If you are interested in street photography you will no doubt realise how difficult it is to capture a ‘keeper’, that is, an image that you think will appeal to others and that shouldn’t be deleted from your archives. Many street photographers try to capture something humorous or unusual that will appeal to viewers. Something odd, a strange juxtaposition or an unlikely occurrence usually make for compelling images. They create those unique moments that street photographers look out for. Alternatively, photographers might try to tell a story through their images. The story might be explicit or just hinted at for the viewer to think about the image and make up their own mind about what is happening. There are other street photographers for whom the aesthetically pleasing image takes priority. This might entail the use of bold colour or be based on good contrast of light and shade. It might be a silhouette image or even an abstract image. The main focus of this approach to street photography is that the image will have strong visual appeal. But often, it is on the very occasions that we go out looking for these specific occurrences, that we won’t find them. As German photographer Markus Hartel once said, 'Street photography is like gambling. You get lucky or you get nothing...' So, how do we try to ensure that we get lucky once in a while? How do we occasionally capture those elusive keepers? First of all, it is important to manage our expectations in street photography. If we go out expecting to find an amazing shot straight away, we are likely to be disappointed. All good street photographers agree that great subjects are not just there for the taking. We have to go out often, be patient, accept ‘failure’ and be willing to try and try again to find those compelling street images. As Matt Stuart, author of ‘Think Like a Street Photographer’, puts it, we need to, ‘get up, get out and go and find things’. I recently came across this quote from poet Philip Larkin: ‘Nothing, like something, happens anywhere.’ When I read the quote I thought, ‘this applies to street photography too.’ How many times do we go out with our cameras and come home with nothing? Yet I realise also that it is often when we least expect something interesting to happen that it will happen, and it can happen anywhere. We need to be there and to be observant. As one photographer described it: a lot of walking and looking and then there it is. (Mark Alor Powell) And that is the magic of street photography. The second way to guarantee at least a few keepers is to realise that street photography is not just about taking random pictures of people in the street. This just results in boring images that no-one wants to look at. Good street photography involves making something worthwhile to offer your viewers – a narrative, a unique moment or just something aesthetically pleasing. It also involves employing some techniques to achieve these results, such as using sub-framing to create interest or using layering to add depth. I recently had a look back through my street images to see if I could identify any that fit into this category; images that I would consider to be keepers. Below are some that go some way to hitting the mark in that I think they provide at least some element of interest for the viewer. Taking a Break, Dublin 2019 Morning Chat, Dublin 2019 Shadows on the Wall, Vila Real, Portugal, 2023 Street Cleaner, Vila Real, Portugal, 2023 Rain in the City, Dublin 2022 Photographing Phil Lynott, Dublin 2023 Boy Among the Pigeons, Dublin 2019 The Mask, Dublin 2019 I’m Not Playing! Dublin 2019 Dog Spotting, Lake Garda, 2019 Viewpoint, Lake Garda 2019 Street Protest, Dublin 2019 Moment of Persuasion, Dublin 2019 What's Happening? Vila Real, Portugal, 2023 FINAL WORDS If, like me, you take lots of street images and have difficulty recognising those elusive 'keepers' then it might be worth thinking about your images under one of these three headings: - images that tell a story, - images that capture a moment - images that have an aesthetic quality. These type of images have what might be called a 'captivating quality'. They give the viewer something worthwhile to look at instead of being just more images of random people on the street doing nothing in particular. For me, the real joy of street photography is that I can constantly be on a quest to capture images that have this captivating quality. Some day I might find that gem, but in the meantime I won’t get disheartened as I keep in mind this quote from photographer Alex Webb: ‘Street photography is 99.9 per cent about failure’.

