Mike Barrett Photography

Photography Beyond The Moment

About Mike Barrett

The Photography Magazines

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There are many different photography magazines on the market. Walk into any major WHSmith store and pace down the magazine aisle, you will find a plethora of publications offering (All You Need To Know) headlines across their front covers. Bold type bulletins like, ‘Master Macro’, ‘Pro Shots without a Pro Camera’, Landscape Photography without a Tripod’, ‘Improve Your Composition’ and so on…

There are a couple of publications however that don’t feel the need to shout about their content on the cover in quite the same way. That’s because their quality has been set in stone over the course of time. Which magazines am I talking about? OUTDOOR Photography and BLACK+WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Instead, you are beguiled by an extraordinary beautiful image on the front cover and a slither of simple text. These magazines however are packed with brilliant peer-led journalism offering fascinating and diverse articles where the subject matter and storytelling are plentiful, insightful, and engaging. In each case, the jaunt from cover to cover is a journey of fruition and mirth, accompanied by outstanding and often breathtaking photography. All this and they still manage to cover everything you need to know about kit, compositions, style, culture, creative processes, and everything from the first daguerreotypes to the cutting edge mirrorless monsters that can be snapped up today. Furthermore, the smart, beautiful, and functional graphic design makes the whole reading experience an absolute pleasure. Not to mention the slick gloss cover and silky matt cover respectively.

I have been buying these magazines for a long while now and have never been disappointed with my choice. In fact, I always get a rush of delightful anticipation when I get my hands on the latest copy and breath in that delightful smell of fresh print upon tearing open the covering. Recently, that special portion of glee was significantly heightened when I realised that I had, in fact, had one of my images published in issue 260 of BLACK+WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

The magazine runs a monthly mini-competition called SMARTSHOTS (#smartshots) where three winners receive a 64GB SAMSUNG EVO Micro SDXC Card. In this month’s edition, I was one such lucky winner. The photo that caught the panel’s eye was a shot of the Cloisters at Fountains Abbey with my daughter standing in the end window. (See below) It got a whole page of its own. I was absolutely delighted. It was nice to get a bit of peer recognition, but when it’s in one of your favourite magazines the accolade is all the more gratifying.

Maybe I will see if I can get an article published next, backed up by some more of my images. That would be absolutely awesome.

If you’re into photography and have never read one of these magazines, do yourself a favour and go and get the latest copy of each publication. You will not be disappointed. Better still, get subscribed!

Both magazines are published by GMC Publications.

Inside the Magazine

My Photograph

Taken at the famous Cloisters at Fountains Abbey.

Issue 260 Front Cover

The Covers

Some examples of the wonderful covers from both magazines.

Glenn Lamont – Headshots

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Here are a few photos from a recent shoot with actor Glenn Lamont. His roles include appearances in Doctors, Holby City, Mile High, Spooks: Code 9 to name but a few, and a three-year stint in Emmerdale as Richie Carter. After a period of pursuing other ventures and concentrating on family life, Glenn is returning to the arena of acting. He approached me and asked if I would produce an up to date set of headshots for him. Here are a few from the shoot. I will look forward to seeing him on the screen again in the not too distant future.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Etheridge Family Portrait Shoot

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I photographed this lovely bunch recently. Some good friends of ours. I have known Richard and his family for a while now and have seen his kids grow from little children into the fine young adults they are today. It was nice to spend some time with them all and capture these series of portrait shots. I spent an afternoon with them and took a load of images with various light settings. It was a relaxed and enjoyable shoot and I love the photos that I was able to capture. Here are a few from the bunch.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Family Urchins

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This gorgeous pair of urchins are my sister’s kids. I’ve not seen them for about three years. I don’t get to see them that often at all to be honest, as they live so far away. That coupled with the crazy epidemic that we have all been living through, it has made it all the more difficult to get together. Anyway, recently they all sprung a massive surprise on me and turned up quite out of the blue. My wife and daughter were in on the secret and had help plan it, but it was a delightful and unexpected surprise. They spent a few days with us and it was great to catch up. It was so good to spend time with my sister also. We laughed, cried, sung songs, ate great food and played hard to make up for lost time. My daughter gets on with her cousins so well, you’d think they were family. (“,)

It’s good to hug the people you love and to have regular contact with them. It’s always a lot harder when they live in a different country. I thought I would take some portrait shot of the kids in the studio while I had them with me. Children change and grow up so fast that it was nice to capture these lovely souls as they are right now. The portrait photograph is such a beautiful medium for making and keeping memories. These photos will always remind me of the time that this crazy bunch sprung the most awesome surprise on me. One that I will never forget.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

The Urchins

 

 

 

 

Fraisthorpe Beach and a 10 Stop ND Filter – Yorkshire Coast

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The Location

On a recent trip to the east coast of Yorkshire with a tog friend of mine, we took a walk south from Bridlington along the beach front to find the numerous pillbox guard posts and various other structures scattered along the landscape. Where we ended up was a place called Fraisthorpe Beach. It is about a 3-4 mile walk from Bridlington harbour along the beach front. These salt water battered and barnicled concrete structures are remnants of the british defence effort during the second world war. Installations such as these formed an effective defence from the threat of invasion from Germany via the sea.

There are many locations along the east coast of Britain that were fortified with these types of structures. Bridlington Bay with its flat sandy beaches was an ideal place for all manner of vehicles to land. Tanks, amphibious landing craft and many other attack vehicles would have easily been able to slip up onto the land. Anti tank cubes are scattered in their dozens, in long lines up and down the beach. Most of them sit where the wave break line occurs at high tide, which made for some interesting photograph opportunities.

The Photography

A note was made of the location but it seemed prudent to return a couple of days later when the high tide was at its highest. The intention being, to make sure that there was a good volume of water lashing at these old structures in order to get the proposed shots. My goal was to get some super long exposures using a 10 stop ND filter. This would enable me to flatten out the seascape and achieve some clean, stylised shots. There was a good light for this type of photography. I made a multitude of compositions during the three hours that we were there. Some shots didn’t work out so well. Some, however, worked out wonderfully.

The images below are some of my favourites from the time spent at this location. I have deliberately presented a colour and a black and white version of each of the images. They work equally as well, but somehow are strikingly different in their appearance. Particularly when viewed next to each other.

The lens I used was an EF 17-40mm F/4L USM with a 10 stop ND filter, using various focal lengths. All at F/20, ISO 50, with a mixture of exposures ranging between 213 seconds and 361 seconds, tripod mounted, in bulb mode.

My objective was to flatten out the water as much as possible and get a good contrast between the wave break line and the horizon line. Composition wise, I really wanted to show some of the beauty of these wonderful structures. Covered in barnacles and seaweed, you can see how they have eroded over time, with bits of steel poking out the top of some of the blocks. Many have broken down almost completely. There are, however, many that have kept their shape and integrity and would no doubt still repel a landing army of old. Or new, for that matter.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Click on the images to enlarge.

 

Local Waters and Woodlands

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I know, I can hear it now… “Out shooting water again Baz? It’s not like you!” Yes indeed, I just can’t help myself.

When shooting water in woodland you usually get a gap in the tree canopy where the light floods in and brightens up the water course. Obviously this depends on how wide the river or stream is. In the case of these shots, in each instance, the canopy was still rather closed as both the streams were fairly narrow. Trees on each side of the bank were close enough to form a closed canopy above the water where the foliage merged into one big umbrella.

There were one or two areas that opened up and light was able to flood in. It made for some interesting atmospherics. It’s not a bad thing though, especially when you’re taking long exposure shots on a tripod, as you have full control of your exposure times and how you want the available light to work in the image.
A closed canopy can serve to diffuse the light and you end up with shots with interesting light dotted around the composition. Even if ever so subtly, as is the case with the images below. You get lots of pockets of light and dark areas juxtaposed against each other which makes for some good contrasts throughout the composition. The only thing you might have to be considerate of is movement in the foliage if the conditions are breezy. But this can also work for you depending on the type of image you are after. There is always so much to consider when photographing this type of landscape. It’s what makes it so much fun.

For me, there is a sweet spot where long exposure, fast water river shots are concerned. I have seen many images where photographers have just opened up the shutter for as long as possible to capture a huge chunk of movement in the water and made it look like a blanket. A whited-out watery wilderness. You tend to get a huge amount of over-exposed areas in the water when this occurs. When it is overdone it can spoil the image and detract from the beauty of the scenery. So the sweet spot for me is a compromise somewhere between this and a normal snapshot. I want those smoothed-out elements in the flowing water, but I also want some of the energy left in too. Of course, this changes from shot to shot and it all depends on what you think works well within the composition at the time. Mostly though, I want to show the ever-changing course of the water as there is so much movement to be captured. So I tend to do a few test shots. I find the exposure I want and then play with the shutter timing and aperture until I hit the sweet spot which contains both those smoothing elements, but also something that captures the texture and ever-changing course of how the water is flowing.

As I said, I try to find the sweet spot. Here are some images where I hope to have done just that.

The first four shots were taken at Judy Woods in West Yorkshire. The water is called Royads Hall Beck.
The second four shots were taken at Hardcastle Crags in West Yorkshire. The water is called Hebden Beck.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Hardcastle Crags – Beech Trees and Things

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Spring is such a wonderful time of year. The earth starts to wake from its winter slumber and everything is revived, fresh, anew and bursting into life. Colour sharpens as buds open and blossoms begin to paint hues on the landscape. Fresh greens drench the vista as shrubs, trees and other foliage start pushing out shoots and the skeletal forms of winter begin to disappear under a shroud of foliage. A chlorophyll cloak of blades, stalks, needles and leaves forms over the landscape. A botanical display of renewed life bringing with it new hope and new beginnings.

There is one plant that has always amused me. The humble beech tree. It is renowned for holding on to its leaves throughout winter. After the spring and summer season its leaves turn from green to a golden orange colour and shrink and distort slightly as they lose their moisture. They only really start to shed their leaves when the new reddish brown, bullet-shaped leaf buds form in springtime and last seasons foliage falls to the earth just as the new bud is about the open.

