From the Vault; A Portrait Session from the Early Days

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Thought I’d dig something out of the vault today just to break up all the spring photos don’t worry, plenty more of those on the way.

This one goes back to a time when I was doing a lot more portrait work in general. An old friend used to jump in for shoots now and then (Ade, you may recognise his face from one other shot on here few years back around this era.)

I never liked to go too crazy out the lines with directing his shots, he used them for socials so it was strong poses, bold contrasting colours, and textured backdrops.

We didn’t usually have a set location planned. Instead we went wandering around town scouting spots as we went, looking for interesting walls, metal, shadows, anything with character. Once we found something, it was all about assessing the light, working out the angles, and directing the shot on the spot.

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I miss that side of photography sometimes. Just turning up somewhere with a camera, not knowing what you’d find, and building the image piece by piece. It was all part of the learning process, and those shoots really helped me build confidence with directing, visualising the final result, and thinking creatively on my feet.

I don’t do this kind of work as often these days, I do some bits here and there, but looking back, it was a great experience and a big part of shaping the style I have now. Simple and honest, a little bit edgy sometimes. 😎

More spring shots coming soon 🌸 just wanted to show a different side of the my photo journery! Too many photos out there I never got round to sharing! 🤯

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The First Day of Spring

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Happy first day of spring to you, from the Northern Hemisphere. 😁 Slowly the days have been lighter for longer, we’ve had a few days of warmer sunshine and colour is popping up everywhere you look. Makes the world feel brighter in general so I’m here for it. Wishing my amazing followers from all over the world a happy weekend ahead. This image was taken of some Muscari i noticed when out on a walk, loved the way the sun was hitting it and also creating shadow to one side of the image, to me it’s symbolic of the slow “waking up” of spring, almost like the curtain is being pulled open to let the light in. ☀️

Some Photos Published 😊

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I recently had some photos published in the (Webbs) spring beautiful gardens magazine (a garden centre for those who don’t know it) I contributed a few images, the solar lights image, the cut out of the plum pots and all the planted up planter inspiration images. 🙂 May not be the coolest subjects in the world to some, but any photographer will agree, there’s nothing better than seeing your photos in print/ published. 😄 Just another little happy moment I wanted to share with you guys, hope you’ve had a good Monday. 📸

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Strange Beauty, Tones & Textures

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A few months back I had the challenge of photographing some carnivorous plants for a website image header. Such a fascinating array of these weird little plants, to me they look like something out of an alien 👽 world.

Photography-wise the shot was a bit of a challenge as the area I was shooting in had indoor overhead dim (yellow) lighting, no tripod or neutral lighting. Took me a bit of tone correction editing after, but I love the final shot, all those colours, textures, you find the eye wandering from plant to plant.👌🏻

I forgot to say; I’ve recently had a couple of photos published in magazines that are currently being distributed, so that’s always fun to see too.

I’ve decided in a world where sometimes efforts can go unnoticed, (especially if you don’t talk about them) that I’m most definitely going to celebrate anything and everything I’ve done that I’m proud of. We all should, don’t be afraid to do that, if you’re proud of something you deserve to be, enjoy the feeling. Celebrate your “little wins” and the big ones too! It’s not bragging (sometimes we are made to feel this) – but to me, it’s reward for all the effort you put in. 😊

Really loving that some of my images are floating around in corners of websites or in occasional print. It’s the icing on the cake to doing something I love. 📸😁 hope you like this shot of the little alien world! 🌍 🌱

A Sunday Post; for Benjamin

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As you know I value each of you who supports my work on here. So I wanted to put a little post together tonight for one of my followers, Benjamin. I hope he doesn’t mind me saying (as he has mentioned it on here) but he’s had an operation recently, so while he’s resting up I thought it might be nice to give him something easy to look at along with a small read. He’s supported so much of what I share on here, popping up cheering on my photography, and it really does mean a lot. So this is just a small way of sending a bit of support that back.

The photo was taken on the Exmoor coast at Valley of Rocks, (South of England) Definitely feels like something out of Jurassic park when you’re there😂 amazing to stand on the side of those cliffs and look out at scenery like that!

A few facts about the place:

* The rocks are around 400 million years old
* It’s thought the valley was shaped when ice age meltwater carved out the route
*The whole area has inspired writers and poets for centuries thanks to its dramatic shapes and big open views
* The highest cliffs around Valley of Rocks sit among some of the tallest sea cliffs in England

So, Benjamin if you read this, I hope you’re getting plenty of rest and taking things easy. Wishing you a smooth recovery from across the pond, and I hope this gives you something calming to look at while you’re putting your feet up. 🙂

Keeping It Real: Why My Photography Will Stay AI-Free

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Hi, how are ya? 😊

Photography has always meant one simple thing to me above many other things, it’s always been about showing the world as it truly is.

Since starting my blog, I’ve built it around authentic imagery. Real moments, real light, real places. The kind of scenes that, if you walked past them yourself one day, you could actually see with your own eyes. That honesty is important to me, and it’s something I want to keep at the heart of everything I share.

