Well overdue

This post is well overdue, it's just that the day job has taken up so much of my time recently that I had not got round to editing these images. Anyway …

Last month I was very fortunate to work with the wonderful Kirsty. This shoot had been planned for at least a couple of months but being October in the Lake District I was concerned that the Autumn gales would arrive early and make shooting impossible.

I needn't have worried. The sun shone and so did Kirsty. We worked at two locations, one a lakeside setting with the autumn colours reflected in the water, then we went to an old stone barn set high on a hillside with wonderful views over the lake and hills beyond.

So here's a few images from the set. There are more on my website.

Back to the boathouse

Well it didn't take long before I got to use my new location at the boathouse. One of my favourite models, Raphaella travelled up to the Lakes to shoot with me and as I was on a tight schedule we decided to start there.

I've still to go through the images but here's a sample.

What do you do when …

One question I'm often asked is what do I do if someone walks past when you're doing a nude shoot. The answer is quite simple, cover up, say hello to the passed by and pick up again when they're out of sight. Of course a shoot would never get anywhere if there were constant interruptions so it's easier to find locations where there's no one around. In the Lake District in the summer this is easier said than done but far from impossible.

For a start, no one is expecting to walk in to a shoot in the middle of the country and it's really quite easy to spot people before they spot you. Secondly, you would be surprised how blinkered people can be when they're out walking. Most tend to focus on the path ahead and not see what's going on around them.

The other problem with location shoots is that models invariable turn up in totally unsuitable footwear, so a long trek is out of the question. I've actually started to seek out locations that are close to the road, so less time is spent on walking and more on shooting. As the weather today was the usual Lakeland rain I set off to check out a location I'd used before to see if I could find another angle to shoot there again. I never got there but I did find several cracking spots which I hope to use soon, including this one.

It's a perfect waterside location, boathouse, jetty, overhanging trees to soften the light and only 20 metres from the road, but perfectly screened.

Now all I need is a break in the weather.

Things are looking up.

I left the camera in a warm place overnight and all seems well this morning. Memo to self. DON'T SHOOT IN THE RAIN …

Am I just careless?

So today I bought a Sigma 24 - 70 mm lens to try out the Canon 5D with. Looks great and I tested it out at a local stock car event … in the rain. Now I can't get any playback on the camera, nor can I download the days images.

After the events of last week and trashing two lenses I'm beginning to think I may be jinxed. Just as I'm trying to step up a gear, everything seems to be going wrong.

Fingers crossed it will dry out overnight.

Conwenna

Earlier this week, when the weather was kinder I had a shoot with Conwenna at a riverside location in the Lakes. The previous day had been very wet and the river was up, making conversation and instructions slightly difficult.

The shoot was supposed to be a try out for my new Canon 5D and started off reasonably well. But in my haste I managed to drop one lens in a large puddle and later slipped on a greasy rock, damaging a second. The camera, fortunately escaped unscathed.

Despite this misfortune we got some super images, one of which is shown here. Conwenna was a delight to work with. Quiet and reserved but giving her all to get the best result.

Lifescapes?

I'm a photographer living in the beautiful English Lake District. Like a great many others I've photographed the beauty of Lakeland over the years and more recently started photographing beautiful women as well.

A pretty girl in an idyllic setting can make for an arresting image. Most of my shoots these days are art nudes but not exclusively so. I also shoot anything and everything that takes my eye.

In case you're wondering why Lifescapes? It's just an amalgam of life and landscape and the two go together wonderfully.

I hope to use this blog to show examples of my work and to share it across a wider audience.