I love going out in all seasons to do photography, but autumn is definitely my favourite season. Autumn offers something unique that no other season can quite match, and that is stunning colour. Nothing can beat taking a walk in the countryside, or in a city park, and observing the beautiful oranges, yellows, reds, golds and rusty browns which nature shows off in this season. But it's not just the autumn colours that make this season great for photography. For me, it's also about being out in the chilly air on a clear autumn morning, which accentuates the sense of change that's happening all around. It's about the mixture of emotions as we say goodbye to summer and yet have a sense of gratitude for being alive to see another autumn unfold before us. It's about the opportunity to feel awe and wonder at the magnificence of nature at its best; to observe beauty around every corner and even encounter the occasional surprise. It's about those misty, moody mornings when everything is hiding behind a curtain of fog and the earth seems so still. It's about those rainy days which bring out the true vibrance of the autumn colours. And when the sun breaks through the early morning mist, and bathes everything in a golden glow, that is the cherry on the cake! Autumn is a season of beauty, colour, change, often moody but always providing wonderful photographic opportunities. That's why I love autumn photography. Why not have a look at my autumn images gallery.

I often go out with my camera without a clear idea of what I want to photograph and as a result my outings can be unproductive. To counteract this, I have, at times, tried to put some structure on my outings. One idea is to have an on-going project, but this is a long-term activity and not one for every outing as it would soon become stale. Another option is to take on a photography challenge posed by an external source such as an online photography forum or an individual photographer. This will often involve taking some images on a certain subject or topic, choosing one or two of our best images and posting them to the group. This can give us an added incentive when we go out on our photography shoot but it does rely on finding challenges that will interest us and suit our type of photography. A third way to help us become more productive on our photography shoots is to take part in what is called a photography self-assignment. WHAT DOES A PHOTOGRAPHY SELF-ASSIGNMENT ENTAIL? In my view, a self-assignment is where we assign ourselves a task, set a timeframe for the task completion, and present the results in some form. The assignment can be anything we choose but should be something that will hold our interest or that will help us discover a new interest. Self-assignment ideas There are countless options for photography self-assignments. You might make a series of close-up photos, you might take photos of birds in different environments, you might make a series of photos that all include water. A series of photos that include motion is another idea, or you might like to make a series of images that all include a composition technique, for example, sub-framing. Colour as a theme is commonly used in photography but you can make it more interesting by including your chosen colour in different environments, for example, the colour yellow in towns and cities as well as in the natural landscape. Alternatively, you might look for contrasting colours or complimentary colours. Get to know your neighbourhood – walk around for a few days looking for images that will tell the story of your neighbourhood. The list of ideas for self-assignments is endless, and the more you do the more ideas you’ll have. Presenting your images When you have completed your first self-assignment task, the next step is to decide how you will present your images. I think this is an important part of the self -assignment as it adds another dimension to the process. It encourages us to think about how best to display our images so that we achieve our final goal and complete the assignment rather than just saving them in a folder, never to be seen again. There are various options for presenting our finished assignment. Presenting images as an online gallery is a common option but I have also seen images printed and displayed as 9 small photos on one frame, or made into a photo book. Recently I saw a photographer do an assignment where he presented his images as a set of diptychs, that is, images presented in pairs with something connecting them. This last option appeals to me as it encourages me to think about the final presentation while I am shooting and to try to compose accordingly. WHAT MAKES A PHOTOGRAPHY SELF-ASSIGNMENT WORTH TRYING? Here are 7 reasons to try a photography self-assignment that I have come up with. You will probably think of more. 1. It will add interest to an otherwise regular photography outing. 2. It will give some structure and focus to your photography shoot. 3. It will encourage you to continually set new goals for your photography. 4. It will sharpen your powers of observation. 5. It will encourage you to challenge yourself creatively. 6. It will help you learn new skills as you experiment with new styles and techniques. 7. It will encourage you to evaluate your photography for presentation. In this post I have looked at some reasons to try a photography self- assignment. Before I end, I want to give a brief example of a recent assignment I tried and to assess its value. To get started I kept it simple and easy to adapt to any location. Assignment: Morning in My Local Park. Presentation: Set of diptychs documenting life on a typical morning in my local city park. Here are some of the resulting images. Evaluation: 1. The self-assignment gave me something concrete to focus on during my morning shoot. 2. I was conscious that I had decided to present my images as a set of diptychs so I kept this in mind and tried to shoot in pairs with a common connection between the two images. 3. I was interested and engaged during the shoot and decided to try another self-assignment in the near future. Is a self-assignment something that would interest you?

This image gallery is a set of images taken on a recent trip to the west of Ireland. UNDER THE WESTERN SKY I hope you like some of the images.

