I’m creating a small photography membership; not a course, and not a busy online group; but a calm, supportive space for people who want to slow down, notice more, and grow in confidence with their photography.   It values care over speed, encouragement over competition, and attention over noise. It’s built on the belief that learning to see takes time, and that the right environment makes all the difference.

realised that the way the autumn leaves had landed in the bowl had combined with the structures that the freezing process had produced, to create some great opportunities for art images. Rather than looking for subjects, it's an opportunity to seek textures as well. Tiny bubbles frozen in the water add depth and a sense of time held still. Look for clusters, trails, and size changes. Cracks are like faults in a precious stone, they can reflect light at a different

Celebrating 2025 in Pictures is a stroll through some of the images I’ve used this year to illustrate the joy of photography. As I share and celebrate the year in photographs, I hope you’ll 'join the walk', the same quiet lesson I’ve been learning: to stop more, look more, and accept the images that waft into your awareness.

The weather is broken cloud, the sun peeking through, then hiding again. You’re in the mood for looking, for noticing. Seeking something quirky in this seemingly rather featureless wintery lane, as a diversion from Christmas 'festivities' perhaps. You might start to notice a few things; the way the recycled road material has formed a pebbly surface, with shapes and shadows. The trees either side of you, and the way their trunks sit in parallel up to the sky.

Not a simple photography tip as such, but more like life inspiration through Photography and Words—a mix of visual with sometimes meaningful reflections. Do you know anyone for whom this is true, perhaps you? Let me know, I'd be interested.

There's something hugely healing about walking through woodland, slowly, maybe with a camera in your grimy mitt. Your slower than normal pace allows you to notice the way light falls across a path, or is excluded by a tree blocking the light to form a shadow.

Facts aside, to me they tell a story of things that have remained hidden as they grow, their value and importance increasing in those dark places. To be found only by those in the know, with the skill to uncover such things. The similarity with human kind: where many folk feel in darkness, but it is this that produces strength of character. "Learn not to fear the dark places. It’s often where the best things come from, Like truffles under soil."

Please go and try it, take yourself, with family if you have one, and just play the game - it is surely one of the most mentally restorative things you can do. Especially if you pause and admire the leaf you catch. You're even allowed to smile, laugh, yell, squeal or whatever - this is complete release.

1. Fog hides distractions. Third picture, misty day is like you've slung a big sheet from a couple of helicopters; background gone, eye focuses on the tree. 2. Try black and white I've turned both images to monochrome, you can see that the colour complicates the image too much. 3. Use roads as leading lines Oh, and the road running from either sides, makes visual use of the interesting thirds, and takes the eye straight towards the subject.

It's been there sufficient time to have accumulated a deep layer of leaves and decomposing matter, yummy stuff to the mycorrhizal masters of the underworld, and at this time of year they get all excited and put out a flourishing of fruiting bodies, which we see as display of wonderful fungi. They make the most wonderful subjects for learning nature photography, they don't move, they are wonderfully architectural, and depending on the light, are easy to photograph, even wit

A friend suggested that I share some of the images, with the thought that you may one day go on a trip that you want to take images of with a view to telling a visual story of the trip - Storytelling through Pictures.

The truth of these words struck me as I looked at this oak leaf, gradually trading it's verdant green for rusty gold.

The beauty of late summer is with us, I refuse to call it autumn yet, for my mental health's sake. This year the hedgerows, woods and orchards are dripping with harvest.

When you've got used to looking, and allowing your eyes to see, you notice things that others would never see. Walking our dog one morning. After a night of sporadic rain, leaves had fallen, and traffic had passed, leaving a pressure mark, painted with mud. The tyre had left a stone from within it's tread , the shadow of which leaves it's own creativity

In reality, although the higher the IQ the better the response to greytone, it is colour that we were created to see, and it is colour that can be a huge blessing in many ways. The effects of bright colour on the brain, and thereby the rest of that body of yours, are considerable,

These aren't simple photography tips as such, but more like life inspiration through photography—a mix of visual with meaningful reflections, with lighthearted quotes

With the summer holidays in full swing, it’s the perfect time for families to get outdoors and enjoy some creative fun together. If you’re looking for things to do with young people—or just want a relaxing, activity for yourself—why not go on a photography adventure? One beautiful and accessible subject this season is the sunflower. While entire fields can create breathtaking landscape photos, but don’t overlook the detail in a single bloom.

The scene, although not particularly photogenic as a whole, was one of fascination. The water in the canal next to us, was mostly sunlit, and over the period of time we sat imbibing, the angle of the sun on the water, changed, and with it the reflections, and clarity of the water, and what and how we saw.

In that fantastic time of year known as summer, we are blessed to see the wonder of the few remaining butterflies. Yes, miserably, in most parts of the world, our pre-occupation with pesticides and monoculture, along with climate change, means there has been a staggering decline in both numbers and species. For those of us lucky enough to still see these beauties, and whom have the desire to try taking pictures of them, here are a few tips.

If you're using a phone camera then you're sort of stuck with aperture, there being relatively little difference between the lenses. The is no simple photography tip that will change that, nor a complicated photography tip for that matter! With a DSLR or similar, and depending on your lens choice, you can stick the thing on f22, or whatever is your smallest aperture, and have much more of the flower up large and in focus, along with the background scene also in focus.