Choosing your favourite child......

Crathes Castle

I have been fortunate enough to have been asked by our local hotel The Whitehorse to have a small exhibition evening in September.  To be fair its taken a year for me to say yes as I never feel that my photographs are good enough but now is the time to shake off that apprehension and go for it. 

If I am honest the other half has insisted that I/we do this as it is a fantastic opportunity and to be fair all I will have to do is turn up on the night. My organisational skills are practically nil so I will hand over the reins to the capable hands of the other half, hoping that my input will be minimal and limited to picking the photographs that will be on show. 

 

If I thought picking a selection of photographs would be easy, I was wrong it is a kin to choosing your favourite child, they all have  different qualities that make them each appealing. So how to choose.... 

I have decided to limit myself to a specific number of images which will be produced in varies prints and frames. I had though about a theme so all images would be in similar frames however life isn't like that and as I look round my home there are hardly two frames the same. So instead will pick frames that suit the photo. 

Stairs at Fittie, Aberdeen Beach

 

 Secondly narrowing my geographically coverage of Scotland to the North East, play to the local audience. Striking a balance between castles, beaches and countryside shots. Otherwise I would flood the evening with the photos I had taken when I was on the West Coast in July (as they are my favourites at the moment). 

Dunnottar Castle

So I have gone from making an appearance at the evening to negotiating my way through all my photographs to deciding which images best represent me and my skills. I am nervous already and still over a month to go before I have to witness first hand peoples reactions.  

 

Bow Fiddle, Portknockie

 

So wish me luck on choosing between my babies......... 

  

www.whitehorseinn.co.uk 

Social media the curve ball it can throw

I thought I knew exactly what I was going to write this week however life threw a curve ball and I had to think fast to come up with a new blog. I have had a busy period on social media these past few weeks.

It all started with Visit Scotland getting in contact via my Instagram account. I have previously been showcased by Visit Scotland but it was still exciting to hear from them again.  I was asked if I would allow one of my photos to be displayed at various events throughout Scotland over the next year, of course I said yes as it is an amazing opportunity. 

Once I had submitted my photo Visit Scotland informed me that my image along with other photographers will be displayed on digital billboards at the major train stations in London as of the 18th March.
This took me by surprise as I thought it would only be events in Scotland that the photo would be shown, so if any of our lovely readers have spotted the displays please get in touch and let me know as it would make my day.


Balmedie Beach Sunrise 28.02.2016

It goes to show how beautiful this little section of beach is as I posted a photo to my Facebook page and could never have predicted what happened next.

Like any normal evening I posted a photo of Balmedie Beach (it just happens to be my favourite beach), my phone began to ping and vibrate at a ridiculous rate. I like to interact with the people who take the time to comment as I feel it gives that personal touch, OH has a different opinion to this and often reminds my that is why FB installed a like button.

Well that night I could not keep up with the lovely comments and was overwhelmed by the response, I usually achieve likes between 45-150. When I retired to bed I had over 1000 likes when I woke up in the morning it was up to 3000 likes. 

I was on a bit of high but soon the low hit as my subsequent posts have not reached that level. Do I mind, not really. Would I like to replicate the magic in that photograph of course, unfortunately the magic is in the hands of the light and timing. 

See what you think....

Balmedie Beach 13.03.2016

I'm glad I caught this curve ball, social media it certainly kept me busy this month.
Feel free to pop over to my Facebook page and Instagram @neily39.

Meet Simon Ward a talented photographer from Findhorn

Social media is a fantastic place and that is where myself and Simon met, having yet to meet in real world. Simon also loves the coastline of the North East of Scotland - as I do. Thanks for joining us and over to you, Simon.....

My passion for photography probably started unbeknown to me at a young age when I used to take pictures on holidays home to the Orkney Islands where most of my relatives live, with it stunning coastline and interesting history it was a fascinating place to explore and many a late summers evening was spent outside playing. 

 

 Yesnaby Castle, Mainland Orkney Isles  

I've always enjoyed the outdoors and have been lucky to live in a few beautiful places in Scotland and eventually settled in Morayshire I've always had a camera throughout my life and dipped in and out of photography but never seriously. Now though with the improvement of camera phones over the past few years I started taking more and more pictures of a beautiful place called Findhorn where we visit regularly after getting our pet dog Myles who reignited my love with the outdoors again. 


