Hi Everyone

Well here is a similar photo to last month. But I wanted to highlight the differences. Its landscape and gives a totally different feel. I've been able to capture some people in the shot to give it some scale. I've also been able to be up the mountain early so the sun was still low enough to give some shadows. Its not prefect and compared to many great landscape photographers there will be errors. But like you I am an amateur so go for it and see what you can capture.

Hi Everyone

So here we have 3 shots of the same lake in the French Alps. Which one is the best and WHY? I will share some thoughts lower down.

We have a great setting on a lovely day. But which is best, well that is ultimately your choice. But I would consider the lower part of the shot, does is add anything, ie some context or does it create a barrier to looking into the shot. On the lake do you wait for a person to paddle by or have the lake empty and where should the subject or subjects be located in the shot. For me all the shots are OK. My preference would be for the lake shot with nothing in it, shot 2, but a person or subject on the right hand side, around a third in moving into the shot. I would also want the lake to be really calm and that would require being at the lake earlier when there was little or no wind. So my answer is a mixture of shot 2 and 3. Take your thoughts and try and apply them to your next photo opportunity.

A  

Hi Everyone

So here is a question to think about. Two similar photos taken around the same time. In one a woman walked into my shot. I was not intending or waiting for her but since she was there I clicked away. The other photo is sort of the one I was after but at the time I did not realise that in the distance was a woman walking into the area I was taking. This is so often the case, something we did not see at the time only appears obvious when looked at later. So both photos are a happy record of a lovely location. Decide for yourself which you prefer and why.

I took a lot of photos over the period of 30 minutes. I moved location, tried to learn as I went along, should the sand by covered by water of just wet. I was in the sea and on the sand, but all within a 30m area. Actually I had checked out the area over the last few days deciding it offered the best spot for what I was after. The sun was going down and it was the best sunset for days....so the pressure was on. The take away is try and learn, it never stops and a few quick reviews of your photos as you go along can help get the best from an event.

A 

Hi Everyone

We all have our own style of taking photos. We think we take a wide range of photos, but the reality is generally not the case. Visit a gallery or join a photographic club and very quickly you realise you do have your own style. So once in a while try to be a bit different. The photo below might be hated by you and its not quite my normal style, but pushing the sliders of editing just tickled me and I thought stuff it, lets keep this one.

So next time you edit push the sliders on one of your photos and keep it. Challenge yourself just a little and see where you get too.

Travel is not all physical but also in the mind.

Until next time

A

Hi Everyone

So here we have a great mountain but how do you make it different? You wait for a person or something to give it life and scale. Now it could also be clouds or light but the thing that lifts this photo more than the 100 of others I took this day is the simple paraglider. For me, maybe not you, and that's OK, but for me it makes all the difference. So when you are taking your next shot, look for the lift factor.

A

Hi

So you have a wall at home that you feel needs TWO or more photos.

Now this is actually quite difficult to achieve as they physically and mentally need to hang together. Below is my effort taken during a recent walk. However to help them work I did have to lift the colours on the second one to try and match better with the first photo. I cannot say if this has really worked until they are printed and on the wall, wish me luck as I do to you with your efforts.

The photos were taken in the region of Mont Blanc as seen after taking the train from Saint Gervais Les Bains, TMB.

Hi Everyone

Get up high. Find the tower, the church, the hill top, anything but get up high. You can then look down for a different view point or look over the town giving perspective and context. I could have picked so many photos to highlight this view point and I have selected one from Tokyo, Japan. I loved the tower and well if you ever get the chance go high.

A

Hi Everyone

So you find yourself at an iconic location with 100's of cameras taking the same photo every hour... Try and be different, find a different angle, edit differently, whatever, push it a bit, but you might be in a crowd but you do not have to follow it. The outcome might work, it might not, but try. Then its your photo, your experience, your character, you in the photo and not just a copy of everyone else.

Go for it.

A

Hi Everyone

There you are in another country, but your viewer or audience does not know this...so help them. Give them a flag in your picture to clearly indicate where you are. Its simple and flags are designed to be emotive and dramatic. Use a flag to your advantage in a shot and make sure it is positioned clearly and where you want it. Its not by chance you have put a flag in a shot, use its influence and in essence power to boost your photo.

Until next time

A

Basel TownSitting near the mountains Basel is a functional town with some great history.

Hi Everyone

Here is a quick post with a simple question, person in the photo or out. The choice and challenge is yours to decide. Both photos are nothing special and are edited slightly differently but.... I was resorting through the France folder and decided to split it into France and the French Alpes... then I noticed these two photos and thought which one. I tend to like a person in a shot to give scale and size to a building or scene. But then sometimes people just get in the way and distract. So when you have a scene you want to take make the decision, do I want people or not. You might not have the choice, but generally if you have enough time people either arrive or move on. 

A

Hi Everyone

Today my site is 11 years old. Thank you to everyone for your interest and support.

I was taking some photographs of a climber and it was all going well. However when I got home the drama of the day was missing. There was no edge or feeling of risk. Now I cannot go back and take them again so my only option, or at least my best option was to go black and white.... It adds more drama and moves closer to the feeling I had when taking the photo. However next time I want to try being on the rock face looking down!

Until next time

A

Hi Everyone

Here we have two photos taken from roughly the same spot. The question is people in the shot or kept out? Try and forget the slight crop differences and the failure to have a gap between the cable and the top of the mountain. Which one do you prefer and why. I did aim to have the cabins on the thirds and this does feel correct.

So you are taking the shot today, what will you do differently. Learn from where I get it right but also learn from where I get it wrong. As I always say "together we will take better photos", its a team effort.

A

Hi Everyone

Every now and again you read about the "Lost Songs of x" or the "Lost Episode of Y", well I have the "Lost Photos" issue to highlight.

I've been using my compacts and mobiles for years and as I travel a lot frankly I often forget to keep up with my downloading. Another trip arrives and although I may have captured some good images mentally I've moved on. So the moral of my experiences is have another look in your phone or cameras and check that you have downloaded EVERYTHING!

Below is a photo I forgot to download from my phone of a lake in the centre of Hamburg. Its wonderful to walk around but it takes longer than you think!