A few weeks ago it was my pleasure to document the wonderful wedding of my friend Eve and her now husband Simon. The venue was the lovely Chilli Barn up on the Chevin, near Otley on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales near Leeds. I was really excited to shoot at the Chilli Barn as the next door Cheerful Chilli restaurant is a favourite of mine due to the amazing veggie food they serve.
The day was a fabulous chilled out affair, early threats of rain gave way to blue skies just in time for Eve's arrival and all went perfectly. It has got to rank as one of the most dog friendly weddings that I have been to. We had just the one elderly border collie at my own wedding but Eve and Simon had a good gang of sighthounds, and other doggie pals there. Their own hound the beautiful Fiadh had the starring role and took it all in her stride.
Eve and Simon had decorated the venue themselves with some beautiful decorations hand made by family and friends. This was topped off with some great local, seasonal (and sustainable flowers).
After all the very relaxed formalities and some great veggie food it was time for live music. A complete diversion from any usual wedding covers band, or dodgy DJ, was the incredibly colourful, and talented, Robin Sunflower who Eve and Simon had gotten to know and convinced him to leave his usual Manchester base and cross the pennies for a brilliant eclectic gig in Yorkshire. I have never seen such harmonica playing!
It really was good fun to capture Eve and Simon's day, met some lovely people in the family and friends and was really honoured to be part of the day.
Best of luck and happiness to Eve and Simon, and of course Fiadh.
Fantastic venue: www.chillibarn.co.uk/
Brilliant organisation by Bex from www.oakleafweddings.co.uk/
Beautiful local, seasonal and sustainable flowers by: https://www.owlhouseflowers.co.uk/
Awesome tunes by: www.robinsunflower.com/
Something a little different for me last weekend. Leeds GP's & the CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) did a takeover at the Roundhay parkrun. Part of a national linking up of GP practices and the benefits of parkruns simple, free weekly exercise challenge for physical health and mental well being. My friend Martin Sutcliffe was Run Director for the day and I left my running shoes at home and volunteered as photographer. Got my first parkrun volunteer points into the deal - I must do more of that. Some new skills to further develop for sports photography, but all good fun on a lovely autumn morning.
Of course parkrun is nothing without the army of "high vis heroes" - volunteers who turn up every Saturday, rain or shine to set up, coordinate, marshall, welcome newcomers, celebrate milestones, time, scan, pack up and process results.
Just sold my first photo to a paying customer. Prints just dropped off to a happy customer in the village. It was a shot of sunset at Cow and Calf rocks a few weeks ago that I'd shared on the village Facebook page. :)
I had a fab mini break in Pembrokeshire a couple of weeks ago with my wife. Staying a fantastic shepherds hut at Cardeeth farm, near Carew castle (not far from Tenby) a great few days exploring the coast on foot and bike - and of course with the camera in tow. The hut is here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/15053219 if anyone is interested, recommended!
As such I have added a new gallery for Wales with my other landscape galleries on my website. Hope you enjoy them.
One highlight was night time at the hut - some spectacular clear skies captured with the super wide Samyang 14mm and the amazing low light capabilities of the Nikon D750. The owners of the shepherds hut will be using some of my images on their new website!
I love getting out with my camera for a day focused on photography. However like most of us who have busy lives it can be hard to find the time, or just overcome inertia to get out and go for it. Setting the time aside to focus on photography can make a huge difference to just photos grabbed on the go, out hiking or sightseeing. Also it is sometimes good to be free of having non-photographers around as you feel pressured to be quick and move on, when really a bit of time, faffing, experimenting can get the best results. Or even just time to watch the light or weather change or develop is a real luxury to be enjoyed.
It's also nice to have some company, someone to bounce ideas off, see a landscape through someone else eyes, and also impart some knowledge (and often learn something yourself!).
I'm so lucky being Yorkshire based to have lots of stunning scenery close by, especially if a dawn shoot requires an early start., or night photography a late night.
The above image is looking towards Pen-y-Gent from Ribblehead a few months ago. I took a friend out for a day who has had a DSLR for a while but had not used it much. We had a good couple of hours up at Ribblehead, headed to Settle for breakfast then off to Catrigg Force before retreating the pub to look at some of our efforts. We were both pleased with what we had achieved.
If you are interested me for a walk sometime then get in touch.
I had a fantastic hour up at Brimham Rocks near Pateley Bridge last weekend. Well after closing time, around midnight. It had been a gloomy foggy day but amazingly cleared about 11pm and showed off lots of stars.
Made more use of the new Samyang 14mm at its widest f2.8 setting and some long 30 second exposures.
Also my first dabblings in light painting using my Alpkit headtorch to quickly illuminate some of the foreground rocks during the long exposures. Quite pleased with the results.
What do you think?
I had a lot of fun yesterday photographing my friends new dog, Dillon. Fantastic little chap from the Dogs trust. He really doesn't sit still for long but is such a fantastic character.
