The Colours of Scotland...

Scotland - famous for mountains, lochs, rain, whisky, Nessie, haggis and me, the Travelling Fatman. OK, admittedly, I may be stretching it a bit with the TF…but one day…one day…

Anyway, the title of this blog is a line from a Runrig song that goes “The colours of Scotland…leave you young inside…”

In these images I have tried to capture some of those colours and if they help make you feel young inside, well, that’s even better. To pull a line from another song with Scottish connections, far have I travelled and much have I seen. I’ve been lucky that way, very lucky - but there is something about Scotland that feels magical, that draws me back again and again. It’s not one thing, it’s a combination of many that creates an intoxicating mix - the history, the people, the scenery, the culture and, yes, even the weather - Scotland is a truly wonderful country and I hope to capture some of that in these images.

For anyone considering a trip to Scotland - and for anyone there looking for a photographic guide - I would recommend Photographing Scotland: A photo-location and visitor guidebook by Dougie Cunningham - contains beautiful images and location guides, well worth a look.

Anyway, on to my snaps…

Where better to start than Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. This is a shot of Victoria Street in the Old Town - a street which, it is claimed, was the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter novels.

Ok, ok - it’s not in colour - mea culpa. A slightly different view of Victoria Street. This is one of the most photographed parts of a beautiful city and leads from the Grassmarket up towards the Royal Mile. It is full of cafes, restaurants and quirky shops.

The Isle of Muck is one of the “Small Isles” that lies off the North West coast of Scotland. Accessible by a two-hour ferry trip from the mainland, Muck has a population of around 60 people.

A second image from the Isle of Muck - a seriously glorious location for landscapes. I’m sure this feature has a name - I did search for it in an effort to appear knowledgeable, but I failed. Apologies, I’m not proud and I beg forgiveness from the 60 or so inhabitants of Muck. When I return - and I will return - I will try to do better. One of my favourite places in Scotland.

Glencoe. If every there was a competition to choose an area that summed up Scotland, Glencoe would be a strong contender. Wonderful scenery, dramatic weather and steeped in bloody history. Don’t hang about there if your name is Campbell, wee word of advice.

Glencoe again, no apologies. Steep mountainsides, waterfalls, a loch, a flowing river and a pretty wee cottage - beautiful part of the country.

Duncansby Head lies just east of John O’Groats on the north coast of Scotland. I was lucky enough to visit on a beautiful day and this view took my breath away - incredible!

In 2019 I drove around the NC500 with my brother, a route that takes you around the northern coastline of Scotland. Just north of Inverness, we visited this little hidden gem - the Fairy Glen. For anyone interested, you can see a lighthearted video of this part of our trip on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4h5SFK0QWs&t=238s (any subscriptions would be much appreciated, I shall add videos now and then)

OK, well that’s the end of this wee blog - please do keep checking for more, reading the others and taking your own images - the world always needs more photographers!

Singapore - The Wild Side

Singapore has an international reputation as a city of business, of glitz and of glamour - iconic images such as the Marina Bay Sands Hotel are known around the world and the Formula One race is arguably the jewel in the F1 crown. But there is so much more to this City State than casual visitors often realise.

I have lived in this wonderful city for well over a decade, and even now I find new areas to explore. Early this morning I visited Pasir Ris park which lies just to the west of Changi Airport. There are different sections to the park but I was interested in the mangrove boardwalk - I knew from a local Facebook page that this area had different species of snakes if you knew where to look.

So, off I set and arrived around sunrise. Before heading into the mangroves, I had a wee stroll and spotted some photographers on a bridge - naturally, I wandered over and one of them pointed out a kingfisher. Normally I have found these birds to be incredibly quick, constantly darting around and therefore tricky to catch. This one, however, seemed calmer - I have no idea if this was down to the species or the time of day, but I was happy to grab some shots. As the morning progressed...well…see below for the images!

For anyone with an interest in photography and the natural world, National Geographic The Photo Ark Vanishing: The World's Most Vulnerable Animals is a book worth checking out.

Anyway - my images. For the record, I am not entirely happy with these shots - but I am happy that I had a learning experience today - I will revisit the park soon and hopefully get some better shots. I shall go more into that in my next blog.

I believe this to be the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo Atthis) - happy to be corrected, though!

A Grey Heron (Ardea Cinerea)

Was so excited to see a snake like this in the wild! I was lucky enough to bump into a local expert who helped me find this beauty - a mangrove pit viper, or shore pit viper. This is an image I want to learn from and improve…as mentioned, I’ll cover that in my next blog.

On my way out of the park, I was lucky enough to see a family of otters having their breakfast and was able to rattle off a few snaps.

OK - this image does not come from Pasir Ris - it was taken a couple of years back in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. This reserve is in the north of Singapore, near the causeway to Malaysia. Several wild crocs live here and on most visits you should be able to see them. Look, but don’t touch!

Culinary adventures in the UK

Food. We all love it, we all eat it - I’m not called the Travelling Fatman for nothing. So, for a wee bit of fun, here’s a selection of various meals I had on a recent trip back to the UK - a trip where I self-catered in a camper van, stayed in a couple of really nice hotels and visited family. All images taken and edited on an iPhone - so no pretence at photographic brilliance. I do, however, pretend to be photographically brilliant on my Instagram Page. Go on, have a look and a follow - you know it makes sense. :-)

Anyway - UK food photos - here goes….

