Finding inspiration

After months of hectic running around, work and other stresses of a day-to-day existence I finally hit the pause button and fled to the seclusion of my favourite fishing village. The aim was simple:- chill, relax, unwind, walk, and find my 'centre' again.

In this beautiful location, without a mobile phone signal, no internet connection, no phone in the cottage, no TV and an open fire fuelled heating system a tiny bit of my past came home.

I was fortunate enough to have 3 excellent art teachers at my time at secondary school, yet to this day I can only remember the name of one of those teachers. He was a male with wild curly hair and matching mustache, quite quiet as I recall. His art room was filled with pockets of light and artworks, which I had assumed were works of past students.

On a bright, autumnal day, as I walked past the art gallery in this little village, I saw a familiar face staring out from a poster in the window with the name underneath "David Mulholland". Curiously I entered the gallery and found pile of books all about this 'teacher'.

Sitting down with the book at home I was startled by how little I knew about him. He had wanted to be an artist from a young age, now in a harsh industrial area those with artistic talents aren't usually encouraged, but he was. By the 1970s he was living, and being exhibited, in London. However the draw of those heavy industrial sites surrounded by the beautiful and majestic countryside was too much, and he returned to Teesside where he took a job as an art teacher at a local school to support his family.

Throughout the book were images of paintings and sculptures I remember seeing in the classroom. In particular the piece "At The Dentist's" I recall being on a shelf as you entered his classroom. Other pieces made me realise that, subconsciously, his works may have had an impact on my own photographic style.

In 2005 David Mulholland passed away after a long struggle with throat cancer. Looking back through his work as an adult, and with a greater understanding of the man, I consider myself fortunate to have been taught by this talented artist and son of Teesside.

Now I intend to buy at least one of the prints of his work, it's just a shame that my favourite from the classroom isn't available.

For further information on David Mulholland see:

www.davidmulholland.co.uk
www.artsbank.co.uk

His work is on display at Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough until June 2013.

Sensor Cleaning

NOTE: - READ WHOLE ARTICLE THEN CLEAN

While I was researching a sensor loupe I came across a review of a related, excellent product I have used for years. The review read:

"...If you use too much liquid it dries as very obvious spots; too little liquid and you have visible smears. Despite using the recommended liquid and, in the end, all the swabs I never got a sensor I was even vaguely happy ..."

This has happened to me, but purely due to my own inexperience. I mean - sensor cleaning - how hard can it be? Right?

Well, it's not hard, but it is tricky.

Before you start make sure you have the right equipment

I use the following

     from Visible Dust

• 1.0x Orange Swabs
• 1.0x Green Swabs
• VDust fluid
• Dust Snapper
• Quasar Sensor Loupe

     from Giotto 

• Q.Ball Air Blower

A micro-fiber cloth (any will work)

And a lens/sensor brush (make unknown, bought it years ago)

Check you need to clean. f/22 shows up dust and debris best. shoot a light coloured ares (the ceiling works well here)

Now to the cleaning - REMEMBER follow manufacturers guidelines

As the review quoted above said - too much cleaning fluid = spots, however, too little does not cause smears. Smears are mainly caused by swabs being reused. Think about a piece of kitchen roll, you use it to wipe up some spilt red wine, and now you use the same piece of kitchen roll to remove a spill on your cream carpet. What's going to happen? You're going to transfer the red wine and make matters worse. So the solution is simple - use a swab, then bin it! Using 3 swabs to clean a sensor properly is much cheaper than trying to clean the sensor with just one swab and introducing smears.

For the record the one time I introduced smears like this it took 8 swabs to clean up my mess!

Smears can also be caused by the swab coming in to contact with the wall around the sensor. Oil or debris are picked up and transfered as you 'clean'.

There are many excellent guidelines and "How-To's" out there, but my favourite is;

http://visibledust.com/help_troubleshooting.php

(Select "Wet Cleaning Manual (pfd)")

My Technique

Using my sensor loupe I examine the mirror (very carefully!! Watch your eyes!!) and the sensor.

I then conduct a dry clean (blower & brush) of the mirror and sensor. Sometimes I have to use a dry swab on the mirror to remove stubborn specks.

I like to lean my camera downover allowing debris I brush or blow out to fall naturally on the Dust Snapper.

With a sensor loupe you can also spot fine hairs caught in the seams of the camera. You don't have to remove these as they shouldn't interfere with images. However if, like me, you can't stand ANY debris around your mirror and sensor these can be removed with a pair of tweezes and a VERY steady hand. If you are no good at Operation it's best to avoid doing this.