In my last post I wrote about why I think every photographer should have their own website. I wrote the post from my experience of developing a photography website over the last few years. My website would not be considered to be very successful, although I do have a small number of new and returning visitors and I will write for one reader with the same enthusiasm as I would write if I had thousands of visitors every day. For me, the success of my website is measured by what it has given back to me in terms of motivation, inspiration and a continuing passion for photography. HOW HAS HAVING A WEBSITE HELPED MY PHOTOGRAPHY? Having my own website means I have a platform in which to display my photographs in whatever form I choose, a place where I can share my thoughts and insights about my photography journey and a space in which to grow as a photographer. Without this space where I can interact with others and with my own images, where I can clarify my goals and decide where to go next, where I can hold a mirror up to my own work, I doubt if I would still feel the motivation to go out regularly with my camera. Knowing that I will post my images and write about my process in a blog post gives me an outlet for my photographs. I know that they will not just sit in a folder on a hard drive but will be curated and chosen to be shared for a particular purpose, which gives me a reason for taking them in the first place. Maybe most important of all is that I get to post the images that I like. It's not always easy to find a space to post ICM images. On my own website I can do that. I used to post to Instagram, try to include the most appropriate hashtags, and feel disappointed that I didn’t get more likes. Then I realised that to get more likes I would need to post more regularly and put more effort into doing what is needed to do to get noticed. I have started to post less often on Instagram and put more effort into posting on my website, where I am not looking for likes or to have my work noticed. I can be experimental knowing that I am often posting a work in progress which reflects my continuing development as a photographer. On my website I am posting to share my journey, to give inspiration to anyone else who might be starting this wonderful hobby and to increase my own creativity and enjoyment of photography. If you are frustrated with social media but want to show your images and would like somewhere to call your own, a website might be the answer. It was for me.

Professional photographers will use every means they can to publicise their work, but even as amateurs it is a good idea to have your own website. In this post I put forward 9 reasons why you should have a photography website as an amateur photographer. #1 Showcase Your Work A photography website provides you with a platform on which to show your images. Having your own platform means that you can decide which images you want to show and how you want to present those images, as well as allowing you to include other features that enhance and promote your photography work. #2 Tell Your Story Having your own website gives you the opportunity to share your own story and outline your goals for your readers. Your About Me page, blog posts, comments and communications with your readers provide opportunities to share some of your own views and opinions and allow readers to get to know you. #3 Discuss Your Photography You get to talk about your photography in as much detail as you want to. You can also delve into other photography topics and as you build your online profile and begin to have a returning group of readers, you will find which topics are the most popular. #4 Reflect Your Own Personal Style You can reflect your own personal style on your photography website. Your writing, choice of images to include, your gallery and the websites you link to, all say something about your style and preferences in photography. For example, you can tell from my website that I like landscape photography and street photography. You can discover that I value photography as a gateway to wellbeing and that mindful photography is something I practise. From some of my posts you might deduce that I like to experiment, discover new ways to photograph familiar things, and that I am drawn to other photographers who do the same. #5 Control Your Content Unlike relying on a social media platform, with your own website you control your content and how you present that content. If you are writing a blog post you can choose your own title, layout, font size and colour scheme. You decide which photos to include, what captions to add, how best to organise your images and what links to other websites or other photographers’ work you want to include. You have a lot of creative freedom by having your own website rather than being constrained by social media platforms or by being part of larger websites. If you want to use social media platforms in conjunction with a website, you also have the option to link all your social media accounts together through your website. #6 Provide Another Outlet for Your Creativity Building, developing and maintaining a website adds another creative outlet to your photography journey. It will involve planning, organising, making creative choices and decisions, curating your work and presenting your photography to suit your own style. #7 Build Community Through your website you can build a community, engage with your readers through a comments section or through email, reach out to other creators, and make connections with likeminded people. You can promote events, other websites, or YouTube channels that your readers might be interested in. You can have an informative website that links to the work of others providing