While I was visiting Hardcastle Crags this spring, the beech trees where on the brink of this transitional period. Many leaves had fallen leaving a rusty coloured carpet under each of the trees, but there were still plenty of leaves clinging on and dancing in the spring sunlight. It was nice to witness this transformation and I thought I would record it by taking a few photographs. I quite enjoyed looking for decent compositions and finding some interest in amongst the branches of these beautiful trees. The more I looked, the more I wanted to photograph. Such delicate beauty on display and such sharp colour framed against the woody background.

Here are some of the images that I took on the day.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

A Snowy Haworth Moor

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I’ve only just got around to writing about this day back in January. It wasn’t snowing when we headed out to Haworth Moor. It was somewhat grey and and there was a stiff breeze, but altogether it had been a fairly pleasant day. My wife, daughter and I had headed out for a walk to blow away the cobwebs of the last year of lockdowns. To be honest, after the previous 9 months it was just good to get out. Period!

We headed to the Brontë waterfalls. Our daughter was really excited to be out and about in the world again and to be on a bit of an adventure. We got a little way into the walk, about 20 minutes or so when quite out of the blue it started piling it down with snow. It didn’t start slowly and get gradually worse (better). Nope, it just came down in bucket loads from the get go. Massive flakes of snow. My daughter was delighted. She hadn’t seen snow like this before. In fact we were all utterly thrilled that it had started snowing.

It wasn’t too long before it had got deep under foot and of course soon enough we began making huge snowballs and throwing them everywhere and at each other. Luckily we had dressed in warm clothes and good, sturdy walking boots, so we were well equipped to deal with the change in weather. We carried on with our walk for as long as possible, sticking to the paths and taking in the beautiful landscape. A landscape that had very quickly become white over. Sheep had begun to huddle in flocks around trees and some hid behind farm buildings to get some respite from the prevailing storm.

After a while we made the decision to turn around and head back to the car.  We hadn’t got to our planned destination but it had been getting colder by the minute and the path had become quite treacherous. All of us nearly landed on our bums on more than one occasion.

I had taken my camera kit with me. I wanted to get some shots of this beautiful Brontë Moor on a crisp winters day. What I did get are this handful of delightful shots. A snowy winter wonderland in the heart of Brontë country. While I was there I imagined the Brontë sisters stomping across these same grounds in weather much like this back in their time, and how they might have stoked a large, warm fire once tucked away from the wilds of this rugged land.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Victor

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My father brought me this photo the last time he came up to visit. It is a photograph of his father Victor, my grandad, (left). The young lad with the pipe (right) is Alan, my grandma’s brother and Victor’s best friend. As you can see the image is quite damaged and rather small, measuring only 85mm / 60mm. There is also a small tear across the image from left to right.

 

My dad has numerous photos of my grandad, most of which are post second world war. My grandad was a Royal Marine Commando and served with 45 Commando, part of Lord Lovat’s Special Services Brigade who landed early on Sword Beach, D Day, and raced to relieve the soldiers who had captured ‘Pegasus Bridge’ in the early hours of June 6th 1944. Here he is in uniform. 

My dad recently came across this photo of his father as a boy. He found it while searching through items that were left to him after my Grandma passed away. We think it must have been taken when Victor was around 15 or 16 years old?

My grandad was born in October 1922, so this image must have been taken around 1937-8 just prior to the start of the second world war.

It’s a special image in many ways, not least of which because it is the only one my father has of his dad pre war time. Certainly the only one he has of Grandad as a young boy.

My dad asked if I could repair the image and restore it to its former glory. I said that I would be delighted to do so.

I first took a large scan of the image at 1200dpi after which I converted the image to 300dpi which changed the physical image size to 338mm / 237mm. So around A4 size at 300dpi. This gave me a good image size to work with.

It took quite a few hours to fix the photo using existing image data to heal the damaged areas.

The process was undertaken in Photoshop using the Spot Healing Tool, the Healing Tool and the Clone Tool. There was a little bit of jiggery pokery to sort out the image tone and slight colour modifications, just to bring everything together. I wanted to get as close to the original image as possible regarding tonal values and over all hue.

I was very happy with the finished image. A special image. An important photograph to me and especially to my father.

It was then sent off to be printed on Hahnemühle 308gsm photo rag paper as a Giclee fine art print, using archival pigment inks. After which it was posted to my father as a surprise present.

He phoned me to say that he had received it and was more than a little emotional. I was so pleased that he loved the finished image. 

See the before and after gif below. 

The Old Lighthouse of Twr Mawr

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The Old Lighthouse of Twr Mawr – Llanddwyn Island Anglesey, Gwynedd North Wales.

Don’t let this serene vista fool you. We were being blown off our feet and literally soaked to the bone with the torrential rain that was relentless battering the island. Buffeted from pillar to post and absolutely soaked to the bone! The place was stunning though. Wild and beautiful.

While we were there I posted this image to my social media outlets. It was seen by some friends of ours who were also spending time in that part of the world. They got in touch to tell us that they were 5 minutes away from where we were and asked if we wanted to meet up. We managed to hook up later that day and grab a coffee together. A lovely impromptu meet up and a really nice surprise.

Those friends came back to me recently and asked if they could get a print of the photo that I posted that afternoon. A lovely little story involving this memory. The Old Lighthouse of Twr Mawr and Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey holds particular significance for them and has a special place in their hearts. So apt that they should end up with this beautiful print. Not only for the reason that is a symbolic place for them, but also for the little story it tells about our encounter while we were all holidaying in that beautiful part of the world.

Printed on Hahnemühle 308gsm photo rag fine art paper which delivers a stunning finish to printed images. I’m pleased to say that they are very happy with their print.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Brimham Rocks – Yorkshire Dales

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I was recently up at Brimham Rocks, situated on Brimham Moor in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire. It is an (SSSI), a heather moorland and 454 acre biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Geological Conservation Review (GCR). It also happens to be part of the National Trust’s portfolio of properties and is visited by thousands of people every year. With it’s unusual rock formations and wild landscapes it is also very beautiful and a great place to get some interesting photographs.

One of the most photographed aspects of the location is the Lone Tree (Silver Birch) that protrudes from the gritstone between two sets of rock formations. There was some fabulous light while I was there and I managed to get a couple of interesting shots looking at different aspects of this particular spectacle. There were families and couples milling around the place and they made for some good silhouette shots against this beautiful landscape. I really like the black and white shot of the two Jackdaws chasing each other off the edge of the rocks just under the silver birch tree. It was a timely capture.

If you have never been, there is alsorts to enjoy at this location. You can have a go at Geocaching, which is essentially a GPS treasure hunt. There are many beautiful walks to be had and the rocks themselves are breathtakingly beautiful and were created by a tremendous river which ran through there about 100 million years before the first dinosaurs walked the earth. The rocks were sculpted over 320 million years of continental plate shifts and hundreds of thousands of years of ice, wind and rain leaving us with this stunning landscape to explore and enjoy.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2020 – All Rights Reserved

Film Photography – Ilford HP5 400 Black and White Film

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I have been messing around with my old Canon A-1 SLR camera recently with a 50mm 1.8 portrait lens. I chucked a roll of Ilford HP5 400 film in it and have been taking it around with me on my travels. These five shots below are all from the first roll of film that I have reeled off for many a year. I absolutely love the grain in these images. Indicative of the film I was using. It’s been a while since I have shot black and white film. I’ve loved using this old camera again. It’s such a different process from digital in so many ways, while all the principles of photography remain the same. I have currently got a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 in the camera now. I am looking forward to seeing what’s on it when I take the film to be developed. That’s part of the fun for me. Finding out what have I taken?!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Images from the Ilford HP5 400 Black and White Film

This Sycamore Gap Tree shot was taken last year while I was up in Northumberland. It was hand held. I had my main kit set up on a tripod next to me in order to capture the shot digitally. I had my Canon A-1 with me also, so I got this snap. I love it.

 

I grabbed this shot of my daughter looking all thoughtful and concerned while on holiday last summer.

 

This is a portrait of my buddy Graham. I took it while we were out on a photo shoot together.

 

A similar shot to the other one but this time in landscape. Very slightly different mood. I like the subtle difference in her expression.

 

This is a portrait of my friends lad, James.

 

The truth is, if you’re a keen photographer with a love for the process, going back to the old way of doing things and starting to play around with some of the lost art of developing and processing can be a rewarding and somewhat cathartic journey. I say lost art, but I have been made aware that there are still many photographers involved with film photography and indeed there are many dark rooms across the country that are still in full swing. It’s good to know.

 

Foundation Course Photography Project from 1994-95

Looking through my archives I came across a project I did way back when I was on my Foundation Course in 1994-95. With some rudimentary guidance, we were all given a roll of Ilford HP5 Plus 35mm Black and White film and the use of an SLR camera. At the time I had recently acquired my Canon A-1 SLR and opted to use that instead of the clunky looking thing that had been offered to us on the course. We were taken through the basics of film development and darkroom use and told to go away and deliver a project. I chose to do mine based on ‘The Reading of Books’.
I then embarked on a journey of exploration that I was absolutely fascinated with. A love of photography was certainly instilled in me that never went away.

 

My Canon A-1 SLR camera. An absolutely wonderful bit of kit.

 

Contact sheets and prints from the photography project I did back on my Foundation course in 1994-95.

 

The final project artwork ended up being some screen print piece that had been derived from the imagery that I had made with the camera. Alas, the artwork is long gone, but I have always kept the negatives and the prints that I made during that project.

We had to develop the film ourselves using a Universal Developing Tank and we went on to make our own prints from the negatives that we had created. I was in awe of the whole process of making imagery from negatives. So much so that I went on to do a lot of experimentation like part solarising the images by momentarily switching on the light in the darkroom while the print is sat in the developer, warming of part of the prints to encourage smokey effects, dodging and burning etc. Yep, dodging and burning are real terms of real processes, not just useful tools in Photoshop. I ended up with some lovely prints that have stayed with me throughout the years. Having dug them out, I think I am going to make a couple of large prints from my favourite shots. Why not eh?!

Below are some of the images from the project. They are scans from prints, not from the negatives. This first image is one of my favourites. It’s of Simon, a very good friend of mine who kindly agreed to be a model for me at the time.

