New Blog and Website

The time has come to announce my new photo-training website and blog, which means that this blog is now closed. All new posts, and much more, will appear on the new blogsite at http://turnerphototraining.com See you there!

Goodbye old blog....almost.....

It's almost time to say a fond farewell to this, my first blog, and to welcome in a brand new photo-training blog and photo-resource. The blog has served me well, but as I've already intimated there is frantic activity behind the scenes at Michael Turner Photography as we prepare for a brand new arm to our business for 2010 and beyond.

My next posting will be to announce the new blog early next week......watch this space!

A Little Boy and his Grandad

During the course of a family lifestyle portrait shoot in Lancashire last week it became apparent that the little boy, Charles, has a very special relationship with his grandad. Charles lives in Canada with his mum and dad and baby brother Jack, so he doesn't get to see his grandad too often. So, when Charles comes over to visit, he just loves to copy everything that his grandad does...tidying the garden, setting up the barbecue....and, especially, fixing things in grandad's shed. Lump hammers and spanners are not the first props that may spring to mind for a portrait, but lifestyle photography is all about capturing relationships by telling a story. These photographs will mean the world to Charles when he's grown up and has a shed (and maybe even grandchildren) of his own.

Always looking up to his Grandad...

Lessons from the Berbers

In these tough economic times we can all learn a business lesson from this Berber jewellery trader that Janet and I came across recently in the Lower Atlas Mountains near Marrakech. Every day he hikes up the mountain to set up his stall on this steep, rocky footpath that leads to spectacular waterfalls high above the small village of Setti Fadma. This guarantees him a steady flow of potential customers during the day. Now that's dedication!

Admittedly, his temporary shop is no doubt well away from the attentions of the tax authorities and health and safety (if it exists in Morocco!), but we were so impressed with his sheer hard work that it made him at least one sale that day. Anyone who knows Marrakech will know that the locals are always keen to sell you something (well, anything in fact), to the point where it can become tiresome after a long day sightseeing, but today we were happy to reward this Berber entrepreneur. Janet is now the proud owner of a locally made turquoise and silver necklace (bartered for in true Moroccan tradition of course).

May News Round-Up

You will have heard the analogy of the duck swimming along, all calm on the surface but paddling like fury underneath. It's been a bit like that at Michael Turner Photography lately, with some major changes in the pipeline for 2011 that we're working on now. In the meantime, we've been busy with studio and outdoor portraits, three trips abroad and putting into action the plans for our new photography school. In March Janet and I visited some old friends in Holland and had a city break in Marrakech. What an amazing place! In April we sailed across the Aegean with our good friend Jonathon on Koralia3. Even though these were holidays of course, I've been taking the opportunity to build up material for the photography workshops and add to my portolio of travel images.

As for the rest of the year, I'll be announcing some workshop dates over the next few weeks and updating the web site. We've made a start on the re-structure of the website but there's a long way to go yet. In June we'll be exhibiting at the Cheshire County Show and then in July at the Signal FM Bumps Show. And next January I'll be speaking and judging once again at the SWPP International Convention. Never a dull moment eh!

The hustle and bustle of the souks in Marrakech....

And Spring flowers in Greece.... More travel and portrait images coming soon!

Outdoor Portraits in Cheshire

It's been a great a start to the year for outdoor lifetstyle portraits. Even though we've had a cold winter, February and March have been mostly dry and bright. Perfect!

Here is a small selection of images from recent outdoor portrait shoots in Cheadle and Whaley Bridge.....

T-shirts....in February!

A Walk Around Mellor

For the past twenty years or so I've been going on a monthly walk with a small group of friends. We take it in turns to organise the walk, which is usually somewhere in Wales, the Peak District, the Lakes or the Yorkshire Dales. For the March walk we decided to do something much closer to home, on the east side of Stockport, and were blessed with a fantastic day. Today was all about fresh air, beautiful colours, warm Spring sunshine and, especially, strong light and crisp shadows. The variety of shots I managed today (all on my Canon G9 compact) was amazing. Here's hoping for more kind weather and beautiful light for the photo-rambles I'll be organizing later in the year.

The striking simplicity of this majestic old tree against the March sky.....

Beautiful colours and shadows in Mellor churchyard....

Playing with shadows at Cobden Cross....

Totally unstaged, a couple of locals enjoying the Spring sunshine outside the pub....

One of the many railway tunnels on the route....

Probably my favourite image from the day. Beautifully subtle colours in this detail from an old wooden railway truck being used for storage on a farm near to Roman Lakes.... As the sun sinks slowly in the west.....

Glorious low evening sunlight on this farmyard....

A classic sunset image to finish....