Seeing in colour I had my first 1 to 1 tutorial for a while last Saturday. Mia is a 15 year old interested in art and photography and her Mum felt that my approach to photography might be something what would help her. We met on a very wet morning at the bandstand in Porthcawl and spent the first few …
Tree
Funny this word should come up today as the WordPress prompt. Last night I dreamt that I was walking along a path with friends and found a young tree in my hands. I turned to my friends and passed it to them. They dropped it and it lay abandoned on the floor. Those of you who like a metaphor could …
Still Point
There is a still point between the in breath and the out breath. And another between the out breath and the in breath. Each is milliseconds in length. Each is a time when the world is in balance. You may not be aware of their arrival and passing. But they are always there, always available. The in breath requires us …
Mirror of my soul
It doesn’t take much encouragement to get me to create a selfie. Not only is it a genre I regularly explore, I’ve also done a monthly photo project with FB friends (Beyond the Selfie) and I am just about to write the last chapter of my book about Mindful Photography; and that’s all about me! So when I saw this …
September – the second new year
I like September. Do you? I like it because it is a start of new beginnings in the West; it feels a little like a second opportunity at the New Year. Another chance to review where we are at, how we are living, and consider how we might change things. Of course the truth is that every day brings us …
Faye and Jamie’s Wedding
I recently had the pleasure of being asked to be the photographer for Faye and Jamie’s wedding. I have known Jamie most of his life as the son of my good friend Simon, who I have known for many years longer. The wedding was held in the heart of deepest Sussex and we were blessed with a dry and warm …
An Afternoon Tea Party
It is not often I get asked to create a visual record of an afternoon tea party. So I was delighted to be asked by Liz to attend her joint birthday celebration with her Mum recently. The weather was kind and I managed to survive all the formal photo requirements necessary on these occasions! Actually, one of the photos of …
Cal Smyth Photoshoot
Cal Smyth is an author of three books who lives in Swansea. He specialises in thrillers and one of his stories is set in Swansea, which as we all know is a den of iniquity! I know Cal from playing 5-a-side football at the local college on a Friday afternoon and he knows my interest in photography from a particular …
Swansea in the sunshine
[av_one_half first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”] [av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”] It is a joy to report that Spring has shaken off its chilly grip and allowed the sun to warm our bodies. Finally the heating is off and the summer duvet is on. It’s all change. Over the last …
Canada – The Okanagan
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Crossfit Open 2016 – Summerland
[av_one_half first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”] [av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”] Whilst I was in Canada the Crossfit Open 2016 was on and involved 324,307 participants from 175 countries. That’s right, Crossfit is popular and growing all the time. I was invited along to Summerland’s Crossfit centre by my lovely sister …
Canada Trip – family favourites
It seems appropriate to start sharing my favourite photos of Canada with a family collection. After all the main focus of the holiday was to spend time with Ma, Sis, her hubby and those terrible daughters of their’s. There will be later collections of the Okanagan Valley (the gorgeous area of British Columbia that they live in), Crossfit events (Kim …
A little bit of light relief
I have been very slack of late. Perhaps the unrelenting rain and general drabness has smothered my creativity. Oh no, that can’t be right as I have been posting daily Instagram photos from my phone. No, I have to face it I have just been otherwise occupied. However, the wall to wall sunshine today got me out and about early …
Wet in Wales
Wales is well known for its rugby, singing, daffodils and sheep. Perhaps as today is the first weekend of the Six Nations 2016 I should be blogging about the chances of Wales winning the tournament (which are pretty good), but I have been overwhelmed this morning by the reason for all those sheep. After all you can’t have sheep without …
Using one focal length
Mindful photography is about being present with what you see. It is also about adapting to the situation. I often use a simple set up for my practice; usually a single focal length lens (a 40mm) on my DSLR. This is my go to, walkabout lens. I choose to use this lens because the focal length is very similar to …
Surfing Three Peaks @ Llangennith
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London Street Photography
Over the last couple of months I have made two visits to London. Each time the coach has arrived in enough time to deposit my bag at my accommodation, before heading into the city to explore a little dusk time street photography. Unfortunately, my photos from the first trip were not backed up before my hard disk drive collapsed under …
Sky, sea and sand
We have been fortunate over the last few days to experience a little sunshine in between the showers. As it has pretty much rained every day since November I have been very keen to get out and experience the sun. Whilst I have been walking I have particularly been drawn to the interplay between the sky, sea and land. Each …
Four mindful photos
A couple of days ago I went for my regular circular walk. As Monty is currently away experiencing the Gower I decided to strap on my headphones, put my music on random and follow my eyes. The walk takes me down local urban streets into a large park. Halfway round Singleton Park there is a cut through between Swansea University …
Oxwich Point Surf
As the father of an avid surfing son I often get dragged out to explore new surf spots. This way I have ventured out to places on the Gower, such as Pete’s Reef, Bluepool and now Oxwich Point, that I would probably not visit otherwise. Oxwich Point, I am reliably informed by Taylor, only works as a surf break when …