Image of the month December 2011


Image of the month for December 2011 is awarded to Val Corbett for her excellent photograph of this Robin on a tripod.

Val receives  a £30 voucher to spend on any of our digital, canvas or traditional printing services. Congratulations Val!

Equipment and technique

”We always make our own Christmas cards and I love taking photos that make people smile, so this image fitted the bill for our card this year. Following heavy snowfalls last winter I was out and about during all daylight hours taking photos in the Lake District. I spent one day taking landscapes around the lake at Grasmere and noticed an unusual number of robins, and decided to return the next day to concentrate instead on photographing them. Filling my pockets with bird seed, I was able to keep the robins interested and got a great collection of those classic robin-on-snowy-twig images. However, this was my favourite.

Needless to say, my Nikon D3 was hand held for this photo! I had it set – as pretty much always – in its aperture priority mode and for spot metering. The lens was a Nikon 105mm, using a wide aperture (f4), with the resulting shutter speed of 1/160th sec. I subsequently warmed the image up with Photoshop Elements.” – Val Corbett

Val Corbett Biography

Val Corbett is a freelance photographer, based in the Lowther Valley on the eastern fringes of the Lake District. Over the past twenty-five years she has built up an extensive photographic library of the Lake District and Cumbria (www.valcorbettphotography.com) from which prints can be ordered.

She is well known for her garden photography, which is frequently published in magazines such as Country Life. ‘Gardens of the Lake District’ (Frances Lincoln), written by Tim Longville and photographed by Val, won the ‘Lakeland Book of the Year’ award. During the summer she can be found photographing gardens around the British Isles; otherwise she concentrates on her landscape photography, special commissions and working for authors. Three books of her Lake District landscapes have been published by Myriad Press and two, ‘A Year in the Life of the Eden Valley’ and ‘Winter in the Lake District’, by Frances Lincoln. A third Frances Lincoln book, ‘Rainy Days in the Lake District’ will be published early in 2012.

More of Vals work can be seen at http://www.valcorbettphotography.com/

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £30 voucher!

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Image of the Month June 2011


Image of the month for June 2011 is awarded to Mike Jones for his excellent photograph of this Barn Owl.

Mike receives  a £30 voucher to spend on any of our digital, canvas or traditional printing services. Congratulations Mike!

Equipment and technique

The image was taken using a Canon 7D with a 500mm f4 lens. Taken on “Aperture priority” the aperture was f8 with a shutter speed of 1/320s and a ISO setting of 400.

Although 95% of my Wildlife and Landscape Photography is taken within the western Isles of Scotland I do actually get to capture some images on the mainland. I have always held a fascination for Barn Owls and photographing this bird closer to home I was just lucky enough to be present when this subject decided to stretch its wing and present an excellent photo opportunity.

Mike Jones Biography

Mike is primarily a Wildlife photographer with a growing interest in Landscape work. Mike was born in Chester in 1959 and has held a passion for Photographu since his late teens. After eventually admitting defeat for using film for Wildlife work, Mike has immersed himself in the digital world and has utilised his love for Scotland’s wildest places and his knowledge of the great outdoors to pursue his passion for Wildlife and Landscape photography on the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. With a single minded approach and a determination to stick it out whatever the weather of time of day, Mike will never be happy until he has taken the illusive perfect picture.

More of Mike’s work can be seen at www.mikejones-wildlife.com

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £30 voucher!

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Image of the Month March 2011

Image of the Month for March 2011 is awarded to Subhi Alghussain for his inspiring photograph of St. Tropez Harbour on the South Coast of France.

Congratulations to Subhi who wins a £30 voucher to spend on any of our digital or canvas printing services!    

Equipment & Technique: 

The image was taken using a Fuji GX 617 Panoramic Camera, with transparency film Velvia ISO 50. Lens used 90mm, filter 81B to remove blue colour and to give the photo some warm colour. F-22 shutter around 5 seconds. Time taken was 2 hours before sunset around May 9th 2009. It was an overcast day with some sun trying to come out. Subhi explains, “St. Tropez was very busy on the day I took the photo, people from all over the world go there. I took some great photos from this place, I took this particular photo from a floating platform. I was unhappy about the platform movement as it would shake the camera, so I took four shots from this position, two were shaky and two were good, this is one of them.“

Subhi Alghussain Biography:

Subhi Hafiz Alghussain was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1956. He studied science and art at Bryant University, RI, USA. Subhi today practices photography as a landscape photographer around the world to promote wildlife conservation and the protection of wildlife and endangered species.

Subhi is currently preparing for his first exhibition in Jordan. Upcoming projects include photography books on Petra, Jordan, Qattar and Saudi Arabia.

“The photographs of Subhi Alghussain reflect the committed, passionate and energetic character of the man himself. His range of subjects is huge and his travels appear never-ending. Many recent images have been made with the traditional 6×17cm film panoramic camera, and he has used this format to express a dynamic and embracing approach to his subject.” Testimonial by Joe Cornish

Immerse yourself in Subhi’s portfolio at www.lightofdarkness.uk.com

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £30 voucher!