 

PROJECT SHOT ONE

 

PROJECT SHOT TWO

PROJECT SHOT THREE

 

PROJECT SHOT FOUR

 

This chap is Malcolm Revill, a fellow student on my Foundation course. I remember him making the most insane armchair out of teasel heads. Nice chap.

 

Same shot but solorised, which is the technique of re-exposing the photographic paper during the development process. As the main image starts to emerge while it’s sat in the developer solution, you switch on a white light momentarily in the dark room which exposes the rest of the paper. This then starts to develop and darkening the light areas in the image sending them silvery grey.

Contact sheet from one of the films that I shot and developed during the project. I think I may have to scan these again and make some prints.

The Wedding of Mr and Mrs Speak

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It was a pleasure to be asked to photograph this wedding. It was a small and private affair but full of fun and a lot of laughter along the way. Shot in the beautiful autumn sunshine in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Photographing weddings is a privileged. The photographer gets unique access to the bride and groom and therefore an exclusive perspective of the whole day, capturing everything from morning nerves and excitement, tears of joy and happiness the moment the couple are declared husband and wife, right through to the late night partying that can often last into the small hours. We witness it all and endeavour to ensnare the essence of each and every unique day.

It’s always that bit more special when you know the couple who are getting married, as was the case on this occasion.

I wish Richard and Jackie all the happiness in the world and a long, prosperous and joyful marriage.

All Images are copyright © Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lake District Autumnal Landscapes

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I have just got back from the Lake District where the autumn colours were in full effect. Being in such a beautiful place at this time of year warms the soul, even if the weather strips what’s left of your body heat out of your very being. The Lake District is one of the most phenomenally beautiful places I have ever been. Every time I go there I fall in love with the place just that little bit more. The landscapes and scenery are utterly breathtaking and not only do they change through the seasons, they can literally alter from moment to moment with the ever shifting weather systems that move in and out of this mountainous region. The light and therefore mood can alter from minute to minute. Choppy water can turn into a flat mill pond at the drop of a hat, blue skies can develop into dramatic and foreboding storm clouds in the blink of an eye and the colour contained within the surrounding vistas can warm up and cool down in the time it takes to make a cup of tea. I could say that there is never a dull moment but there are indeed many. Literally! Interspersed with countless bright ones, colourful ones, muted ones…

I managed to get some beautiful shots while I was there. Frosty mornings, drone landscapes, classic mountainous scenery and some film footage for my Youtube channel. I love this beautiful thing called photography. It is utter soul food. Especially in such a stunning place as the Lake District.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 104mm, F16, ISO 50, 0.5 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F22, ISO 50, 1/60 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

DJI Mavic Pro Drone, Lens: 26.3mm, F2.2, Focal Length @ 4.73mm (in 35mm: 26mm), ISO 100, 1/125 Seconds Exposure.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 26mm, F16, ISO 50, 30.0 Seconds Exposure with 10 Stop ND Filter, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F22, ISO 50, 27.0 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

DJI Mavic Pro Drone, Lens: 26.3mm, F2.2, Focal Length @ 4.73mm (in 35mm: 26mm), ISO 100, 1/125 Seconds Exposure.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F16, ISO 50, 0.8 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F4.5, ISO 50, 1/320 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

DJI Mavic Pro Drone, Lens: 26.3mm, F2.2, Focal Length @ 4.73mm (in 35mm: 26mm), ISO 163, 1/100 Seconds Exposure.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F16, ISO 50, 1/13 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F16, ISO 50, 1/25 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F4.5, ISO 50, 1/320 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 87.00 mm, F18, ISO 50, 1/6 Seconds Exposure, Aperture Priority, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F16, ISO 50, 1/20 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 40.00 mm, F16, ISO 50, 1.3 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

While Developing Lightroom Presets

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Peak District Grit v’s ISO/ASA Grain, and a splash of Grunge.

I have been working on some Lightroom Presets which will be on sale soon. Look out for them in the coming weeks. I created one called ‘Here Comes The Grain Again’. A monochrome preset that mimics a high ASA (American Standards Association) film. You might be more familiar with the abbreviation ISO (International Organization of Standardization), more commonly used in Digital Cameras. A high ISO/ASA offers a higher level of light sensitivity when the camera makes the image. This essentially allows photographers to shoot at higher f-stops or indeed with faster shutter speeds, especially in low light conditions. In fact it’s a great way of getting better results from your camera in low-light situations. The trade off though is that images will often turn out grainy and have a more high contrast finish to them. In the digital world this has been a bit of a taboo in the production of photography. Photographers have demanded better and better quality sensors in cameras in order to make less grainy images while shooting in low light. However, grainy images can also be viewed as a style, something that adds character or textural interest to an image. This brings me neatly back to the Lightroom Presets that I have been developing.

This is the first monochrome preset I have made. It’s called ‘Here Comes The Grain Again’ and will be part of a set called Monopods. I liked it so much I had to try it out across a range of images. I came across a folder of RAW files, images that I took earlier this year while out in the Peak District. I got an assortment of moody shots of my brother Jake, and a couple of my daughter too, standing up on the rocks on the escarpment at Froggatt Edge in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. This preset worked very well with these images and made for some really gritty results which I liked very much. To add a little more drama to the finished images, I ran them all through Photoshop and overlaid some spatter textures from a bank of resource imagery that I have been developing, using and adding to over the years. Here are the results below.

Watch out for my Lightroom Preset Package coming soon.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Photo Walk – Local Scenery

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These photos are from a recent photography walk that was organised through a company that I run with a friend of mine. All the images are from in and around the Mirfield area in West Yorkshire. We were there to offer our expertise, tuition, hints and tips, paying attention to composition, camera setup, subject matter, looking for leading lines, framing, thirds and other techniques etc. There was a good turn out and it was a fun way to spend an evening. During the evening I was able to take a mixture of my two favourite styles of photography. Landscape and Candid People/Portrait shots. Both styles of photography bring me a lot of joy.

You can achieve great photography anywhere. You don’t have to head out to the Lake District or Scotland or to the coast to get imagery that captures a sense of wonder. You just need to step outside your door and go for a stroll. You may be surprised at what you might find. There are plenty of things to photograph that are fascinating and engaging in terms of subject matter. I’ve got great shots of rotting and dilapidated garage doors juxtaposed against a mass of green foliage. Fabulous sunset shots standing in my front garden. Shots of frosted leaves on the ground outside my daughters school. Crazy beautiful sunrise shots in a local park where the sky was awash with colour and the ground was hardened with frost. I once even got questioned when photographing some asphalt in a car park outside an art gallery in Halifax. “What the hell are you doing lad?” was the question that was posed as far as I can remember. There was some oil on the ground and there had been some big letters marked onto the ground with a liberal amount of white thermoplastic, which is that stuff they use for writing various instructions and words onto the ground, like ‘BUS STOP’ or ‘SCHOOL AHEAD’ or indeed just a series of lines to guide traffic into the right places, like parking spaces for instance. The colours in the oil on a slightly wet surface were fascinating, especially set against the pitch black asphalt and I used the lines made by the thermoplastic for some interesting structure to the shots. Abstract indeed, but interesting nonetheless. I tried to explain this to the gentleman who had asked the question, but it was all lost on him unfortunately!

Nature taking over urban spaces is always a fascinating subject. I really like the black and white shots of the characters in silhouette walking over the bridge in the gallery below. Using the structure of the bridge to lead the viewer to the subject matter is always a good trick. It’s just being mindful of your surroundings and keeping a keen eye open for stuff that jumps out at you and things that might make a great photographic composition! That married together with a little imagination and you can start adding all sorts of crazy and fantastic imagery to your portfolio.

Are you looking to learn photography or possibly expand on your photographic skills? If so please get in touch. I offer one to one tuition and take small groups out into the wild to learn all kit and composition skills. If you are looking for something specific I can tailor courses to your needs. I’m open to have a chat about what it is you want to learn.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Johnshaven, Scotland

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I have a special love for being by the coast. It’s definitely a yearning. I stood at the ocean’s edge last week while up on the east coast of Scotland, closed my eyes and let my senses take over. I let the whole experience wash over me. The sound of the crashing waves ebbing and flowing, the chorus of shrill calls from the gulls as they danced on the sea air, the spray hitting my face and the smell of the ocean as it rolled over the rocks before me.

As I took it all in I thought about a line from the movie ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ by the character Andy Dufresne. In the film he was talking to his friend Red and was describing a place that he wanted to live out the rest of his life. “Zihuatanejo. It’s in Mexico. A little place on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory.”
I don’t know why it popped into my head, but I got thinking about it while I was stood looking at the North Sea. Specifically focusing on the part about the sea having no memory. I like this as an idea. The concept that the ocean has no memory. The notion sits quite well with me. This vast body of water the covers 71% of the earth surface. It’s basically uncharted in real terms. We’ve seen a bit of it, but in the grand scheme of things we have sent more people to the moon than we have people to the deepest parts of our oceans. The idea that it has no memory just intrigues me. This vast body of water is just there, all the time. Moving to and fro, calm and at times ferocious. Deep and wide, enduring and seemingly endless. Full of mystery and very, very old. Beautiful in its magnitude. The fact that it might have no memory is almost a beautiful notion. Ever existing in a state of now. Being!

I love to photograph the coast line. There is always something happening or something interesting to point the camera at. There is never a dull moment. The weather constantly changes, as do the tides, the colours, the wind, the light, the smells, the mood, the temperature… It’s very much alive. I got a chance to have a mess around with a 10 stop filter and a variable grad filter on this particular excursion. I also sent my drone up a few times to get some different aspects of the coastline. All good fun as you can imagine.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Capturing Daybreak at Johnshaven

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I recently captured six different aspects of the sunrise over the course of a few different mornings at a little fishing village called Johnshaven on the east coast of Scotland. The compositions were fairly similar, taken from more or less the same vantage point. It’s always exhilarating watching the sunrise on a beautiful coastline. It’s something I will never tire of. There is a quote I once heard that goes as follows… “God created the sunrise and the sunset so that each day begins and ends in triumph”. I’m not a religious man but I have always liked that quote. Having witnessed many a sunrise and sunset I believe that this quote pretty much hits the nail on the head!

