Girl In The Kitchen

     Well here's a Black & White picture!, this is the sort of stuff i grew up with, messing around in the darkroom, now it's all digital and the internet, this is a great shot because it uses empty space in the composition, the 'subject' is in the top left hand corner, or maybe not, a human being is there, which at first seems more important than the kitchen, but maybe she's just background, maybe it's of nothing in particular, my eye focuses on the rack of shiny utensils, and the slightly open door, it's almost if the picture is trying to make a statement, the black and white medium gives the picture a bleak loneliness.

Ripples In The Sand

     Here's a fairly bleak shot, a beach bereft of sunbathers, a sea without any swimmers, nature at its finest, creating its own patterns and fun in the surf, notice the ridges of sand like long pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, as the water returns to the sea, each is a separate river, and the light creating a nice three dimensional feel to those tiny mountains and valleys, i like the way the clouds mimic what's happening on the beach, wispy patterns, and the two different but equally beautiful blues, the warmer greeny sea blue, and the colder purple sky blue, a lovely peaceful feeling, really therapeutic, i could sit there and watch it for ages.

Apartment Complex

     I like shapes and patterns, this one looks great, certain homes are lit up at random, others dark, different colours and interests, but it's those lines and boxes, that uniformity, but between the second and third line, there's a nice piece of background, it gives the whole thing some depth, i can look at this for ages, there's lots of individual interest.

Street Corner - Wide Angle

     Here's a nice shot of the corner of a building, down a nice quiet avenue, what makes the shot is the wide angle view, creating bowed lines in the straight lined building, plus it gives an effect of the tree towering above us, quite ominous in a way, i feel it creates some real power and weight, the trees on the far right feel as they're ready to fall over, i like wide angled shots, it changes from human angled view, to something different, but no less a true perspective, just something new and refreshing.

A Cat & Two Piglets

     A nice cute picture, and yet much more, this is a well composed shot, taken off the cuff as these animals don't stay still long, the cat is in a motherly pose, looking straight at the camera, tail high in the air, the piglets are more interested in each other, and it's them which make the picture unusual, they're not pets, and they're not indoor animals, the wood floor is has a good deal of interest in it, and it's good to see things from a cats eye level of things, rather than looking down on these three creatures from a human viewpoint.

Jacuzzi Underwater

     Here's an unusual shot, a picture of a jacuzzi with the camera under the water, the water is so clear that it doesn't appear that they are under the water, but of course that which is out of the water takes on some weird shapes, especially the pointed bikini top, and the bent left hand, and the cut off right fingers, and don't forget the Marge Simpson hairdo!, haha, it's good to see things through a different perspective.

The Cats Whiskers

     What makes this shot really good, is the fact it's a full face shot, there's no background in the corners, it really makes a difference, the detail is very good, and the fur markings are so interesting, in some ways it's good that the cat is slanted, on a level would have made it too symmetrical, and it's good to have highlights in the eyes.

Waiting For The Future

     Here's documentary photography, i like this stuff, you see the relationships between people, how they interact and react among each other, or how they all strike a similar pose, like the four people on the left, all sitting and looking at something off camera, and the three women on the right have different poses, the woman in the green dress seems to control the weight of centre spot in the picture, looking nowhere inparticular, bookended by two similar women in more mirthful spirits, what makes the picture in my mind, are three elements, one, the sincere expressions and poses of the sitters, it's as if the photographer has disappeared, free to shoot people completely candidly, two, the interesting backdrop, wall and steps, worn and cracked and broken, loads of interesting shapes and colours, and three, the panorama of the picture, a letterbox scene that is wide enough to show two separate groups of people, and their relationship to each other, a really powerful piece of photojournalism.

A Filling Station At Night

     Here's a really clever shot, when i first saw it, i thought it was two pictures on top of each other, it's an elevated shot of a filling station in the late evening, the upper picture shows the late evening sky, with the street lights on, a lovely blue sky and clouds, and then below is the green-ish concrete of the filling station, with car tail-lights, and sandwiched inbetween is the roof of the filling station, i think it's really clever and well spotted, i just like pictures that have two elements competing to be the central point of the picture, neither wins individually, but both win together, it's the blue and green that clash, yet complement each other.

Chicks Feeding Time

     What a clever shot, the thing that really makes this pic is the timing, a bird caught in flight and nicely frozen, and the chicks with open mouths at the right moment, deep down it's the back / side lighting, isn't that just so wonderful?, look at the leaves, how they're lit from behind, the well out of focus background which gives real depth, and for once red-eye ends up a good thing!.

Sun Coming Through The Trees

     This is a really inspiring shot, one of those photographs where you're glad to be alive, glad to see the beauty of the earth, the sunlight and it's fan of rays spreading out, the tree trunks are caught as silhouettes, but you can see the leaves in the background, but it's the haze that gets you, like out of a film set, it creates mystery and wonder.

