My Top 10 from 2018
In early January, I like to look back over the pictures I took in the last year and choose my favourites. It's interesting to compare these with previous years to see how I've changed as a photographer.
One thing that surprised me is that there's not a single portrait in this collection. Other than one street photo, these are all landscapes. A couple of years ago, it would have comprised only portraits. This isn't because I've fallen out of love with portrait photography but simply refelcts the difficulty of getting people in front of my camera. Note to self: work harder in 2019 to do more portraits.
"View from the Roaches". I'm fortunate to live near the Roaches, so if it looks like a good sunset I can get myself in position within 30 minutes or so. This is one of my favourite compositions, since you can see all of Tittesworth Lake in the background.
Canon 5D Mk III with EF 16-35mm f/2.8L lens at 18mm. 1.3s, f/11, ISO 100.
"View from Bamford Edge". As I was hiking up to Bamford Edge, I was hoping either for a good sunset or a nice bank of cloud. Anything but a blue sky. There are a number of views I took from here, but this worked out the best.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with M.Zuiko 12mm lens. 1/60s, f/5, ISO 250.
"St Mary's Lighthouse". I was working in Northumberland but didn't have enough time to get to some of the more photogenic locations, like castles. Although St Mary's is a little prosaic, I was really pleased that I spotted this reflection.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with 12-40mm PRO lens at 25mm. 30s, f/8, ISO 200.
"Southerscales Limestone Pavement". I came across this fantastic limestone pavement at Southerscales. It's like an alien landscape, and treacherous to walk on.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with Laowa Compact Dreamer 7.5mm lens. 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 320.
"Wyming Brook". I'd been put off from visiting Wyming Brook in the past because of its name. A brook doesn't sound especially photogenic and I figured there might be just one or two photographs to be had. But I visited after going to its bigger brother, Padley Gorge. It was magical, like a fairy glen.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with Laowa Compact Dreamer 7.5mm lens. 2.5s, f/5.6, ISO 200.
"Let me help you with that". I took this image in the Summer in Glasgow. I spent about 30 mins in this spot. I took about 50 photos during that time, but this is a fairly busy street and many of the shots featured a car or too many pedestrians. Ironically, this image was one of the first that I took. The two people in the shot were a couple of tourists who plonked down their bag looking for something.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with M.Zuiko 17 mm lens. 1/125s, f/4, ISO 200.
"Glasgow Transport Museum". I took this on a rainy evening in Glasgow. It was a fair walk across town to get to this spot but the design of this building is striking enough to make it worthwhile.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with Laowa Compact Dreamer 7.5mm lens. 1/200s, f/5.6, ISO 200.
"St Paul's Cathedral". The secret to getting this shot without people in it is to take it at 7:30am on a Sunday morning.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with M.Zuiko 12 mm lens. 1/120s, f/8, ISO 200.
"Old Gang Smelt Mill". I sneaked this in just before the end of the year during a trip to the Yorkshire Dales. I spent a while trying to find a composition but nothing was really working. Then I spotted the puddle, got down very low with a wide angle lens, and ended up with somthing quite spooky.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with Laowa Compact Dreamer 7.5mm lens. 1/100s, f/5.6, ISO 1600.
"Thames Barrier from Charlton". This was taken on a Vulture Labs photography workshop I attended in 2018. I would never have found this location without the workshop leader, Jay. From this perspective, I think the Thames Barrier looks like an armadillo.
Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II with M.Zuiko 17 mm lens. 214s, f/5.6, ISO 200, 10-stop ND filter.