It is intoxicating watching the sun come up on the coast, or anywhere for that matter, but on the coast it does bring that special something. All that colour and changing light reflected off that vast ocean is something else. Especially when you are out there at 5am and there isn’t another soul about. It’s just you, fresh sea air and the rising of that huge ball of fire that we call sunshine. At times it will bring with it colour, drama and most certainly heat, light and the new energy of the day. To stand and watch it climb into the sky and see it incrementally change the colour and mood of the surrounding panorama fills the soul with some mysterious and primeval joy. Capturing it photographically for prosperity brings a huge amount of joy also. Not quite bottled for prosperity, but as near as damn it!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Daytime Trains

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I got a shout from a fellow TOG the other evening (Douglas) who said he was heading out for a bit of stomp and a shoot. I joined him at a place we had previously identified as a good spot to shoot some long exposures of passing trains. After a good chat where we put the photographic world to rights, we got on with the task of capturing some long exposures in daylight conditions.

Setting up for the shot is not like shooting at night when you go out to to get those beautiful visual tracer lights. For a start, you haven’t got that lovely black background to paint light on. Instead you are contending with a lot of light and there is a lot more detail is being burned upon the cameras censor. Setting the timing up to burn the right amount of image into the composition exactly where you need it to sit in the composition is critical. You are also pushing the camera to the hilt regarding the settings just to squeeze enough exposure time out without overexposing. Some luck is involved also as you can never really determine just how fast each of the locomotives will be travelling, which can have a critical effect on the image. There were one or two occasions where I had done everything right as far as I was concerned to capture the type of image that I was after, only to be scuppered by an uber slow train rolling through the composition. After some minor adjustments and a couple of test shots I got an image that I was really pleased with. This colour image was exactly what I was after and just how I had envisaged the image to be. The black and white one I liked too for different reasons. These shots were a lot of fun in the making and it’s always good fun to hook up with a like minded TOG to share in the fun with. I might have to go out again soon to see if I can get a few different results and perhaps some more diverse compositions. Watch this space.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F32, ISO 100, 0.6 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F32, ISO 50, 2 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

Dancers

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I took these photographs back in December 2017. The models are Larissa Bellamy and Danny Hayhurst. This ‘Movement in Dance’ shoot offered some fine and strong pose holds. Larissa and Danny were consummate professionals and I enjoyed the small amount of time that I got to work with them on this particular cold December evening back in 2017. For one reason or another I didn’t get to edit them at the time and only came across the RAW files recently. I’m glad I did as I really loved a handful of the shots that I managed to capture and have presented them below.

Some of the lifts and holds require a huge amount of strength, stamina and concentration. Especially in a photo studio when you have got a photographer shouting “That’s great, wonderful, hold it there”. So hats off to both Larissa and Danny for the effort that they put into this shoot and certainly for the advice that they were willing to offer in terms of making the best of the poses and lifts, it made for some cracking shots.

It’s always great to work with good models. I for one am not afraid to listen to feedback and advice from the models that I shoot. It pays to remember that they are working professionals too and can have their own unique take on what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately I have met many a photographer out there who can get upset at the drop of a hat, who communicate poorly and get well above their stations in studio shoot situations which almost always results in bad vibes within the creative environment. This is never any good for anybody and often results in a poor session and certainly doesn’t ever yield any notable imagery. But if you remain calm, attentive, reasonable, pleasant and open to suggestions, at the same time as offering your creative approach, you will find that this will go a long way to showing how professional you are and will most definitely be reflected in the quality of imagery that you produce.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Ilkley Moor Fires – Rebirth & New Hope

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I recently visited Ilkley Moor. It is somewhere that I have been on numerous occasions over the years. A magnificent natural place of beauty. Visited by many people for it’s incredible panoramic views, fantastic trails for walking and for the fact that it is a site of special scientific interest due to its beautiful upland habitat for ground-nesting birds. Known also for the famous Yorkshire folk song “On Ilkley Moor baht ‘at”, (on Ilkley Moor without a hat) and not least for the Cow and Calf rocks, an outcrop of grit stones which stand beside an old quarry.

Back in April some fires were deliberately started on the moor land. Some 25,000 square metres of land were scorched to a blackened wasteland. The destruction of the habitat was plane to see even though many weeks had passed after the event. It was reassuring to see nature returning in abundance bringing with it new hope and new life. That’s the beauty of nature. It will repair itself.

I wanted to capture some imagery that illustrated the resilience of nature and the power it has in the face of adversity. There were new fern shoots popping up all over the place. A carpet of them in fact. It was clear that flora was returning to the damaged land and in that, it wouldn’t be long before nesting bird and other wild life would again find safety and sanctuary in the returning vegetation. My intention was to isolate a single new fern shoot and juxtapose it against the scorched and blackened earth in order to make a visual communication about the power of nature and its ability to revive and replenish itself. I’m really pleased with how these images have turned out.

As a photographer I always try to find the beauty within the world around me. It’s not always an easy thing to achieve. It was my desire in this instance to capture the idea of hope. The notion that, all is not lost!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

I made a YouTube video explaining a little bit more about my experience on the moor.

YouTube – lkley Moor Fires – Rebirth & New Hope

 

Natures Carpet

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This image conjures up all sorts of emotions in me. That is the beauty of a single photograph. It can transport you to many places, evoke countless memories and trigger a depth of emotion that may not otherwise have surfaced before feasting your eyes upon it.

This image brings to mind warm, sunny days, the sound of distant child’s laughter playing in a meadow, the drone of light aircraft cutting through the sky, the whiff and drifting scent of a bbq triggering a certain hunger pang, the perfume of summer flora and the hum of a lazy bumble bee bouncing from flower to flower. It brings to mind the sound of a cricket chirping somewhere not too far away on a stem of grass, or a ladybird stumbling through the undergrowth on a journey that only it could know. It reminds of the simple joy of laying on your back in the deep green grass and watching cotton white clouds meandering along against a cerulean sky while all of you cares melt out of memory. If I look at this image for long enough, it would probably bring to mind a lifetime of simple pleasures and quite possibly many other emotions.

The power of photography is evident in the way in which nearly everybody in this day and age makes record after record of their life journey on a day to day basis using smart phones and all manor of digital devices. There is something special about a photograph, about photography. The simple recording of our life experiences for us to look at again and again has become customary. Photography is essential for many reasons in the world in which we live.

The passion for making great imagery sits profoundly within me. It is almost an obsession, but one that brings a huge amount of joy, both in the initial recording of an image and that of the huge amount of joy that one single image can bring thereafter. If one single image can do all of that then imaging the joy derived from many thousands of images?! Little wonder then, that for me at least, making beautiful photographs is a compulsion.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188.00mm, F4, ISO 400, 1/800 Seconds Exposure, AP, Hand Held.

The Delights of Spring

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Spring is such a fabulous time of the year in Great Britain. From a photographic perspective it certainly presents new opportunities. Renewed and vibrantly coloured backdrops are established and frame the remnants of winter, like these Teasel heads that have been bent and crippled by the harsh cold, set against a fresh spring hue. New life sprouts up from just about every corner, every nook and every cranny. Colour begins to be splashed across the land once again. The once desaturated panorama begins to present new and vibrant energy, form and luminosity. It also warms up quite a bit, which is all good in my book.

Here are a few shots from being out and about in the countryside during the easter break.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

 

Pater and the Taraxacum Officinale

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My father and I were out ‘Fertle Barging’ recently, which is a great Barrett tradition. What is Fertle Barging I hear you ask?! It is a phrase that my father coined some years ago that pretty much covers a multitude of mischiefs. In essence it means being out in the countryside or urban spaces looking for and collecting things of interest that people and/or nature have left behind. For instance, last week, while out Fertle Barging, my father found some owl pellets in a woodland. He took them home and together with my daughter they dissected the pellets in order to see what the owl had been eating. My daughter was absolutely fascinated by this. They found a load of bones, fur and a very fine tooth during their explorations. It was a lucrative Fertle Barging session, certainly regarding the discovery of such earthly delights and fascinations.

On the very same day my father picked up a dandelion clock and asked me to take his photo while he blew the seeds away. This is the resulting photograph. Never a dull moment in the Barrett family I can tell you.

I took a few shots actually. I didn’t think that I had got one that I liked, but this one has kind of grown on me. In fact on a personal level it speaks quite a lot about how much fun it is to be around my father and certainly represents the type of character that he is.

My father is the soul reason why I have such a passion for nature and the great outdoors. Since I can remember he has always shown and taught me about the earth. Right from being a young boy I have fond memories of him discussing wild animals and bird species with me, being enthusiastic about the fascinating things that live under rocks and talking passionately about gardening and the nurturing of plant life. When I was young we were always out and about in the countryside on some huge walk or mission of some sort. He has always talked fervently about the wonders that can be found in life such as the changing of the seasons and the profound beauty that the earth has to offer and in its wealth of diversity. Over the years I have built upon this shared knowledge and find myself now doing the very same thing with my daughter. I often smile to myself when I hear my father’s voice in my own when talking about the things that are in the world with my little girl.

It’s fabulous the see my father doing at all again too, but this time with his grand daughter. It fills me with a huge amount of joy and pride.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Pater and the Taraxacum Officinale

Spring in Action

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I love this time of year. Spring is my favourite season without a shadow of a doubt. I love the vibrancy of colours, the fresh new smells, the new energy and renewed activity in nature. The intensity of sound, colour, smells and rejuvenated growth is beguiling and lifts the soul. It’s a season of hope, prosperity and new life. Here is a shot of new life springing into action. A new Sycamore Tree shooting up against the backdrop of flowing water. Fresh new life and vibrant in colour. Fantastic.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188.00mm, F5.6, ISO 500, 1/400 Seconds Exposure, AP, Hand Held.

