Kids

So after the recent lack of photography, this week has been bloody mental!  Rounds of Xmas baby photos followed by Xmas parties and as usual the adults were worse than the children.  Here are a selection of both.

The Flames

It's all been a bit slow on the photography front recently due to the poor weather but it looks like things are starting to pick up at last as the cold weather starts in earnest.  The photos below were taken tonight and there is a remarkable difference between them both.  The first is a "normal" exposure and the second is a long exposure shot from the same spot but 6 minutes later.  The colour difference created by the longer exposure is quite amazing but i'm struggling to decide which one i prefer.  The stats say the second but it has greater exposure on the net so it's hard to tell.  What i have found out is that the older people prefer the first and people under 40 the second.

OveRLooK

I've been shooting in Porthleven a lot recently, mainly because of how close it is to me but also the light is starting to fade quickly and i'd struggle to get anywhere before sunset after leaving work.  The first shot was taken from the old mans shelter in front of the harbour on the 13th November just as a storm was approaching.  I had a real issue balancing the light but after a bit of sneaky filter manipulation it all came together.The second shot was only one of 4 total that i took before the rain stopped my fun on Tuesday afternoon.

Storms and Sunshine

The weather has been very varied over the past few weeks with the arrival of what was supposed to be the biggest storm in decades.  In the end it was all a bit tame really and nothing of exceptional value.  The following 3 pictures were taken over a period of three weeks during the end of October / start of November.

ThE GateKeepeR

I've not been out taking photographs much recently, a mixture of exams and crap weather has stopped the fun but tonight i decided to wing it and see if there was anything about.  The Porthleven Photography site hadn't been updated for a while so i checked the tide and it was nearly high so the conditions were decent but would the sunset be?

I had geared myself up for getting up for sunrise as well but on hearing the dreaded alarm and looking out of the window i couldn't see the back garden wall so decided on staying in bed for a deserved extra snooze before getting up for work.

Porthleven Torchlight

Porthleven Torchlight was back this week after a couple of years being absent.  Even though the weather was not the best and in my opinion it started a bit early i got one decent photo out of it.  The following is a combination of 9 photos collated together to form one single picture.

Si & Mel

Another quick session with my mate Si and his new Girlfriend.  Sunset was taking ages but we persevered.

Dave & Jo

Well it was the final wedding of the season and what a day it was.  The ceremony was due to start at 1300 and at 1100 the weather was perfect - nice and overcast.  By 1230 the sky was bright blue, the sun was directly overhead and i could be heard to be grumbling as i arrived at the registry office.  The nightmare that is a clear blue sky day for shooting a wedding that ultimately also occurs when the sun is it's highest is something that all wedding photographers experience.  The shadows are harsh, the people are squinting if you face them anywhere near the direction of the sun and if you put the sun behind them you tend to go through a lot of batteries as the flash fires at max power to compensate.  It's a lottery when you get to the reception venue especially if it's a hotel and depending on how many summer guests they have staying.  As it happens i had scoped the reception venue out a couple of days before and anticipated any issues that might arise.  The day went well, there were only 28 guests for the ceremony and all of them were very accommodating as i tried to get them all sorted.

Porth Nanven

Another fight club at Porth Nanven tonight, although this time i decided to shoot from a place that i haven't before and  managed to miss more of the tripod moving.  Watching the other photographers on the shore i had to laugh as one by one they started to move their tripod further and further forward, a move that would prompt the others around to do the same!  Eventually some gave up but a few were persistent and finally got to the waters edge.  Sunset was a bit disappointing considering there wasn't any cloud but i took the first shot quite early and the second right before sunset.

Poros, Greece

Last week i went to Poros in Greece for the wedding of two good friends, deciding to make it into a holiday as well.  Poros is a beautiful island and a bit of a millionaires playground by the amount and size of the yachts / cruisers in the marina!  Due to the topography of the island it was difficult to use the golden hours to create photos but not to be outdone i had to adapt.

A visit to the neighbouring island of Hydra one day gave me the opportunity that i had been waiting for.  There was a storm brewing over Poros and it allowed me to create the moody look that i had been hoping for.  The following set of pictures were taken as we sat and watched the lightning occur over Poros.

It wasn't long before the inevitable happened just as we were waiting to get the hydra-foil back but unlike the UK, it rained for an hour then buggered off, being replaced once again with sunshine.

The sun in Greece is harsh and i had to pick my time to do some long exposure shots that i had scouted  a few days before.

Matt & Sophie

After a wedding a  few weeks previously we had another to do and once again it was stressful but satisfying. I'm still not convinced that i enjoy doing them but the look on the bride and grooms faces when you present them with the final images is still priceless.

Rebecca & Joe

On the 30th March myself and Phil had the pleasure of photographing Rebecca and Joes wedding.  Looking out at the weather on Friday night we thought that we were in for a wet on come Saturday morning but some one was looking down on them and we were met with  bright sunshine.  The cold wind however still reminded everyone that it was still Spring.

The Sunset Watcher!

It's been really cold recently and the seasoned photographer knows that cold and dry can give some awesome sunsets.  Not wanting to go very far it was once again to the pier at Porthleven where there were already a few photographers set up.  Following suit, i was then amazed to see one of the photographers start to bimble along the pier.  No worries as it's a free country but it was evident that she was starting to really annoy the others as she was in all of their shots and would take some Photoshop work later on to clone her out.

Breage Panorama

After being cancelled last week dud to the weather, I finally got the opportunity to get up Breage Church Tower to do a panorama.  The following photo consists of 57 single frames stitched together, a challenge in itself due to the distortion caused by the super wide angle lens.

Porthleven On Fire

I was sat at home this afternoon doing some mundane server patching and happened to look out of the window to see a beautiful mackerel sky forming.  I had to pick the girlfriend up from work at 1700 hrs so I thought that I'd take my camera along with me to Porthleven to see what was occurring.  By the time I got there the sky had changed to that shitty grey that all us Cornish men know well.  I thought that I'd persevere as I've been caught before packing up too soon - well wouldn't you know it!