Jurgen Freund’s pictures of a baby turtle, a barrel sponge and other beauties of the deep have been released to back environmental campaigners the WWF. Read the rest of this entry »
With even more huge names added to the bill and the promise of glorious sunshine, the Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters Festival is most definitely one to put in your diaries & an event I am planning on photographing for the first time since my visit as a student many years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
We didn’t last very long, we had managed a couple of hours sleep & even with hand and feet warmers Abbey woke up shivering. It was 4am and time to call it a night. Although I was pretty snug and warm, I struggled to get much sleep. We retreated back to the lodge and jumped into our warm bed.
So inviting and warming was this bed, we managed to sleep through the alarm and miss breakfast. Hungry again we suited up and made our way down the valley to a small cafe for some brunch, it wasn’t nearly as good as the Scandinavian breakfast we had at the lodge but it filled a hole!
Just across the bridge was the small Swedish town of Karesuando. We were on the northern border of Sweden & could see the village across the Muonio River from the lodge. Most notably seen is the church, it’s spiral can be seen from the top of mountain that we had been star gazing the night before.
After a short walk we came to the bridge, with it an old iron sign marking the divide. The river was frozen solid with a thick layer of ice, if it weren’t for the ski, snowmobile and footprints it would have looked like the icing on a cake. People were free to cross the border without any checks, a bit like England and Wales really.
Our first stop was to the church, which we learnt is the most northerly church in all of Sweden! It was quite modern inside, I wasn’t allowed to take photos but it was more like the happy clappy churches you get in America. From the outside however it stood tall and proud at the top of it’s drive, overlooking the river.
There wasn’t a great deal going on in the village, a couple of shops and residential areas but that’s it. It was very pretty though and nice to walk around. The only people we saw were those serving in the shop, a bit if a ghost town. They are probably hibernating, which I don’t blame them for, it’s freezing!
After lunch came the activity I was most looking forward too, Husky safari! Saying I am dog lover is an understatement, I adore them, especially huskies! As we approached the farm you could hear them howling with excitement, they had 92 in total including a few pups. Most of them are crossbreeds, either with greyhounds for speed or arctic wolves for strength. People think its cruel making huskies pull a sleigh but I can honestly say they genuinely love it. The sleighs are tied to a tree with a pack of six huskies tied to the front, they with howl, jump, spin round in circles until we finally until the sleigh and whoosh they are off! The two at the back are usually the matured males, wolf cross breads for strength, they do most of the work, the middle two are younger, very cheeky but hard workers. The front are usually female, they are the more intelligent ones who can lead.
They were pretty easy to steer, a bit like riding a bicycle, you lean the way you wish to turn and you have a foot break. On the up slopes you have to give the dogs a helping hand and push the sleigh.
After two hours out in the wilderness it was time to day goodbye, we were introduced to the leader of the farm, Roy! He looked like a St Bernard’s but was a cross of some other breeds. He looked like a huge White fluff ball, a mini polar bear almost. If any of the heard were to escape he would herd them back into the kennel.
That evening it was time to unwind and relax, the first night we could have a good sleep. We curled up in front of the fire in the Sami lounge, with beer in hand and enjoyed sharing stories with the other guests.
Cheers!
In recent weeks, reading through Photography Monthly and Amateur Photographer I have seen the rise of HDR photography. Having not done it before and reading more about this technique in Bryan Peterson’s Field Guide book, I decided to give it a try on my trip to the Maldives. And here are the results:
Wow! Just wow! No words can explain how perfectly amazing this part of the world really is. There’s something magical about these tiny islands. The isolation… the privacy… wonderful beaches and complete solitude.
In my two weeks on Sun Island, just south of Male in the Maldives, my camera saw plenty of action. Here is just a snippet of the adventures and the beauty. To see the entire gallery, please visit my flickr: www.flickr.com/bekids
Our mode of transport to Sun Island
Sun Island, Maldives
The Pool & the Bar
Flying Summer
The Pier, the Villa & the Italian
Hermy the Hermit
Walking in Paradise
Having struggled with the Sigma 28-300 f3.5-6.3 for some outdoor horse photography – trying to achieve indoor horse photos good enough for the magazine was near impossible! Come October, the majority of Horse events are taken indoors and quite rightly so. However, if any of you have ever been to a local indoor horse show you will agree with me when I say that they are nothing more than a big shed with a few lights – not ideal for those wishing to take photos.
With this is mind, it was time to get a 50mm f1.8 II prime and finally be able to achieve some low light shots. At only £81 from Amazon, it wasn’t going to break the bank – plus its had such rave reviews it would be silly not to if it were the difference between a virtually black print and one that is correctly exposed.
Photography for me has always been a hobby, a way for me to express myself with digital stills. I would be lying if I said I am photographer, I am merely an image scavenger with a camera habit. For me, creative observation is only a starting point, digital technology is jumping leaps and bounds and with it I can make any subject my own. I believe in freedom to capture and record whatever one sees. I may not be a camera but in my experience what started life as snaps may end up as art. But all this could start to change; I may one day make it as a photographer.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
