During the particularly cold spell of weather last week I didn’t get out and about with my camera as much as usual. I set myself the task of organising my photos on my computer by placing them together according to some sort of theme. This led me to recall a photography project I read about which asks us to pick a theme, look back through our photos and put together any that loosely fall under the theme, then pick twelve of those photos to display or print. I chose ‘modes of transport’ as my first theme and I found at least fifty photographs which fitted the theme. Selecting just twelve images wasn’t easy but this type of project provides a good opportunity to look through a photo collection, make some decisions on what to discard or include and be a critic of our own work. My task was to pick out those shots that in some way stood out from the rest, photographs whose inclusion in the final twelve I could justify. For this theme I went with photographs that were already in my collection. Some were fairly new, some were older photos from the days before I discovered Lightroom, which were now given a little TLC! Some of the shots were taken with a phone camera and the images may appear to be a little grainy. The location in which they were taken was the reason they called me to include them! Modes of Transport For the second part of the project I chose to take twelve photos connected by the theme ‘materials’. In both parts of the task I allowed myself to interpret the theme in any way I wished provided I could justify the inclusion of the images. In some cases the shots were just part of the subject, in others the image filled the screen. Under the ‘materials’ theme I tried to get as many different materials, including mixed materials, as I could. While doing the project I decided to break the second theme into two sets. The first set comprises of images of man-made materials, while images of natural materials make up the second set. Materials I enjoyed this project because it forced me to do something which I hadn’t previously done - reflect on my own images to see which ones resonated with me and choose some of them for display. By doing this I feel I was able to enhance my own observational process as I looked at how each image spoke to me, and I feel that this is an important part of developing an authentic voice in photography. “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” Ansel Adams (1902 — 1984), photographer and environmentalist.

I like taking photographs of steps. Steps are so important in our lives yet do we ever give them a second thought? Do we ever wonder how many feet have skipped, trudged, bound up and down steps to reach their various destinations? I like seeing steps from different angles, from top down or from bottom up. I love old steps yet modern steps also have their story. Stone steps can show their age and wear, wooden steps and metal steps display the powers of imagination and construction that went into their creation. Steps are often alive with people coming and going while some steps are waiting silently for people to arrive. Steps also have great symbolism in our world. We use ‘step’ phrases in a variety of situations, often in an inspirational sense. We talk of stepping out from the crowd, stepping up to the plate, taking the first step, taking a step in the right direction, taking steps to improve, taking one step at a time. We speak of being a step ahead, of marching in step. Sometimes we might step aside or even take a step backwards. We use the terms pacing ourselves, putting one foot in front of the other, taking things in our stride, putting our best foot forward. Most of us have experienced the anxiety of stepping out into the unknown or the anticipation of taking our first steps in a new direction. For me, blogging has been an exercise in taking steps in a new direction and it has also been very much a step into the unknown. I had been interested in starting my own blog for some time but didn’t really know where to start. I looked at some blogging examples for inspiration but in some ways that was counter-productive as I didn’t want to be too influenced by other bloggers. In the end I just took the first steps – decided what the blog would be about – and it went from there. There are so many good blogs out there that deciding on a topic that appealed to me, would give me ample room for development and that might also appeal to others, wasn’t easy. There are countless fashion, health and lifestyle blogs, lots of food, personal development and techie blogs, numerous blogs appealing specifically to certain interest groups, and plenty of blogs giving advice and tips on all manner of topics. I don’t feel that I am particularly knowledgeable in any specific area that would be of interest to others so I decided to go for something personal, to chart the journey of my own experience of reviving an old passion, photography. My blog does not aim to teach photography to anyone, nor to give advice, but hopefully by sharing my own learning experiences I can help someone else find their inspiration. I have also found blogging to be an extremely enjoyable pursuit. Even though I may not have many readers, I enjoy writing