THE HAPHAZARD PHOTOGRAPHER

Well yes, I suppose I am that! I am rather accident prone and I do quite often fall over on shoots, luckily not yet over a cliff or on a slippery rock incurring a severe spinal injury. I think I am more concerned about the safety of my equipment then myself. Despite that I did nearly once lose a lens to the depth of Christchurch Quay!

In deep concentration at Stourhead

So I am a hobbyist landscape photographer and I've been doing this for about seven years. I am originally from Weston-super-Mare, married, no children, just two pet rabbits - Maple and Spirit. Back in the 1980s I moved to the bright lights of London for six months. Except I didn't leave until 2012 and moved to the New Forest area with my husband after redundancy, tiring of packed tubes and travelling under someones armpit etc.

My last job in London was working in print producing artwork; brochures, leaflets and other creative medium. After relocating I didn't go back to that so I gravitated to photography for another creative outlet. These days I am a bit more organised; I have recently switched to a lightweight mirrorless camera, Canon R6, three lenses that do the job covering various focal lenses, a Gitzo tripod and an idiot-proof KASE magnetic filter system for different exposures. I am still not good at deftly setting up in semi darkness.

I have been really enjoying putting this website together and it reminds me of how far I've come. My first obstacle was relearning to drive, with the help of my very patient husband, so I could get a bit further then my nearest local beach down the road. I haven't really got a niche as such; some photographers are brilliant at woodland photography and mainly concentrate on that, others are into astro etc. I enjoy a mixture of capturing inland vistas, especially those misty mornings, and also being by the coast.

I do have some favourite locations; the magnificant Corfe Castle for one. After eight mistless attempts the joy I felt when finally nailing it was so satisfying. Landscape photography can be extremely frustrating; many times I have risen too late only to see a myriad of colours kicking off outside, and other times light and colour is non existent despite careful planning and looking at various weather apps. But thats the way it goes, it would be less satisfying if we had perfect conditions all the time!

Gotcha! The day I finally captured a misty Corfe Castle

I am lucky to be able to access the New Forest easily and other "go to" locations are Christchurch and Mudeford. I also love going home to Weston super Mare, my home town, for coastal photography. I think it gets a bit overlooked but it has a fascinating derelict pier and the second most extreme tides in the world. It's a great location for long exposure as is Burnham low lighthouse further down the coast. I don't tend to tick locations off, it's always worth going back to somewhere. As this blog develops I will write more about my favourite locations in separate articles.

I don't know who will see all this! I can be followed on Facebook, Instagram and Flickr. Social media is a bit of a double edged sword. Another photographer wrote in his blog that his reach is similar to a Tyrannosauras Rex and that really made me smile because I can relate! It can be a bit depressing when you are beaten by an algrothim preventing the masses from seeing my efforts. However I have to remind myself that I'm not doing this for likes and validations. And on a positive note I have made wonderful like-minded friends on these platforms who consistently encourage and inspire me.

So for anyone that has read this, thank you for getting this far xx