Colour projects - tips for great photography

Why not pick a favourite colour and make it into a project. Find as many objects in that colour and put them together into an album on a website like flickr. In this set I have chosen a square format and by getting in close increased the level of abstraction.

 Life-ring at the Albert Dock Liverpool. Notice the very shallow depth of field and the very blurred background.

Chester busker from Peru. Fantastic colours in his traditional costume.

 Maserati on the streets of Manchester. I like the drifting clouds reflected in the gloss.

 Had to include a flower I suppose! Getting in close makes it a little difference. Walton Hall near Warrington.

Tight crop again but the logo loses none of its power on this tail-fin at Liverpool Airport.

A lot of people make such colour collections into mosaics and montages and this might be one way to develop it. Happy colour hunting!

Breathing space - tips for good photography

Sometimes you need space in your pictures to allow the subject to breathe. Sometimes this is an important part of the context when a close up just will not give the whole story.

 Enjoyed watching these planes land and take off from Preesall Sands beach near Knott-End-on-Sea; the Lake District hills in the distance. The plane is taking off and the space in front and above seemed a right composition

This is the 'Darcy tree' at Lyme Park. It was taken in the last hour of the day when colours seemed much stronger. A solitary tree on the horizon surrounded by space is always a powerful image

 These horses had had a hard gallop on the sands at Lytham and again the pictures breathes
because of the space

Subjects like these need a simple background and it is often tough to find the right angle to achieve this. So always walk around the object you want to photograph, be prepared to walk the extra mile for the picture that might just be that little bit different. 

Silhouettes - tips for good photography

Silhouettes are created by a strong back-light, usually the sun or bright sky, which causes the near side of object to become dark. These four images show the effect well and perhaps the black and white ones best of all. In all cases there is a very high contrast which is always interesting to the eye, dark blacks and bright white areas. Highlights may become too overexposed and dark area too much underexposed, so getting the correct exposure can be difficult.

 Blackpool beach fishermen enjoy the Summer evening as shadows lengthen

Interesting lightening of these beautiful welsh mountains at different distances from

the camera as the atmosphere and mist help to reflect light around the valleys

A solitary bullrush against a bright winter clear sky

Beaches give strong contrast enhanced by the storm-light between clouds over

the Mersey and Irish Sea here at Formby

The crisp clear winter daylight that we can expect soon could be a good opportunity to try out your silhouette technique.