Hi! my name is Sebastian (You can call me Seb!) …welcome to my Blog. I'm a photographer from Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoy my work.
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 š½ 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.šš»
I forgot to say; Iāve recently had a couple of photos published in magazines that are currently being distributed, so thatās always fun to see too.
Iāve decided in a world where sometimes efforts can go unnoticed, (especially if you donāt talk about them) that Iām most definitely going to celebrate anything and everything Iāve done that Iām proud of. We all should, donāt be afraid to do that, if youāre proud of something you deserve to be, enjoy the feeling. Celebrate your ālittle winsā and the big ones too! Itās not bragging (sometimes we are made to feel this) – but to me, itās reward for all the effort you put in. š
Really loving that some of my images are floating around in corners of websites or in occasional print. Itās the icing on the cake to doing something I love. šøš hope you like this shot of the little alien world! š š±
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 heās had an operation recently, so while heās resting up I thought it might be nice to give him something easy to look at along with a small read. Heās 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 thereš 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 * Itās 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 youāre 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 youāre putting your feet up. š
Photography has always meant one simple thing to me above many other things, itās always been about showing the world as it truly is.
Since starting my blog, Iāve 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 itās 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. Iām not anti-AI by the way, some of the technology is genuinely fascinating and has itās own way of being ācreativeā.
But for this blog, I want to keep things simple and transparent.
Every photo you see here will be something Iāve actually photographed. Whether itās a plant, a landscape, a person, or a macro shot with my new lens, itās all real. No generated scenes, no artificial landscapes, just the world as it appeared in that moment for me, to share with you. Thatās 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. Itās 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 itās just a modern extension of the same idea. (As seen on a previous post with a product photography āexperimentalā shot with water splashes.)
ā¦.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 Iām trying to say is āMy stuff is staying realā š
āBecause sometimes the most interesting images are the ones that were simply there all along, waiting to be noticed.ā
Hi friends, hope youāve had a good weekend. āŗļø Iāve been thinking a lot about this little blogging journey of mine and how generously youāve welcomed my photos into your days. Iām 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 theyād forgotten for a while.
I often say that photography gives me a kind of escapism, and itās 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 whatās still beautiful; landscapes, wildlife, people just living their lives. It reassures me that the world hasnāt 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, thatās the part that keeps me sharing. If these small snapshots can help you drift somewhere calmer, or remind you of something good, then thatās 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.
Sorry for the spam guys šµāš«š as you can tell, Iām too eager to use this new lens. š Iām sure that feeling will wear off eventuallyā¦. Or not. Took it to work today, so on my lunch break I managed to get out in to the sun (I know right, Iām 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! š¤Æ The bee is dedicated to one of my followers āHazelā as she suggested to try and find one! I didnāt expect to, but I did find one basking in the sun having a recharge! š Hope you all like the shots.
How was your weekend? āŗļø 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!
Arenāt you lucky (2 posts in 2 days?!) š didnāt 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 āļø (like a little child at Christmas š) with my new toy.
For anyone that doesnāt 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. Itās also a great portrait lens and useful for other things so it doesnāt limit you to microscopic only.
I have LOADS to learn with this one as even since taking these photos Iāve 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. š
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! ā¦.for reference of scale these mushrooms were only about an inch high. š I think Iāll be able to get in even closer than these shots as my knowledge improves. š
Iām excited to keep practicing with this lens and share with you as I go!
ā¦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!
Happy (rainy āļø) Sunday my friends! How are you doing? I bring you some exciting news! I FINALLY treated myself to a Canon 100mm Macro lens, itās been a while since I got a bit of kit and this one has been on my list for years! Trust me when I say thereās a very specific kind of excitement that comes with buying a piece of gear you once only dreamed aboutā¦ š
Got it second hand and itās the perfect to pair to my Canon 5D Mark IV! No lies, younger, beginner photography Seb would be internally screaming with joy at the thought of the kit I now own. š¤£š¤£
ā¦ To other beginners, reach for the stars, if you love photography. This wasnāt a rushed purchase. I saved, waited, and gave myself time to grow into it. Years, in fact. I wanted to be sure I was ready, not just financially but creatively too and now itās hereā¦ I can safely say itās been completely worth the wait.
