News
This page contains the latest information about any updates made to the site and any other items of news that I think may be of interest. On some browsers you may have to ensure that you are viewing the latest version of this page by forcing a page refresh (Ctrl + F5 in some browsers).
11/04/09 - The King is Dead! Long Live the King!
This news page is now no more! But wait, all is not lost. I now have a blog that is linked in with my site, that contains all the site news, as well as other articles and discussions of photos. Once in there blog you can select categories of posts, so you can still filter by news if you wish (although it would be much better if you read some my other posts as well! Floow the link below to find the new Blog page!
01/07/2012 - New Photos Uploaded
A rather long hiatus since the last update, life tends to catch up with you now and then. Still, I have now got around to uploading some of my photos from the last few (many!) months. These are from Lancashire and The Lake District and include the shot below of Lytham Windmill. The daffodils obviously appear each year, but in truth they're only at their best for about a week, and often the weather doesn't play ball. This year it did though and I enjoyed a beautiful evening out on Lytham green.
As usual, As well as being found in their respective gallery pages, the new uploads can all also be found in the Latest Work Gallery. As well as being found in their respective gallery pages, the new uploads can all also be found in the Latest Work Gallery. As always, prints of the images are available through my online ordering system, and are backed up by my lifetime fade-free warranty and 1 year money back guarantee.
Lytham Windmill and Daffodils at Spring, Lancashire
28/10/2011 - Viewpoints Article in Outdoor Photography Magazine
Pleased to say that Outdoor Photography magazine is currently running a two page article of mine featuring pictures of Lytham Windmill from last winter. The article is in the December issue of the magazine and provides some details of the shoot, the conditions present and the artistic and photographic decisions that I made. The main picture featured is the one below.
White Windmill in Winter, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
25/10/2011 - A Gallery of the Peak District
For the first time in quite a long while I have added a new gallery to the site, featuring a small collection of images from the Peak District - a beautiful area of the country and one that I simply don't visit often enough. There are only a small collection of images at the moment, but hopefully as I return to this area over the years the gallery will slowly grow. The new gallery can be found here: Peak District Gallery.
Ladybower Reservoir from Bamford Edge, The Peak District
24/10/2011 - Additional Photos Uploaded
It's been a while since any updates, but have just finished uploading some new images to the site. These include new images from Lancashire and also the Lake District. As usual, as well as being found in their respective gallery pages, they can all also be found in the Latest Work Gallery. Expect to see another update over the next few days...
Lone Tree at Sunset, Kirkham, Lancashire
20/01/2011 - Additional Photos Uploaded
Some additional photos have been added to the galleries. These are split between several of the gallery pages, but can all also be found in the Latest Work Gallery. These are images taken over the last few months and include some photos of the Langdale Pikes in the Lake District, and some pictures of Lytham St Annes under a carpet of snow this winter.
Lytham St Annes in Winter, Lancashire
05/01/2011 - Online Blog
I now have an online blog that I will be running in addition to this website. The new blog provides a more informal way of keeping you up-to-date with what's going on. Expect to see plenty of photos, tips, reviews and anything else that I feel it worth writing about. Please do check it out and let me know what you think.
15/09/2010 - Home Page Update
A few minor tweaks to the content of the home page. Nothing major, but just including some more detail about some areas of the site.
16/08/2010 - Additional Photos Uploaded
Some additional photos have been added to the galleries. These are split between several of the gallery pages, but can all also be found in the Latest Work Gallery. Some of the images were taken a while ago, whilst others are more recent. I hope you enjoy them all.
The Track to Fair Snape, Forest of Bowland
02/08/2010 - Home Page Update
Regular visitors to the site might notice that the home page has been tweaked. There is now a auto-switching slideshow on the front page - hover over for some navigational controls and click on the image if you want to visit the corresponding gallery page. The slideshow is Javascript based, courtesy of the free scripts available at www.dynamicdrive.com (link below). Dead easy to use, simple to use and, as you'll hopefully agree, a nice little update to the site.
13/07/2010 - New Photo Article Added
It's been a while, but there is now a new photo article in the articles section of the site. This essay covers a magical day spent on the Coniston Fells in The Lake District. It was a day when we climbed up and through the clouds of the valley floor, into a world of sunshine and blue sky. A day with many memories and some wonderful photographic opportunities. Read more via the link below...
