Archive for March, 2008
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The clocks went forward today and enjoying the beautiful weather we have had today. I decided to grab my macro lens and take a look around our garden for some new images. Things are gradually springing to life out there and the hyacinths seemed to be a good choice, as they weren’t in direct and strong sunlight.
The shot was taken using a Tamron 90mm macro lens, camera mounted on a tripod and a reflector attached to the leg of the tripod with a “plamp”. I was looking for some strong abstract images with a big splash of colour and this composition was the one I liked best out of the whole lot! You may see some more shots in the gallery section.
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I have been gradually increasing the range of photos available from my online print shop at:
Go to www.nicklewisphotography.co.uk
Click on “Prints” to enter the gallery and I highly recommend using the slide show feature to browse them all.
A number of sizes are available and all prints are signed before despatch to the customer.
The photo above was taken in Le Brusc, France of an absolutely gorgeous sunset over the Med. It was taken with a Nikon D100 and a Sigma 70-200mm lens. This photo is just one of the many for sale as prints and this collection will be increased furthermore throughout the year.
UPDATE - This has changed!! Web address is the same but you don’t need to click on a prints link, just browse the entire site, add images you like to your lightbox and then order them as prints….
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If you are one of the observant sorts you will no doubt spot that this isn’t a recent shot and you are indeed right, it was taken 10 months ago. I am in the mood for Spring and have spotted that the Black Headed gulls I’ve seen in recent weeks are starting to develop their summer plumage and serves as a reminder that it will soon be time to keep a keen eye on all things Spring. Over the weekend we saw a number of lambs which took us by surprise as we weren’t expecting to see any until at least mid April. Today whilst out for a brief walk, I heard the distinctive sound of the skylark and sure enough, spotted at least one in flight overhead. Come to think of it the clocks go forward this weekend. Its Spring!
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The new Doris Salcedo installation at the Tate Modern puzzles many a visitor as it did us. How did she do it? Why did she do it? What is the meaning of modern art? Anyway I didn’t particularly care as I chose to take a photo of the whole affair from the first floor looking down. A cliched shot maybe, many people were taking it with their cameraphones but sometimes its ok to be a tourist too.
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Its always interesting when photographing a famous building such as St Pauls (shown above). Instead of taking a shot of the famous dome across the river, I opted to photograph a different side of the building and using a street lamp as a focal point in the foreground. Its just a little bit different to the norm.
If you are an ardent fan of fine photography and will be in London this coming week, spare a little time to pop down to the Oxo Tower and visit “Waiting for the Light”. A fine exhibition by David Noton, a photographer with 25 years under his belt and quite a few air-miles to match. The exhibition is packed with hundreds of breathtaking photos spanning the globe, ranging from panaramics to wonderful character portraits of local indigenous peoples of every continent on this earth.
David Noton has been an inspiration of mine since I first discovered photography and it was a great moment to meet both David and his wife Wendy and have a brief chat.
Picking my favourite images at the Exhibition is quite hard as they are all exceedingly good but I especially loved the images of some of my favourite places around the UK such as Durdle Door, The Lakes and Cornwall. The huge shot of Derwent Water was very impressive, I felt as if I could walk into it!
For more information please visit www.davidnoton.com - Waiting for the light runs till the end of March.
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I have been going through the gallery on this site and picking out some of my favourite shots taken over the past couple of years and as a result deciding what direction I would like to take this year. Its a difficult thing to decide upon, as I have so many interests in photography. I have my favourite lenses - for example I love my macro for getting some great abstract shots mainly of natural subjects. I also enjoy using my monster 50-500mm lens for photographing birds and other animals. I have for some time had my eye on the 300-800mm Sigma but the price tag is a little bit scary! I am still also getting to grips with my newest recruit, the Sigma 18-200 OS that I have recently used for Brussels and Oxford.
The best time of year is around the corner and I endeavour to get out there and photograph nature in all its glory plus also exploring my travel interests that will take in more of the UK throughout 2008.
You may have read here about a band called “Mavis Grind”?
The other day Fraser Smith asked me how their name had come about and whether they had any connection with the Shetlands, well I just had to ask the question and Dave Evans (keyboardist/vox) said:
“Well spotted!
There’s a place in the Shetland Islands where the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are separated by a narrow strip of land which otters use as a crossing point and the Vikings used to haul their long ships across. It’s called Mavis Grind, gateway to the narrow isthmus.
Our drummer went there on holiday and we just thought it sounded like a good name for the band! That’s the only link.”
So there you go, Fraser, you were absolutely right 
628Mavis Grind are a great Hampshire based band for whom I have done a little photography for. In fact they’ve used some of my shots as artwork in their current album “Give it some choke” and on their brand new Facebook page - Go and check it out now - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mavis-Grind/7189698051
“Photographer Days” has become a new category on this blog and for a very good reason. The events started ages ago back in the early days of Nfolio and now combine Nfolio members with those of other sites such as Flickr. It is always interesting to meet with other photographers and to spend a day simply enjoying photography rather than being hampered by clients needs and restraints (assuming you work as a pro of course). Its a great opportunity for the less experienced person to get to grips with their passion for imagery and to learn more from those with more experience.
I am planning to arrange more of these days. If this sounds good to you please feel free to suggest some potential locations.