 

The River Ure at Hackfall Woods – The Making of the Composition

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This image was taken while on a recent trip out to Hackfall Woods up in North Yorkshire. The woods are absolutely stunning and well worth exploring. If you like a nice stroll and you enjoy nature, this place ticks all the boxes. Great for kids and family days out. Awesome for exploring in terms of photography.

On the day that I was there the sun was beating down relentlessly. It was extremely bright. Not at all displeasing, but such conditions are not necessarily ideal for photography. In such conditions you can tend to get harsh and contrasty elements in your imagery, dark shadows against extremely bright areas of reflected sunshine. That said I was undeterred. I took my tripod and searched for a good place by the side of the River Ure. Upon finding an ideal spot, I settled in to find a pleasing composition.

The river was flowing fairly quickly, even though in this image it looks serene. There is a reason for that. My intention was to flatten out the water by taking a longer exposure. This would enable me to get rid of some of the texture created by the fast flow of water. In essence, I wanted to make the water a little more flat and glassy looking. I also wanted to blur out and soften some of the harsh, contrasty shadows that I mentioned that were being reflecting back off the water. In order to accomplish this I put a 10 stop filter on my lens which enabled me to attain a longer exposure time, even in such bright conditions.

The composition that I made may seem fairly simple at a glance but it was certainly thought about. I spent some time moving up and down the river looking for the ideal place to seat the tripod in order to capture a shot worthy of this beautiful place. I deliberately included those beautiful budding branches that were dipping into view on the left hand side of the image as they and reached towards the water, juxtaposing them against the vanishing point of the river as it swung off around the corner. A simple shot in many ways, but I do love the composition which I will discuss in a little more detail below.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Main Image
River Ure – Hackfall Woods

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17.00mm, F10, ISO 100, 10 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted, 10 Stop Filter.

First of all I used the rule of thirds fairly loosely by separating the trees and foliage from the body of water. The white line in Figure 1 below doesn’t quite come in exactly on the third, but it works well enough to separate the weight of the image between these two separate elements, as you can see. I am always of the opinion that the rules that exist in photography are there to guide you more than stick to rigorously. The image has to make sense in its own right and sometimes bending the rules slightly can make an image, not detract from it. You get a sense of what works while on location. It becomes instinctive over time.

You can also see that the white line in Figure 1 separates the image in such a way that what is left both above and below the line almost works as a stand alone image in both cases. Almost!

Figure 1 – Rule of Thirds

The other detail that became apparent to me when making this composition was the two areas that I have outlined in red in  Figure 2 blow. It is quite simply a triangle shape which has been formed by the top of the tree line and then reflected in the water below. This aspect of the composition draws the viewers eye into the image in a subtle way. It is detail like this that can be so important when making decisions about setting up a shot and recognising subtleties in the landscape around you. That’s why it is always a good idea to take your time to scan the scenery to see if you can pick out quirky characteristics that are naturally occurring in the landscape around you. Look for reflective elements both in a literal way and also in terms of shapes and forms that may relate to one another within the field of view.

Figure 2 – Reflective or Mirror Elements

Considering how the perspective of this composition works, there is also a vanishing point where the river disappears around the corner. From the point where this occurs I have drawn these green lines onto Figure 3 below illustrating how each separate triangular portion draws the viewer’s eye off in multiple directions reaching all extremities of the photograph. This aspect of the photo also leads the viewer’s eye into the image much like the reflective triangle shape, but it also takes the viewer on a journey around the whole image making each separate component of the photograph as important as the other in terms of achieving something that is both aesthetically pleasing and well balanced concerning the overall composition.

Figure 3 – Leading Lines

Lastly, when you lay the golden ratio over the top of this image as seen in Figure 4 below you can also see how it works in terms of weight and balance, even though the focal point isn’t necessarily true to the ratio, the suggestion of where the image is drawing the viewers attention is very apparent.

Figure 4 – The Golden Ratio

Landscape photography is very much about taking the viewer on a journey and engaging the onlooker by creating imagery that evokes an emotional response. Good landscape photography is not only creating something that is aesthetically pleasing, but also making a record of the time, the place, the season, the weather, the colours and/or various hues that are occurring and indeed in the telling of a story. All of these elements can be achieved with a little bit of awareness and consideration. Taking time to look and truly see what surrounds you is critical. Finding balance, elements of interest, leading lines, aspects that visually echo or repeat or give the sense of distance or depth of field, things that draw the eye or that can be juxtaposed against each other can all be components the go towards making an image work and be intriguing.

A friend said to me many years ago and I quote “Beauty can be found in the small and mundane as well as in the mighty monuments of life”. That sentiment has always stuck with me. We are surrounded by beauty and yet don’t always see it or appreciate it. But when you start looking at things with a critical eye and certainly with a modicum of passion, you will find all sorts of intriguing and stunning imagery. It’s literally everywhere. Photography for me is about wanting to capture and ensnare the beguiling, the beautiful, the quirky and things that occur in the moment. I want to create imagery that endures and intrigues.

Rock on Llyn Llydaw, Snowdonia

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I took this shot last summer while climbing Snowdon. I’ve always been drawn to it. Not sure why, but I’ve always just liked it. Some images just sit well with you.

A friend once said to me that the small and mundane are as important as the mighty monuments in life. He was absolutely right.

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 98.00mm, F18, ISO 160, 1/125 Seconds Exposure, AP, Hand Held.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

 

TWIN TOWN

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I was recently asked to do a photo shoot for the band Twin Town. Sometimes you get to work with people that are just completely on your wavelength. That was very much the case on this occasion. We had a lot of fun doing this photo shoot. It was a fairly overcast day but the conditions were perfect for this type of photography.

Ever heard of the band Twin Town? Well you have now!

Twin Town are a killer band that deliver with style. Not only that, they are a super bunch of guys. Raw talent, excellent musicianship and they know how to ROCK a party. Their resumé is impressive too…

Excerpt from the bands website: www.twintownmusic.co.uk

Twin Town are a four / five piece, all-action, super group playing the very best Pop and Rock hits from the 1950’s up until today.
Twin Town promise a musical experience like no other with their exciting, imaginative and contagious energy. Their unique approach to performing puts you and your guests at the centre of an unforgettable event, leaving everyone with memories to cherish. The musicians within Twin Town have performed in over 50 countries, 5 continents and alongside some of the very biggest artists this country has to offer including The Script, Paolo Nutini, The Stereophonics and many more… A night with Twin Town promises to be one you’ll never forget!!!

The band were looking for some new promotional imagery to use across the board.

Last year I did quite a lot of scouting for new locations for photo shoots, both urban and rural. One of the places that I stumbled across was this old derelict brick works. I made a YouTube video about it called Lost and Found which you can view here… Lost and Found

It was great to return to this location. It was an ideal setting for the type of shoot that I had in mind. There were new pieces of graffiti that had appeared and I had plenty of time to spend with the band and work on ideas reacting to the surroundings as a starting point, discussing concepts and poses as we went. I love working in this way. Obviously some planning and intentions had been discussed with the band prior to the shoot and they seemed well up for the suggestions that I had presented. I knew the location and what it would have to offer and the rest of the shoot was left to an organic approach of reacting to the surroundings and throwing out spontaneous ideas to Nick, John, Mike and Jake while we were on site. They were responsive and happy to work in this way.

The end result, a slightly anarchic, gritty, urban scene featuring the fabulous band Twin Town. It seemed to be a perfect combination.

Here are a few shots from the many that I took on the day.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Chasing Light

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It’s always fun heading out to get long exposure photographs in urban settings. On this occasion I was running a workshop with MODE VITAL. It was a chilly January night, but conditions were ideal for capturing this type of shot and there was a lot of traffic about.

It’s always interesting teaching people new skills. It’s rewarding beyond compare. I love to see those little eureka moments as the realisation occurs that the scope of possibility is broadening, much like the smile that accompanies that realisation. DSLR cameras can do so much if you are aware of the settings that are available to you and indeed how to use them in conjunction with each other. If you get to know your kit and how it works the possibilities in terms of shots are literally limitless. When you know how to use your kit the rest is just perception and imagination.

I only took five shots on this particular night. This one was shot number three.  I had set the camera up purely as a demonstration mechanism and to determine what sort of settings would be optimal in this particular environment and for this composition. This type of shot is great for learning about the manual settings of a DSLR as it is such an extreme type of photography if you are relate it to the normal point and shoot shot that most people would take on their phones for instance. You have to set up for a long exposure in order to capture all those beautiful light trails and in turn you need to know how to control and set your ISO to determine the quality of the shot. Then there is the lens aperture, setting this up correctly is critical in order to capture all that beautiful detail. So you are very much hands on with the whole exposure triangle. There were some other things that we looked at like hyperfocal distance when focusing, timings and what to look out for regarding the capturing of good, strong imagery and moving light. Composition and leading lines etc. All good fun for those who love to learn more about these photographic processes.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 40mm, F16, ISO 100, 20.0 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

B Sides

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Any parent will tell you that child development and child growth happens at a rate of knots. I take a lot of photographs as you can imagine! In fact, between my wife and I we pretty much take multiple gigabytes of imagery every year. It’s an occupational hazard as well as a family passion. We love photographs.

Our daughter gets photographed quite a lot and she is well used to being in front of a camera, but much of the imagery that we get of her is pretty much candid, every day lifestyle type shots. Photo’s of her and us doing our own thing. So it was nice to get her in the studio where I could capture a range of images and emotions that many 6 year olds display at any given moment. Playful, sad, crazy, thoughtful, vacant, happy, forlorn, etc. She was a delight to work with and we had a lot of fun. I really should and will do this more often with her as she is growing up.

I was looking for something clean, a little low key and my focus was really very much on her in the spotlight so to speak.

Here are some of the shots from the studio session.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

 

Landscape and Light

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Take some time to sit yourself in the landscape, and wait. Wait and watch. Watch and wait. Take a flask. Maybe some food. Eat, drink, wait and watch. Watch and wait.

This is when you witness magic. The magic of light. The magic of the land and how it takes on diverse and ever changing forms as it reflects the light. From raven blacks to washed out greys. From majestic, dusty edged, alabaster Cumulonimbus reaching to embrace the heavens, to a verdant meadow kissing an azure sky. From searing hot horizons framed by foreboding and shadowy plumes of an imminent storm, to blinding white mists that obscure the panorama, chilling the landscape while removing all discernible detail from view. Where maybe only a slither of form may present some significance, albeit with a washed out and delicate hue.

