CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Some photographers wish for clear blue skies and perfect conditions but, while I agree with this to a degree, there is nothing like the light just before or after a spell of bad weather.  This was the case on a recent trip to Oban in Scotland where the West Coast was being battered by waves of rain fronts coming in off the Atlantic.  The weather could be described a typically Scottish and made for some dramatic images as the rain approached, went through and then the sun would break through the clouds to spotlight areas of the wonderful scenery. The most important thing to remember is to be prepared for the worst that Scotland's weather can throw at you. Wear the correct clothing and protect your camera gear but most importantly don't put yourself in a dangerous position whether on the coast or up a mountain. You also need to work fast.  The sunlight on the waves breaking at Seil Island lasted a few minutes before the rain clouds closed in.  See the picture and a...

Armed with a macro lens your own garden can be a fascination world to discover at this time of year. Insects and flowers are photographed life size or even bigger and details that are almost invisible to the naked eye suddenly come to the fore.   The biggest problem is subject movement or camera movement.  The ideal solution is to put the camera on a tripod but for high speed subjects such as bees I found this impossible and had to hand hold the camera to allow freedom of movement.  Wind can also be a problem and a windbreak was set up for some of the flower images to stop the wind causing movement.  All these images were taken on a Nikon D90 with a 60mm F2.8 Micro Nikkor with a Delta TTL ring flash to provide illumination.  The lens was stopped down to f29 or f32 and  a flash sync speed of 1/125 or 1/200.  ISO was set at 200. ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MA CLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PE...

Finally after ages of grey and damp horrible winter English weather we finally got a half decent day to get out for a family day out.  We chose Fountains Abbey near Ripon, which is owned by the National Trust and is a World Heritage Site. Beautiful scenery and the remains of the Abbey that was founded in 1132.  Well worth a visit.  Fountains Abbey is approximately two miles outside of Ripon and is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in the country.  More info at  http://www.fountainsabbey.org.uk/

This image was taken at Thurne on the Norfolk Broads at the end of a short boating break.  The weather had been typically British but as we moored up for the final evening the sun came out and  I managed to capture this picture of the sun setting behind the windmill on the other side of the river.

Why is it when we visit places it is usually away from your own local area?  I am as guilty as most when it comes to photographic locations; I'd much prefer to be up in the Highlands of Scotland.  Well I've decided that it is about time I started exploring the surrounding areas of Grantham where I live so I have set myself the weekly task of visiting somewhere within a 10-mile radius of Grantham and come back with at least one decent image. The first place on my list was the Vale of Belvoir (well the area around Belvoir Castle) so with the sun shining I set off for a couple of hours to see what I could find.  First up was one of my favourite haunts from years ago, the hill above the village of Woolsthorpe by Belvoir looking across the valley to Belvoir Castle. I then moved to the other side of the castle to Jubilee Walk where I came across a Monkey Puzzle tree and some very unusual sheep - white heads with black wool - which I later found out to be the Herdwick bre...

The picture of the week was taken at Potrero de los Funes, near San Luis in Argentina during a thunder storm that was one of the best I've ever witnessed.  Potrero de los Funes is situated on a lake in the middle of the crater of an extinct volcano.  The image itself was quite easy to capture. I set the camera on a tripod and pointed it across the lake towards the town and then opened the shutter on a very long exposure (30 seconds) and waited for the lightening to fork across the sky.  It was a bit hit-and-miss but I got this image on the fifth attempt.

The brand new MacLean Photographic website home page The new website for MacLean Photographic was unveiled at the weekend after several weeks of behind the scenes work.  Websites are difficult things to quantify but one thing is clear, in this day of instant communications your website is the shop window for your activity, whether it is business or pleasure. I have been a professional photographer since leaving the military in 1996.  While the vast majority of my income now comes from MacLean Communications (ie the writing and organisation side of the business) being a competent photographer has enabled me to secure work over other highly experienced PR professionals.  It certainly doesn't hurt to have that extra string to the proverbial bow. Websites are also a personal thing that reflect your business and brand values.  I had investigated the template website option that are available from some very good and reputable firms.  While they offer a quick,...