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!
Showing posts with label Random Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random Thoughts. Show all posts
Friday, 18 June 2010
Friday, 21 May 2010
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).
Thursday, 18 February 2010
The Value of Family Photos
I was talking to a lady the other day who had a very sad story to tell. Orphaned as a child, she had no photographs at all of her childhood. In later years her ex husband destroyed all of her photographs from her teenage and young adult years. As the son of a photographer, this really brought home to me the value of family photographs, whether taken professionally or just casual family snapshots. I'm lucky in that we have a wealth of family photographs to look back on, but that isn't always the case.
What concerns me in this digital age is that there are many more photographs taken than ever before, but most of them never see the light of day. They're stored on computer hard drives or even left on the camera or phone, but we all know how fast technology goes out of date, and how quickly computers can fail without warning. Pictures can so easily be lost forever.
My advice is to back your pictures up!! Better still, get them printed - a hard copy is so much more stable!! And take heed of the story that started this blog - get multiple copies and distribute them round the family. One last word of advice - if you're the family photographer, make sure that you get to be on some of the pictures too. They don't have to be masterpieces, but why not supplement your own family snapshots by booking a professional family photoshoot once in a while. Family photographs are one of the few things that increase in value as time goes by.
I just thought I'd take this opportunity to share a couple of family shots from my own childhood....
A rare photograph of me with my dad - he was usually the one behind the camera. This one was taken by mum (not a keen photographer!).
What concerns me in this digital age is that there are many more photographs taken than ever before, but most of them never see the light of day. They're stored on computer hard drives or even left on the camera or phone, but we all know how fast technology goes out of date, and how quickly computers can fail without warning. Pictures can so easily be lost forever.
My advice is to back your pictures up!! Better still, get them printed - a hard copy is so much more stable!! And take heed of the story that started this blog - get multiple copies and distribute them round the family. One last word of advice - if you're the family photographer, make sure that you get to be on some of the pictures too. They don't have to be masterpieces, but why not supplement your own family snapshots by booking a professional family photoshoot once in a while. Family photographs are one of the few things that increase in value as time goes by.
I just thought I'd take this opportunity to share a couple of family shots from my own childhood....
A rare photograph of me with my dad - he was usually the one behind the camera. This one was taken by mum (not a keen photographer!).
Me and mum....from my 'baby's first year' album put together by my dad. Priceless.
And finally, an action shot of me taken during the last really hard winter I remember.....1962/3.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Light, Colour and People
It's the last day of the decade already, and for my final post of 2009 I'd like to quote our friend and colleague Charles Mifsud, from Malta. Charles is an experienced traveller and very keen amateur photographer who likes to enter print competitions with his travel images. On the final day of our recent visit to Malta it was Charles that drove us around the island to see the sights, and on the journey (he likes to talk....) he was describing just why he loves photography....
"Even if you don't win the competitions [he often does], photography and photographs teach you an appreciation of light, of colour, and of people" he said.
This simple statement summed up in a nutshell why I also still get excited by photography after over twenty years in the profession, and will be the philosophy behind our new photo-training courses for 2010. So enjoy the New Year celebrations, and then celebrate light, colour, people and life with us through the inspiration of photography in the year ahead.
"Even if you don't win the competitions [he often does], photography and photographs teach you an appreciation of light, of colour, and of people" he said.
This simple statement summed up in a nutshell why I also still get excited by photography after over twenty years in the profession, and will be the philosophy behind our new photo-training courses for 2010. So enjoy the New Year celebrations, and then celebrate light, colour, people and life with us through the inspiration of photography in the year ahead.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Happy Holiday
After a few minor delays due to snow and ice I'm pleased to say that all of the framed portraits, canvases and multi-frames that were ordered by our clients for Christmas have now been collected and it's time to go home. These are just a small selection chosen from my favourites........
That just leaves me and Janet to say 'Thank You' to all of the clients, contacts, friends and family who have supported us over the year. We hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a fun-packed, healthy and propserous New Year.
That just leaves me and Janet to say 'Thank You' to all of the clients, contacts, friends and family who have supported us over the year. We hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a fun-packed, healthy and propserous New Year.
