All smiles now but could have been a very different story…
Got up early today for the 3.5 hour drive to Whiteford (Gower Peninsula, South Wales) to photograph the Victorian Lighthouse.
Having arrived at the nearest car park it was then just over a 3 mile walk across boggy wetland / marsh and forest to get to the beach…
Finally landed back in Devon at 12.30am after what has been a fantastic few days at The Photography Show NEC, Birmingham.
Hats off to the Team behind the show for everything they have put in place to bring it back but as safely as possible. I was genuinely surprised at the numbers despite all the whispers beforehand that attendance would be low; there were more than I expected and a great atmosphere.
A few years ago I attempted a landscape photography project, and me being me, that meant buying investing in some kit I’d had no call for until then as a portrait photographer, such as filters. The brand I opted for, and that everyone seemed to mention at the time, was Lee.
I purchased a number of Graduated Neutral Density (ND) Filters, Reverse ND Filters, Polarisers, Big Stopper, Little Stopper and so on, obviously in addition to the filter holding system, carry case and all.
The landscape photography venture didn’t really go much further than one photograph, but to be fair that was mainly because my 39-45 Portraits Project picked up a heck of a pace and took over.
Fast forward to March 2020 when circumstances dictated that I give the landscape stuff another try. I ventured out a few times taking along my Lee Filters but very soon they took a back seat, stayed on a shelf in my office and never saw the light of day.
This was going to be perfect for the look and feel I was after, ‘Freedom and the Open Road’ which seemed highly appropriate after the last 18 months or so that we’ve all been living with the pandemic.
I couldn’t have wished for a better location and with it being so close (just a 10 minute drive from Ian’s studio). So, once an exact spot had been decided on, and the position of the sun checked using the PhotoPills App to see where it would be , we were all set for 11am the following morning.
I’ve recently updated my Developing your Style PDF where I go through what I truly believe is the way to develop your own unique and recognisable style.
As photographers, or indeed any form of art, I think it’s fair to say that we all want to have a style that is uniquely us, rather than a body of work that looks no different to the next person; but how?
I hadn’t actually intended to post this here on my website, but having shared the story on social media, and seeing the responses from people (some that were hilarious) I just had to add it here too for anyone that didn’t see the original on the likes of Facebook and Instagram.
Some of the comments posted on social media, I’ll add to the bottom.
Right, here goes…
Conditions were absolutely perfect for some long exposure photography, and wow, what a stunning location!
We arrived around 5pm with the high tide expected at 5.20pm, and had to wait maybe an hour or so before some of the hidden rock formations became visible. This gave us plenty of time to set up kit and think about where we would position ourselves; this being made a lot easier from Doug having been there before.
It’s fair to say that the Covid 19 Pandemic has affected each and every one of us in one way or another; be it with the loss of a loved one, a friend, or how the restrictions placed upon us have affected our everyday lives.
I can only talk about how it’s affected me, or rather how it could have affected. Now I say ‘could have’ because I know what I’m like and I know, that even with no pandemic to contend with, I’m the kind of person that gets restless and agitated if I’m not constantly working on something new.
As a Portrait Photographer, pre March 2020 it was easy. I had portraits to take and I had my 39-45 Portraits Project which in all honesty, I’m happy to say
Back in May 2019 I was at the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon, Wiltshire photographing and filming Mark Billy Billingham (former UK Special Forces and star of TV’s SAS: Who Dares Wins and Who Dares Wins Australia) whilst he was on his ‘An Audience with…’ tour.
Having met up with ‘Billy’ early in the afternoon, we set up on the stage hours before the audience streamed in to take some portrait and promo shots as it was shortly before his first book The Hard Way was released…
Seeing as I’ve revamped my website and also tidied up previous blog posts, I just wanted to make sure I included this one from early in 2020 when I spent a day with one of my closest friends, Brian Dukes, and photographed his incredible Ford Mustang.
We photographed it on a former airfield which saw action during World War 2, and is now owned by another great friend of mine Tom as it forms part of his farmland.
You’ll see in the video below, how I lit the image and that was by taking a serious of photographs with a flash positioned at different parts of the car; these images were
© Glyn Dewis 2024
