A neon sea

I got the chance to experiment with different types of lighting recently after going down to the bay at night.

As much as I love street lamps as sources of lighting, sometimes I long for an alternative colour to the neon orange glow that is most street lighting. And down the bay proved the perfect place to do that.

Car parks to local apartments were filled with greens, blues, purples and whites that created much more variety and colour then I would otherwise have found on the streets.

Futhermore the sea created wonderful patterns to the light on the water that when distorted through long exposure became a fantastical canvas through which to create abstract paintings.

Trees

Trees and nature have always inspired in me a sense of love and peace. Their leafy domes offer a place of respite and relaxation in a hectic world of city life.

They offer home to countless animals and birds, providing the air we breath and a substantial amount of the food we eat.

In summer days they are gently respiring giants, adding a breathing green pulse to the city. At night they become silent sentinels, passively observing the secrets of a nocturnal city.

As the year turns to autumn their shifting colours usher in the changing year and shed their leaves in autumnal swirls that leave the streets crunchy underfoot.

And in winter their bony fingers reach to the skies under baleful moons, like witches summoning a multitude of stars into the heavens. 

If there is any one thing on Earth that we should protect our trees and our forests should be a treasure we should seek to protect, safeguard and propagate for ourselves and our loved ones, now and for the future.

Impressionistic photography: how I stopped worrying and learned to love blur

I was showing my photography to another traveller the other day and his response amused me:

"Its all blurry" he said.

"Yes" I said.

"If you used the window ledge you could hold the camera steady" he suggested.

"Why would I want to do that?" was my response.

The truth is many travellers I meet have a similar response, why on earth would I want to take a blurry image when I could take a crisp, sharp one? The simple truth is that I rather like blur, I like its dreaminess, its trippiness, its ability to convey speed, beauty and the mercurial nature of the world.

To be rather snobby on the issue, let other photographers keep their crisp, clean reality. I want to create a dreamy other world for people to explore.

October nights

I love autumn for the simple fact that as a photographer the colours and effects you get at night can be simply stunning.

For example I have developed an obsession with shadows recently and the effects and portraits you can create with them. With the adding of leaves on the ground and a bit of experiment with shutter speed while zooming and walking I was able to create the effect of one of these pictures.

Other pictures I took simply by keeping an eye open for details that might lend themselves for using a low shutter speed and by experimenting with taking pictures on the move.

An artistic blur

One of my favourite techniques which I've experimented with when taking pictures recently has revolved around zooming in on a subject while setting the camera on a low shutter speed. The feeling of speed and the abstract patterns produced create quite a wonderful effect. While this technique may be hit and miss when it does work the effect is spectacular.

These pieces once again show my fascination with the idea creating a piece of photography that could be seen almost as a piece of abstract and impressionistic art.