Nikon D750 + 50mm f1.8 and available light.
Full set here: http://robindearden.zenfolio.com/p544441053
Something new to me. Always been fascinated by macro photography and some of the images that can be captured.
After selling one of my older DX lenses I have taken the plunge on a macro lens. After the usual amount of research / prevarication I have gone with the Sigma 105 f2.8. There is a lot of opinion on third party (non Nikon) lenses but this one gets some good reviews and I have a number of other Sigma lenses that I have been very happy with.
On a snowy day bets suited for being in and avoiding the "Beast from the East" it was a good time to try it out. So far so good! It takes some work to handled the incredibly short depth of field at f2.8 and it'll need some practice to get the best out of it. I'm also starting to research the technique of "focus stacking" that seems to be a good way to get amazing images under some tricky working conditions.
Watch this space for more!
I really enjoy working with wide angle lenses. Used in the right setting they have the power to capture some really dramatic images. Get it wrong however and you the thing you are trying to capture can end up lost. Great for getting up close where it would not normally be possible, or alternatively capturing some really big scenes, big skies in particular.
Since moving to full frame I have not been making much use of my older and much loved Sigma 10-20mm so off that went onto eBay for a new life with someone else (I hope they enjoy it as much as I did). I then invested in a Samyang 14mm f2.8. Second hand off eBay it came from a fellow D750 shooter Steve Clifft who has captured some stunning shots with it - have a look at his work here: https://stephenclifft.smugmug.com/Landcapes/
So I have been getting out to try it out. Just local to home at present with an after dark trip up to Thuscross Reservoir (above) and some lovely sunsets and big skies around the Chevin at home in Menston.
I'm pleased with the results and looking forward to using this lens lots more!
I do like a good pint, and the recent explosion in new breweries and craft beer is a great thing in my mind. We are really lucky in Yorkshire that there are some cracking micro-breweries opening making some great beer.
A favourite of mine is Quirky Ales in Garforth ( http://quirkyales.com/ ). They make some great beer and Mike Quirk the owner and retired policemen is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable brewer. I'd recommend trying their beers, their tap house next to the brewery is a little gem and there is always something going on. They also run a brew school that I was lucky enough to attend recently, our beer has just finished brewing and it is good!
However, beer and driving do not mix well... and with so many breweries to try this is a real challenge! However there is a solution: Brewtown Tours ( www.brewtowntours.co.uk/ ) run by Mark Stredwick will ferry you around a selection of cracking breweries and you can make the best of trying the brews and get home safe.
I was pleased when Mark from Brewtown asked recently if he could use some of my photos in an article he has written on Quirky Ales, see:
https://www.brewtowntours.co.uk/quirky-ales-garforths-best-kept-secret/
I'd recommend that you give Brewtown and Quirky a look in if you are able.
I was really pleased earlier this week when the latest issue of the Bibby Distribution company magazine came out as it featured a lot of the photos I took at our annual "Driver of the Year" competition in May of this year.
A great event where we rewarded our best and safest LGV drivers with a day at Rockingham Motor Speedway. The day was excellent. The weather was amazing, bright and sunny and one of the hottest days of the year. So capturing the day in harsh light, and running around the massive site to capture all the events, and lots of fast moving vehicles, was hard work but good fun and rewarding. tested out my new Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens and was really pleased with the results.
Looking forward to next year!
Just over a month ago it was my pleasure to be asked to photograph the wedding of my friends Nicola & Matthew Jackson.
On the day I teamed up with another good friend Martin Sutcliffe to capture their big day. This worked really well as Martin was able to capture the groom getting ready, having a round of golf and making the most of his day. Often the groom and best man get forgotten about as all the focus is on the bride.
I started the day with a few shots of Nicola getting ready, makeup done, and getting the dress just right with her sister. Later with her father walking her from their suite to the room for the Ceremony.
The whole day was at Rudding Park Hotel near Harrogate. Rudding was a fabulous venue and after a few days of bad weather the sun came out for us. For such an upmarket venue, with pictures of world leaders (including Mikhail Gorbachev) on their stays at the venue in the foyer, the team at Rudding did an excellent job of making the day smooth, relaxed, informal and fun.
After the ceremony it was straight into the group and family shots so everyone could relax. I then had a great opportunity to escape with the bride and groom and a couple of golf carts to explore the grounds and get a good mix of formal and fun shots of the new Mr & Mrs. Then documenting the speeches and party time at the evening do.
A fabulous day and a pleasure to be involved both as a photographer and a guest.
Thanks to Nicola & Matthew
People often ask me to recommend a camera for them to buy. Often not a straightforward task as there is so much out there to choose from these days. Budget will always be a key driver, and like most things in life the more you pay the better you get, but laying out thousands on a full frame DSLR might not always be the right way for everyone, all of the time. There is often a lot of snobbery amongst camera enthusiasts that will say you need a DSLR, but not always.