Monday, 7 December 2009
Denis Thorpe : On Home Ground
Late November and early December are always particularly busy for us at Michael Turner Photography, and last week was no exception - last minute Christmas portrait shoots and viewing sessions take up most of the time, as well as taking care of printing and liasing with our framers to ensure that our clients all get their portraits in time for Christmas. I'm not sure how I managed it, but I also managed to see three Manchester City home matches in eight days, which got better as the week progressed - a disappointing draw against Hull, an exciting 3-0 victory over Arsenal to progress to the last four of the Carling Cup and a sensational victory over Premiership leaders Chelsea that well and truly brought the house down.
Yesterday Janet and I went see our God-daughter Sarah who, in spite of a few scares and a couple of unscheduled extra operations, I'm happy to report is progressing well. She has been in and out of Alder Hey several times over the past few weeks, but is home now and ever so slowly putting on the weight she needs for her life-saving heart surgery to be properly effective (something to do with growing into a tiny band that was fitted to regulate the flow of blood between her heart and lungs apparently). Yesterday she gave us some beautiful big smiles so she must be feeling OK!
On Friday evening we went to see a slide show and talk by Denis Thorpe, one of the photographers who influenced my early career when I started out in magazine and newspaper photography. Denis spent most of his career as the staff photographer on The Guardian and his instinctive black and white photography from the past 50 years or so is quite simply stunning. Covering all subjects from landscapes and portraits to hard news, he was given the freedom to cover every story in his own quiet style. Sadly, as Denis himself will acknowledge, that simply doesn't happen in today's cut-throat world of newspaper photography that seems to be dominated by the paparazzi.
Denis's ability to come back from any assignment with photographs that capture the essence of a story in one or two telling images made him popular with his editors and hugely respected by his fellow photographers. I had never met Denis before Friday. He certainly lived up to his reputation as one of the gentlemen of the press, and his passion for people and photography shone through even though he's been retired for a good number of years now. If you like black and white documentary and pictorial photography I can recommend his book 'On Home Ground', or if you get the opportunity to attend one of his talks, even better.
Yesterday Janet and I went see our God-daughter Sarah who, in spite of a few scares and a couple of unscheduled extra operations, I'm happy to report is progressing well. She has been in and out of Alder Hey several times over the past few weeks, but is home now and ever so slowly putting on the weight she needs for her life-saving heart surgery to be properly effective (something to do with growing into a tiny band that was fitted to regulate the flow of blood between her heart and lungs apparently). Yesterday she gave us some beautiful big smiles so she must be feeling OK!
On Friday evening we went to see a slide show and talk by Denis Thorpe, one of the photographers who influenced my early career when I started out in magazine and newspaper photography. Denis spent most of his career as the staff photographer on The Guardian and his instinctive black and white photography from the past 50 years or so is quite simply stunning. Covering all subjects from landscapes and portraits to hard news, he was given the freedom to cover every story in his own quiet style. Sadly, as Denis himself will acknowledge, that simply doesn't happen in today's cut-throat world of newspaper photography that seems to be dominated by the paparazzi.
Denis's ability to come back from any assignment with photographs that capture the essence of a story in one or two telling images made him popular with his editors and hugely respected by his fellow photographers. I had never met Denis before Friday. He certainly lived up to his reputation as one of the gentlemen of the press, and his passion for people and photography shone through even though he's been retired for a good number of years now. If you like black and white documentary and pictorial photography I can recommend his book 'On Home Ground', or if you get the opportunity to attend one of his talks, even better.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Dogs just wanna have fun!
Dogs are such characters and can teach us a lot about looking on the bright side of life. They never think it's too early to go for walk, or too late. They're always eager to please, they're eternal optimists and no stick is ever too big - they love a challenge!
These are a couple of shots of our dog Tara, taken on a recent trip to the West Coast of Scotland......
Tara's never happier than on a forest walk with lots of mud and with the added bonus of a sandy beach, but it can be hard work keeping her still long enough to be photographed. No wonder they say you should never work with children and animals.
These are a couple of shots of our dog Tara, taken on a recent trip to the West Coast of Scotland......
