The iconic Flying Scotsman steams through the valley near Levisham Station North Yorkshire Moors

Catching The Train – Photographing The Flying Scotsman

When I was a kid I had a Hornby train set and my pride and joy was a model Flying Scotsman. To me it was everything that an engine should be, sleek, fast and painted in a beautiful British Racing Green.     Roll on 35 years and trains are no longer my thing, but great photography subjects are, which is why my ears pricked up at a breakfast TV story about the Flying Scotsman returning to the tracks after a £4m refit. I decided that it would make a nice little photography project and to that end I recently found myself wandering the North Yorkshire Moors in the vicinity… Read More

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A highland cow in the Lake District, UK

Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens Review

Over the Christmas period I have had the opportunity to borrow my brother David’s Oly 45mm f1.8. Up until now the only primes I had around this focal length were 2 old manual lenses that I got on eBay. More about these another time but whilst I love using them for the tactile nature of going manual (there’s no doubt that I feel more connected with the whole shooting process when using these), I find I do miss a lot of candid opportunities because despite some very good focus aids built into the OM-D E-M1 I simply miss focus, a lot. Image Quality Ok, let’s get the most important point… Read More

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The old boathouse on Devoke Water, Lake District, UK

Poor Light? Try Black and White

It’s a dilemma isn’t it? You’ve packed up all your camera gear, booked hotels, travelled hundreds or even thousands of miles with hope and excitement running through your veins, your mind overflowing with images of beautiful landscapes bathed in wonderful golden dappled light………and then you arrive and are greeted by leaden skies and dull grey land. So, what to do? Well, this is the scenario that occurred to my brother David and I on a recent visit to the English Lake District. There were, as usual when the two of us are together, two schools of thought. David favoured the “sitting in the pub taking wide aperture images of pints… Read More

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