resources and giving value to your readers outside of your own work. #8 Increase Your Motivation By creating your own photography website to showcase your images, share personal thoughts, reach out to others in the photography community and document your journey as a photographer, you are likely to increase your interest in what you do, provide incentive and keep motivation alive. #9 Make Some Money While I am directing my comments primarily to amateur photographers whose primary aim is not to make money from photography, with a website there is potential to grow a photography business and an opportunity to make some extra money if that is something you wish to do. It is possible to sell prints, calendars, eBooks, courses or other merchandise through your website, or even have affiliate links. POPULAR WEBSITE BUILDERS If you would like to create your own website, there are many website providers to choose from. Wordpress is a popular website builder, though not the easiest to use. Easier to use options include Squarespace, Ionos and Wix , the three most popular website builders in 2023. I built my website using Wix as it provides an easy-to-use format on which to build your platform. Wix allows you a lot of creative scope while being intuitive to use, and there are accompanying tutorials at all stages. I had very little experience in creating a website prior to starting, and I was not interested in a steep learning curve, so I can vouch for the ease of use of the Wix website builder. If you decide to go down the road of a photography website checkout this website for a comprehensive assessment of each platform. https://www.top10best-websitebuilders.co.uk/ You might like to check out these photography websites from photographers working in different genres: Photographic Connections First Man Photography Mike Chudley Roman Fox (snapsbyfox.com) Henry Turner | Landscape Photography (henryturnerphotography.co.uk) Although most of these websites are complementary to YouTube channels, they do give an idea of what a photography website can look like and how it can be used. Final Thoughts… Not every photographer will want their own website, and many are happy to share images on social media or dedicated photography platforms. But for those who would like to add another dimension to their photography work, a website can provide incentive, motivation, interest and challenge and allow you to present your own unique slant on your photography journey.

There are many opinions in the photographic community on this question. For some, landscape images should only include those elements that are naturally occurring in nature - trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, sea, rocks and so on. Others are happy to include a ‘strategically placed’ person in their landscape images but draw the line at including human-made features, while still others feel that their images are enhanced by the inclusion of a human, or even a human-made, feature. One of the photographers that I admire and have followed on YouTube for some time is James Popsys. James is a very successful professional photographer whose website and videos showcase his individual approach to photography. Two aspects of his work stand out for me. • James believes that a photograph should be about something rather than of something. He suggests that a photograph should tell a story which encourages the viewer to ask questions and wonder about what is happening in the image. • James takes the view that including a human element in a photograph helps to tell the story and serves to involve the viewer in the image. His images regularly include people or animals but will often also feature human-made aspects of the environment such as bridges, stone walls, fences, huts, even houses and telegraph poles when they add to the story of the image. I can relate to the James Popsys approach to photography (maybe not the telegraph poles!) I particularly like to include old human-made features such as old walls, bridges and fences, while buildings such as castles, old churches and the occasional lighthouse feature regularly in my photography. Most of these landscape elements have existed for many decades or even centuries and are an important link to the past. They encourage us to think about the lives of those who built the structures and reflect on how these structures have become an integral part of the landscapes we know today. I am not averse to including people in my landscape images, though I try to deliberately place them in a way that will enhance the image. In addition, I frequently include more modern human-made objects as they often tell a story in a way that the scene on its own doesn’t tell. I think that sometimes the addition of a human element in an image tells the story better than if it showed landscape only. I often include a seat in an image as it gives a human eye point of view. Looking from the point of view of a statue or sculpture can give the same effect. I think the bridge gives an added element to the leading line, which leads the viewer to the steps in the background. While the bridge and steps are both human-made I am happy to include them. I think that using the groynes as a leading line out to infinity enhances this coastal image. Do you agree? James Popsys likes to include telephone wires in his images. In the first image I included the wires then took a second image in which I removed the wires. I prefer the second version but it is a matter of taste. The same scene, one with the addition of a human element, one without. You choose. Can a good landscape photograph include a human element? Would you be happy to add a human or human-made element to your landscape images? Share your thoughts below.

Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal When I am travelling, one of the most interesting things to do in photography is to capture some documentary style images of my travels. The name suggests that in this type of photography we are documenting or telling a story , of a place and its people, with our images. We want to tell a story to the viewer. Storytelling will help to engage the viewer. To be effective, this type of photography has a few basic requirements. We must look for interesting subjects, frame these in such a way that they draw the viewer’s eye, and use our photographic skills to present the image in the most compelling way. With each image, ask yourself, ‘What story do I want to tell with this image?’ and 'How can I best tell that story?' Here are 7 tips that will hopefully help you to create great documentary photographs of the places you visit. 1. Do your research. Before you travel, check out the area, its main characteristics, recommendations for places to visit. The more research you do before you go, the less you will miss when you get there. 2. Plan the type of images you want to include . For example, you will probably want to include images of people, buildings, markets, and so on. You might like to capture local artists at work, shoppers in the market, street vendors, people having coffee. You might want to find interesting bus or train stations, cafes or street signs that tell the story of the place. A typical street cafe in Vila Real 3. Tell the story of the place by including people, their interactions, their expressions and emotions. You might get close to capture an old person’s face or capture an animated gesture. Having a morning chat 4. Include images that are characteristic of the place. This might be seen in the design of the buildings, the layout of streets, the places where people congregate. You might juxtapose the old with the new, shadow areas with light. Sometimes the addition of a travelling companion can add to the story of your visit to a place 5. Include people in their natural environment. It is good to be an observer. Watch what people do, where they go, who they meet. Show them in these places. 6. Make at least 3 types of images of each scene It is suggested that to tell our story more effectively in documentary photography we should use three distinct types of shot. The first is to set the scene with a wide-angle shot, often called an establishing shot, then choose medium focal length to give a closer, more detailed perspective and finally a close-up angle of each scene which will convey a more intimate picture. A series of images will show the essence of the places you visit. For example, in a street market we could have a wide angle shot of the entire scene, a medium angle shot showing details of items on an individual stall, and a close-up image to show individual shoppers, interactions between people, and so on. Street markets are common in this region of Portugal and Spain so a series of images can be used to tell a story 7. Use different perspectives. You might find a high building and shoot down to the street below or look up and capture something interesting from ground level. You might shoot from waist level rather than eye level. If you can avoid taking all your shots from the perspective of a standing adult your images will be more interesting and this will help to make your story more compelling for the viewer. VIla Real from 9th storey apartment Vila Real marina at sunset Some final thoughts It is important to set yourself time each day for photography rather than taking pictures on the run and feeling rushed. An important part of your photographs will be your composition. Take your time to compose properly. Plan where to go and what you would like to shoot there but be spontaneous too. After all, you are away from home – make the most of your time and enjoy everything. Whether you are using your camera for your documentary travel photography, or your phone, try to get the best images that you can get. Experiment with different perspectives and various focal lengths, or try out different apertures and shutter speeds. Think about what you will do with your photographs afterwards. Will you put together a slideshow, use the photos to tell the story of your travels in a blog or compile your images in a book? Whatever you will eventually do with the images, you will need to have a good variety of different types of images to choose from. You won’t show all your images; some will suit your purposes better than others. You will want to create a compelling series from your photographs, and you won’t be able to do this unless you have plenty of images to choose from. Most documentary photographers will say that captions are necessary in this genre of photography. Captions add a narrative to the story and help the viewer to understand your intention. A caption will not describe literally what can be seen; it will give some additional information that will enhance the photo and enrich the viewer’s experience. Captions need to be relevant; words chosen to support the story you are trying to convey. You may enjoy the location you are visiting, after all you chose to go there, but not everyone will share your enthusiasm, especially as they are not sharing your experience first-hand. For that reason, it is important to present your documentary travel story in an interesting and engaging way. You will do this by choosing carefully which images to share so that you create a compelling series that will bring your travels alive to the viewer. Do you have any more tips to help improve documentary travel photography? Why not share them?