Turqouise Window & Shutters

     I really like this shot, i like windows and doors, i like detail and interest, here the shutters really make the picture, very interesting wood cracks and lines and hinges, and the sunny reflection in the bottom half of the window gives it a three dimensional-ness, and of course the door matches, but the shutters seem slightly faded to a lighter colour, even the moss / discolouring at the top and bottom of the shot adds to the picture, well it's another turquoise photo like yesterday.

Surfer On A Turquoise Sea

     What an ominous picture, here's a surfer on what looks like an angry broiling sea, i like the turquoise sea in the foreground, it looks like some sort of marble with the white foam, and that dark black cloud hanging in the air above, below the surfer are some very nice reflections, gives the impression of stillness, as things are frozen in time, and above the surfer, some spray is caught in a lovely freeze frame moment, the dark blue in the left hand corner nicely complements the turquoise in the sea, a breathtaking shot.

Girl At The Door

     Here's a very posed shot, a young-ish girl standing outside a door, holding her dress almost in a curtsy, it looks like the shot was taken at night or late evening, the darkness of the upper left and right corners are not well lit, a shot almost in black and white, or in this case brown, only the red gives the game away, and her face is in the middle of the picture, which the eye is drawn to, somehow i really like this picture, it's an old house with bars on the windows, and even bars on the doors!, the brickwork is crumbling, the potted plants have seen better days, but there's a coy innocence on her face, she's really the only new thing in the picture, plus there's a lovely symmetry about the whole thing.

The Underbelly Of The Eiffel Tower

     Here's a not so usual angle of the Eiffel Tower, from underneath!, the tower ends up wider than it is tall!, this pic doesn't represent it's huge height, the top two thirds of the tower become quite insignificant, however because the structure towers over the viewer, you can feel the weight of the enormity of all that metal, the wide angle gives the extra weight of oppressiveness, it works in the dark with the tower lit up, and the sky goes from pink at the bottom, to dark blue and black at the top, giving an extra sense of the monolith, i'm sure coloured filters must have been used.

Footprints In The Sand

     What a lovely shot, a beautiful silhouette, some 'laws' of photography seem to be broken here, one is to never have the subject directly in the centre of the frame, and here the parent / child are in the centre, as well as the strong reflected sunlight is in the centre too, however it still works a treat, there's a lovely shadow / reflection of the people, and footprints in the dry sand, but washed away in the wet, and you can see the line between the dry and wet, there's a luminous glow about the cool wet sand, you can almost smell the sea.

Dark Clouds & SunRays

     Wow!, what a shot, it actually gives an impression of being shot underwater, and light is filtering down into the depths, that beautiful golden brown colour really makes an wonderful effect [i take it there's probably a colour filter used here], the clouds have this effervescent bright halo around them, and it's just those clouds full of interest and power, dark an ominous at the bottom, but bright and golden towards the top, it's the powerful rays which make the photograph, fanning out in light and dark beams, this shot really makes me feel part of the universe.

A Cornwall Sunset

     I like the lines in this shot, the sea carves out some wonderful patterns, there's almost a square brickwork of seams being exposed by the sea, with a fairly long shutter speed, the incoming tide becomes a misty blur, but with a tripod the rocks remain a pin sharp mass, there must be a purple-ish coloured filter used in this shot, i like the way most of the shot is below the skyline, the sun is small, and yet not insignificant, there's a golden glow on the sea on the right, those rocks look bleak, but the ones in the middle foreground glisten in a lovely way, an inspiring shot, and to top it off it's in my own country, down in good old Cornwall, the most inspiring holiday County in England.

Finger On The Button

     Here's a nice close-up shot, of a small camera, with a hand taking up a lot of the picture, and of course in the 'background' a denim shirt / jacket, it's the Red Indian Chief ring that really brings the picture alive, that would be a lot of hand with no real interest if the ring wasn't there, the thumb of the left hand gives the picture balance, the strap links the camera to the denim, it's the 'finger on the trigger' that doesn't entirely make any sense, with the lens cap still on, why are you ready to take a shot?, also seeing the lens glass would have added extra interest to the picture, but a well proportioned shot, with all the individual elements coming together to speak of a whole.

Old Door

     Here's another door photograph, straight after the last one, usually i try to post a good variety of pictures, yet i couldn't resist this very clever shot, a lovely detailed pic of an old door, cleverly either left open so you can have a glimpse inside, or propped up in some shed or another, a nice diffused light shining from the right, and the paint peeling very well caught, giving some amazing textures, also the upper keyhole has some rust coming through, i like the foreground wood [another door?], all in all a very well composed shot.

Red Door

     Here's a lovely symmetrical door, with iron hinges, looks like with many coats of paint, nice downward angled lines, and the red is not bright 'fire engine' red, but towards a shade of dark pink, there's darker shadows towards the bottom left, and some nice glossy textures middle right, and upper left, it would have looked even better if it had sunshine angled across it, creating some lovely textured shadows, but a great pic all the same.

