April 13: Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

These sand dues lie just outside Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. Hot, dry and harsh during the day, the sunset transforms them into a thing of real beauty. Warm low sidelighting from the sun highlights the detailled patterns in the sand as well as the larger areas of shadow. This photograph was captured on a Sony RX100 compact camera. I have chosen to use a shallow depth of field to prevent the distant dunes being sharply focussed. I felt this gave them more of a dreamlike feel and also helped reduce some of the more obvious foot prints in the sand.

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March 13: Whitby Steps

These are the famous steps at Whitby leading from the old town to the abbey. This particular spot on the steps is a favourite of mine and usually yields something interesting. This is a long exposure using a Canon 5D MkII tripod mounted and a wide angle 17-40 Canon Lens.

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February 13: Pine Tree

This is a pine tree shot in Infrared using a converted Panasonic GX1 with an Olympus 9-18 lens. The post processing was completed in Lightroom (not recommended for Infrared conversion) and then converted to Black and Whie using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

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December 12: Formby Beach

Formby beach late on a winters afternoon. SHot with the sun behind me and slightly overexposed. A 0.6ND graduated filter was used on the sky in order to allow the sand to be very light. Captured with a GX1, 14-45mm lens and 0.6ND graduated filter.

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November 12: Great End, The Lake District

The first snows have arrived to mark the start of Winter so I took to the mountains of the Lake District. This view is of Great End near to Wasdale at the end of the day. I had just been up Scafell Pike and over Great End when I found this frozen pool on my descent. Captured with a GX1, 14-45mm lens and 0.6ND graduated filter.

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September 12: The Alps, Switzerland

There were some amazing sunsets in Switzerland as well as amazing montains. This was the view from my bedroom window. Shot with a GX 1 and 18-45mm lens, 0.6 ND graduated filter with the camera tripod mounted.

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August12: The Alps, Switzerland

Captured on my recent trekking trip from Monte Blanc to the Matterhorn. This was the sight that greeted me as I left our mountain hut on day 2. Shot with a GX 1 and 45-200mm lens.

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July12: Lofoten Islands, Norway

A final image from my Norway trip back in March.

Shot with the GF1 and 14-45mm lens at 25mm. A 0.3 ND grad has been used on the sky. Fortunately there was a lot of thin low cloud giving a nice milky feel to the sunset with nice pastle tones.

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June12: Lofoten Islands, Norway

Another image from my Norway trip back in March. Again shot with the GF1 and 14-45mm lens. A 0.3 ND grad has been used on the sky. There was no way I was going to be able to hold the highlights so I allowed them to blow out and slightly underexpose the image. I think this adds nicely to the drama of the scene.

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April 12: Lofoten Islands, Norway

On a recent holiday to Norway I travelled back along the coast on the Hurtigruten ship. This was just one of the amazing views as the sailed through the Lofoten Islands which were absolutely spectacular. My trusty GF1 and 14-45 lens performed superbly. The milky sky was the product of thin cloud and only a 0.3ND graduated filter was necessary to balance the exposure.

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March 12: Sunburst, Formby Beach

Having sheltered at the edge of the beach from the passing rain and hail it was a quick sprint down to the waters edge (well not quite the edge as the tide goes out for miles). It was a bit of a struggle to get the camera set up and I only just managed to catch this fantastic sunburst.

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February 12: Corfe Castle, Dorset

I think Corfe Castle is a wonderful mysterious ruin and I had long wanted to photograph the location. This was my first visit and I was lucky enough to witness a sunrise with the early morning mist spreading across the fields. Listening to other photographers at the same location this is quite a rare occurence.

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January 12: Lake Distict Winter Sunset

I love the Lake District and particularly so in Winter when the mountains begin to collect snow. I captured this image at the end of a 12 mile hill walk. The location is on Derwent Water at the oposite end of the lake to Keswick. The sun had just set and the tops of the mountains were catching the cold wintery light.

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December 11: The Bull from Durdle Door

The rock in the centre of the frame is known as The Bull and I captured this dramatic sunset from the beach at Durdle Door. The shingle beach there is simple amazing as is the sound of the waves dragging back over its surface.

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November 11: Country Lane in the Yorkshire Dales

This wonderful country lane leads up in the hills behind the little village of Clapham. It is a lovely location with pheasant wandering along the fields as you walk. The light was just perfect for a moment but then that’s all it takes.

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October 11: Wells Cathedral, Wells

On a recent trip to Cornwall I decided to stop off at Wells on the way back as a nice detour. I knew the Cathedral encouraged photography and the price of a permit was very good. I certainly don’t mind paying a few pounds where the interior is a beautiful as this. I spotted these arches bathed in wonderfully warm light from a side window and they just seemed to pop out from their surroundings.

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September 11: Storm in the Valley, The Lake District

This was from a recent walking trip to the Lake District. We had walked up the side of the Old Man of Coniston and then up the valley towards Wetherlam. On the approach to the summit of Wetherlam the storm clouds that had been threatening rolled in and darkened the sky. I spotted my opportunity and captured a number of frames of which this is the best.

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Cubism, Liverpool

I shot this image on the old dock road in Liverpool. At one time the dock road would have been packed with workers and now it’s almost a wasteland. Look hard though and you can find all sorts of interesting images to create. This is part of a huge mountain of old scrap metal that has been crushed into cubes ready for processing.

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Silo 21, Liverpool

Another image from the dock road in Liverpool. These are storage silos at the Tate and Lyle plant and make wonderful subjects when hit by the morning light. If you are wondering why it’s titled Silo 21, there is a large number 21 just out of shot.

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Rubber Mat, Liverpool

I found this rubber mat folded in a heap near to where I photographed the scrap cubes. I worked for a while trying to create a good composition and almost gave up until the sun came out and created a nice warm side lighting.

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Blue Door, Liverpool

Another image from the dock road area. This faded door must once have been a rich blue colour however the direct sunlight and years of exposure to the harsh environment have cracked and faded the paint. This for me however is part of its charm; you can see the years literally etched onto its surface.

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