Tara's never happier than on a forest walk with lots of mud and with the added bonus of a sandy beach, but it can be hard work keeping her still long enough to be photographed. No wonder they say you should never work with children and animals.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
A Very Special Baby
All babies are special of course, but Janet and I would like to introduce you to our new God-daughter, Sarah. Sarah's mum is Janet's cousin Suzanne. During routine checks, Sarah was diagnosed with a complex hole in the heart problem well before she was born just three weeks ago. She made her grand entrance at the new St Mary's children's hospital in Manchester with a whole team of medics and machinery on hand to ensure that her problems were instantly dealt with. Without them she wouldn't have survived the first few hours, even though from the outside she looks like a normal, healthy, bouncing 8lb baby.
Sarah was then transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool to prepare for major heart surgery. Since this photograph was taken she's had a SEVEN HOUR operation to partially correct the problem, and she'll need follow up operations in a few months time and just before she starts school. This is pioneering heart surgery at the forefront of technology, and only a few years ago none of this would have been possible for this particular form of hole in the heart. Even so, at the moment there is no long term cure for Sarah's particular condition, only temporary solutions. But who knows what medical progress will have been made in another few years?
The point of bringing this to light is really to thank all of the staff at St Mary's and Alder Hey for getting Sarah this far and for the fantastic support that Suzanne has received. It's only when something like this happens within your own family that you truly appreciate what amazing places our hospitals are. The NHS may not be perfect, but in this instance they could not have done any more for Sarah and Suzanne.
While husband Chris has been left at home to cope with Sarah's three siblings (with support from his mum and dad) , Suzanne has been staying at McDonald House, a charity supported unit for parents in the grounds of Alder Hey Hospital. Janet and I are in awe of the teamwork that has been devoted to giving one little girl the chance of life, and moved by the way that the mums of the other sick children rally round and support each other, when each one of them has their own fears and problems to contend with. Such is the strength of the human spirit.
In spite of her traumatic start to life Sarah has done fantastically well so far and she's making a good recovery from the first operation. We'll be supporting her all the way.
Sunday, 30 August 2009
The Digital Dilemma
"For some time, my loathing of cameras has been bubbling away on a low heat. The other day it finally boiled over". So said Nigel Farndale in his column in last week's Sunday Telegraph.
You can read the article on the Telegraph website, but, in a nutshell, Mr Farndale was relating the tale of being plagued by a snap-happy tourist on the Barcelona cable car. Apparently the tourist managed to rattle off over a hundrd shots in next to no time, never stopping once to admire the view first hand. In other words, his only recollection of the magnificent aerial views over the spires of Barcelona will be second-hand, some time later, if he indeed bothers to look at the pictures at all. Mr Farndale did refrain from pushing the tourist out of the cable car but you can imagine his irritation.
Over the past week the various comments added to the article (on the Telegraph website) have ranged from 'get a life and leave people to do whatever they want' to messages of support and further tirades against video cameras and people using mobile phones in public places.
My take on this is that the issue lies not with photography as such (I am rather biased of course), but with the invention of digital photography (of which I am also a fan). Suddenly photography is perceived to be easy. "You can take hundreds of photos at no cost only keep the good ones". And if they don't turn out as well as you'd hoped, "you can improve them later on the computer". There is an element of truth in both of these statements about digital, but the art of photography, and the thought processes that go into making a good photograph are the same as they ever were. Mr. Farndale bemoans the fact that photography is no longer a 'noble art'. But in my view it still can be. Photography has not changed, only the tools.
My advice is to treat your digital camera as if it were a film camera (if you remember film of course), with a cost attached to every frame. Consider your image before pressing the shutter and resist the urge to machine-gun your subject in the hope that you'll get one great image. But most importantly, put your camera down for a while. Take in the view. Soak up the atmosphere. Enjoy the moment. In the present, and not 'sometime later'.
You can read the article on the Telegraph website, but, in a nutshell, Mr Farndale was relating the tale of being plagued by a snap-happy tourist on the Barcelona cable car. Apparently the tourist managed to rattle off over a hundrd shots in next to no time, never stopping once to admire the view first hand. In other words, his only recollection of the magnificent aerial views over the spires of Barcelona will be second-hand, some time later, if he indeed bothers to look at the pictures at all. Mr Farndale did refrain from pushing the tourist out of the cable car but you can imagine his irritation.
Over the past week the various comments added to the article (on the Telegraph website) have ranged from 'get a life and leave people to do whatever they want' to messages of support and further tirades against video cameras and people using mobile phones in public places.
