The way is not always clear from where we stand. But The Way Becomes Clear as We Walk It . Unable to see the path? There are moments on a walk when the route ahead seems to disappear. From where we stand, the path is unclear. It bends behind rocks, appears to be swallowed by the landscape. We can see enough to know that there is a way forward, but not enough to understand the whole route. To me that expresses much about life. We often want the whole map before we move. We wan

I love beetles, so quirky, so different, and a lesson on How to Photograph Beetles is long overdue. "Here are five images and vive things they can teach about photographing beetles" Most of us walk past them every day. A ladybird on a stem. A beetle making its way across a gravel path. A flash of iridescent green on a purple flower. We notice them in passing; and then we move on. This week I want to talk about phone macro photography — not as a niche pursuit, but as one of th

There are moments on a walk when the route ahead seems to disappear. From where we stand, the path is unclear. It bends behind rocks, appears to be swallowed by the landscape. We can see enough to know that there is a way forward, but not enough to understand the whole route. To me that expresses much about life.

The light and the angles and the clarity to the hills of Martin Down in Wiltshire, UK, called for some time spent looking and sharing some thoughts about the composition tips and the effects of foreground on the background.

So this week’s Friday Image with Words is a simple encouragement: do not underestimate the power of letting someone know you care. Because when someone is struggling, knowing you care can change everything. It might even save their life. And maybe one day someone may do the same for you. We all have bad-times.

Most beginners think they need to find a better subject. Very often, they simply need to stay longer with the subject they already have. These photographs of one rock on the shoreline show how light, angle, distance and timing can turn one ordinary subject into many different photographs.

This thought echoes Romans 12:2, which says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It is not a call to withdraw from the world, but to move through it with a different spirit: steadier, kinder, clearer and less easily shaped by the noise around us.

The other aspect is that the insect is at such an angle that its details are not particularly clear. The photograph feels slightly hurried, as though I was trying to capture it before it took off.

There is a growing body of research suggesting that singing can have real benefits for mental wellbeing. Singing uses the breath, the body, attention and emotion all at once. It can steady breathing, lift mood, reduce stress and help people feel more connected, particularly when singing with others.

With Image One, I was down low, with my phone camera upside down to get the lens at a 'snail-height. I checked the image, everything was in focus, mind, body, and shell, but not the eye stalk with the little beady at the tip.

This image, taken on a photo-journal trip in the Ionian Sea, can be read many ways. For me, the suggestion is that time at anchor is not wasted. Planning the route ahead when you're not having the demands of life interfering with every thought, is a place of wisdom.

There was a moment in the cooking where quite a lot of moisture was rising from the mix. It provides a good illustration of one of the hazards of photographing food, but also the same thing can be a benefit.

Here's the challenge - it's time to look afresh, eyes and heart combined. Don't make excuses, it takes two to make relationship, and you can start by making your heart pay attention, and be generous in the doing.

Image One, is the original image I took before I noticed the flower poking out from the cliff. In itself made quite dramatic by the sharp vertical shadow pointing up towards the setting sun, with quite good visual balance overall - the lighter but larger rocks to the left, countering the smaller but darker ones on the right.

We often believe we are seeing clearly, when in truth we are seeing by the light we have chosen, inherited, or failed to question. That is true in photography. It is also true in how we see people.

Image One is taken looking directly down, but with the shop lighting coming in from the top of image. What I'd point out is, that with translucent items like this worn glass, the light passes through them, so each 'pebble' contains 'inherent' light of it's own which is what gives them the beautiful nature combined with texture.

A fixed wire on a difficult mountain path is a quiet reminder that others have gone before, recognised the challenge, and left something to help. You may be walking the path yourself, but that does not mean you are alone.

What do I mean by wrong direction? Well in your imagination place them in the compositionally comfortable vertical third. If they're on the right third, their movement takes the eye into the picture, which is comfortable, but they will be adding a visual weight on the same side as the visually dense headland, sunlight on water, and the right hand heavy flowering taller gorse. If you place them on the left hand vertical third, their presence adds better balance, but th

When life feels hopeless, it is easy to believe that nothing will change. But every day does come to an end, and tomorrow can be a new beginning, especially when you find the strength to turn away from the things that trouble you and towards hope, peace, and a better direction.

I have always struggled photographing bluebells, as I know have many other professional photographers, and my current post mountaineering accident following last years new hip status has meant that for two years running this man has not been able to get down low to do them something of the justice they deserve.

a quiet moment to end the week My Friday Image with the words "Hope Means Hoping Even When Things Seem Hopeless' to Encourage Your Weekend Waiting for the mist over lift. I came across these words "Hope Means Hoping Even When Things Seem Hopeless" earlier this week, and thought they matched well with the image near Pugs Hole in Wiltshire, UK. There are times when life feels like this landscape. The way ahead is there, but you cannot properly see it. The wider shape of thing

A few days ago I took a number of photographs of the same small clump of flowers, initially from the same angle, to share with you the effect of choosing the point of focus by selecting a different flower to focus on, and how that alters both the whole image and our mental response to it.

If it's been a good week, great, pleased for you. Have you taken any of your time to drop some encouragement on the lap of those around you who may not be in such a good place? It doesn't take very long, or too much, to change someone's day, and each day changed can lead to a life changed.

Good Friday can very reasonably be described as the saddest and most glorious day of the year. It is the saddest, because it confronts us with the full weight of sin, cruelty, injustice and suffering, all falling upon Christ.