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I love the Cremyll ferry. It is the quickest way into Cornwall and takes you from Admirals hard to Cremyll in less than 8 minutes. They take foot passengers, bikes, prams and the staff are always helpful. In the summer months, they often finish after the sun has already set.

The hills of this area are a tough cycle but you are rewarded by the stunning scenery of the south east Cornish peninsula at the top of virtually every ascent. Once I had got to Looe I felt I had done some exercise, so on the way back I took it relatively easy and stopped along the way to take photos along the coastal roads. I’m still not used to being ‘locked’ into the bike, this resulted in a very comedic fall onto my side just before I started taking any of the photos below.

To try and save weight on the 60km cycle I took only two lenses a 35 mm FE f2.8 (which is the lightest lens I own) and an 85mm FE f1.8.  Next time, I hope to get a few more shots of the actual cycle including cycle bars etc. I am trying to do more photograph panels which work together and have a consistent tonal range of colours.

As always, feel free to comment below with any suggestions/alterations.

In my day job, I tend to do things in very methodical, ordered and sequential fashion. Often there is a definitive purpose to this and doing the same thing over and over again is important in terms of maintaining quality. Although there are an almost infinite amount of subjects to photograph, and we can choose to photograph them in a variety of conditions, from different focus points, or length of exposures, or viewpoints, with different lenses or formats, we often see the world in a similar way on each occasion we photograph.

A good way of breaking out of this is to have a set plan of different shots to take when documenting the world around you in your own style. With this in mind, there are a few types of photographs that you should be looking to take when showing a story of the world around you. In documentary and travel photography these are:

  • Establishing the scene
  • People at an event or at work
  • Details or close up
  • Decisive moments – any of the above
  • Conclusion

Keeping these categories in mind or in a notebook when taking photographs gives some ideas of how to expand the types of photos so that they relate to a wider audience. Like in my previous blog post, you then have to choose strong photographs which explain the story or feeling you are trying to give to your audience. What are your tips? Comments below.

Establishing or Setting the Scene

Sea of Tents

Florence Festival Flare Friday

People and portraits at an event or at work

At the tents

Grant Lee at Acoustic Stage

Details

Mud Red

Wellies, Colour

Decisive moments

Relaxing

Arcadia Fire and Smoke

Conclusion

Glastonbury Yellow Crowd, Pyramid Stage

Cycle Home

What are your tips when you are out and about? Comments below.

I rarely publish my photographs online or in print form. A habit that I am trying to change.

Often it’s that I’m either not entirely happy with the photographs that I have taken, or that I believe they could have been better.  Before I publish anything I often spend more than 12 months letting the images “sink in”. Sometimes, this process of absorbing the images takes me a lot longer. The time allows me some distance so that I can approach the image more logically and from an unemotional perspective. I am not sure this is always wise though, it’s just an approach that I find easier in terms of editing. It is also useful to have another person check your selection. However, you may not always agree with them!

I have recently updated the site with a few images from a photography shoot in Monaco in April 2015. The city of Monaco is a great backdrop for all types of photography, including sport, street, fashion and architecture. It truly is a great place to visit. Even though I had never been to the city or country before, I had “driven” the streets hundreds of times in computer racing games, and seen virtually every Formula 1 race on television. Everything was new, yet strangely familiar, and it was a surreal experience to be able to put these virtual memories in a real world setting. We even managed to cycle a few laps around the Monaco street circuit which was already being prepared for the Grand Prix. A lot of the shots are from either the Japanese Garden or the Larvotto beach area, but there are a lot of backdrops and stunning scenery to photograph in Monaco.

If you are visiting, I would recommend cycling from Nice to Monaco as it takes you through some amazing properties and spectacular coastal panoramas. A highlight for us was the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. The gardens and the house are spectacular and a must-visit attraction in the area. There are beautiful properties throughout this area and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is only a short ride away from the Villa.

A difficult hill ride or a short car ride takes you above Monaco and towards Èze which is a great little village on the hillside.  The views are amazing from above Monaco. Èze has some great sheer cliff views, unfortunately, a cloud had moved in during our visit, though it was still good to get a drink in the Château de La Chèvre d’Or after the cycle ride.

 

 

Japanese garden

View 2, Promenades des Anglais, Nice

Blue Heart, Monaco

How do you edit? Do you have to wait before editing?

When do you feel is the ideal time for editing or does it improve with more experience?

Please comment below, constructive criticism is always welcome.

The title image has been bought and used for commercial use by Diners Club International in a Twitter advertising campaign. Please get in touch if you particularly like an image or wish to purchase a digital copy or a print directly.