It’s been a while

Hi everyone,. well what can I say, it has been quite a while since I last posted, and a lot of things have happened. My 4 Paws Photography has really started to take off and I’m travelling all around the country photographing dogs and horses.

 

 

 

My family continue to be a great inspiration and my nieces and nephew provide me with some magical photos and there is soon to be the patter of another pair of tiny feet.

 

 

Last year saw the wedding of my friend Helen to Neil. I used to go to school with Helen and it was a privilege to be asked to photograph their wedding. We used the venue for their pre-wedding shoot, and it was a lovely, relaxed afternoon

So, what is planned for this year? Well I have just started looking into publicising 4 Paws Photography more. I have a couple of weddings booked for this year so I’m not going to be sitting doing nothing! I will try to keep you all informed with my going ons and ramblings. Keep snapping away and may 2014 bring you many happy memories

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Fun times

It has been ages since I last wrote, and lots has happened. My new niece is growing fast and she continues to be a joy. My other niece has now started school and my nephew is full of life, and I love them all.

I’ve been quite busy recently taking photos for my old university, which I really enjoy, and have been taking quite a few pet portraits for my other site.

So Christmas is almost upon us, and this year we have decided, as a family that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost, and it’s a time for family. So we will all be heading to mums to spend the day together.

Now we have wonderful weather, I will be out with my camera, capturing the best time of the year.

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http://www.4pawsphotography.org.uk

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http://www.4pawsphotography.org.uk

Well, the last few months have been very exciting. I love my animals, and love animals and I’m sure people call me Doolittle as I’m always talking to them! So, it seemed only natural to go down the path of pet photography. My new website is now up and running, so please take a look http://www.4pawsphotography.org.uk

It’s been busy. I went to the Crux Easton Dog Show and Country Fair, and took photos of the day. Met some lovely people, and of course lots of dogs. Even though the field was very muddy, that seemed to add to the fun of the day. Have also had the opportunity to photograph not only dogs, but also horses. This year is going to be busy. In September I will taking the photographs at Labrador Rescue funday, and then in December will be attending the SOS Animals UK Christmas do. Being a pet owner I realise that there are animals out there who are not loved and cared for. It’s for this reason that I attend animal charity events and provide a prize of an animal portrait. So, a new blog will soon be up and running on the new site.

As for rcheerphotography, well that progresses at a steady pace. I will be exhibiting a small selection of my work in Newbury Town Hall on August 25th, come and say HI. I seem to be doing more work with the pen and paper than the camera, but it’s all connected. Don’t forget to follow both rcheerphotography and 4 paws photography on Facebook

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It’s been a while

When I last wrote, we were waiting the arrival of my new niece. Well here she is. Born on the 12th March. A lot has happened since then. 

My photography has gone in a new direction. I have decided, after being asked by friends and clients, to do pet portraits

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This is a natural progression for me, as I have dogs and cats, and i’m always photographing them. The photo shows Maisie, a willing volunteer, owned by my friend Liz Hawkins. Photographing animals requires some knowledge in reading body language, and general temperament. Each session can take over an hour, as I like the animal to get used to not only me, but the camera. I also took some photos of my friends horse, which is completely new to me, so will need to read up a bit more and visit again.

And I’ve also re-homed a rescue dog from Spain. I got him from a great charity called SOS Animals Uk, have a look at their website http://www.sos-animals.org.uk. Little Nico is a Dachshund cross, and a very loving little boy. He has settled and is doing very well.

I want to finish with a lesson learnt at the weekend. It was Madeleines Dedication, and all the family were there including Katie, my eldest niece. I have always shown her how to use a camera, and have usually held it while she presses the shutter. But this time, and as she is nearly 4, I let her have the camera and take some photos. When I downloaded them I was impressed. Her photos were fresh, uninhibited, and yes, they may have been slightly blurred, but it made me remember that sometimes we can get so bogged down with camera settings, composition etc, that we forget to capture the moment as it happens.

These are a few of her photos.

 

I will leave with an image that shows the two new arrivals together, Madeleine and Nico. It was love at first sight for Nico, and he wouldn’t leave her side.

Keep snapping!!!

 

 

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New year, new ideas

Well, 2012 is now in full swing! I decided that I needed to challenge myself. Afterall,after a total of 6 years studying, the time has come for me to start my own projects. My ‘Abandoned’ work will always be on going. In fact on Monday I’m off to photograph an abandoned play farm. I have been asked to exhibit again at the Saturday Gallery in Newbury, so will be busy preparing new work for that. I quite often asked to take some photos for a local over 60’s club of local landmarks etc. So I’ve been busy looking around Newbury for something that perhaps we all walk past. And I found one! If you live in Newbury do you know where it is?