Main shopping area, Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal In a short time I hope to return to a family apartment in south-eastern Portugal. I will be based in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, a traditional Portuguese fishing town built on the banks of the Guadiana river and overlooking the Spanish town of Ayamonte, which is a mere 10-15 minutes ferry ride away. The town resembles Lisbon in many ways and is an ideal location for people watching, taking long, leisurely strolls and stopping to browse at the many small shops and market stalls. I hope to visit Ayamonte as well as some of the neighbouring Portuguese towns such as Monte Gordo and Tavira along with the picturesque villages of Castro Marim and Cacela Vehla. I travelled here last year without my camera, and relied on my phone camera for images. This year I hope to bring my small Olympus OM-D EM 10 Mark ii and two lenses as well as using my phone camera for backup. The question I am asking myself is – what type of photography will I do while travelling this time? I will certainly take some tourist pictures of areas that I am visiting for the first time. These will be kept as memories or for showing to family and friends (if they’re interested!) but they won’t be part of my photography journey. It is to continue to enhance my photography journey that I am considering the question, What type of photography will I be doing? 1. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY The narrow streets of Vila Real and surrounding towns are ideal for doing street photography; for capturing daily life as it happens around me and picking up on some of those intimate scenes involving local people. Street markets, people going about their daily routine, human interactions, interesting or unusual activities, even eye-catching outfits will all be worth watching out for, as well as capturing people illuminated in pockets of light between buildings. Street photography is a genre I really enjoy doing and the ability to visit several different places and observe daily living with my camera will present many new photographic opportunities. In addition, street photography is not so much about technical perfection as about capturing what is true and real, and that is something that appeals to me. Last year I took a short stroll each morning to this local shop to buy fresh bread, slices of juicy melon and oranges. It is a favourite place for local residents. I think this photo tells a story of a regular morning in this location 2. URBAN LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY In my view this is a slightly different genre to street photography in that it allows me to include buildings and landscape features that represent the area that I am visiting and which is different from the area in which I live and where I normally photograph. Urban landscape photography can include wide urban vistas, taken from a high vantage point, or intimate images of architectural features common to the region. It can include busy streets or crowded markets, or feature an interesting building bathed in sunlight. It can encompass the unique shapes, colours, patterns and textures which give a flavour of the local architectural style or it can be an image from a low perspective using the interesting cobbled streets or tiled paving as foreground interest. The main square in Vila Real 3. GENERAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY This region of Portugal is rural as well as urban and has beautiful coastal areas where there are many opportunities for general landscape photography, and Vila Real has a great marina with lots of one of my favourite photography subjects, boats! There will again be a variety of options including wide angle shots of seascapes, riverside scenes and buildings in the context of their landscape. There will also be intimate landscape shots to be found in many locations, as well as opportunities for some abstract images, and I relish the chance to explore and discover something different. Vila Real marina 4. DOCUMENTARY TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY Documentary travel photography may well be a combination of the above genres of photography. Essentially, this is different from travel snapshots in that it is an attempt to document or tell the story of the location through images. However, it isn’t confined to any particular genre and, in a sense, anything that helps to tell the story and capture the essence of the place is acceptable in documentary travel photography. Traditional style church in Ayamonte, Spain. I think the inclusion of a person descending the steps might have improved the image. I recently wrote a post called 7 Tips for Documentary Travel Photography which you might like to read. Photos included are from a previous trip to Vila Real de San Antonio. 5. NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY Night photography is not something I have done a lot of, mainly because my entry-level camera is not really up to the task. However, since I now have a Google Pixel 7 Pro phone camera, with dedicated night mode, I am eager to see what I can shoot after dark. *** I am looking forward to this photographic adventure and the images I bring home, and while I will mainly focus on the types of photography mentioned above, I will also give myself permission to capture anything else that catches my eye!

