Do's and don'ts of photography. You HAVE to watch this!
Photographers bluntly insisting that someone who is asking for advice HAS to do something a certain way has been really irritating me recently. It's happening more and more; mainly on photography groups on Facebook. Sometimes it's directed at people who aren't even asking for advice or constructive criticism. Well, this is my advice. #photography #advice #photographytips
How to EASILY photograph the NIGHT SKY and edit in Lightroom
I've just uploaded a tutorial video to YouTube. It's a quick run-through of how to take an astrolandscape image on location and use some simple techniques in Adobe Lightroom to get the most out of the RAW file. It's pretty self-explanatory, so if you're looking for some tips or advice on shooting a nightscape image, hit the video below! The image I work with in the video is a simple composition taken at Cave Dale, Castleton, in the English Peak District. I'd not shot there be
Ode to the Nikon D70
I recently made a YouTube video celebrating my ancient Nikon D70 - the first camera I bought and what got me into photography. The D70 was Nikon's first entry level DSLR - it was their first DSLR that wasn't aimed at professional photographers, and was released in early 2004. I bought mine around 2010 and never looked back. It cost me about £250 back then but you can pick them up for around £50 on eBay nowadays, although my specific camera is worth less as the top LCD screen
Launching my new YouTube photography channel
Something I've been playing with the idea of for a good while now is starting a YouTube channel about all things photography. It seems to me to be the natural extension of keeping a photography blog really. You'll be able to follow me as I go out shooting and see what I get up to as well as get tips and photography advice. I'm aiming to do reviews and opinion pieces as well. All whilst not trying to take myself too seriously... I've got two videos up already and I think with
The importance of cleaning your lenses.
Photographers: hands up who routinely cleans their lenses? I admit it; I don't. If I spot something really obvious I'll give it a quick wipe with a lens cloth. After processing a recent shot though, I think I'll have to change my ways. For comparison, here is the shot before and after I'd cloaned out the muck and spots in Photoshop. The spots are quite visible across the top of the image. I was quite annoyed when I saw it to be honest and I'll make sure I don't make the same
Rant: Should I add a watermark to my photos?
Guys, it's time we had a talk. Please stop ruining your shots by putting a watermark on them. 99% of the time no one wants to "steal" your photos. No one cares. Literally. It's so frustrating to see beautiful shots defaced with a big ugly fake signature scrawl or logo. And it's just as frustrating seeing watermarks on snapshots. There really is no point. If for some reason someone does want to "steal" your photo, they can easily erase any watermark.It takes minimal time and e
You're not a Photographer... Just because you call yourself one.
So, this is a friend of a friend of a friend type situation that I've been going over in my mind for a few days and come to the conclusion that I need to vent and have a little bit of a rant about it. This particular person recently became a "Photographer" (capital P). They quit their day job, built an office at home, spent cash on gear. Now, I'd like to be able to say that I admire that sort of courage and commitment, but I dont, it's misguided. Particularly in this person's
Fake Britain appearance
As you might have seen previously on my blog, I had an unfortunate experience with a "fake" Nikon DSLR a while ago. I wrote a piece that was published on the photography news website Petapixel which subsequently led to the BBC's Fake Britain getting in touch with me for an interview. The episode (Fake Britain series 7, episode 5) can be seen here. My appearance is at around the 30 minute mark. Despite how much it made me cringe seeing (and hearing - which was the worst part!)
The importance of shooting RAW
I wanted to share a photography tip that I wish I'd followed when I was a photography beginner. When I started out I didn't shoot in RAW, I shot exclusively JPEG. For three reasons: 1 - I didn't entirely understand what shooting RAW was, nor how useful - nay, essential - it is. 2 - I felt some kind of misplaced superiority from being able to claim all my work was "straight out of camera". 3 - I wanted instant results (I was lazy). What is shooting in RAW? For the beginner to
Canon or Nikon? A beginners guide.
I was inspired to write this after reading a question in a photography group I’m a member of on Facebook. The question posed was a simple one: "I’m looking to buy my first “decent” camera… Canon or Nikon?” I’m sure the question was asked completely innocently and naively, which is partly what prompted my response. But it does require an answer, and an informed one at that. And if that was the type of question you yourself may have been wanting to ask on a group or forum somew
