B&^%y British weather!

It can be odd, being a photographer - you're never quite satisfied. Take now: most of the population are basking in glorious, unseasonably fine weather. Me, I'm cursing it every morning that the sun shines. I'm not being Mr. Grumpy about this, it's just that I need to get my project shoot finished and, for that, I want overcast days.

The problem I have with the current weather is harsh shadows. A nice layer of not-to-thick cloud eliminates those and suits my subjects much better. Also, I've started in that light, and I want the whole set to be consistent.

Fortunately, there's still time for our weather to be its usual self and change dramatically - except that it'll probably go from sunny to chucking it down without passing through any intermediate stages.

So, whilst you're out there soaking up the rays, think of me looking up and crying: "cloud over, dammit!"

Tags: photography, weather, clouds, sun, frustration

Guinea pigs wanted

The time has come to start seriously thinking about the details of what I intend to provide as part of my new business. To that end, I'm looking for volunteers to help me refine the content and presentation of my photowalks and tutorials.

What I'm offering is free sessions to anyone who's willing to put up with a work-in-progress. We can go for walks in the Manchester and Cheshire areas and talk about photography and how to 'see' more effectively, how to handle your camera to get the best out of it - anything photography related, really. What you're getting is some (hopefully) useful advice on taking better pictures; what I'm getting is feedback on what people want from such things.

Alternatively, if you want a more relaxed bit of tuition, whether it's technical details of camera use, how to use an image processing program to jazz up your pictures, or just learn a bit more about contemporary photography in general, we can arrange to meet somewhere convenient and do that.

Take the opportunity now, because at some point, I'll be charging for this service.

Tags: photography, walks, tuition

On rediscovering the joys of walking around

I've been doing a bit of walking around the backside of Manchester recently for my final project at college. Following the Bridgewater Way gives you a new perspective on areas that you thought you knew well. Distances change, for example - a long-ish journey by road is actually quite short along the towpath; five minutes by tram becomes half an hour on foot.

What you also see from these alternative paths are some stunning examples of the graffitist's art. The illiterate scrawlings that pepper the well-travelled areas bear no relation to some of the stuff you can find in these out-of the-way places. Who would have thought that this sits underneath the A56 in Stretford:

Lovely, vibrant colours and sense of joie-de-vivre. It has no point other than to exist, and maybe bring a smile to someone's face and the secret knowledge that you've seen it, but all those thousands passing a few feet above have no idea.

If this project's done nothing else for me, it's persuaded me to explore the back ways and byways much more than I have before. You never know what little gems might be out there.

Tags: photos, graffiti, walking

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