Now check again with the sensor loupe. If there is still evidence of debris present this is the time to wet clean.

1. I take a swab and add 2 drops of fluid towards the bottom of the swab, but still on the flat of the swab. I don't squeeze the bottle, I allow the drops to fall naturally. I find this avoides over saturation
2. In one movement run the swab over the sensor. Take the loupe and view. If the sensor is clear then your done (give yourself a round of applause). 
3. If specks can still be seen throw away the used swab and repeat the above steps until the sensor is clean.

If smears do appear do not panic. You can rectify it, but you must be patient and repeat the steps. All that has happened is that one of the swabs has had some debris on it. It happens to the best of us. You may need to buy additional fluid (such as Visible Dust's Smear Away)

Once the sensor is clean replace the lens and take another photo on f/22 - Yay!! It's clean!!

Now go and shoot!!

I don't want to clean!

It can be daunting to clean your own sensor. Some local camera shops and photography groups run workshops to demonstrate sensor cleaning. My "local" is WEX

If you still don't want to clean your own sensor, then you can contact your local photography store and ask them to recommend someone, or you can contact the manufacturer for their cleaning service.

A local reputable cleaner will probably need your camera for 24hrs and cost around £50. Using the manufacturer's service means your camera may have to be sent away for a longer period of time and may be significantly more costly.

In summary ...

The best of us get debris in our cameras. There is no way to stop it, but there are ways to limit it.

• When cleaning your camera, clean your lenses too, with the same care and dilligence.
• When changing lenses use a blower to ensure both the lens and the chamber are clear.
• As you change the lens point the camera down over (limiting debris 'falling in' to the camera)
• Regularly check the state of the mirror and sensor by taking a photo at f/22 on a light coloured back ground (ceiling shots).

"Can't You Do My Photos For Free? I'm A Struggling ...."

So back to the other question."Can't you do my photos for free? I am an upcoming model/singer/performer/actor, so you'll get loads of coverage".

In the last 72 hours I have honestly had 6 requests like this. Each one was met with a firm no, and an explanation of why. Of those six people two have bookings for a shoot with me.

Here is why I say no;

All over the internet you will see images which - on the whole read

"I am an artist. This does not mean I will work for free, I have bills to pay. Thank you for understanding"

Or pages giving a blow by blow account of why photographers charge.

Citation example 

While very true and extremely accurate these often fall on deaf ears, so I tend to get the individual to think about what they are asking me.

Career Investment

To do my job I invested heavily in camera bodies, lenses, insurance, software, computers, lighting equipment, storage cards, advertising, web presence, vehicle ... the list goes on. I spent years of my 'spare time' honing my skills, getting out there and talking to people, and working on my portfolio. In one case I even faced a fear and appeared on national TV.

For each and every one of us we must invest something in our own careers if we are to succeed. Be that time, money, effort or, in most cases, all of the above. I then ask what they are willing to invest in their career. Often I am met with;

• 'I have spent x years studying' - me too. 
• 'I have very little money' - me too
• 'All the other photographers I've spoken to will, but I like your work best' - ask yourself why my work is more appealing
• 'But you'll get loads of coverage' - In which magazine/art gallery/etc will that be?

Some times the person making the request calls me back, hours, days or even weeks later, telling me that they have thought about what I have said and am I still available to do the work - paid. 

Reasonable Enough

I consider myself quite reasonably priced. I don't display my prices on my site for one simple reason, I like to try and be as accommodating as possible for every budget. For example I did a very local wedding for £450 - a single photographer, venue in walking distance, and a handful of images on CD. The bride and groom were ecstatic. They had 2 weddings to pay for, one in the UK and one in the bride's home country. The wedding abroad was the 'big' one, so they wanted to keep UK costs to a minimum - no reception, no honeymoon, just simple service followed by the flight abroad. 

So, before you ask a photographer to do something for free for your career ask yourself this - What are you willing to invest in your career? And what returns do you expect to see on your investments?

"My Friend Has A Camera, So Why Should I Pay You?"

A frequently asked question, and ranks alongside "I am a young actor/model/singer/performer and have limited funds. Can't you just do the shots and give them to me? You'll get loads of exposure" (we'll address this question later)

This is a true account of a wedding which recently took place. It was sent to me by another photographer;

“A good friend of mine went to a wedding last Friday. The wedding was for 40 people, cost around £4200 for the venue. The bride spent over £1500 on a Charlotte Balbier wedding gown, she had a Jenny Packham hairpiece and amulet, she wore Jimmy Choo shoes of more than £1000.