Findhorn beach at Sunrise

I'd start to seek out more and more places to walk and I continued to take more and more pictures. I got to the stage people said they were nice and I should show them which led me to join social media through Instagram which was so easy to share them with people all across the globe, I remember getting my first like and was pretty chuffed when someone commented on another picture. It was brilliant seeing other people's work and engaging with other photographers all the time feeding my own growth and techniques to being the serious amateur I am today.

 I now regularly get up at what people call ridiculous times in the morning to catch sunrises which can be around 4am in the summer but it is so rewarding to be out there by yourself seeing the changing light and peacefulness of the countryside.

Bow Fiddle Rock, Portknockie at sunrise

 I still have so much of Scotland to explore and an ever growing list of places to visit although I still love to showcase the beautiful north east of Scotland which has some of the best coastline in the country in my opinion, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it as writing isn't my specialty.

You can see more of Simon's stunning photography on Instagram   @SIMON_WARD_ or Facebook 
 http://on.fb.me/1TNNcZK

New Year, New Faces, New Views..

Novel Points of View is introducing a few changes for 2016. We want to say goodbye and many thanks to Jenny Harper and Mary Smith, and a big hello and welcome to new members Rae Cowie (writer), Jennie Bohnet (writer) and Neil Donald (photographer). We’re really looking forward to having new voices – and amazing photographs – in the weeks and months ahead. 
 

 To get things rolling we have asked each of our new members to give us three words or phrases that best describe their creativity. And also to tell us a little bit about themselves. Over to you, Neil… 

 

 

 

 

Hello and many thanks to the Novel Points of View team for inviting me to join their  gang. 
 

New year, new challenges. I will let you into a little secret, in the photo above you will see me Neil, the one in the suit, and my better half Audrey. She is the one writing the blog as I struggle to string sentences together but she will be writing in the first person, as me, so not confusing at all. 

 

I am a landscape photographer, who has learned through trial and error. I initially started with the camera on my phone and was more interested in the paranormal, taking photos in supposedly haunted castles, and Aberdeenshire has no shortages of castles. I then realised that I had an eye for taking photos and my love for photography and exploring our beautiful country grew, along with my camera equipment. 

 

The first word that I would use is patience, taking photographs is time consuming and waiting for the perfect light takes time. Something that I don't usually have, but when I am out in nature time seems to stop. It won’t be the first or last time that I will  have driven for a few hours to take photographs only for  the weather to turn and the only thing I can do is wait it out in the hope that it lifts. So it’s good that I am happy with my own company. 

 

Coast is my second word, originally a city boy until the age of 23, I moved to the North East of Scotland from Birmingham. A bit random you may think but my parents are originally from this area. Over the years I have always been drawn to the sea and the coastline and this has become a major source of inspiration for my photographs. I can visit the same spot every day and it will change every time according to the height of the tide or the shifting of sands. I am lucky enough to live a moments walk from one of the most beautiful beaches in Scotland (this is my personal view). 

 

 

The final word that I would use that helps gives my photographs a creative flair is light. The golden hour of sunrise or sunset can make a photograph and the quality of the light we have had this winter has been amazing. Usually when the alarm goes off for work purposes I am reluctant to get up, however when it's my day off and the sun is rising I am up and out the door in a flash. Although I do take photographs during the day simply to satisfy my addiction to photography, it's the soft glowing light of sunrise or set that does it for me. 

 

I hope I have managed to convey my passion for taking photographs, in fact I should call it an addiction as I have two external hard drives full of photographs and I take my camera everywhere. It's a good excuse to escape the house but Audrey has now realised that if she suggests a weekend away somewhere with stunning scenery, then I'll be more than happy to oblige. So the plan for 2016 is to visit more of Scotland. 

I will be sharing my thoughts and photographs with you but if you want to take a look prior to my next blog click on the link http://on.fb.me/1RfnnlY  this will take you to my Facebook page. 

 

I am looking forward to our journey together.