With AI image generation becoming more common every day, photography is changing quickly and in some instances, being discarded. To be fair, AI is pretty impressive in many ways. I’m not anti-AI by the way, some of the technology is genuinely fascinating and has it’s own way of being “creative”.

But for this blog, I want to keep things simple and transparent.

Every photo you see here will be something I’ve actually photographed. Whether it’s a plant, a landscape, a person, or a macro shot with my new lens, it’s all real. No generated scenes, no artificial landscapes, just the world as it appeared in that moment for me, to share with you. That’s where the magic of photography lives. The waiting, the experimenting with focus or aperture, the excitement when you finally capture something exactly how you saw it. It’s a craft that rewards patience, hard work and learning and I love the whole process. Photography is not something that can be replaced (in my opinion.)

The ONLY area I might ever use AI tools is in a commercial context things like creating simple background elements for product photography. Even then, the product itself will always be my own photograph. Designers have layered graphics and backgrounds into product images for years, so in that sense it’s just a modern extension of the same idea. (As seen on a previous post with a product photography “experimental” shot with water splashes.)

….But in all other aspects, when it comes to ALL other photography I share here the nature, the everyday scenes, the moments I stumble across with a camera in hand that will always stay true to the real world. I want to help keep my passion, photography, in its truest form alive and I want to share those moments with you, authentically.

I hope you get my message,my lovely followers, quite simply what I’m trying to say is “My stuff is staying real” 😊

“Because sometimes the most interesting images are the ones that were simply there all along, waiting to be noticed.”

📷 Have a great Friday!😁

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The World Looks Softer Through the Viewfinder

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Hi friends, hope you’ve had a good weekend. ☺️
I’ve been thinking a lot about this little blogging journey of mine and how generously you’ve welcomed my photos into your days. I’m genuinely grateful for every comment, every moment someone pauses to look at my photos, and every message from people who say an image reminded them of a place, a person, or a feeling they’d forgotten for a while.

I often say that photography gives me a kind of escapism, and it’s true, the lens becomes a doorway into another realm for me; a true place of comfort, in doing something I enjoy. The world can feel overwhelmingly heavy at times, and picking up my camera lets me step into something more gentle. Through the lens I get to look for what’s still beautiful; landscapes, wildlife, people just living their lives. It reassures me that the world hasn’t lost its softness entirely; you just have to look closely around you.

And when someone tells me a photo brought them happiness, transported them to a memory, or simply made their day feel a little lighter, that’s the part that keeps me sharing. If these small snapshots can help you drift somewhere calmer, or remind you of something good, then that’s exactly what I want to continue doing.

Thanks so much for all of your support, and for sharing connection in my little world. Have a great start to the week ahead.

Seb

Testing 🗣️ #2

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Sorry for the spam guys 😵‍💫🙃 as you can tell, I’m too eager to use this new lens. 😆 I’m sure that feeling will wear off eventually…. Or not. Took it to work today, so on my lunch break I managed to get out in to the sun (I know right, I’m as shocked as you are) and caught a few signs that spring is on its way and the world is waking up from winter sleep. Have a look at the detail in these shots! 🤯 The bee is dedicated to one of my followers ‘Hazel’ as she suggested to try and find one! I didn’t expect to, but I did find one basking in the sun having a recharge! 🐝 Hope you all like the shots.

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Tiny Daisy Details

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Hi guys,

How was your weekend? ☺️ I’ve been a bit busy so haven’t had a chance to be on here much. Will catch up with the comments and your blog posts now.

I also haven’t had much chance yet to get out properly with that swanky new lens. However I did quickly test it out again on this tiny daisy in the front garden. Can you imagine if you caught a bee or insect on a lens like this? Detail is going to be crazy, can’t wait for summer to come along when everything has woken up a bit!

Testing 📣

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Aren’t you lucky (2 posts in 2 days?!) 😆 didn’t want to hold back too long off the back of yesterdays post! But here we are, the first few test shots with the new lens. Off I ran on my lunch break at work on a very rainy day ☔️ (like a little child at Christmas 🎁) with my new toy.

For anyone that doesn’t know about camera stuff, a macro lens allows you to get super close up shots in amazing detail, so things like insects, flowers, nature shots open up to be a whole new world of photography. It’s also a great portrait lens and useful for other things so it doesn’t limit you to microscopic only.

I have LOADS to learn with this one as even since taking these photos I’ve learned some things about how to shoot with it, but I wanted to share my first shots with you here so we can see them improve over time. 😁

I love the mushrooms shot although my only self critique would be I was shooting too wide (aperture) so it turned out a bit soft. But I love the colours and the details in the moss! ….for reference of scale these mushrooms were only about an inch high. 🍄 I think I’ll be able to get in even closer than these shots as my knowledge improves. 😁

I’m excited to keep practicing with this lens and share with you as I go!

…As always, thanks so much for taking interest in my little world, I really appreciate each and every one of you. Have a great week ahead!

Seb