My sister is also expecting her first baby shortly, and it was nice to take photos of the ‘ bump’. Looking forward to taking  photos of the new baby, as well as photos of my other niece and nephew.

So. 2012, let’s have a creative year, with lots of family photos, and new ideas and techniques.

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Scanography

I have recently started using my scanner to capture images. This is an exciting and interesting way to take a photo. As you can see I have started with a simple item, an autumnal leaf. I love the way the scanner has added a new dimension to the leaf. My scanner is just a basic model, but I think the effect is quite effective, what do you think? I will be adding some of these images to my website soon, but in the meantime, if you have a scanner, why not have a go.

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Time flies

It’s been ages since I last wrote, I don’t know where the time has gone. Since finishing uni I have exhibited in my Town Hall on the Saturday Gallery.

Saturday Gallery

I also, with my friend and work colleague been working on getting our business up and running. We have decided to start doing events, which I must admit I love. We have taken the photos for the Poorly Paws charity fun day, and next weekend, the 18th, we will at the Labrador Rescue 15th birthday Party, which looks like it will be a fun day.

But, what is happening about about my true love of Fine Art photography. After my day at the Saturday Gallery, it was interesting to hear people talk about my work. Being an artist you have to be prepared to hear negative things as well as positive. But on this occasion, it was all positive! People liked my direction into Urban art, so a visit is being planned to visit Bristol to photograph the graffiti ( and also meet up with Cheryl from uni). Also, now the better weather for me is finally arriving, I shall be heading down to Wales to photograph the rock formations,and try to capture the feeling of the ruggedness.

On another note, I shall also be busy photographing my niece and new nephew.

Me, holding my new nephew

I get alot of joy photographing my family. And just as Jack was born I looked back at the photos I had taken of my sister when she was young, and now she is married, and also photos of my niece Katie. Photographs are capturing those precious moments in time. Photographing those times become historical documents of our life. As I look at my old photos I see the change that we don’t see day to day. Digital cameras allow us to photograph all events, but then, we put them on a computer and perhaps never look at those images again. I always print up those images that mean something to me and put them in an album. You really can’t beat flicking through an album, looking at pages of memories.

Smile

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Degree

Well, after three years, I finally graduated from Oxford Brookes University with my BA(Hons) in Fine Art. It was a hot day and you can imagine wearing all that gear didn’t help much. The highlight of receiving my Degree was having my photograph taken with the artists Gilbert and George. Such lovely men. I also had to my photograph taken with family. Now those who know me, will know that I don’t like having my photograph taken. It was nice to have my family there to support me. Over the three years they have had to put up with my mad rantings on art, walking into my home to be met with cameras and photographs all overt the place, and generally supporting me when it has all seemed way too much. I know that some of the art they have been subjected to they don’t understand or like, but they have always shown an interest. So thank you to all my family and friends.

So what happens now? Well, I shall be doing wedding and event photography to hopefully bring some cash in, but my real love will always be my fine art, black and white film photographs. So watch this space! I will be exhibiting in London from July 7th-12th in The Truman Gallery Brick Lane, with some of my fellow Brookes graduates. If you can, why not come and see us.

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Waiting in the rain

Well, the news of a special fly past came to my ears. So I headed off to find a good place to wait. Just as I arrived the clouds grew darker and then….. the heavens opened. After drying out, the sun made an appearance and I took my camera out of the bag and watched the sky. And then to my right I saw the smoke trails. The beautiful machine headed straight towards me, slightly banking to the right, and its wing tipped. I fired the shutter non-stop and followed her as she carried on her journey.

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Just looking

How many times do we stop to look at our surroundings? or, like today, have a day looking at photographs that have been taken over the last few months. I wonder how many people have driven or walked past this barn and not noticed how great it looks. Perhaps some think of it as an eye sore. But what is ugly to one person is to another beautiful. I noticed among my images that the majority are of buildings in some state of disrepair, and I know that I am always on the look out for them.But it’s not until you stop and take note of all your images that you realise how much one subject has taken over! For my Degree work I produced a collection of images of these wonderful buildings, and I know that this fascination is not going to stop. If you are into your photography perhaps you could try just looking around for the things/buildings we tend to ignore, believe me, it’s an interesting subject and you never know, you may get hooked!!

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