So much can happen and change when you’re out in the wilderness. The trick is being able to spot the interesting moments as they present themselves and try to record them in the magnificent way in which they appear.

The description above is pretty much the exact array of conditions that presented themselves while I was walking in the Peak District at the weekend. I had visited Froggatts Edge, a gritstone escarpment which sits in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park, in Derbyshire, England. The weather was unbelievably dramatic and incredibly changeable over the course of the day and so presented some interesting vistas to photograph.  

These images were taken at different times during my visit. It is amazing how much can change in the landscape if you are willing to spend time in a place and be patient in order to get some interesting shots. I have known photographers get bored and frustrated while being out in the countryside because the light has been bad and the weather has been inclement. I have watched them pack up their kit and called it a day, only for everything to change not ten minutes later and for the same landscape that looked drab, boring and disinteresting to offer up unbelievably beautiful scenery because of a slight change in weather conditions. Patience is a virtue is a saying that we are all familiar with. Where landscape photography is concerned patience pays off more times than not.

Here are some images I took up on Froggatts Edge.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 109mm, F7.1, ISO 100, 1/250 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F6.3, ISO 250, 1/800 Seconds Exposure, Aperture Priority, Hand Held.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F20, ISO 100, 1/6 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 22mm, F4.5, ISO 250, 1/250 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 113mm, F13, ISO 250, 1/60 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

Peak District – Watery Inferno

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Landscape photography is it’s own reward, in as much that it gets you out into the big wide world, breathing in fresh air and discovering new and interesting places over and over again. Invariably you’ll find yourself stomping across the countryside, up hill and down dale, or indeed racing along wet beaches in your wellies trying to get to a specific location before the sun starts rising. (Been there, done that)! Other times you’ll be wading through rivers, ice cold water up to your knees, hands freezing, all your kit damp while you’re dripping wet through, all in the pursuit of that killer shot. The exercise is good though, soaking up the atmosphere while being buffeted by the elements is also exhilarating. In my book, these experiences bring an enormous sense of wellbeing. What of the photography? If you are anything like me you will end up with a whole bunch of images that you will keep forever. Some of which might even make it into the portfolio.

A recent trip to the Peak District was a day such as this. I had left it a bit late, or so I had thought, to go out and get a beautiful autumnal shot in some stunning location or other. The leaves were coming off the trees at a rate of knots. One robust storm would have stripped the trees of their remaining leaves which in turn would have deprived me of the opportunity of getting a shot from this years stunning autumnal backdrop.

My friend and fellow photographer Graham Binns and I headed out to the Peak District along a road that we had travelled on some months before. We had both vowed to come back to this location come autumn time such was its beauty. We got extremely excited when entering the densely wooded area that we had earmarked on a previous trip. The autumn colours this year were literally out of this world. A burning hue, the likes of which I’ve not witnessed before. Apparently such vivid and intense colour is a phenomenon brought about by intensely hot, dry summers. Like the one we have just had. Apparently in brighter, dryer weather, sugars become more concentrated in the leaves and more anthocyanin is produced. Subsequently leaves become a deeper, more vibrant red!

We arrived at the desired location and hurriedly got our kit together and headed off in different directions in search of a composition or two.

The shot below is the first one that I took. From the roadside looking down into the valley, there amassed a dense wooded area that was awash with colour. I was fascinated by how vivid the colours were framed by the blackened bark of the trees. Darkened by the sporadic downfalls of rain that were beleaguering the day. There was still good light in the sky. It was bright but rainy. There was a soft, defused light that’s great for this kind of shot.

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F11, ISO 100, 1/4 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

This next shot is literally to the right hand side of where I was stood when taking the shot above. I had positioned myself on a muddy verge among the stones of a fallen wall situated on a hair pin bend in this small valley. The road was a 1:4 gradient hill, although it’s hard to tell from the photograph. I was made aware of the incline while walking back up it. The lactic acid build up in my leg muscles let me know all about it. Especially with all my camera kit on my back. This scene of the road just appealed to me, so I grabbed a shot of it before heading down into the valley to find Graham. It wasn’t long after this shot before the heavens opened again and the rain came down in stair rods.

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F11, ISO 100, 1/4 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

I found Graham further down the road looking somewhat waterlogged but enjoying himself none the less. We decided to head back to the car and move on to find another location a bit further into the Peak District. We had been travelling for about ten minutes when we came across a scene that just couldn’t be passed up. It was such a stunning spot that we both jumped out of the car like a couple of excited school kids and headed off into this beautiful wilderness with feverish abandon. The colours and the scenery that lay before us was exactly the type of shot that we had been looking for. Something that depicted the sheer beauty of this years fall in Great Britain. The shots below are from the location that we found. Beautiful to say the very least. We spent  a good couple of hours here taking photographs, doing some filming and soaking up the ambience. The only thing that could have dampened our spirits was the perpetual rainfall. Keeping our kit dry was a bit of a challenge but neither of us cared a jot. We were out doing what we love!

This images below is looking up the river as it cascades down towards a small bridge situated just behind us.

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F16, ISO 100, 1.0 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

This shot below is looking back down the river. Stunning colour!

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F16, ISO 100, 1.0 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 30mm, F16, ISO 100, 1.0 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 40mm, F16, ISO 100, 1.0 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

Having got these shots and a few more besides we decided to call it a day as we were wet through and our kit was getting fairly wet too. Both of us were happy with the shots that we got. Graham had taken some on his Bronica ETRSI as well as digitally. We’re both looking forward to seeing those.

Lake District – Waterfall near Coniston Water

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This was a great find while bimbling around the Lake District. A set of stunning water falls cascading down a small gorge. There were about 20 to 30 different compositions to be had at this location. I spent most of my time focusing on this particular fall just because of the way the water split in different directions as it came over the top of the two major rocks at the top of the frame. I was interested in the multiple directions that the course of water took after hitting the small pool just above mid frame. Shooting wide angle so as to capture the whole scene. I’m really pleased with the way this composition fills the frame and takes the eye on a complete journey around the image. Plus I loved the autumnal reds and oranges caught in the rock juxtaposed against the earthy greens of the moss and foliage clinging to the stone.

This shot was taken using a HOYA Variable ND filter set fairly dark in order to achieve a bit more of a distortion in the flow of water achieving a slightly longer exposure time.

Lens 17-40mm @ 17mm, F16, ISO 320, 6 seconds exposure, Tripod Mounted. Time – 14.26 (21.11.18)

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

The Lake District – Last Light

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‘Coniston Jetty at Sundown’

Having spent the day in the Lake District in fairly dull, grey weather with not much drama going on at all, I was happy to get these late shots just before calling it a day and heading home. I could hardly see what I was doing setting up. I was lighting up my kit bag using the torch on my iPhone in order to find the kit I needed. Lens, remote trigger etc. I put the tripod in place and did a couple of test shots. The light was literally falling away by the second. Off in the distance there was this wonderful patch of light forming in the clouds and moving across my composition. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, I waited until it had come across enough to frame the end of the jetty and then took the shot.

Lens 17-40mm @ 27mm, F11, ISO 100, 30 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted. Time – 16.44 (21.11.18)

‘Coniston Jetty – Blue Hour’

Interestingly, this image was made 6 minutes earlier. A very slightly different composition and focal length. The difference in the quality of light is fascinating. This shot was taken at 16.38 when the blue hour was very much in evidence. The image above is a good example of how quickly the light was falling off as the sun sank deeper beyond the horizon when you compare it to the image below which was taken just minutes earlier. It’s also a really good example of how light changes quickly in landscape photography. This is an extreme reference of course as the sun had well and truly set with only ambient light left to play with. But even so, light, colour and atmosphere can change in an instant when you’re out shooting the landscape and you very much have to keep your wits about you as wonderful and compelling shots can be easily missed.

Lens 17-40mm @ 25mm, F16, ISO 320, 30 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted. Time – 16.38 (21.11.18)

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

Northumberland 2018

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Northumberland for me is a home from home. I am always at peace when I’m in there. Of course it also offers an incredible amount of stunning scenery, so the seasoned photographer will never get bored. With it’s vast coastal areas of beauty and an insane amount of beautiful and rugged countryside to explore, this place is an absolute must for anyone with a love for landscape photography. The skies seem to be bigger as do the vistas across the countryside. I have heard many people say so, so don’t just take my word for it.

The history in this part of the country is also very rich. It is home to Hadrian’s Wall and marks the Edge of Empire in terms of how far the Romans were willing to march North in the conquering of Great Britain. The settlements and artefacts and other historical wonders that are constantly being unearthed along the wall and in other areas in this part of the country are vast. The walks along the wall are also stunning and it is well worth a trip to see this marvellous and beautiful landscape. The wild winds blow away any cobwebs that might be lingering that’s for sure.

Below is some of the imagery I managed to shoot on my recent trip the the wonderful North East Coat of England.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

Mam Tor – The Peak District

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It’s great to get about the country and to see the stunning landscape that Great Britain has to offer. So much so that I can sometimes forget what I have got on my doorstep. The Peak District is one of the most stunning locations in Great Britain. The beauty in the landscapes that the Peaks has to offer is just breathtaking. It always surprises me when I go back there just how devastatingly beautiful the Peaks are.

Mam Tor (‘Mother Hill’) is no exception. Standing 517 meters above Castleton in the high peak of Derbyshire, this location offers some of the areas best and most breathtaking scenery. Not that it is in short supply by any stretch of the imagination. Here are a couple of shots I got on a recent visit to this beautiful place. A place I have been to many times and will continue to return to.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

Goit Stock and Janet’s Foss Water Falls

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Here are a few images from a couple of recent trips out pre fall. These were taken on the brink of the season change between summer and autumn. The leaves had only just started to show a change in colour. The hot temperatures of the summer had started to ebb away and there was a bit of a chill in the air. The two locations were Goit Stock Falls at Hallas Beck, Cullingworth and Janet’s Foss Waterfall, Gordale Beck, near to Malham, North Yorkshire.

