Never work with kids or animals

That saying has been banded around for many years, I think it started in the theatre or maybe even on TV, anyone old enough to remember the baby elephant on Blue Peter will agree to that, who would try and hold onto a defecating elephant that wanted to leave the studio? Kids are just as bad, I don't recall the program name but it was a Saturday morning show presented by children, the poor girl reading the auto-cue was meant to say 'Prix' (as in Grand Prix) but pronounced it 'Pricks', bless her!

So what's all that got to do with Photography I hear you cry (I don't actually, but what the hey). Well I realised the other day that most of my work centres around those two subjects so am I mad or just desperate?

To be honest, it's neither, if you know what you are doing and you have the desire to get the shot then both are very acceptable subjects, hard work, but very rewarding. There is still a huge amount of skill in taking still life or advertising pictures (I will tell you about the boiling sprouts one day!) but I find nothing more exciting when a parent dumps their little darling in front of my lens and states 'You won't get him to smile, he hates cameras/men/lights/wednesdays (choose any one). What a challenge! The problem isn't with the kid, it's the parent who if he/she is honest, they would love a great picture of their child to show to friends and hang on the wall, the truth is they haven't been able to do it themselves so why not blame the kid for not wanting to participate? We all do it everyday, how many times have you heard 'Stupid car broke down today, it ran out of petrol (or similar)', when in fact we mean 'I forgot to fill the car up and I ended up stranded'. Or perhaps the most frequent one, 'Bloody weather, i'm soaked' as opposed to 'Wish I brought a coat or looked at the weather forecast'.

Ok, i'm going off on a tangent but then why not? So do I have anything worthwhile to say now that i've alienated most of the country? Well yes I do, if you want to take a decent picture of a child or an animal simply stop and think first, try to see what is happening through the eyes of your subject. Is this a good time? Am I doing anything that could make the subject nervous or frightened? Am I helping or hindering the situation? Am I on the same level as the subject (not looking down, very bad!)?

You get the idea, give it some thought and I bet you get the photo. If not, ask someone like me to do it, I bet you won't be disappointed.

Eating my words

I have to say the shoot on Monday went well, really well and I have to take back everything I suggested that could be a problem. Everyone was fine, helpfully and friendly, what a result!

I've realised I'm writing a photography blog without showing any photos so may have to change that sometime soon.

Well that's me done for now, back to work...

Don't shoot!

Just wanted to put a few thoughts down today before I left on an assignment. I'm shooting for a organisation today who have a visitor centre, in the mix today will be children, animals and parents.

The potential for problems is huge, nobody likes photographers at the best of times so what's the reaction going to be when I start pointing my camera in the direction of a group of children playing? Best not think about that now or may never leave!

To try and stave off any shouts of 'pervert' the organisation concerned has posted a series of notices informing visitors of my presence, I have a shirt proclaiming 'official photographer' on the back and I will be carrying authorisation entitling me to take the required pictures. Will this be enough? Only time will tell, I will be happy to talk to anyone who asks and who knows, maybe give out a few business cards in the process.

I'm a parent and I hate to admit I too would feel uncomfortable having a camera trained on my children. Is this a genuine concern or the direct result of media 'scare mongering'?

Of course it may just be we are scared of having our souls stolen.....

Compact cameras make bad photographers?

That's a thought provoking one isn't it?

I'm not putting compacts down or suggesting everyone buys a DSLR (perish the thought) but if you use a compact there are two valuable things to remember, you may be aware of both these but do you do anything about it??

First of all, that ridiculous way of holding the camera at arms length to take a picture, is going to produce a blured image regardless of what you do. An SLR, digital or film, and just about every other type of camera is either designed to be held on a tripod or held close to the eye or body. So it's not rocket science to work out holding it at arms length is not ideal. So what to do? Easy, hold it as close as you can, use the viewfinder if it has one or rest it against something.

Second, is that bloody annoying delay between pressing the shutter release and the damn thing actually taking a picture. There's no getting around this but being aware of this fault is half the battle, try to anticipate and press the shutter before the action happens. Sounds impossible? Try it and see.

It's just a dead tree

I've been looking back through some of my images, it seems I have a 'thing' for dead trees. A few days ago I passed a dead tree on the edge of a field and pointed it out to my wife, 'see that tree there' I said to her as we went past, 'isn't it superb?' To be fair, she at least acknowledged me, most people would have pushed me out the car and grabbed the wheel. 'Imagine a cracking sunset, the dry stone wall in the foreground, superb.'

Now I've put that in writing I'm beginning to doubt myself, I mean really, dead trees???

Ok, I'm messing with you but the point is, anything and everything is a subject, if it has shape, form and texture you can't go wrong. Never trust someone who calls themselves a photographer who says they can't find anything to shoot.

Now I've planted the seed, go and have a look, there is something out there waiting to have a camera pointed at it.

Camera scrap book

I've got an iPhone, my guess is I'm not the only one :)

The advent of the camera phone was a huge leap forward, only problem was they were pretty poor at best, every time I updated my phone I got the one with the best camera but was disappointed every time. Then the iPhone came along and suddenly everyone who had even a passing interest in photography wanted one. Soon after it's release many, many aps were released giving sone real creative edge to what was already a very acceptable camera.

So aside from snapping away during drunken nights out or trying to catch the cat doing something cute, the iPhone camera is a hugely powerful tool. Most photographers are creative types and we are constantly looking at everything from a 'would that make a good shot?' point of view. The problem is, by the time we get to write it down we've forgotten or in my case I can't read my own writing! So now it's simple, take a picture of it on your phone, it's there to look at when you are ready and acts as a virtual 'tear sheet' of ideas.

As with most ideas, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I can honestly say, this works, give it a go.

Scrap New Year Resolutions!

It's been a while, three months of 'a while' in fact so time I sorted myself out and tried doing this more frequently. The problem was I made a New Year Resolution to write once a day for a month and of course it never happened, I could blame this on the fact I was laid up with a back injury but that isn't completely fair.

So how has the world of Phtotography treated me since I last posted? Not very well if I'm honest, so badly that I now work part time as a Pre-School Assistant! Don't get me wrong, it's a great job and I consider myself privilaged to be able to work with such great children but it's not exactly jetting off to Malta for a shoot in the sun. To be honest (again, twice in one post) I couldn't 'jet' anywhere as my passport is out of date!

But it's not all bad, there are jobs on the horizon, some voluntary work for HorseWorld near Bristol (who wouldn't want to give up their time for such a great cause?) and I have a few 'irons in the fire' which may come out glowing or stone cold, who knows?

So am I still 'Photographer and loving it!'? Yes, without doubt. I love taking pictures, my only problem is not getting myself 'out there' more but as long as that shutter is firing, i'm happy.

Now i'm not a political man, well maybe a bit, but I do avoid the news whenever possible, it's a repeat most days and just seems to frustrate and annoy me. I try not to be too outspoken (those who know me are now laughing) and this is meant to be about photography but I can't miss the opportunity to say a few words.....

Here is the scenario; A riot in London, thousands on the streets demanding a change in the goverment (who could blame them?), suddenly someone fires a gun and fighting breaks out, a building is stormed and suddenly everything goes bad. The rioters (shall we now call them rebels?) begin to organise themselves and plan to gradually take over London and the rest of the country. Aside from being a great photo opportunity, what would 'we' do? That's easy, send in the Army, SAS, Airforce etc and keep shooting at them until the die or give up. Would we expect France, USA or any one of several forgien powers to step in and start attacking us? No, of course not, SO WHY ARE WE DOING IT IN LYBIA?

There we are, 'nuff said.