Windows / Reflection

     Here's a nice shot of a building, by shooting a shot of a different building!, the actual building being shot, is horizontally straight, and in the middle vertically straight up, but fans out as the upper floors reveal an increasing number of windows, you can see the overhead lights inside some of the floors, the reflected building opposite also has vertical lines parallel to first building, but the horizontal lines are at a nice angle, creating some lovely shapes, the sky / clouds are also seen between the two reflected buildings, a really nice photo with lots of interest for the eye to move around.

Silhouette / Hands

Here's another clever and inventive shot, a silhouette against some window panes, five children looking into what seems to be a classroom or something, with the lights turned out, not exactly a complete black silhouette, as you can still slightly see some features, but the special wire glass, and the almost non see through of the frosted glass makes ghostly figures, deep down it's the hands which make an impression, which are dark and clearer as they are pressed up against the glass, the whole picture is shrouded in a hazy blue colour, a very effective and interesting photo.

Cyclists / Blur

     Here's a really good action shot, you can feel the movement as these cyclists pass the photographer in the road, especially the far left and far right of the picture, it gets more blurry as you get nearer the camera, only the fourth cyclist is caught fairly frozen, there's a great sense of monotone grey, except the colourful jerseys of the cyclists, and some nice shadows in the middle, you can feel the depth of the road, and the speed of the cycles, notice the 'bent' spokes on the wheels,a really powerful shot.

Candy Jars

     Now this takes me back to my childhood!, all those jars of sweets, and all those mesmerising colours, i like uniformity, i like patterns, and certainly colours too, and this shot has all of that, and yet they're not rows of clones, each is an individual, distinct and unique from the others, whether in colour, or texture, or shape, rather like people really, if you take the time to look on the inside.

Puffin / Take Off

     This is a really great shot, there's a lovely sharpness about the whole thing, plus a great relationship between the bird, and the rock it has to live on for survival, the bird has some wonderful bright reds in it, plus some nice shadows which highlight the sunshine, the rock isn't a plain lump, but full of interesting crevices, and lichen which gives colour, the well out of focus background beach? and sea are strong, giving the bird / rock greater focus and perspective, ultimately it's the 'take off' that is interesting, a bird spreading it's wings and jumping into the void. 

Dogs Legs

     

     Here's a clever pic, a dog under the table, with three ladies sitting at the table, but you can't see their faces, the dogs ears are covered over, as if the women don't want the dog hearing their conversation, and because we can't see their facial expressions, which can reveal a lot, the we can't 'hear' their talk either, a nice interplay between the girls footwear, and the dogs 'footwear', i like the highlights on the metal, and the glasses too, it's bereft of colour except for the gold of the dog, and the red / pink of the dress, the floor is interesting too, lots of scratches, but you can still see very interesting grain and pattern, your eyes are drawn to the dogs eyes.

Blinds / Sunlight

     Here's somewhat of an almost monochrome shot, blinds made out of sticks!, tied together with metal fasteners, an all brown and dark photo, except of course by the starburst through the blinds, which creates rainbow colours, the sticks aren't particularly sharp in focus, but they're at a pleasing angle, and even though they're all similar, they're also unique and different, which creates interesting gaps, it wouldn't look anywhere near as good if it was merely a silouette, it's one of those shots that isn't teeming with lots of different things, just one element playing against another, light and dark?.

Golden Silhouette

     Now here's a really classy shot, i didn't realise how good this really was until i had another look today, it has truly stunning light in it, of course there's some fairly strong filter involved here, but it's a great effect, it looks as though an extra filter was involved in a big portion of the top right hand corner, and a little bit of the top left, makes the clouds there look dark and angry [the reason for the umbrella?], the sunlight is powerful, and gives a nice idea of fanned rays shinning down, the trees on the horizon give the picture a nice sense of scale, it looks hot!, only the bottom foreground is not greatly interesting, but it does frame the picture at the bottom.

Dappling Sunlight

     Here's more of an abstract photo, and yet teeming with interest, it may at first seem a monochrome of blue and white, yet in reality it's a kaleidoscope of colours!, and shapes too, what gives it it's distinctiveness is the glaring sunlight top right, there's slight sunbursts in the lower sunlights, giving it an incandescence which is nicely overwhelming, the lines get more wavy and larger at the bottom, it's almost like you want to splash into them, and more darker / coloured at the top, it's like looking at clouds, you invent things up in them, the photo seems really 'wet'.

Kitten Fight!

     Here's my very first picture!, of course not taken by me, i got this off of the Internet, the way i will get all of my pictures, i chose this as my first picture as it's an all round shot that works on a lot of different levels, it's certainly not your average 'cute kittens looking out of a basket' shot, nor 'lions making a kill in the wild' either.

I like this shot because it's a great action pic, the kitten on the right is blurred enough yet frozen in action enough to work, having just jumped off another tree stump that you can just see on the right, it's also a lovely pose by the kitten on the left, with nice 'tiger' markings, and claws ready for battle, the tree stump is interesting with lots of detail, and the out of focus green background makes the kittens stand out, a superb photograph.