Lightroom and I downloaded one called Magic Hour Power, which gives a special effect to images taken during those Golden Hour times, so I thought I would give it a try on this image. The original, albeit also edited to some extent, is there for comparison.

With preset applied

As well as lugging my camera gear with me, I had also taken my tripod, as I knew it would be quite low-light conditions at the waterfall and I would not be able to hand-hold so easily, so with the heat and the sun beating down, I was a little frazzled by the time we arrived. It was a little cooler in the shade of the woodland, but then we were out in the open again for the return to the campsite.

A section of the Pennine Way going into Hardraw

Looking downstream from the falls

Another experiment in B&W

Looking back to Hardraw on the climb up to our return footpath

Towards the end, we did manage to cut the walk short, as I was almost ready to collapse by this time. Note to self: must get fitter. On this short cut, I spotted a good viewpoint for possible sunset images, so we drove back round later on in the evening – after our delicious barbecued sausages. However, with the skies being clear again, as you can see from the first two images from earlier in the day, there wasn’t really much of a sunset to shout about, even when enhanced with graduated neutral density filters.

After another good sleep, we had bacon and eggs for breakfast before heading off for a drive. It was still too warm to do another long walk so we decided to stick to short strolls from the car. First stop on the list was West Burton Falls, which is probably one of my favourite waterfalls. I have numerous images from previous visits, but I couldn’t resist taking more.

Magic Hour preset applied here

We then just did a bit of a tour round to see if we could spot any more potential images. I have a craft fair in December, and when I did the last fair, one of the organisers mentioned that she had a friend moving to Wensleydale and would like a photo of the area to give her as a gift, so it was with this in mind that I thought I would look for some nice scenic images. The Yorkshire Dales is known for the number of barns scattered throughout the area, so we were looking out for a viewpoint that would show this feature to good effect. Driving through the village of Aysgarth (also known for some nice waterfalls), we spotted a barn with freshly-painted red doors. We know it was fresh, as we passed this barn on the day we arrived at the campsite and we would certainly have noticed the colour had it been painted then.

With Bolton Castle visible in the background

Later, we went to take another look at Lady Hill (as photographed in my previous post), but didn’t really come away with anything spectacular, although the sky was a lot better than on the previous visit. We parked in a layby and ate our sandwiches, then walked a short way along the river to get closer, but did not see any real potential.

We then drove to the village of Bainbridge and called in to the tearoom for a scone and a pot of tea before heading back to the campsite.

On the campite there were signs of autumn showing, with several varieties of mushroom sprouting. Another camper was picking some of them for cooking. I overheard him telling someone else that they were safe, so I presumed he knew what he was doing. Behind our camper I found this little group against a tree (not sure if they’re edible or not), and I liked the backlighting from the late sunlight. I added some fill-light from a silver reflector to boost the shadow side.

Later that evening we went into Hawes for some fish and chips, then drove back to Bainbridge where earlier we had spotted a likely viewpoint for a sunset. Again the sky had been clear all day, so this was not as spectacular as I’d hoped for, but the colour was enhanced by the use of graduated neutral density filters.

Friday was again a very hot day, but we spent the morning packing up to come home and set off around midday, arriving home mid-afternoon after a very hot journey. All being well, we might get another chance to get away for a few days before packing up for the winter.