Travel & Humanitarian Photos
It’s been a busy day preparing for our Penang Thaipusam Photo Workshop but it’s shaping up to be a colourful week. Here’s a shot from an on-location test that Matt Brandon and I struggled through this afternoon. Cyndi at the Campbell House Hotel library, Penang, Malaysia 1/125 sec at f/1.2 and ISO100, 85mm Canon EF-L [...]
The lovely people at Outdoor Photography magazine are featuring the Travel Photography genre in their February edition. Experienced pro photographers Ann & Steve Toon introduce readers to the delights of African wildlife photography whilst Landscape photographer’s favourite David Noton teaches us how to take great landscape shots. My own contribution is a discussion on how [...]
Glossy. Elegant. Colourful. Eye-catching. Beautifully designed. Stylish. Appealing and downright handsome. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, these are all words and phrases that are frequently used by admirers to describe my choice of attire. Coincidentally, these are also the words and phrases that sprung to mind when the very first print edition of the [...]
It’s the final day of the year and, perhaps inevitably, time to reflect. Like me, you might have experienced the trials and tribulations, frustrations and disappointments that must form a part of every year. These are unavoidable, inescapable and no year can pass without bringing us its challenges and potential obstacles. However, the greater the [...]
Today has been one of mixed emotions. The exuberance, energy and enthusiasm of the children we have met has left me smiling broadly and it’s humbling to spend time with kids who don’t have much in a material sense yet who’s default state seems to be excited, grinning, cheeky, cheerfulness. We spent time at schools [...]
I have just enough time to share a small selection of images from my first afternoon in Ethiopia. Today wasn’t a real work day but even after the long journey to Addis Ababa from Bangkok via Delhi, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to join Aaron and Bill, representatives from “a child’s right” on their visit [...]
My November Newsletter, with news of workshops, journal extracts and published photo features, is out now and subscribers will have received a copy in their Inbox. If you haven’t received a copy but would like to subscribe to future editions, you can register your details on my newsletter page. In the meantime, you can read [...]
This town is going to be a highlight of the trip. I know that as soon as I step out of the car and cast my eyes up and down the quiet street, stretching after the three-hour drive. Immediately, I get a sense of a serene ambience, not the eery quiet of a neglected town [...]
I’ve recently acquired a Canon 24mm TS-E II lens, which is great for correcting those annoyingly converging vertical lines. Indeed, after just a few days, I’m wishing that all my lenses had the “Shift” capability that would allow me to keep vertical lines parallel to the edge of the frame whilst still being able to [...]
I’m really enjoying the chance to play with the light in the cloisters of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. When I saw this Peacock Dancer posing with his friends for the benefit of tourists inside Angkor Wat, I was sure there was an opportunity to create something mystical, an image, perhaps, that might illustrate a Khmer [...]
Not much time to write this morning, unfortunately, but here are a couple of shots from yesterday’s visit to the enchanting Sungma Tea Estate in Darjeeling. The hospitality of the plantation Superintendent and Manager was humbling and the spirit and charm of the women working in the plantations was uplifting. Darjeeling and the surrounding plantations [...]
It’s late. I’m cleaning, testing and packing gear ready for a few weeks shooting in India and I’m uploading images to Photoshelter for a client at the same time. The image below is one that’s been licensed but it’s an image that I haven’t revisited for a while so I thought I’d share it. This [...]
I can’t draw. I can’t draw for toffee. At least, that’s what I used to tell myself. It’s also what one especially brutal and dissatisfied school art tutor once trumpeted as he viewed my attempt to render a delightful coastal landscape view onto my tatty school art pad. Way to build confidence, Mr. Beardy-Dwarf! Occasionally, [...]
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of a day photographing some of the staff from Diethelm Travel in Bangkok. We were shooting for their promotional material and, despite appearances, worked pretty hard all day. These aren’t professional models, that’s the Director of Sales and Marketing! It’s always a pleasure to spend the day with [...]
Camel traders at the Pushkar Camel Fair Sometimes the details can reveal even more about a subject Gypsy girls with more than their fair share of attitude dress up and roam the fairground looking for tourists to accost with their plea of “One photo?”. Early morning at the festival ground It’s sometimes possible to recruit [...]
“For students who are grappling with the process of learning how to photograph people, there are two possibilities. You can look someone in the eye and be calm and smile and be sincere with them, and then they have a choice: to either allow you to make a photograph or not. But one way or [...]
Getting on the front cover of the Lonely Planet guide for Bhutan
How a cheap waterproof camera led to a new project
Images from Hualamphong Railway Station in Bangkok, Thailand
Regular readers of my blog will know that when things go quiet it’s because I’ve been busy with… well, you know… work. Yes, one of the drawbacks of being a working photographer is that occasionally one has to actually work. Hence the paucity of blog posts in recent weeks, for which I offer my humble [...]