What I've been up to - a Norfolk photographer and his musings...

So with the wedding season nearly upon us (and this year is looking to be a record year for weddings for me) I thought I'd post up some pics of what I've been up to.I've not been sat around waiting for Spring either!  I've been flat out with commercial work, the aerial photography and running the 'Photography Basics' workshop (more about that further down).Oh, and messing about getting our new allotment sorted out and getting in some time out & about with my children Charlotte & Will!Couples that book me for weddings often tell me that it's not just my wedding images on here that catch their eye but the other stuff I shoot and post on here too, so here's a look at some stuff I've been shooting the last few weeks....With the stormy weather we had a few weeks ago I once again braved the salt water spray and got some shots of the waves in motion.  I quite like the slight motion blurring caused by the movement of the waves in this shot, I think it captures the energy better than a shot done with a fast shutter speed which freezes the action and makes the waves look more static.In February we had the Sheringham Viking Festival, a great idea masterminded by local artist Colin Seal (the man responsible for the many beautiful murals now adorning Sheringham), actually I'll post a shot I did of Colin recently, with a little photoshopping I had him trapped in his own painting!).  Anyway, back to the Viking Festival - a superb weekend-long event culminating with the burning of the viking boat which Colin constructed & decorated....Here's the shot I mentioned above, just a bit of fun with Colin 'shopped into his own picture but it does show the amazing standard of Colin's work...Below, I got myself a new filter to play with -  called 'The Big Stopper', it's a piece of darkened glass essentially which allows for slow shutter speed shots even on bright days and allowed for this long exposure of the sea in the sunshine, a shot simply not possible without the filter.I've been out & about with the quadcopter on various commissions (see my Norfolk aerial photography website for more info on this - www.aerovisuals.co.uk) the below was one of a series of shots I was commissioned to do of Oddfellows Hall in Sheringham.If I can see that it's going to be a day for landscape photography I'll escape from the computer for a bit and head along the coast.  This one was taken at Holkham and demonstrates one of the tricks I talk about in my photography workshops on how to achieve strong reflection photographs.I never get bored of the incredible sunsets we have here on the coast but sometimes I like to try different things to avoid getting the same shots.  This was an idea I had to use one of Will's toy dinosaurs - by standing it on a groyne & shooting the silhouette on a fairly small aperture I managed to create the effect that the T Rex was on the beach & attacking Leanne!Another technique I've been playing about with is steel wool spinning in which you take a kitchen whisk, stuff it with steel wool, light it & spin it on a length of rope.  The slow shutter speed allows the tracks of the sparks to be caught making for some pretty dramatic shots.  A word of warning though if you are thinking of trying this - each of those sparks is a little blob of red hot molten steel, it will burn your hair and if a bit lands on the camera lens glass it will bond to the glass & ruin the lens.  Not to mention the fire hazard which is one of the reasons we did this on the beach! With the clocks changing and a little sunshine making an appearance Charlotte decided it was time for her first swim of the year, I have to admit that I didn't go in (still need a few more months for the sea to warm up for me to venture in!)......while Will stayed relatively dry & played about with his football on the prom... At the back end of last year we took on an allotment, it's been a great way to get out in the fresh air & get some exercise and look at that view, I foresee many happy hours at the allotment this Summer! The next set of shots in this blog post are from the photography workshop I ran recently - Photography Basics - for complete beginners or for people that simply want to take control of their camera, understand the settings & equipment and take great photos.  In the course we cover not only the technical stuff which is handy to understand if you really want to make amazing images but also various compositional ideas and loads more plus lots of tips & tricks.  I have another Basics course coming up in May (this time an evening course running over 4 weeks and then another full day course on 25th October.  (Still have a few spaces if you are reading this & would like to come along!)  More information on the photography training is here.As part of the workshop we get out & about to practice the various techniques covered, below are some example shots taken on the day... Some of the attendees were a little camera shy so this is a close as we got to a class photo!Below, the making of the above shot!Meanwhile a curious passby got roped into being a model for us, she was great fun! On top of all this I've also been trying to get down to the lifeboat station for our training sessions & exercises, not always easy being so busy with work & family but it's always worth it when I do make it down.  We had an evening exercise last week which coincided with a beautiful sunset so while the boys were off on the boat I got a few shots.Station mascot Matty is often found at the lifeboat shed when he brings his owner Mark (one of our launching tractor drivers) down with him.  Here Matty is showing off his new cape (actually it's just one of the RNLI flags we have flying at the station which need replacing occasionally when the sea spray & wind get the better of them!)  So there it is, what I've been up to the last few weeks (I haven't posted the many & varied commercial jobs I've been doing, I'll save that for another day), soon the bog will become full of wedding photos again although I do have a couple of great events I've been commissioned to shoot which will be making an appearance - firstly the annual Hoste Arms Classic & Supercar event and also I'm pleased to be shooting a number of events for the fantastic Norfolk & Norwich Festival again in the next couple of weeks.  Watch this space!