Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Me, myself and my photography!!!

Hello all!
 
I have just started my Diploma Level 3 in Photography.  On the 2nd night of my course we were all introduced to blogging! this is a scary prospect for me as I'm a blogging virgin!!! Surely but slowly I'm finding my way round this thing called 'blogging'!!
 
A little bit about me - I always had an interest in photography and like most people, used my little compact camera to take endless images of my family and friends.  My foray into the photography world got under way just over a year ago when a colleague/friend talked me into joining his Level 2 City & Guild photography course.
 
At the beginning I happily snapped away and produced what I thought at the time some great images of flora and fauna – feeling pretty pleased with myself, only to later discover I had plenty of room for improvement! I took all the constructive feedback I received as a challenge and was determined to do even better next time! Without even realising, photography started to become a major part of my life and with every project I wanted to do bigger and better things.
 
For the final unit of my photography course I wanted to do something different, making sure my images would stand out from the crowd.  I looked into silk printing but my idea soon developed and I decided to print my images on fabric and then make a dress out of it and display it in class.  The External Verifier from City & Guilds spoke to me about my idea for the dress and had commented that he’d never seen anyone use this unusual method to present their work.  Much to my surprise and delight I ended up winning the City & Guilds Medal for Excellence Award!!!
 
I was invited to a glamorous award ceremony at the fabulous Roundhouse in London, hosted by Alex Jones from the One Show. To my utter shock and disbelief I was one of the runner ups for the FE Sector Learner of Year award!! What an amazing surprise and an absolute honour to be in the top three amongst 100 learners! Such a memorable evening and not one I will forget in a hurry!
 
Since then many of my images have been published in the local paper as well as having pieces of work exhibited at the Gallery Oldham and Saddleworth Gallery for the Open Exhibition. All this provided me with the wonderful opportunity and platform to showcase my work to the public, so they could enjoy them as much as I do.
 
Doing the course has helped me to realise my full potential, even to the extent of being told I have a natural ‘eye’ for this wonderful medium. I love capturing the natural beauty that surrounds us on a day to basis.  Over time I’ve realised how much photography means to me and how much pleasure I get out of capturing that one great shot! Now I never leave the house without the camera.  I am always keen to discover new methods and techniques and look at imaginative and creative ways to present what I capture. You could say photography has become pretty central to everything I do. I believe it's now become a lifelong passion and something I will never stop doing.
 
The types of photography I generally enjoy are landscape, nature, cityscape, seascape and abstract. Although I have photographed a number of events/weddings/portraits and promotional images. 
 
Recently I have been trying to capture some night images of my home town. 
 
This is an image of a speeding tram taken with my Canon 500D, with a very slow shutter speed to capture the light trail.    

   
This is another image of my local bus station taken whilst out one evening. 


Trying to capture the sunset one evening


This is the car park next to the tram station near my home
 

2 comments:

  1. You would think a car park is nothing to photograph then you see the one in here, fantastic. Love that shot. Great Blog :)

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    1. Thanks, Julie, appreciate your comment and feedback! ;-)

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