The cake was “Amazing” and apparently there were “flowers and huge swags everywhere”. The earrings cost “an arm and a leg”. There was a horse-drawn carriage and fireworks at the end of the day.

However, the couple decided they didn't need a wedding photographer as a 'friend' had a camera and could do the job. First of all the camera battery died during the vows, but it was ok as she had a spare. Unfortunately she was using a 'cheap and cheerful' CF card which became corrupted leaving only 23 images available from the 'thousands' taken. All 23 images are of the flowers.”

This couple are left with no photographs of the people who shared their wedding day, but they do have some lovely photos of some flowers they once bought.

Moral of the tale?

Professional photographers offer a 'professional service', and as with every professional service there are charges. Those charges are there for very good reasons, but ask yourself this - “What price memories?” because in the end photographs are memories made tangible.

Back ...

Months of work, research and general rushing around has made sure that I haven't had any time to blog.

Finally last week I took some time out and got myself back on track.

Sitting in a rural garden in Buckinghamshire, surrounded by apple trees, watching a red kite circle overhead soon relaxed me, mind body and soul. In that garden I found my drive again.

Now I have two new book projects in the pipeline with target publishing dates of 2014 and 2015.

If you would like to be involved in these books then please contact me. I am looking for;

• Service personnel who served in any war/conflict in the last 100 years
• Family of service personnel who served in the last 100 years
• People with no military ties, but who have vivid memories of any war/conflict in the last 100 years
• Women working in 'male dominated' roles (mechanics, engineers, plumbers, etc)
• Pioneering women; those who were 'the first' in their field - i.e. first female firefighter in London
• Stay at home dads
• Males in 'female dominated' roles (Nurses, childcarers, etc)
• Pioneering males; those who were 'the first' in their field - i.e. first male midwife in Newcastle
• People born on the following dates;
• 11th November 1918
• 2nd September 1945
• 12th November 1975
• 9th November 1989
• 2nd December 1999

Interested? Contact books

..Additional ..

I have finally got round to adding my Twitter and Business Facebook links to the bottom of the main page.

And tidying up my links, Contact Me and, About pages. It really had been a long time since I looked at any of those :(. Hopefully the contact me page now works (it seemed to have stopped).

Right - back to the photography :)

Websites Can Stump Even The I.T Literate

May be I should have targeted to write once a month, I seem to be able to manage that :)

I finally got some new photos to add to the "For Sale" gallery. I logged in to the server only to find everything had changed, the layout, the formatting, everything. Something which should have taken minutes took considerably longer, as I attempted to find visibility options, sales options, etc.

Finally managed the upload and now there are images of the two robins which live in my garden available.

However I still need to figure out how to add a new gallery to the website so I can load more of my wildlife photography.

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."

Still not doing very well with this 'once a week' posting lark :(

So my big news I can now share (well most of it any way) - At the start of this year I was shortlisted for the BBC show Show Me The Monet. I made it through to the final and went before the judges .....

What happened?

Well you'll have to tune in to the show to find out :)

What I will say is it will be very funny to watch because nerves got the better of me, and oh my god was I embarrassing!

Still - it was a good giggle and I learned lots from it, including that I have a tenancy to hug people when I'm extremely nervous ..... poor Chris Hollins :)

The Best Laid Plans ....

I had decided to blog at least once a week. Unfortunately/fortunately I have been working flat out. Various competitions, new projects and the usual 'day-to-day' made the blogging slip off my radar.

My most recent project has been based on the interior redesign of my bedroom. Above my bed I have the Umbra Snap frames. Being 3x3 it proves quite difficult to compose a good image in those confines and to get that size printed. So I have spent my evenings shooting a number of items which match the new colour scheme, and the feel of the room. This project is the sort of bespoke work I am available for, don't just think wedding, christenings, portraits, etc; think bespoke art work for your home.

Yet another image has been captured for my Help for Heroes project. This project is on-going, if you would like to be involved please contact me. I am always looking for models.

There is one other, quite large, project in the pipeline. However this is going to remain deep under wraps until everything is in place. Stay tuned.

In the year of the Dragon

"Tigers should enjoy an energetic year on the business and career front and sweaty days spent stalking wildebeest on the Savannah are likely to be well rewarded. If you can, try and channel some of your creative energy into learning new skills; your get up and go attitude will drive you to success making it the perfect year to take up that course on emergency first aid for antelopes."

So then .... On the first day of the Year of the Dragon, this Wood Tiger received a phone call informing her that she had made it through to the next round of the BBC show "Show Me The Monet".

Fingers crossed for the final stage :)