and sharing my own ideas and attempts at creativity, as well as having a springboard for developing my photography skills. Already I have made some contacts on the online blogging platforms and I hope that as the blog grows it will help me connect with other people who share my interests and that it will enable me to become a better writer. I was recently given a gift of the book ‘The Photographer’s Playbook’. It is a treasure trove of ideas for photography assignments, some interesting but impractical but which have still sparked an idea, many that led to new thoughts, new ways of seeing, new ideas for projects. In my own case I have to move away from taking variations of the same photograph and begin to think creatively to develop my own ‘style’. No photography class or photography teacher can do this for me. In fact, through my lifetime’s work as an educator I have come to realise that most of us learn best in our own time and in our own way. If we stay open to learning we never know when a ‘gem’ will appear or a seed will be planted that will inspire us to take a step in a new direction. Hopefully some of the projects I have chosen to follow will inspire others to take further steps along their own path. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao Tzu

Taking photographs of flowers has to be one of the easiest forms of photography, right? Flowers are naturally beautiful as subjects, they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours and textures, they sit still and wait for the photographer to fuss around with lenses and filters, they can be photographed in the wild or inside as examples of still life photography. For all these reasons flower photography is a very common and popular form of photography. Beautiful flower photographs are found on calendars, cards, notepaper, they brighten up any surface as wall hangings, they are found in abundance in photography books, magazines and exhibitions and they are used as inspiration for many art projects. Yet is it true to say that flower photography is one of the easiest forms of photography? The very reasons that seem to make this a true statement might also apply to the opposite view. Flowers are easy to find and photograph therefore it is easy to take sloppy, banal shots that are ‘just another flower photograph’. What anyone with a serious interest in flower photography has to do is find different, unique ways of framing flower shots by use different angles, different lighting, variations of background to make the photographs stand out from the crowd of flower photographs and have people stop and look and wonder ‘how was that done?’ I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. Claude Monet. In my flower photography assignment I want to see what being a good flower photographer entails and how taking flower photographs can improve my overall photography skills. I want to try to put into practice some of the skills I have learned already and deepen my understanding of composition, of setting up a good shot, even of doing some editing. I want to become more creative with my camera, try some new techniques. Shooting flowers will, hopefully, give me that opportunity. I worked both indoors and outside for these shots, using a combination of my kit lens and my ‘nifty fifty’ with and without magnifying filters. I wanted to take shots from different angles, take different parts of the flower, shoot at a distance and also fill the frame with flower in some shots. Some photographs only have a small part of the subject in focus and in other cases I had to make decisions about depth of field. I experimented with moving in close, moving away, moving close again. I even had a go at some abstract flower photography! Afterwards I did some basic editing in Lightroom, adjusting the exposure, temperature, highlights and shadows, contrast and clarity to try to bring out the best in the shots. I discarded many of the shots but felt that the images below provided me with something to work on. Flower photography also gives an opportunity for more abstract shots and a chance to practise some creativity. What have I learned from flower photography? Firstly, I have learned that good flower photography isn’t easy. Flowers are naturally beautiful and the camera can’t see as the eye can see so we can easily lose that beauty when trying to convert it into an image. Secondly, I have learned that flower photography, far from being mundane, is actually very enjoyable. It provides lots of opportunities for creativity, for honing skills and for getting out and about and just taking photographs. Thirdly, I have begun to look at my achievements as a photographer rather than at my weaknesses. I am happy to spend time taking lots of shots, discarding those that don’t appeal to me and working on those that do. One main advantage of this type of photography, in a way that portrait photography, or sometimes even landscape photography, doesn’t allow, is that it is easy to go back again and try a different approach, make improvements, look for better ways to capture beautiful flower images. There will always be flowers waiting patiently for a photographer to capture their beauty and show it off to the world!

Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before. Dalai Lama I spent 72 hours in Kraków in Autumn 2018. It was during the early days of my photography learning, when I hadn’t yet mastered the camera controls and was shooting on auto or semi-auto mode, so I didn’t take my camera with me. Instead, I tried to bring a photographer’s eye, that is, I tried to think like a photographer, to seek out images that would capture my experience of the trip even though the medium I had at my disposal, my phone camera, might not do them justice. Before I travelled I had a pre-conceived idea of what the city would be like and it was nothing like I imagined. I think it is safe to say it now ranks as one of my favourite cities to visit. The fact that the sun was shining probably helped, but on our first evening we spent a very pleasant few hours strolling, having coffees, drinks and ice creams in outdoor cafes and watching the world go by. It’s a compact city which is easy to navigate on foot. Our apartment was very conveniently located within easy walking distance of the centre and taxis were in abundance for the journey home when the feet had had enough. We packed a lot into our short visit. On the second day we made the journey to Auschwitz and Birkenau camps. It’s hard to describe for anyone else what is essentially a very personal experience where each visitor is alone with their own thoughts. The exhibits depicting the various atrocities were heart-breaking to witness first-hand and to reflect on the grim reality which they portray was sobering. Shoes, suitcases, hairbrushes, all testaments to those who arrived at the camps and didn’t make it out alive. What struck me forcibly was the horror depicted through the photographs on display; photographs of people arriving at the camps unaware of the terrible fate that awaited them, and photographs showing the enormity of their everyday suffering. Photographs of ‘Mengele’s Twins’, showing those who were spared the death chambers only to be subjected to Mengele’s inhuman experiments, are among some of Auschwitz’s saddest pictures. Many of the Auschwitz photographs are a permanent record of the horrific, inhumane conditions in the camps and the scale of the suffering inflicted on those incarcerated there, an atrocity that hopefully will never be forgotten. Our third day involved a visit to the former Krakow Ghetto, also with its reminders of the terrible history inflicted on the Jewish people. The most prominent evidence of the ghetto is the 12 metre remaining stretch of the original ghetto wall, which houses a commemorative plaque erected in 1983. Plac Zgody The ghetto’s largest open space, Plac Zgody, was a place to socialise and spend time away from the overcrowded tenements, but it was also the site of tortures, beatings and mass deportations to the death camps. During this time families were torn apart and during deportations the square was strewn with furniture, clothes and belongings that the unfortunate victims had to abandon. This was later the inspiration for a redesign of the square as a permanent memorial to the terrible atrocities carried out there. A visit to the Jewish museum and the Schlinder Factory completed this very interesting tour and after a walk around the Jewish Quarter we headed back to the main market square. I was sorry that I didn’t have time to visit the Museum of Photography while in Krakow but it will be on my list for my next visit! I did pick up a beautiful book of black and white photographs depicting many aspects of Kraków through the years, interspersed with reflections from residents and visitors, artists and writers, poets and those who suffered in this beautiful city. It is a book to treasure forever. Kraków is an amazing city. It is a modern city with a tragic past, a city which has moved on but doesn’t want to forget. It is a city where a decent meal doesn’t cost the earth and where you can spend hours exploring, people watching, chatting to locals over coffee and cake, dropping in to one of the many churches or museums, browsing the market stalls or relaxing in one of the trendy underground cellar bars. 72 hours in Kraków only gave a taste of what this city has to offer and it cries out for a return visit. During my brief visit to Kraków I took some family snapshots to share with those at home. But I also wanted to capture some images that would give a flavour of this wonderful city, images of everyday life and of people, locals and visitors, going about their daily business. I took these with my smartphone camera, a Samsung S7 at the time, which I am glad to say I have now upgraded! One’s own experience, no matter how small, is an asset more valuable than the experience of a million other people. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German writer and philosopher.

To join in the spirit of the season I have been experimenting with some Christmas photography, using aperture priority mode and close-up filter. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree Sunrise, December 2018 Sunset, December 2018 Happy Christmas.