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Image of the Month January 2011

January 2011’s Image of the Month is awarded to photographer Austin Thomas for his outstanding capture of a blue tit in flight.
Austin wins a £30 voucher to spend on any of our digital, canvas or traditional printing services. Congratulations Austin!

 

Equipment & Technique: 

The image was taken with a Canon 1DMK4 camera and a Canon 70-200mm lens at 105mm. Austin explains, “to create the image I use multiple flash guns all remotely triggered to freeze the action. For every image that is “half decent” there must be 200 images that are thrown away. I spent all day trying to record this behaviour and came away with only a handful of pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras as trying to do this in the days of film would be very expensive and time consuming.” 

Bio on Austin Thomas:

Austin is primarily a Nature and Wildlife photographer, based in the North West of England. He enjoys spending time in the field during the day, recording what nature has to offer. As a consequence he then spends his evenings behind a computer screen preparing his work for presentation.

Austin has won National and International Photographic competitions and his work has been published in several newspapers and magazines. This months BBC Wildlife magazine (out 23rd January 2011) will also feature this spectacular photograph.

More of Austin’s work can be seen at www.austin-thomas.co.uk

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £30 voucher!

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Image of the Month October 2010


Image of the month for October 2010 is awarded to Gary Horner for his spectacular shot of Lowestoft in Suffolk.
Gary wins the prize of a £30 voucher to spend on any of our digital, canvas or traditional printing services. Congratulations Gary!

Location:

North Denes beach, Lowestofy, Suffolk, mid-January.

Equipment: 

Canon EOS-350D Digital Camera with a Sigman 10-20mm lens @ 16mm; ISO 100; f/13; 5 sec exposure c/w 0.6 & 0.9 ND Graduated filters fitted.

About Gary Horner:

At 39 years old, Gary is employed as an Operations Co-ordinator for a Petrochemical Company. Photography is a passion of his, especially landscape photography which he sees as a way whereby he can assist in preserving the picturesque natural beauty of the East Anglian Coastline and Broads for generations to come. Gary adds “The majority of my landscapes are taken at either dawn or dusk. The light and tones are often mesmerising with the countryside taking on that magical appearance that can not be replicated at any other time of the day.”

A selection of his work can be found at www.eastcoastimages.co.uk

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £30 voucher!

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Image of the Month July 2010

Bedruthan steps © Russell Pike 2010

 

Image of the month goes to Russell Pike for his stunning capture of Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall. After printing this image, we received feedback from Russell saying “Cracking job on the print of Bedruthan steps you did for me, colour and sharpening is spot on…Chuffed to bits with it, a bit reluctant to sale it now ha-ha…Will be using you for big prints from now on.” Russell wins the prize of a £20 voucher to spend on any of our digital, canvas or traditional printing services. Congratulations Russell!

Location:

Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

Gear used: 

Canon 5D - Canon 17mm-40mm @ 17mm - Aperture: f/16 Shutter speed: 30 sec ISO: 50 O.6 Lee ND grad and 0.9 Lee Proglass ND filter

Russell explains the shot:

This photograph was made with the sun at its weakest point just as it hit the horizon, allowing an exposure to be made. As usual it was a matter of timing, too soon and I would have the sun boring into my lens causing all sorts of problems like flare and burnt out highlights, too late and the impact of the photograph would be lost.

About Russell:

An amateur photographer who is keen as mustard, Russell has been taking landscape photos for a few years now. By day he works as a bench joiner in Devon. He likes things to be as pure as the moment and because of this, Russell does not use photoshop for anything more than dust-busting and level tweaks. He prefers natural light and Mother Nature.

View Russell Pike’s photo gallery and buy prints at www.russellpike.co.uk

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £20 voucher!

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Image of the Month April 2010

Image of the month goes to Eric Emerson for this fantastic image which he shot in Panaji, Goa recently. Eric asked us to print this image, and we thought it really stood out as an exceptional and colourful print. Eric wins the prize of a £20 voucher to spend on any of our digital, canvas or traditional printing services. Congratulations Eric on a wonderful image!

Eric made the image with a Canon 5D Mk2 with a EF 16-35mm L Lens at 35mm, f2.8, ISO 100. He made three hand held exposures at 1/30, 1/125, 1/500 sec, then combined them into a HDR image with Photomatix Pro, followed by some manipulations in CS4. Eric is a keen amateur enthusiast – when not taking photos he’s a Professor at Lancaster University & the University of Sydney.  http://www.ericemerson.co.uk/

The Image of the Month is selected from the photographic prints we run through the lab and also from the images emailed to us for consideration. Send your best image to us and win a feature on the homepage of our website for a month, archived in our picture of the month gallery, a link back to your online gallery, and most importantly, win a £20 voucher!

your free print.

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