Coniston Old Man Summit Cairn
27/06/2010 - New Forest of Bowland Photos Uploaded
Some new images from the Forest of Bowland have been added to the site. I've said this before, but if you haven't been to the area it is well worth a visit. So much quieter than the Lake District, but with landscapes that are just as dramatic in their own way. The valley floors are home to idyllic villages and gentle rivers, whilst the tops of the fells can be a desolate place - consisting of moors, peat bogs and the occasional outcrop of grit stone. It's a place to wander when you need some peace from the hustle and bustle of the world.
Looking Towards Ward's Stone, Forest of Bowland
25/10/2009 - New Photos Uploaded
Some new photos have been uploaded to the galleries - mainly to the Lake District gallery. You'll also find that the gallery page has been slightly re-designed. One benefit of this re-design is that there is now a 'Latest Work' gallery, featuring, as you might imagine, the latest images to be uploaded to the site. Hopefully this will make it easier for frequent visitors to keep track of new photos.
Upper Eskdale, The Lake District
11/04/09 - Workflow Article Updated
My article on how I use Lightroom in my workflow has now been updated. The update reflects the modifications I have made over the last couple of years and now also features a FAQ section. This answers a few of the common queries I have regarding my workflow. If there are other questions you would like to see answered then please let me know.
29/03/09 - Additional Photos Uploaded
Some additional photos have been uploaded to the Lancashire Gallery. These comprise of images taken in the area of Lancashire known as Bowland. This area features some of Lancashire's finest scenery, and has the benefit of being virtually unknown. You can wander here on a warm summer day and have the hills and moors virtually to yourself.
Beacon Fell and Bowland, Lancashire
04/01/09 - New Lake District Photos
Shortly before Christmas I managed to escape for the day to The Lake District. Walking in Langdale, around the peaks of Bowfell and Crinkle Crags, we were treated to spectacular weather conditions that provided photographic light at its very best. Up on the fells until just before sunset we were witness some beautiful scenes, with fantastic views across to both the Scafell range and the Coniston range. Some photos from this trip are now available in the Lake District Gallery.
One of the most memorable shots from the days is that shown below - a panorama of the Coniston Fells as they glow in the warm light of the impending sunset. The web really cannot do the photo full justice, but the image is created from several shots stitched together, providing a fantastic level of detail on a large print. It is now available to purchase through the gallery at a size of 36" x 10" on a mount of 42" x 16". A large piece, but one that provides considerable impact.
Coniston Sunset Panorama, Lancashire
15/12/08 - Wesham Marsh Gallery
A new gallery has been introduced to the site - one covering the area of Wesham Marsh in the parish of Medlar-with-Wesham in Lancashire. This area is one of three biological heritage sites within my local parish, and I will be covering the other two at some point next year. Together they provide a beautiful and diverse range of habitat for local wildlife and flora.
Wesham Marsh, Lancashire
01/11/08 - Scotland Gallery Up and Running
The site updates didn't take as long as expected, so I'm pleased to say that a series of Scotland photos are now accessible though the gallery pages. Most were taken on a recent visit to Glencoe, where we were blessed with changing weather and dramatic light - excellent conditions for landscape photography. If you've never visited the area then you really should!
The image below was taken as the sun was setting over Loch Linnhe, and demonstrates how fantastic the light in this area can be.
Peace and Tranquillity, Loch Linnhe, Scotland
The return of a Scotland Gallery does, unfortunately, also mean the demise of the 'Others' gallery. This was a collection of fairly random images from various areas - when I build up solid collections for some of these areas then I'll re-introduce them as separate galleries.
01/11/08 - News Page Style Changed and an Image from Glencoe
The news page is now more like it originally was when the site started. My intention is to use this page as a sort of blog - still providing news on changes to the site, but also other information, and a few images as well. If the page starts to get too long then I'll archive some of it up onto a separate page.
I've actually just got back from a short trip up to Glencoe, Scotland. The images I've taken will see a resurrection of the Scotland Gallery in the next couple of days - but in the mean time here's a taster...
Buachaille Etive Mor, Glen Coe
19/10/08 - Online Print Purchases Available
I'm pleased to announce that print purchases can now be made online via the gallery pages. Major credit cards and PayPal are accepted. Further information can be found on the new Purchase Info page of the site.