One of my greatest difficulties with photography in the past has been getting out in all weathers to take photographs. It has been easy during summer months, with sunny days and long evenings conducive to good photo opportunities, but my enthusiasm has traditionally waned during the winter months. In order to keep my motivation alive this year I decided to give myself some photography challenges. There are a number of websites which give interesting suggestions for short-term and long-term topics. Ideas such as a ‘365 project’ crop up often, with variations like taking a photo in the same place each day of the year, for example in a local park. If this is too onerous, a similar suggestion is to take one inspirational photo a week. There are also numerous photographic themes for challenges, for example taking photographs of one colour (which offers lots of possibilities), animals, different points of view, etc. A website called www.gurushots.com provides numerous challenges to keep all photographers busy and an incentive to post to the site is the ability to move up the ranks and to swap photos which are not performing well in a particular challenge. Below are some challenges which I have either tried out or put on my future list. Even this short list offers unlimited potential for further photographs and making improvements. Leaves Hands Something beginning with ‘T’ Less is More Old Things Shoes Socks Inspirational Photographs Black and White Solitude In the city Reflections Items of a particular colour Seasons Leaves Hands Something beginning with 'T' Less is More Something Orange Autumn Scenes Inspired by a poem A Woodland’s Charm I came upon a sacred view along my way; While walking through the woods one day, Such calm & beauty gave me pause when it appeared like a dream; While I beheld this enchanted woodland scene, With the steady flow of water softly falling & emitting very little sound; As it caressed the small rocks & fertile ground; Where all the autumn trees seemed to embrace it into it's loving arms, Adding to this woodland's charm; While the crisp air surrounding left me feeling renewed once again, Capturing all my senses for a brief moment in time; And it will forever remain a sweet memory in my mind. Jean Dament Inspirational Photographs Once I began to take some photographs for this theme it gave me an incentive to stop and look at what is around me, to find inspiration wherever I am. Some of these photographs were taken with a smartphone, and none were enhanced in any way. This exercise helped me to realise that I don't have to strive to take the perfect photograph but simply to enjoy what I am photographing, to see beauty and strive to capture that beauty as best I can. Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. Ancient Indian Proverb

I haven’t really got to grips with photo editing yet apart from a bit of cropping or brightening/darkening on Picasa (which I really liked!) It is one of my aims to learn how to use Lightroom to add a bit of ‘finesse’ to my photos, but in the meantime I have been investigating the Snapseed app, free on Android phones. Part of my reluctance to use post-processing is the amount of bells and whistles to be navigated on these programs and I think a dedicated training course is required. This was my fear as I approached using Snapseed also, as initially I was faced with an array of styles and wasn’t quite sure how to use them to improve my photos. I began to feel overwhelmed by choice so decided to take one step at a time. Snapseed offers a number of tutorials for those using the app for the first time, which are worth exploring. I decided to start with one called ‘Frozen’ and to experiment with the particular technique described here. Firstly, I took my camera out to capture some winter tree images that would lend themselves to this technique. I decided to work with this image. I found the Snapseed app fairly easy to use and enjoyed playing around with the different tools. As a first step, the 'rotate' tool straightens out any slanting horizons and there is obviously a 'crop' tool, which I use a lot especially since I no longer use digital zoom on my phone camera while taking the photo but zoom in later and crop to size. There is a range of tools for use, such as an Exposure and Saturation tool, and a Dodge and Burn tool brightens or darkens an image as required. In this example I used 'Glamour Glow', then 'Tune Image' and finally 'Vignette'. Making adjustments is fairly intuitive by using swiping and pinching movements. ‘Tune image’ offers a menu of useful tools, for example in Tone tool you can swipe up or down to select from among Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Ambience, Highlights, Shadows and Warmth, then swipe left or right to increase or decrease the intensity of that effect. Image can be darkened or brightened, different effects can be added and details can be changed. Some of the other tutorials in Snapseed cover 'Mastering Vignettes', 'Seventies Fade' and one called 'Grandma's House' which creates a 'cosy vintage look' with three filters, 'Vintage', 'Glamour Glow' and 'Lens Blur'. Snapseed has a good range of exposure, color and reshaping tools, brushes, and filters and it is worth experimenting with different settings. I haven't explored the app fully yet, nor do I have enough expertise to write an expert review, but for a beginner like myself it does give a good introduction to photo editing on mobile phone.