Also there is the everlasting Nikon vs Canon debate that I don't hold much truck with. Nikon make great cameras, I use them as that is what I am familiar with and I have brought into their system of lenses and other kit. Canon also make great camera's, my own wedding was shot by a photographer using a Canon DSLR and the photos he got were great. Panasonic, Olympus, Sony, Fujifilm also all make some excellent kit.
I am lucky in that I have a range of cameras to pick from: full frame and compact sensor Nikon DSLR's and lenses, an Olympus Micro 4/3rds (compact system camera), a couple of Panasonic Lumix TZ compacts (one always in my work bag), a GoPro and a Fuji waterproof compact, a couple of film SLRs and even a "box Brownie".
Its often said that the best camera is the one you have with you! Smart phones with increasingly good cameras make that easy to have something with you to capture something happening. Usually you want a bit more though.
This last weekend I was up in the lake District with friends. For a couple of reasons (camping, and needing to travel light in the hills while attempting the "Old County Tops" route) I did not want one of my bigger, and more expensive! cameras with me. I still wanted to have more than a phone. So I took along my Panasonic Lumix TZ70 compact. Nice and light for my epic 32 mile hike round the Lake District, and when I found myself at the Grasmere Sports and Country Show on Sunday I still had something to capture the action on - especially the fell runners (including Tim Farron MP) clearing the hurdle on the way back to the finish. I was a little envious of the official photographers with their DSLRs but I made good use of what I had and captured a good few images I am happy with.
So one piece of advice, when you understand your budget (including factoring in cases, memory cards, lenses, filters, tripods and all the other odds and sods you might need for your new hobby!), is to buy the camera you will use and enjoy. As a rule yes DSLR's are great and have more flexibility to be creative and make good use of different lenses, external flashes etc. However they can be expensive, and heavy. If you want to be able to travel light micro 4/3rd, bridge, or good quality compact camera's have a lot to offer. In particular micro 4/3rds has a lot to offer and I really enjoy my Olympus OMD EM10 Mk2 and the clutch of lenses I have for it now. If I want to travel light, but be flexible, and more discreet than a big DSLR its a fantastic bit of kit for the price. If I am doing some serious work, like a wedding or an event then my Nikon D750 and D7200 really come into their own. A bit of wild swimming action it's the GoPro Hero3 that gets you immersed in the action. Out in my canoe then the Fujifilm waterproof compact has the flexibility and robustness I need. If I just want to have fun then the Olympus OM10, or my father in laws Pentax P30 film SLR's are great.
If nothing else available, I have my smartphone! If you want some advice on choosing a new camera please give me a shout and I will do my best to point you in the right direction.
Every year I head to the Deershed Festival near Thirsk in Yorkshire ( http://deershedfestival.com/ ).
Deershed is a fantastic small, family focussed festival that attracts a mix of classic indie / pop acts and many up and coming contemporary artists. If you like BBC 6Music like I do you will probably like Deershed. Its been a great way to see some great new bands and some old favourites over the last few years.
I always take my camera, normally this has been one of my Nikon DSLR's. This year instead owing to a slightly dodgy weather forecast and wanting to see what it could do it took my Olympus OMD EM10 Mk2. This is normally my 'fast and light' camera for travel and hiking but I'd heard good things about its low light / high ISO abilities, and high burst rate, I thought I'd give it a try.
I love using the OMD EM10, for something its size it produces some cracking images, and it is the direct descendant of my first ever "proper camera" the Olympus OM10 - a classic 1970's manual film SLR I had through university and the years afterwards.
I wasn't disappointed, with the Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm 1:4.0-5.6 R Lens on it much of the weekend it did exceptionally well in some challenging conditions, low light, handheld, full zoom, high ISO. Have a look at the photos from the weekend here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm1fH94H
I'm on Instagram!
Yes getting down with the kids and hopefully a useful way to reach a wider audience.
I'll keep my Instagram up to date with snapshots of what I am up to and where I am out and about taking photos or having adventures. Follow me at:
https://www.instagram.com/robindeardenphotography/
I've recently made the leap to a "full frame" DSLR and have invested in new Nikon D750. The Nikon D750 is a professional FX-format DSLR camera that is fast, versatile, and agile.
The term ‘full frame’ refers to DSLR cameras with an image sensor the same size as a 35mm film frame.
Most enthusiast photographers use APS-C DSLR cameras or micro-system cameras (MSCs) because they are generally more affordable, not to mention smaller and lighter than their full-frame counterparts. However, a full-frame DSLR has significant advantages, which arise because the image sensor is larger than that in APS-C-format or micro-system models.
The larger sensor surface area also means that more photosites can be used. A larger number increases the resolution, which will therefore produce more detailed images.
A very short blog post just to start off. Welcome to my new photography website.
My aims in setting up this website are to create a portal for my work and my portfolio and to hopefully get more interest and connections with my photography work.
Photography is very much my hobby but I am continually investing in my equipment, skills and developing my experience to deliver even better photos.
Who knows where this may lead!
Robin