On a recent visit to my local library, I picked up a book called Take Your Photography to the Next Level by George Barr. I was intrigued by the title as, after four years of learning photography, I feel ready to take my photography to the next level. A quick scan through the book suggested that this book was slightly different to the norm. Many of the images are quite abstract. They are images of unusual objects or parts of objects or of subjects photographed in unusual places. They are not beautiful images in the conventional sense of the word, yet they spoke to me enough that I wanted to borrow the book and read on. Before I read what George Barr has to say about elevating our photography to the next level, I want to give myself the challenge of coming up with my own ideas on how to do this. The Beginning Four years ago, I began my photography journey. I have since watched countless YouTube videos, followed the advice of professional photography teachers as they share their tips, and I have now taken hundreds of photographs, some better than others. But overall, although I know I have made some progress, I still feel stuck at a beginner level. And I want to move on. Moving On Picking up this book has inspired me to think about what I have learned so far, and to think about what I need to do now if I am to take my photography up a notch. A quick internet search will throw up lots of ideas about how to do this, some of which will be more effective than others. Without first reading the ideas of any photography writer, I have come up with three main approaches that I think are necessary, at least for me, if I am to make further progress and elevate my photography from beginner to improver. 1. Be fanatical about composition I put this as my number one because for me composition in photography comes before anything else and changing my attitude towards composition has been my most effective learning tool. As is often the case with amateur photographers, I used to stop at a scene, take out my camera and press the shutter. I didn’t ask myself, ‘what is my subject?’ I just took a picture of the whole scene. Today, I try to make images differently. I look for a definite subject that I want to capture and then I try to draw the viewer's eye to my subject by using some of the compositional tools I have learned, such as leading lines, natural framing, and so on. I pay attention to the whole frame, check that there are no distractions on the edges of the frame, ensure that there is separation so that elements in the frame are not overlapping and that my subject is not too close to the edge of the frame. An S-Bend leads the viewer right through the frame Symmetry, or near symmetry, can work well as a composition technique I like to find examples of natural framing What do I mean by being fanatical about composition? I mean that we need to keep foremost in our minds that composition is king in photography. Composition is what helps us show the viewer what it was that excited us about our photograph when we took it. It is by paying close attention to the finer details of composition, by spending time and effort in getting our compositions just right, that we direct the viewer’s eye to the parts of our image that we consider most important. By doing this we make better photographs and elevate our photography to a new level. Sometimes we have to wait for the extra element, in this case a bird, to complete the composition 2. Shake it up Most of us, as beginner photographers, take the same types of photographs in the same way. We shoot similar subjects repeatedly, usually from a standing position, often at the same time of day. And then we wonder why we don’t seem to be improving with our photography. If we want to take our photography to the next level, we need to shake things up bit, start doing things differently. Just a slight change in perspective can make a huge difference to the look of our image. My morning photography outings usually take me to one of my local parks. If I simply captured images every morning from the same standing position, they would be very similar and soon become boring. Instead, I try to shake things up. I get down low, I shoot up using a wide aperture. I experiment with different lenses and different focal lengths. I try to find different subjects, sometimes shooting woodland trees, sometimes capturing some of the more intimate woodland details. On other occasions a waterfall will be my subject, or I’ll chase the morning light streaming through the trees. I get close-ups and even enjoy getting an abstract image or two. At other times I’ll take a trip to the coast or into an urban area for some street photography. I am open to trying new things, to testing new ideas and to working on a new skill. I keep changing perspective and changing genres so that my photography doesn’t become stale, and this helps me take my photography to the next level. 3. Dare to be yourself One of the biggest roadblocks to moving on in photography is our own lack of confidence. We need to learn to express ourselves in the way that we want to express ourselves, not just follow the crowd in terms of photography styles. I'm not even talking about developing your own style here, whatever that might be, I'm talking about not being afraid to experiment, to be creative, to be daring. Shoot what draws you, what speaks to you, what fires your imagination. You might not always show your images to anyone else – or maybe you will – but you will certainly grow as a photographer by doing things your own way. This is not by any means a beautiful image, or even a well composed image, but I like the way the sun produces reflections in the window and the tiny watering can visible in the top left window pane When I first thumbed through the pages of George Barr's book I was intrigued by his unusual choice of images. There are many abstract images of industrial objects and parts of random materials (such as the bottom of a steel drum!). They are not images of beautiful things, yet they have a certain beauty. Barr has been criticised for including ‘mundane’ images in his book, yet he has sold millions of books, so that tells its own story. The surest way to remain stuck in a rut creatively is to allow others to decide what we should do. The world’s most creative people did the opposite. They did what they wanted to do, despite the critical voices. If we are going to take our own photography to the next level, we need to reclaim our own creative voice and make images for ourselves. What is wrong with capturing raindrops on a garden fence when the sun is glinting on them? Why not capture light wherever it shines? When we see a beautiful shadow on a wall who cares if it’s close to home or not particularly beautiful? I love to capture objects that catch my eye and bring the images home to give them a closer look. These images always remind me of an enjoyable morning out with my camera and, if nothing else, that makes them special. Conclusion If, like me, you want to take your photography beyond the beginner stages, there is lots of advice available to you. I have found that some of these solutions work in the short term and can give your photography a temporary lift. But long-term I believe that a few changes in attitude and outlook are necessary. I have outlined three approaches that change the way we think about photography and I believe that if we take these approaches on board, and if we put them into practice at least some of the time, we will gain much improvement in photography terms. What has made the biggest difference to your photography?