My take on this is that the issue lies not with photography as such (I am rather biased of course), but with the invention of digital photography (of which I am also a fan). Suddenly photography is perceived to be easy. "You can take hundreds of photos at no cost only keep the good ones". And if they don't turn out as well as you'd hoped, "you can improve them later on the computer". There is an element of truth in both of these statements about digital, but the art of photography, and the thought processes that go into making a good photograph are the same as they ever were. Mr. Farndale bemoans the fact that photography is no longer a 'noble art'. But in my view it still can be. Photography has not changed, only the tools.
My advice is to treat your digital camera as if it were a film camera (if you remember film of course), with a cost attached to every frame. Consider your image before pressing the shutter and resist the urge to machine-gun your subject in the hope that you'll get one great image. But most importantly, put your camera down for a while. Take in the view. Soak up the atmosphere. Enjoy the moment. In the present, and not 'sometime later'.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
The Joy of Photography
My friend John Robinson, a keen amateur photographer, has reminded me (if I ever needed reminding) of the simple joy of picture taking. A couple of years ago he bought his wife, Al, a new camera, tried it out.....and was hooked. Now he lets her borrow it now and again when he's not out looking for subjects to photograph!
Even though I love my chosen career, as a professional photographer it's all too easy for me to get distracted with the day to day 'stuff ' involved in running a business and temporarily forget why I became a photographer in the first place. A fantastic photoshoot with fun-loving kids or a day out shooting personal projects usually reminds me why I love what I do; John's refreshing approach to photography for the sheer pleasure of creating beautiful pictures also helps to make the point.
Personally speaking, my favourite subjects often feature people whereas John likes to photograph nature and rural landscapes without people in them. The beauty of photography is that there is endless variety and scope for anyone to express themselves through their images, whether as a professional or simply for fun. For some people photography is a hobby, for others it's a living, but the resulting images can be enjoyed by everyone.
A graphic artist and web designer by profession, John has put together his own website to showcase his favourite photographs. You can visit at http://www.jrobinsonphotography.co.uk/
Even though I love my chosen career, as a professional photographer it's all too easy for me to get distracted with the day to day 'stuff ' involved in running a business and temporarily forget why I became a photographer in the first place. A fantastic photoshoot with fun-loving kids or a day out shooting personal projects usually reminds me why I love what I do; John's refreshing approach to photography for the sheer pleasure of creating beautiful pictures also helps to make the point.
Personally speaking, my favourite subjects often feature people whereas John likes to photograph nature and rural landscapes without people in them. The beauty of photography is that there is endless variety and scope for anyone to express themselves through their images, whether as a professional or simply for fun. For some people photography is a hobby, for others it's a living, but the resulting images can be enjoyed by everyone.
A graphic artist and web designer by profession, John has put together his own website to showcase his favourite photographs. You can visit at http://www.jrobinsonphotography.co.uk/
Monday, 18 May 2009
Be Happy!
At a business meeting recently I attended a seminar by Debra Stevens from Sold Out Trainers in Milton Keynes. Entitled Red Dirt, in recognition of the fact that once the red soil of Africa gets under your finger nails you are hooked for life, the seminar wasn't about business as such, but about what she has learned from setting up a children's charity in Gambia, http://www.schools4schools.co.uk/ Debra's theme was simply that in the UK we live life at such a fast pace that we lose sight of the simple things that make us happy - friends and family, appreciation of the beauty in the things around us and time for relaxation and contemplation. We're always planning ahead and rushing on to the next thing. What Debra soon realised on her trips to Gambia was that the African people live for the present, and even though they don't have the material things that we in the Western world have, they really apreciate and enjoy what they do have. Amusingly she pointed out that children under 3 live that way too, it's only as we get older that we learn to worry about everything. Dogs live in the here and now too.....and if our dog Tara is anything to go by they never grow up!
Debra's best suggestion was to stop watching the news and reading the papers - it's always too depressing and they only tell us the bad news. Instead you can try http://www.positivenews.com/ where bad news is banned.
Keep smiling!
Debra's best suggestion was to stop watching the news and reading the papers - it's always too depressing and they only tell us the bad news. Instead you can try http://www.positivenews.com/ where bad news is banned.
Keep smiling!
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