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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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. Magic of light. The magic of the land and how it takes on diverse and ever changing forms in the reflection of the light. From raven blacks to washed out greys. From majestic, dusty edged, alabaster Cumulonimbus reaching to embrace the heavens
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
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.
‘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
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
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
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
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
This was a super little shoot where this little fellow got to smash up a big cake for the photo shoot. Everyone involved had an enormous amount of fun and a lot of squashed yummy cake. Awesome. © Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved
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
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
Images that I took on a recent trip to the National Trust property, Nostell Priory. It was the end of winter and I went on the hunt to find some interesting compositions and something beautiful in the grey murky conditions that I was faced with. Check out the YouTube video here… Beauty is Everywhere © Mike Barrett Photography 2018 – All Rights Reserved
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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