Recently I visited family in Co. Leitrim close to the Shannon Blueway. The Shannon Blueway is a walking trail along the banks of Ireland's longest river, the Shannon. I had done the walk many times previously but on this day my intention was to go out on my own with my camera to see what I might capture. When I awoke that day the first of the autumn mists had descended and I had to take advantage of this rare weather event which was quickly disappearing. Later in the morning I set out on my Blueway walk. I must say first off, my walk was fantastic. The sky had turned cloudy but the air was warm and calm. Birds were chirping all around me and there were people out walking, running, cycling, canoeing or sitting at one of the many pause points along the trail. Despite being a lovely day for walking it was a disappointing day for photography. I just couldn't seem to find a composition. While the hedgerows were beautiful, nothing stood out as a subject. The vibrant colours of summer had disappeared and left behind dull greens and browns. Ferns were beginning to die and trees had not taken on their autumn clothes. There was ample evidence of summer having gone and autumn not quite there yet. And nature was in the waiting period between two seasons! Despite the lack of good light and no clear subjects to photograph, I did press the shutter a few times. Below are some images of the day. What do you photograph when there's nothing to photograph? Just get out with your camera - you'll always find something!

In a recent post I discussed the four different types of photography I hoped to employ during my time visiting Portugal and Spain. Writing the post before leaving home helped with my preparation for my travels. I began to think in terms of the photography I hoped to do, which encouraged me to think in terms of variety and helped me to avoid repetition of the same types of image. Thinking ahead helped me to structure my photography, plan what I wanted to do, and avoid taking rushed images. On some days I was able to go out with my camera for a planned photo shoot, while on other occasions I came across an image while out and about. HOW I DOCUMENTED MY RECENT TRIP STREET As it turned out, most of the images I took come under the category of street photography. This was not surprising as I was staying in the small town of Vila Real and I had many opportunities to go out with my camera and observe what was happening on the streets. This was a change from my normal living situation as I live in a suburb with few people around. Normally I have to travel to find street photography opportunities so I made the most of what was on my doorstep every day, including great light. Each morning I waited at this spot to capture a figure in the beam of light. This street cleaner provided a good silhouette. So did a person with a dog. Each morning I loved to capture images of people doing what they always did. In the pleasant morning sunshine the atmosphere was relaxed. There was no rush into the day! Working to get the town ready for summer. Out in threes! As I mentioned in my last post I like to have some triggers in mind when I go out to do street photography. This gives me a better chance of noticing things on the street. For example, one of my triggers is colour matching so I was in the right place at the right time when a man dressed in red walked past this shop. As I was staying in a small town I was pounding the same streets several times a day and since there were only so many opportunities for photographs I felt that it might be a good time to experiment and try something creative. I experiemented with reflections, layering and taking pictures in crowded areas. This is a photographic departure for me but a good learning experience. Here are some of the results. URBAN LANDSCAPE I like to capture aspects of an urban landscape that are characteristic of a place, and often very different from the place I live in. I tried to get a good flavour of the area by photographing many different features of the urban landscape, such as pattern and shape or the variety of colour in the buildings. There are also many examples of the contrast between old and new. The beautiful... ... and the not so beautiful. My morning photography walk took me along the marina on the banks of the Guadiana river. The marina provided opportunities to capture general landscape images although it was difficult to get a variety of different perspectives. Experimenting with both colour and black and white gave a slightly different perspective to similar scenarios. DOCUMENTARY TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY It can be difficult to accurately classify images taken in urban settings that you visit as a tourist. Are they street photographs, urban landscape images or, if they are documenting your visit to a different place, are they more accurately described as belonging to documentary travel photography? The boundaries are somewhat blurred. The images above tell a story of a place. None of them tell the whole story although when put together they give a flavour of that place. They show the beauty and the decay, the loud and the quiet, the crowded spots and the empty spaces. They show the people, the events and the buildings that provide the backdrop to it all. Whatever the genre of photography might be called, the main joy is that of getting out with your camera, observing, being part of the place and what is happening there, capturing images that show the very essence of the place and its people. Photography is the story I fail to put into words. – Destin Sparks