Thereās something really special about building your kit slowly and doing it all by yourself. No shortcuts, just patience and passion. To now be shooting with gear I once dreamed of feels like a full-circle moment. Iāll hold this kit for a long time, I really truly remember wishing to have what I have now, I feel so humble.
āSomedayā cameā¦ and it feels pretty great. š
I have a test shot coming up for you and boyyyyyyyyy are we onto some new photography territory! Canāt wait to share this next chapter with you all!
A long one today my friends, I guess itās āthinking Thursdayā but if you care to read and delve into todayās thoughts š feel free. š
Iāve always believed that old photographs carry something modern ones struggle to hold, not just an image, but a presence.
This is my grandad. A simple portrait on paper. Black and white. Creased. Torn. Fading in places. And yet, more alive than thousands of perfectly edited (or generated) images scrolling past us every day.
Thereās something in his eyes that doesnāt feel staged. No filters. No retakes. No instant review to check if it was āgood enough.ā Just a moment captured once, and then trusted to survive time on its own. I believe he was a chef in the army, hence the attire. The rips across this photograph donāt damage it they deepen it. I love an old crinkled, ripped photo, each crease feels like a chapter. Each mark a reminder that this image has lived a life of its own. Passed through hands. Tucked into drawers. Carried through house moves, losses, celebrations. The photograph aged just as the people around it did.
In a strange way, the damage becomes part of the story. Perfection isnāt what gives it soul, time does.
Today, we take hundreds of photos without thinking. We store them in clouds, on drives, on phones weāll replace in a few years. We edit instantly. Delete instantly. Share instantly. But how many of these images will still exist physically exist in fifty or a hundred years? (This is why I say to you PRINT where you can, more chance of survival through time.)
If you donāt print, will they be held? Will they be found in a box in someoneās attic? Will a future grandchild run their fingers over a crease and wonder about the life behind the eyes in the frame? Probably not.
Old photographs feel different because they had to matter. Film was limited. Each shot cost money. Each click carried real intention. When a photograph was taken, it meant: this person, this moment, this life is worth preserving in time.
I sometimes wonder if future generations will experience photographs the same way. I believe the way we are experiencing them has already changed in my lifetime film has died out. But when everything is digital and endlessly replaceable, will images feel as sacred? Or will they become fleeting seen for a second, then lost in the endless scroll?
I love digital photography.
I benefit from it every day, but I do wonder if having unlimited photos sometimes makes us put less thought into each one.
When something costs nothing to captureā¦
does it lose a little weight?
This portrait reminds me that a photograph isnāt just about how someone looked. Itās about proof they were here. Proof they lived, loved, struggled, laughed, and existed in a moment we can never return to, but it is forever preserved. My grandad was an Irishman, travelled over from Ireland for a better life, I never got to meet him, but this photo holds so much soul, I sort of feels like I did, if you know what I mean.
Maybe thatās why old photographs feel so powerful. They donāt just show us the past.
Well, Worcester has flooded once again. Weāve had many days of rain āļø which has led to the river bursting its banks. You may be familiar with those scenes from previous posts of mine, itās a regular event in Winter. Luckily the city copes and it doesnāt cause much damage, just lots of mud afterwards!
Anyway, I digress. š Recently, I saw some photos shared in a Facebook group where someone had taken photos in puddles and used them to create reflections of buildings, this inspired me because I thought they look really cool. Those shots had floated around in my mind for a while, but I hadnāt yet had a chance to get them! Knowing how heavy the rain has been I wanted to take the camera out today and get down to the floods. Then while crouching down getting some shots of the swans I noticed one of them had a perfect reflection in the flood water, and thought now would be the chance to get the reflection shots I had been thinking of! š
First shot is of a swan š¦¢ at the riverside (they were very happy with all the extra water, where it stands is usually a pathway!) and shot two is a lone tree š³ in the centre of the racecourse which is completely submerged! Hope you like. I call them – āWorcester floods, but make it artyā š have a great Sunday.
Sebastian Stead - My Photography Blog 