What do you need to consider before buying your first camera? Here are some of the things I considered. If I was serious about learning photography I needed to move on from my phone camera, but what to choose? Bridge camera, mirrorless, DSLR - I needed to do some research... I asked myself some questions. What type of camera do I want? And more specifically, what do I want to do as I embark on my new hobby? Do I want a good 'point and shoot' that I can use to share images online? Do I want to get out and about and take more landscape photography or become the 'family photographer' as I perfect my skill in portrait photography? Or am I up for a completely new challenge, willing to embark on a steep learning curve and master the 'art of photography' in all it's glorious forms? The real answer to this question will decide the next steps. Doing the research One of my favourite pastimes - doing research - yielded some pros and cons of each camera type. 1. Bridge camera Firstly I considered bridge cameras. They sounded like a good compromise. With their good zoom abilities they offered more than 'point and shoot' and they still gave options to share and use images. Verdict - too similar to point and shoot/phone cameras, without offering enough opportunities to develop photography skills. Most reviews suggested that image quality from bridge cameras did not match that of mirrorless or DSLR cameras. 2. Mirrorless camera The next option to consider was the mirrorless camera. I have to confess I hadn't come across these cameras before and didn't think they would offer a 'real camera' experience. Verdict - after discussing this option in a camera shop I realised that the battery life was short in mirrorless cameras and they were also a tad expensive for my budget considering that I wasn't sure that I would keep up the hobby. So they were out! Which left the inevitable choice - 3. DSLR camera I liked the look and chunky feel of these cameras, they had good battery life and there was a good choice of lenses available. There were still lots of choices to be made - should I go for entry level or more advanced? Canon or Nikon? Sony or Pentax? Verdict - numerous reviews, both professional and user, listed some 'cons' to every option and on balance I opted for the Nikon D3400, a reasonably priced entry level DSLR, with generally good reviews and 'cons' that I could live with. The real learning begins. I have answered my question, what do I want? I want to take good pictures, to learn new techniques, to challenge myself as a photographer by experimenting and using my own techniques, to be creative and to enjoy wherever this new journey takes me. Camera bought, battery charged, the adventure begins...

I must be honest here, I had never heard the word 'bokeh' until I followed my desire to create 'blurry backgrounds'. One of the photography techniques which I have always admired is the ability to have a nice sharp image in the foreground with a blurry background. I decided to gain as much knowledge as I could about the subject and to experiment with the technique for myself. I do realise that I am limited by my lenses but am reassured by the number of writers who suggest that this technique can indeed by learned and achieved using only a kit lens. So here goes... First of all I have to learn about aperture. I understand aperture as the opening through which light travels, and the wider the opening, the more light I get. My kit lens is limited to f3.5 while other lenses can go to f1.4. When I have a wide aperture, i.e. shoot at the lower end of the scale, I get a good depth of field - sharp image in the foreground, blurry background. Creating 'Pleasing' Bokeh Part of the journey to becoming better at photography is becoming my own critic. Neither of the images above are acceptable as good photographs but they do provide a source of learning. In photography, it seems, the old adage 'you learn by your mistakes' is certainly true. Each photo provides its own teaching points and my task is to take note of the mistakes and improve next time. What I have discovered is that I do like this area of photography and would like to create pleasing bokeh, therefore some research into an appropriate lens is in order! I enjoy this type of close-up photography but realise that my lens limits how close I can get and how clear the resulting image will be. I have read conflicting advice on lenses. Some writers advise beginning photographers to get to know their kit lens before buying any new equipment, and to concentrate on finding out how to operate the camera properly. Others suggest finding out what type of photography you want to do and buying lenses accordingly, claiming that it is really the lens, rather than the camera, that makes the most difference to an image. It might even be more accurate to paraphrase Hozier and say, it's not the camera it's the photographer that makes the real difference, and no matter how good the equipment, a bad photographer will take a bad photograph! Having said all that, I have spent some time with my kit lens and have explored its possibilities. I can see that it will have a place in my camera gear for some time to come, I certainly have not outgrown it, but I would like to explore the possibilities of zoom. My blog post Do You Really Need To Replace Your Kit Lens? details my first venture into buying additional lenses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's not the song, it’s the singing It's the heaven of the human spirit ringing It is the bringing of the line It is the baring of the rhyme It's not the waking, it's the rising. "Nina Cried Power" Hozier, 2018

