My Journal
All About Me & My Photography
Behind the Magic – Camera lens distortion – Optical & perspective what is the difference?
Have you noticed when taking a photo of your horse with your phone that their head is huge, and I mean HUGE? Yes you're not going mad it will look disproportionally hug. This is due to something called perspective distortion. There are two main types of distortion...
Behind The Magic – Understanding aspect ratios
If you're reading this article you most likely have stumbled across the term 'aspect ratios' and are wondering how it affects your photography. What are aspect ratios? Put very simply it's the shape of your photograph. You can shape your frame either as a square or...
Behind The Magic – The importance of correct colour
Every time you upload a photo to social media you are presented with the option to apply a filter. Each filter does something different but almost all in some way affect the appearance of colour. Filters can be fantastic as they allow you to maintain a consistency to...
It’s all about the horse, your stunning equine supermodel
We all think our horses are supermodels and worthy of the pages of CountryLife magazine, and I want to create images that could be taken right from the centre spread! I love taking photos of people and their horses but I also love, and perhaps that little bit more...
Behind The Magic – Keeping image quality on social media
You may have noticed that when uploading photos to Facebook and other social media platforms that the quality is somewhat horrendous even if you uploaded a high resolution image. There is a simple reason for this, and that is whenever you upload an image unless it...
Behind the Magic – Quality not quantity
When I started my photographic journey I was keen to share my photos wherever I could in large numbers, it didn't matter if they weren't as good as they could be I just wanted to reach the largest audience possible, thinking this was the best way to get my name out...
Behind the Magic – Sizing: DPI, PPI & Pixels
There is so much confusion over DPI and sizing it's untrue. I'm often asked for images for printing purposes in 300 DPI with no other information, this normally means that the person asking doesn't actually know what they want other than the photo to be in high...
Behind The Magic – Facing into the sun
When starting out with photography you will often hear that you should never face into the sun when taking photos on a sunny day. This isn't though a 'rule' but until you learn all the settings on your camera and understand how light works it will make your job far...
Behind The Magic – Following & Breaking The Rules of Composition
Rules are there to be broken on occasion and that is certainly the case with the rules of composition! The 'rules' are great and lead to some fantastic photos but it is ok to bend or even break them on occasion to create something even more special! It is perhaps...
Badminton Horse Trials Photos
All 4* Badminton Horse Trials photos are now available to purchase via the below link or can be accessed going through my event galleries. Mitsubishi Motors Cup photos are up in part in their on gallery and the rest will follow shortly....
Behind The Magic – Behind the scenes photos
In my last blog regarding working as a press photographer I mentioned about my love of taking photos behind the scenes. After a week at Badminton I thought I would go in to more detail and show you exactly what I love photographing. A lot of photographers will spend...
Behind The Magic – The life of a press photographer
As you read this I will be on route to Badminton, arguably the most famous event in the world, for an ultra busy week of media coverage for e-Venting.co.uk. Starting this afternoon with the Mitsubishi Motors Cup continuing throughout the week until the final 4* press...
Behind The Magic – Beauty is everywhere
This year for the second time I have undertaken a Photo Per Day project whereby I make sure to take a photo everyday. Most days that is on my DSLR but on some my mobile phone. My challenge though is that the photo should be interesting (even if just to me!) and where...
Behind The Magic – Stepping out of your comfort zone
I'm often asked how I got to where I am today with my photography, and my answer is simply that not that long ago I was a beginner myself but I pushed myself, I learnt to step out of my comfort zone and developed my techniques accordingly. I see many photographers,...
Copyright explained – what is all the fuss about?
Copyright is always a contentious issue especially amongst event photographers as it so directly affects their livelihood. Personally I understand that a lot of people simply do not understand how copyright works and how if they do infringe it, it affects a...
Behind the Magic – Milky Way & Star photos
Have you ever looked at the night sky and just boggled at how many stars there are above? So have I, and I love to photograph them when I have the chance. With the help of a wide angled lens and a tripod you can capture the stars, and even the Milky Way with most DSLR...
Behind The Magic – Raw vs Jpeg
I remember when I first started taking photos with a DSLR, I really didn't understand what RAW was and kept to my safety blanket of shooting in jpeg. Eventually as I read and learnt more, I realised just how beneficial and indeed essential shooting in raw can be. The...
Behind The Magic – choosing a wedding photographer
From the start I won't deny that there will be a degree of bias in this article as I am obviously myself a wedding photographer but I want to ensure if you do choose me to photograph your big day that you are doing so for the right reasons hence my reason for writing...
Attending an event as a spectator – Photographic dos and don’ts
If you're like me and you have a spare weekend once in a blue moon how better than to spend it at an event, presuming the sun is shining, or at the very least it's not raining, or well not raining heavily...! Whilst there, why not take a few photos as a friend is...
Behind The Magic – Event incidents, why I keep clicking
I have been asked several times why I keep holding down my camera's shutter release button in the event of an incident at an event and more so in burst format. I'm accused of doing it for the money shot and I have even been called macabre for doing so on occasion, so...
What would you like to know?
Have you got a burning question you would like to ask me? Would you like to know something about how I create my images or how I work? Drop me a line and let me know.