23/09/08 - New Photo Discussion Section
An exciting new section has been added to the articles page. There are now two sections - technical articles (those previously on the site) and photo discussion articles. These focus on individual photos, providing some in-depth discussion and information. At the moment there are only two articles in this section, but expect more soon!
04/09/08 - North Yorkshire Gallery Added
A selection of photographs from North Yorkshire has been added to the site. As part of a general focus towards landscape photography, this replaces the previous wildlife gallery. Enter this new gallery via the link below.
18/05/08 - New Photos Added
Some new photos have been added, a couple to the Lake District gallery, and one to the Lancashire gallery. Go to the galleries via the link below.
08/10/07 - Photos added to Lancashire Gallery
A couple more photographs have been added to my Lancashire Gallery. These can be found from the link below.
09/09/07 - Updates to the Functionality of the News Page
The news page was getting rather long, so I've changed the way that it works. News items are now stored in a database table, allowing the news page to display a brief description, with the option to expand the item to obtain further detail. This was done as the result of some feedback off the Luminous Landscape Forum - so thanks to Chris_T.
05/09/07 - Bigger Images Have Been Made Available
Another minor change, but a good one. Within the gallery you can now click on the main picture to obtain an even larger version. As well as being larger it is surrounded by a frame to give an overall better view of the image. If you wish to use these on your own desktop then feel free, but please retain the copyright notice.
03/09/07 - More Efficient Gallery Pages
The gallery thumbnails are now png's and a lot smaller in file size, hopefully this will make the loading of them a bit more snappy. Another behind the scenes update to the galleries is to the way in which the php scripts reference the images. They now uses filenames rather than ID's. This means that page URLs for specific images will remain constant between updates, even if new images have been added. Hopefully it will also allow search engines to more easily index the images.
03/09/07 - A New Gallery - Exmoor
We have a new gallery! The images in this gallery were taken during a weeks visit this summer. It really is a stunning area and I hope some my images do it justice. The Scotland gallery has however gone - there weren't many photos in it, and the better ones have now been moved to the 'Others' gallery. Hopefully I'll get up to Scotland soon and obtain enough images for it to merit it's own gallery.
19/08/07 - Changes to My Workflow
I have moved over from using RSP to Lightroom for all my Raw Processing. This has resulted in several changes to my workflow which are covered in the article below.
19/08/07 - Gallery Changes
The galleries have undergone some extensive work, with many new images. I'm now using Adobe Lightroom as my main workflow tool, and so have altered my back-end database processing to give me a fairly seamless link. This should make it much easier have more frequent updates to the site.
19/08/07 - New Articles Section
Finally, some updates! The 'technical' section has gone, being replaced with a more general 'Articles' section. This still contains some of the old information, with some new info added as well. As a result of this the links page now sits at the top level.
05/09/06 - Aigues Mortes Gallery Added to Site
A new gallery is now up and running! The images are from the medieval walled town of Aigues Mortes in southern France. All shots are taken with a Lens Baby, so have that particular look to them. Shot in RAW they have subsequently been processed into B&W split-tone images, courtesy of the easy to use function in Adobe Lightroom Beta 4.
04/09/06 - New Technical Section
A new 'technical' section is now up and running on the site. This has been subdivided up into various categories, such as equipment, workflow and even design of the website. I may even get around to posting a few articles, but we shall see.
30/09/06 - Gallery Page Update
The 'Gallery' page has been redesigned so that a description can be added to each gallery. No new galleries yet, but hope to have one up within the next week. A few more images have gone onto the site, notably a couple in the Norfolk gallery.
14/07/06 - A New Toy - The Lens Baby
I received a Lens Baby as a birthday gift last week. This rather odd lens has flexible tubing allowing you to create a sweet spot of focus, producing images similar to those you might get from a Holga. I'll probably add some images to the galleries in the near future.
14/07/06 - More Photos Descriptions Added
Not a big change this, but more of the photos now have descriptions to go with them. I''m sure it will be a long while before they are all done, but that is the eventual plan.
06/07/06 - Gallery GUI Updates
A few modifications to the GUI of the galleries - in response to feedback on the design of the site. The thumbnails are now underneath the main picture, and the 'previous' and 'next' arrows have moved to a position above the main picture. These changes have been made to make browsing easier on smaller screens. The new design means that the arrows will always be in the same position and that you don't have to keep scrolling the display to see the next picture.
06/07/06 - News Page Added
The original version of this news page was added to the site.