I live very near to this location so on a cold early evening I took my tripod, camera and a selection of ND filters to the edge of the Quayside.The tide was going out and moving at some pace so I put on an ND 10 filter to smooth out the fast flowing water together with an ND 4 graduated filter to control the sunset and bring some foreground detail out without needing to fix too much in the editing. At ISO 100 and f/22 an 8 second exposure did the trick.

EXIF: Canon 60D, ISO 100, 17mm, 0ev, f/22, 8.0s

This was taken back in Spring 2012 whilst I was shooting in a wood that has a great reputation for wild bluebells. It was growing wild but stood out for me as it seemed perfectly formed, flawless almost. It was also at the peak of it’s bloom and looking so proud.

By getting in close I was able to drop the background out of focus, and by exposing for the very bright petals it has created a background with zero distraction to the main subject.

It’s making me want Spring to come around again soon.

Canon 60D: EXIF ISO100, 85mm, 0ev, f/5,6, 1/50

This is a re-edit of a photograph I published over a year ago. I’ve always loved this photo as I feel fortunate to have captured this beautiful creature in such favourable conditions – swimming wild in calm waters just a few miles off the coast of Vilamoura in Portugal.

My recent addiction to Black and White images prompted the re-edit and I like the results. Bearing in mind that most of his body is under water is a clue to just how calm the water was that day. I’d happily spend the rest of my days photographing wildlife like this.

Edited in Aperture 3. EXIF: ISO400, 90mm, 0ev, f/5.6, 1/1000

This tree caught my eye as it made an imposing shape against a clear blue sky on a crispy Winter morning. Probably a more imposing figure in it’s glory days, it still made a shot worth taking. I didn’t have my DSLR with me on the day so my Samsung Galaxy S3 took the picture and I subsequently edited it in Aperture 3.

For what it’s worth the EXIF is: ISO80, 4mm, 0ev, f/2.6, 1/558

The location is the grounds of Wroxall Abbey, now a hotel but formerly the family country seat of Sir Christopher Wren – the most famous architect of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

I seem to have found myself editing into Black and White. I post regularly to Streamzoo and my content seems to show a journey from vivid colours, through experimentation with HDR to now being firmly settled in the world of monochrome.

I’m not complaining, maybe Black and White is now “my thing”. It certainly makes me think differently about the shots I take, knowing that that texture, light and composition have to be spot on to make the end result even remotely interesting. I also enjoy the editing, there just seem to be so many possibilities to take the image in any direction you choose.

So let’s see how long it lasts, but for now I’m sharing an old photograph but a favourite. This chap came back to life because I wanted to see what a monochrome version of the image would be like. He is currently my wallpaper on my iPad and has been for some time. Hope you like it too.

Edited in Aperture 3. ISO 100, 190mm, 0ev, f/7.1, 1/400

This building is 180 metres tall and it’s official name is 30 St Mary Axe in London. The building gained it’s name before construction started due to it’s unorthodox appearance on the drawing board. Construction actually started in 2001 and completed in December 2003, officially opening in May 2004. Located on the former site of the Baltic Exchange the building dominates the surrounding area and is a significant feature of the City of London landscape.

Photographed by many and from every conceivable angle. So for this shot I decided to crop with the sky to the top left and then in the post edit to go with a high contrast black and white. The long exposure I used also helped tocreate the mysterious effect with the clouds and…….. hey presto!

To me this shot starts to capture the moody look I associate with an amphitheatre that has, after all, a pretty gory history.

This is a full height statue in the centre of old town Valencia, Spain. I zoomed in as the head was at an unusual juxtaposition to the body and this was the most interesting part. With some post editing to bring some detail out and to go high contrast black and white I think the end result is quite striking.

Taken at the Bournemouth 2012 Air Festival this Tornado Bomber was one of two displaying an attack scenario providing air cover to troops under attack. I wanted to capture the moment the afterburners were fully lit and yet had to be careful that the heat did not create a haze over the photograph. The light was not great on the day and I was shooting at ISO 400.

EXIF: Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm f/4 – 5.6, ISO400, 300mm, 0ev, f/9, 1/4000

It’s that time of year again when a Lily will make a good subject for a photograph. Lately I’ve been exploring macro photography a bit more and going through a steep learning curve with the different lenses I have been using. This shot started out as one of the whole of the flower but as I cropped in I noticed how interesting the sharp focused stamen were and with the background nicely thrown out of focus creating a cool background.

EXIF: Canon 60D, ISO200, 80mm, 0ev, f/5.6, 1/100