Are your travel photographs usually just snapshots of interesting places you visited? Would you like your travel photographs to show more than just beautiful views? I have come to think of holiday photographs as more than just a memory to show family and friends. Like street photography, they tell a story of a time and a place, and of the people who were present in that time and place! When I look back at my previous travel photographs I can place them into two categories. Category one is the holiday snapshots, lots of them, of people and places, smiling faces, various poses, simply taken to look back on some day and say, 'remember when...?' Then there is category two. Far fewer in number, they are the photographs that tell a story of a moment in time, a moment when the elements lined up to create a narrative that can still be read in those images today. These are the type of shots I want to take more of in the future. I want to experience amazing moments, and if I capture just a small fraction of these moments on camera I will be very happy. On my recent visit to Auschwitz I was struck by the important place which photography played in recording the horrors of that time and place; scenes showing the raw emotions on faces of men, women and children depicting the sheer hardship and misery endured by thousands of people. Through these photographic exhibitions, displaying countless horrific images, a vivid and heartbreaking picture is evoked for visitors of today. It felt right just to let these photographs tell the story without taking additional photos as a tourist. Travel presents numerous opportunities to practise photography rather than simply take snapshots. If you start with a vision, an idea of the story you want to tell with your photography, your travel images will have a purpose and meaning as well as provide memories of the places you have visited.

Not every photo walk will yield even one good photo, let alone a great one. But some will produce the odd gem to be proud of. On one of my early photo walks I came home without a decent photo but with a realisation that I had become more observant, a invaluable skill in photography. It is well worth getting out and about as often as you can. These are my tips for a successful photo walk. 1. Be patient. Patience has never been my strong point, but I realise that I am not going to get the perfect picture first time out (or even hundredth time out!) so I have to cultivate this valuable attribute. Some of my success will come from reading tips from photography writers, looking at how 'real' photographers create award winning pictures and perfecting camera techniques. But most of all it will come from getting out and about with my camera, being patient, and trusting that one day I'll take that picture that will give me a real sense of pride. 2. Watch for interesting subjects, but look past the obvious. Beautiful landscapes make for acceptable photographs, but these views of the world can be seen by all who look around. The photographer has to see things differently, see things that others might not notice, fleeting moments that can only be captured as they happen. The photographer has to feel the 'story' behind the image which makes that image come alive. 3. Be prepared. A great advantage of the camera phone is that it is always available, ready to capture that special moment. It's harder to have a chunky DSLR camera always on hand so I have had to make a point of taking the camera with me on as many occasions as possible, on the off chance that I will be presented with a good photo opportunity. And if that great opportunity does present itself, and I don't have my camera at the ready, the phone camera is better than no camera. It's all about grabbing that picture when you can! 4. Become more observant. Now that I am serious about improving my photography skills I find myself becoming more observant, even without a camera in hand. I am beginning to think like a photographer and look at the world around me as holding countless opportunities for a great photo. While contemplating whether my first 'real' lens would be a zoom lens or a macro, I began to look up more often at what was going on above, and down at the movements on ground level, that had previously gone unnoticed. I am amazed at what I have been missing! 5. Go on your own. This is a piece of advice borrowed from a photography writer but one with which I agree. For walking companions there is nothing worse than someone constantly stopping to take a photo, but equally, for a photographer there is nothing as frustrating as not being able to stop at will, take your time to get the right angle, to compose the best picture, to watch and wait until the conditions are as right as they can be. I like the idea of capturing moments in time. There are lots of photographs of a man and his dog, but not this man and this dog in this place at this moment in time.