One of the many things I love about Great Britain is the stark changes in the seasons. The diversity of colour, vegetation, skies, temperatures in the landscape from one season to another is just stunning. You could literally set a permanent tripod up looking at one perspective and get a million different photographs.

As much as it is important as a photographer to constantly seek out new locations and interesting places in which to take great images, it is also equally important to return to those places that we have already been to at different times of the year and at various times of the day as the scenery can, will and does change. The colours, the mood, the atmosphere can all shift literally from one moment to another, so imagine the change over the seasons. Experienced landscape photographers know this all too well. You can get to an interesting location and there is no shot at all, but if you are prepared to wait it out just a little bit of time, light can change, weather can change and magic can happen in front of your eyes.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

Wast Water – The Lake District

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The Lake District is just one of the most phenomenally beautiful places in England. Come rain of shine, there is always something happening within the landscape that makes photographers like me twitch with anticipation. Recently I took my family over the Hardknott Pass looking for one of my favourite places in the Lakes, Wast Water. As well as being hard on the nerves, the clutch and brakes on your car wont be too happy with you after navigating the Hardknott Pass, even if you are taking it really easy. It is one of the steepest roads in England and at times has a gradient of 1 in 3 ( a 33% incline).

If the conditions are right though, and your nerves can take it, the landscape is absolutely breathtaking and well worth the trip. Wast Water is not a big a journey once you are over the pass. Perhaps another 20 minutes drive. It does have to be said that when you turn that final bend in the road when heading there and the lake opens up in front of you it is one of the most breath taking experiences. The screes that tumble from the mountains into the lake are a sight to behold alone. It somehow manages to convey the sheer magnificence of nature. A frozen rock fall of epic magnitude hung on the side of the mountain lending itself to the idea that time may actually be frozen. As an onlooker, as you are moving around it, this makes the scene quite eerie.

While we were there I set up the camera on the tripod and watched some formidable cloud formations drift in and out of the scene. Ideally, I would have liked to have been there at sunrise in perfect conditions, but I was on holiday with my family and we were just exploring and as I have said, there is always something happening within the landscape that makes photographers like me twitch with anticipation.

So, I played around with some different compositions and ended up with some photos that I absolutely love to bits. They show how beautiful this place is in the middle of the day when the sun is shining and there is some wonderful cloud formation skipping over the tops of the mountains.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

Snowdoinia – Summer 2018

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A stomp with the family up Snowdon and some beautiful surrounding scenery.

We were recently in Snowdonia National Park on a short camping holiday. We always try to get there at least once a year as a family. My wife and I have been going ever since we got together so it is a little bit of a homage trip and we always end up staying in the same place. There is a little campsite at the foot of Snowdon called Tyisaf in Nant Peris. It is situated at the foot of the Nant Peris Pass where the road snakes down the mountainside following a meandering river. It is a stunningly beautiful place and one of which I will never tire.

Families come and go, many climbers stay there and plenty of D of E tribes move on and off this site during the course of the year. In the local town of Llanberis, there is a famous cafe called Pete’s Eats. This is where you go to have very large fry ups in the morning to set you on your way. It is the law!

I was so very proud of my little girl while we were there this year. She is only 5 years old and she walked all the way up to the top of Snowdon via the Miner Track. She did this without complaint. She has always loved the great outdoors. Something that my wife and I have instilled into her from a very early age. Climbing is one of her favourite things to do. So she was in her element.

It was an extremely hot day with temperatures reaching 36 degrees around mid day. I had all of my camera kit on my back so I really felt the climb. That said, we all got up in one piece having consumed about four litres of water between us. I had a well earned freezing cold bottle of pale ale and we all had a good rest before making our way back down towards Llanberis via the path that follows the train line.

Snowdonia is a fabulous place and well worth a visit for the views and the relaxation. Perhaps a bit of boating on Llyn Padarn, or maybe even a bit of hard climbing too.

Here are some images from our time there.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

 

Sheffield Street Moments

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I went back to Sheffield recently with fellow TOG and good friend of mine, Graham Binns. It was a hot, hot day and we wanted to spend a our time doing something photographically creative. Due to the burning hot weather we thought that street photography was going to fit the bill. It was a little too bright for landscape photography and we had limited time also. So what better than to get out into the city streets and photograph joe public.

It was a cracking day but man was it hot. Like, exhaustingly hot. I think I must have perspired about 4 litres of sweat. That said, it was a fairly productive session. I have shot in sheffield on a couple of occasions now and have really enjoyed the vibe of the city. Many people approached us and spoke to us. My favourite image is the old guy sitting on the steps reading his book. I really like the leading lines in tis image. I really love the moment and the fact that the pigeon is just strutting around in front of him. You can feel the mood of time gently passing. Lost in a good book.

Here are a few from the pile…

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

NSEAD AD Magazine – Summer Edition (Issue 22) 2018

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I have recently had a photograph published in the NSEAD AD Magazine after working along side the Arts Council Collection with children from Gomersal Primary School.
You can see all the photo’s that I took on the day in this blog post here: Arts Council Collection and Gomersal Primary School’s own Arts Council

Fabulous to have worked along side the Arts Council Collection and a great experience to have seen some of the treasures that they look after within the collection.

 

The Complexities of Pizza and being 5 Years Old

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It’s difficult to manage those emotions and choices when you are 5 years old.

Take pizza for instance. What topping to have? What drink to go with it? To wear the free hat or not wear the free hat? To order a side of garlic bread or not! Etc.
Still, the best thing about being 5 and going out for pizza is that it can turn out to be a lot of fun too.

Click on images for slideshow.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

 

Photographing Manifest Skateboards

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I recently went to spend a little time with an old and very good friend of mine Matt who resides over in Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Not too long ago he set up his own company making bespoke, hand made skateboards under the name Manifest Skateboards. About a year ago I did a small amount of work for him concerning some graphics for his decks. As a gesture in kind, Matt agreed to make a deck for my brother who is well into his skateboarding. For one reason or another I’d not seen Matt for a while, but I got to see the deck that he had made for my brother at Christmas time when visiting the family. I was blown away at what a beautiful thing it was. A well made, well finished, beautiful wooden skate deck with the Manifest logo emblazoned across it in black paint. Now I hung up my skate shoes many years ago, but the craftsmanship that had gone into this deck made me want to fish them out and start skating again right there and then. Made with the freshest, tastiest Canadian maple ply, (which is a Manifest tag line) this deck was an absolute thing of beauty. My brother was chuffed to bits with it too.

I got in touch with Matt to thank him for making this beautiful deck and to let him know how how stoked my brother was to have received it through the post. As old friends do, we got chatting about all sorts and putting the world to rights etc, but also during the conversation I said that I would like to come and make a video of Matt and his skateboard making endeavours and perhaps take some promotional photos for his company. He thought this was a great idea. So that is exactly what we did. It was great to catch up with my old friend too.

Below are some of the images I took for Manifest Skateboards. You can also see the video I made here: Crash, Bang, Wallop!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

 

Chasing Light in the Snow

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It was a cold, cold night. Freezing actually. Snow and sleet showers were sporadic and yet my friend, fellow tog Graham Binns and I decided it was a good time to go out and take some photos.

We wanted to get some images based on traffic movement at night. Light tracers derived from long exposures against a cold, black night sky.
This turned out to be somewhat difficult as there was hardly any traffic on the roads. It had been a really bad day for people trying to get home from work many of which had abandoned cars in a bid to make it home and get some warmth back into their bones. It hadn’t been a particularly bad snow fall, in fact in many areas most of it had thawed. What had made things decidedly difficult during the day was that the temperature had dropped well below zero on a couple of occasions, freezing water on the roads turning it to black ice. It had then snowed on top of that ice and which had made driving conditions ridiculously tricky. Some cars had turned over, buses had got stuck etc.

We dug our heals in somewhat and stuck it out, even though we were getting colder and colder by the minute. Despite the conditions we were having a great deal of fun moving about from place to place in a bid to get a couple of decent shots. It was getting late and the handful of photographs that we had taken were nice enough, but I certainly felt that I needed something more. In a last ditch effort to get something worthy of the evenings efforts we happened upon a bus shelter while driving into a local town. We texted the number on the shelter to find out if there was another bus coming our way. It was quite late and we had wondered if all the buses had stopped running, especially due to the weather conditions. As it turned out there was one last bus heading our way and the text service had given us it’s time of arrival. So we drove into town to set up the tripods in order to capture the passing light when the bus eventually did turn up. Sure enough it came into view in the distance as promised and I managed to get my best shot of the evening as it moved past us. The leading lines in the resulting image are just insane. All of them leading to one vanishing point. Such a great shot to get at the end of the evening, which is this first shot in this handful of images taken on the night.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

On The Phone But Not In The Box – Sheffield Street Photography

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My wife was recently lecturing at Sheffield Hallam University, so I went down with her for the day to do some street photography. I have visited Sheffield quite a lot over the years when visiting one of my good friends, but I have seldom got out into the city centre. So I took this opportunity to do just that. It was a good day for it. Not too bright, not too dull. A semi cloudy day with good diffused light.

Everybody seemed to be on their phones. It very much seemed to be a day of just that, or perhaps that’s just where my focus went on this occasion. One of my little tricks on the day was shooting through a couple of old red phone boxes to give a little framing to the images that I was taking. I really like how these shots have turned out. Here are a handful of shots from the day.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

 

From Low Newton-by-the-Sea to Dunstanburgh Castle

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I have just got back from a week long break in Northumberland with my family. We tend to go up there a lot. It’s a stunningly beautiful place where we go to unwind and breathe in the fresh sea air and generally chill out and recharge the batteries. What is so wonderful about the place is that it offers an unreal amount of incredible scenery, which for a photographer like myself, is just too hard to turn down.
I had a brilliant time up there armed with my camera and tripod and I managed to get some stunning shots to bring home with me from the holiday. Here a three of my favourite images from our time up there.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved

The Hewenden Viaduct Reconnaissance Mission

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Out on a recce mission with my mate and fellow TOG, Graham Binns.

This beautiful viaduct looked like it would be an amazing place to go and capture some interesting landscape photography. Having done a little research online about where exactly it was and how one might go about photographing this amazing structure, it quickly became apparent that it was impossible to make any solid plans without first having visited the site. So that’s what we did.

We travelled there one afternoon just to have a good look around and get a feel for the place. I have a little app on my phone called ‘The Photographer’s Ephemeris’. It’s a great little tool that shows you exactly where the sun will rise and set, using GPS to verify your exact positioning. While we were on location we used the app to determine exactly where would be a great position to set up, ready to get some interestingly lit shots of this vast structure as the sun was going down. Obviously a little common sense and intuition goes a long way too, but when time is of the essence and the site is as large as this structure proved to be, this little app can prove to be priceless for knowing exactly where to be and when to be there.
This trip was all about getting to know a place and becoming familiar with the surroundings so that we may return again and again at different points throughout the year to photograph and rephotograph this stunning structure.

(Wikipedia Info)

‘Hewenden Viaduct, situated near Cullingworth, West Yorkshire, England, stands at 123 feet (37 m) tall and spans 576 yards (527 m) with 17 arches each of 16.5 yards (15 m). The foundations of the viaduct had to be sunk more than 60 feet (18 m) into the earth because of the unstable ground below.
The viaduct originally formed part of the Keighley and Thornton Branch of the Great Northern Railway and, together with the mile-long Lees Moor Tunnel, opened to passenger trains in 1883.
It served as a railway viaduct along the Queensbury Lines and it now forms part of the Great Northern Railway Trail for cyclists and walkers. It is a Grade II listed building.’

It just so happened that we had our kit with us and were able to get a few decent shots within the short time frame in which we were there.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

The Rubber Egg Shoot with the McConnells

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Another lovely family photo shoot on a bright winters afternoon.
It was a bit touch and go regarding the weather as a large amount of snow had fallen across the country. The long range forecast had said that it was going to be ideal for photography for the week leading up to the actual shoot date, then at the last minute everything changed and Britain was hit by a boat load of snow. Luckily, everywhere except Yorkshire. Unlucky too in the sense that I couldn’t go sledging with my little girl, but nice that I was able to photograph these lovely people on a beautiful winters afternoon over at Cannon Hall in Barnsley.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Autumn Sunshine

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This was another smashing family shoot with Dom and Gemma and family in some super late evening, autumn sunshine. It was just cracking colour in that golden hour towards the end of the days natural light. We had some fun throwing leaves around and spent some time getting these lovely family shots, before the sunshine disappeared completely.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Ice on Fire

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I took this images with my iPhone. I was walking my little girl to school early one morning recently when there was a heave ground frost. These leaves were just stuck together in a frosty clump begging to be photographed. I didn’t have any of my camera kit on me, but I did have my iPhone which captured the scene beautifully. Autumn offers so much beautiful scenery. Such beautiful colours.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

The Carters

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This was a lovely photo shoot at Bolton Abbey. It was a bright day with lots of dappled light in the shade. We had a picnic and I took a load of lovely shots of this equally lovely family. Lots of laughs and smiles. It was lovely to work with such a happy family unit.

These guys have been friend of ours for many years and it was a privilege to be asked to take their photos.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Studley Royal Deer Park

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On Sunday morning I was up bright and early. At 4.30am to be precise. I was headed to Studley Royal Deer Park, which is a medieval deer park near Ripon in Yorkshire. I was accompanied by my good friend and fellow tog, Graham Binns. We were both hopeful to get some images of the deer at sunrise.

The deer park is part of the National Trust’s Fountains Abbey where the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey are set beside the grounds of Studley Royal. We travelled there because the weather report had said that it was going to be the ideal conditions for some fantastic sunrise photography.

It was still pitch black when we arrived. We got the kit together and headed out to find the deer and to wait for the sunrise. When the sun rise did appear, it offered a little bit of colour for a very small amount of time before clouding over and becoming as dull as dishwater. Not great for the type of photographs we were after. Not to be disheartened, we pressed on and made the most of our time there and captured what images we could on a somewhat dull and overcast morning.

The wildlife was stunning however. I have never in my life seen such a vast amount of pheasants, shrews, rabbits, all manor of different birds and literally thousands of magnificent deer.

We shall certainly be heading back again at some point to get the shots we had planned for.

Here are a handful of the images that I managed to acquire on the day.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

 

Ice and Fire – Studio Shoot with Sarah Thornton

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Here are some images from the latest studio shoot at the Silkwood Studios with the lovely Sarah Thornton. Again, a little twist on the edits. I like to mix things up a little. Fire and Ice because of the way the edits came together. Hot and cold colours. I love shooting photographs, but sometimes I really enjoy the editing side of things. This was certainly one of those occasions.

This studio shoot was in association with Bradford Photographic Society.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

 

Film Noir Shoot with Zoe Margo

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On Monday night I had the pleasure of working with model Zoe Margo on a Film Noir shoot at Silkwood Studios. This is the third time I have been over to the studio and it was great to hook up with some fellow togs (who are fast becoming familiar faces) for this stylised photo shoot.

The studio is such a great space to work in. A really relaxed, friendly and productive atmosphere with a great set of lighting options, backdrops and props. Just as any creative space should be.

I have nothing but good things to say about the time that I have spent there and how friendly and approachable the proprietors Karen and Victor are. Really nice people.

Concerning the shoot, my modus operandi is to always look for a different slant on established themes which is very much reflected in the edit regarding the shots that I have presented here. Film Noir yes, but with a twist.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Zoe Margo – Vampire

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During a  ‘Film Noir’ studio shoot last night photographing the lovely Zoe Margo, we were having a bit of a laugh during the first portrait shots and I joked about turning her into a vampire for Halloween. So, that’s what I did. Just for fun.

Happy Halloween everyone, and remember, don’t stray from the path!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Tough Mudders

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A good friend of ours hired me to photograph her sons birthday bash. No probs I said.

This was a brilliant and fun photo shoot. Although I hadn’t quite anticipated just how difficult a shoot it was going to be until I got there. This delightful muddy course is the Fitness Success Obstacle Gym, Wakefield Road, Oulton, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Their motto is ‘Think Outside The Gym’. Well, we were well and truly outside the gym, that’s for certain and for sure.

My task was to follow over 30 lads around the course and get some decent shots of the action. That was the remit. Simple right? Nope!
I didn’t have time to recce the site before turning up for the event, so getting into the optimum positions to get the prime shots was difficult at best and a veritable nightmare for the rest of the time, certainly when you consider the ground conditions. It’s not that I was particularly concerned about getting muddied up either, that much was a foregone conclusion. I was, however, much more concerned about my kit. If I had dropped my camera in the kind of mud that I was surrounded by for most of the duration of the shoot, it would have been the end of camera and lens. So slipping and falling in was not an option at all. To further compound the issue I was wearing trainers; an old pair, as I don’t currently own a pair of wellies, and for much of the course it very much felt like I was walking on an ice rink made of wet dough.

That said, I did manage to survive relatively unscathed with all my kit in tact, even though there were some hairy moments, and also managed to get some cracking shots of the event. It was a lot of fun to photograph to say the very least. In fact, a fun time was very much had by all.

Success Obstacle Gym’s Website: fitnesssuccess-obstaclegym.co.uk

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Melissa Alice – Silkwood Studio Shoot

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Another great studio shoot at Silkwood Studios last night with the lovely model Melissa Alice, who was professional and very patient throughout the evening.

Managed to get a nice range of photos exploring different lighting set ups. It turned out to be quite a colourful shoot, especially when the umbrellas came out.

A super night with some really nice people/fellow photographers.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

The Divine Miss Aitch – Studio Shoot with Bradford Photographic Society

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I recently linked up with the Bradford Photographic Society for a studio shoot at the Silkwood Studios in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. The Bradford Photographic Society was formed by a small group of photography enthusiasts way back in November 1860. It has been active in the city ever since. It boasts to be one of the oldest photographic societies in the world.

The model for the evening was The Divine Miss Aitch who is a part time, freelance model based in Harrogate, UK. She was exceptionally good, friendly and a delight to work with.

Here are a handful of shots that I took on the evening.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

 

Premier Taekwondo – Photo Sessions

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I have recently been working with Premier Taekwondo in Huddersfield. Premier Taekwondo is the largest Taekwondo club in the UK with over 600 members and caters for people of all ages. It has been great to work with the team there, looking at aspects of club photography including camera set up, off camera light/flash photography and studio lighting set-ups.

The club staff are really friendly as are the club members that I have spent time with.

If you are looking to get into a martial art along with wanting to get some exercise in a fun and constructive way, this club has got everything you need.

Check out their website here: premiertaekwondo.org

Here are some of the photos that I took while being at the club.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

 

Northumberland Coast – Summer 2017

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I recently spent some time up in Northumberland with my family on a summer vacation. Such a stunning part of the world. We try and get up there at least once a year if we can. While I was there I managed to get out and photograph the coast as the sun was rising. Luckily there was plenty of drama on this stunning morning. The light was just magnificent. Most of these shots are taken on Embleton Beach looking South/East over towards Dunstanburgh Castle. The Lighthouse shots were taken at Longstone Lighthouse in The Farne Islands. This is where Grace Darling once lived with her father who was the lighthouse keeper and where she made her heroic rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

 

Arts Council Collection and Gomersal Primary School’s own Arts Council

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Gomersal Primary School’s own Arts Council recently visited the Arts Council Collection at the Longside Gallery at the fabulous Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The visit was devised in order for the young artists of Gomersal Primary School to get an insight into how major artworks are looked after and cared for when in transit, in storage and indeed when on loan in selected galleries or buildings when out on display to the public.

The school council members also got a taste of what it is like to devise sets of questions, lead interviews and to also film the process in order for use in certain media environments.

The day was full of questions from inquisitive minds and everybody got a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the scenes concerning the work of many of our famous artists, both the past and present.

The day was a lot of fun and it was great to spend time with and photograph Arts Council England and Gomersal Primary School’s very own Arts Council.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2017 – All Rights Reserved

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