First meal back in the UK and arrived just before the very stroke of Brexit - so it had to be a good old British Favourite - Fish and Chips! Sadly, though, this wasn’t all that - at an airport hotel and a bit of a disappointment. Don’t be fooled by that crispy looking batter - the other side was damper and mushier than those peas. And the fish was dry. The lemon was juiceless - but the chips were ok. Still, bit of a let down…should have had another British favourite - curry.

Second meal back in the UK - on the first day of Brexit - so had to be another British favourite - a good old fry up! In the same hotel and this was from a buffet - but was so much better than the F & C from the previous night. Luvvly Grub! Although the beans did touch the egg, and I confess that upset me a little and the sausage should have been used as a barrier. Still, my mistake - you live and learn. All tasted good, though.

Right then - on to the camper van. What we have here is a wonderful concoction of Sainsbury’s tinned chilli mince and some brown rice from good old Uncle Ben. Might not look much, but warmed the old cockles on a British winter’s eve, I can tell you…

Washed it down with a cold can of Scrumpy Jack. That’s a gourmet camper van meal right there - a delicate balance of spicy chilli and ice cold cider. 6% proof as well. Winner winner, chilli dinner.

Breakfast the next morning - couldn’t be bothered putting much effort in - I can be a right lazy sod at times and no mistake. Still, minimum effort and still a tasty breakfast, there’s a lot to be said for that. Corned beef rolls, again courtesy of Sainsbury’s. I love Sainsbury’s.

Grilled Cheese, cooked in the van. Hot, melted cheese and crispy white toast - food of the gods, that is. To see how it’s done, look here.

Being in a camper van doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy gourmet food (see previous images) and still get your 5 a day. Fresh strawberries, courtesy of…drum roll…SAINSBURY’S! (editors note - courtesy of Morocco and propbably a lengthy transportation process that rules out “fresh”. Still, nice effort though)

Now this is what I’m talking about! From the Wensleydale Creamery in North Yorkshire - a stonkingly good home made quiche with locally made cheese. (Note to editor - NOT imported from Morocco, this is the real deal). The new potatoes were very good as well. Salad - meh.

Now this is different league. Treated myself to a night in the Yorebridge House Hotel, just a few miles from the Wensleydale Creamery. By goodness they do good food - these canapés are, from left to right, hummus on a crispy thing, beetroot and horseradish macaroon and a deep fried cheese thing. Each one of them was a joy. Incidentally, they put this image on their Instagram story - yay me!

Yorebridge again. Crispy…and I mean CRISPY pork belly. With apple, black pudding, pig cheek and…can’t remember the rest. Porky, apply goodness right there.

After Yorebridge I headed to Scotland - and this Scottish Breakfast trumped the earlier one - includes a slice of haggis and tattie scones. It really was Very Good Indeed. Pease note they used the haggis as a barrier between the egg and beans - extra points for that touch, you don’t want the wet ingredients mingling before you’re ready for it.

Steve Coogan And Rob Brydon made a TV program called “The Trip” a few years back. The first series included 6 different pubs/restaurants in the North of England and it is an ambition of mine to try them all at some point - and this was the first on the list. The Inn at Whitewell in the Trough of Bowland, a beautiful part of the country. Anyway - lunchtime appetiser, one of their signatures - chicken liver pate. Might not look much, but it was rich and buttery and went well with the pint of cask ale you see sneaking into the edge of the pic. I would say it was a bit much for a single person and would be better shared - coming from a Fatman, that’s saying something.

I’m in a pub - in England - had to be the fish and chips. Well, didn’t HAVE to be, I did consider the steak pie. But that had mushrooms in it, so was ruled out on that basis. Damn ‘shrooms. So in a way it did have to be the F & C. And it was a good choice - crispy beer batter, moist fish, lovely chips, juicy lemon and unmushed peas. Plus some more beer. Get In!

The alcohol % game was upped with this bottle of Perry (pear cider). Still, it was organic and I think that means it’s good for you.

Dinner at the Inn - chips were great, the roasted tomatoes full of flavour and a decent sirloin - all good! Apart from those damn ‘shrooms…sitting there, font and centre, all proud of themselves. Pffffft.

Oh my. This was, without any shadow of doubt, the best sticky toffee pudding ever. EVER! The previous holder of the title, an STP from the Glenfinnan Hotel in Scotland (2016) had its crown taken convincingly taken by this beauty. The sponge was so light but packed with treacly flavour and the sauce - a combo of creme anglais and butterscotch sauce - brought a tear to my eye. It was so, so good and an excellent way to finish a week of food adventures.

And this blog. Love you all, thanks for reading!

Street Photography – Environment

“Observe, think, shoot”

My last two blogs on street photography both focused on the human element of having people in your image.  But let’s now forget about people and think about images where the streets and objects in them are the focus.  People can be troublesome, moving elements – let’s get them out the way!  Now, I fully accept that most photographers may view “people” as essential elements in true street photography.  However, I would like to present a different chain of thought.

There are advantages to having no people, such as removal of the embarrassment factor, less chance of confrontation and your image should be easier to compose and focus.  However, there is a big disadvantage as well – how do you replace the interest element that people give to a shot?

• Well, the first thing you need to do is “observe”.  Look around you – are there interesting objects, interesting colours, areas of symmetry?  Is there some element that attracts you to a scene – this requires powers of observation and of imagination.

• The next step is to “think” about the scene in front of you.  What do you find appealing?  Is there an optimal perspective or composition?  Is there some sort of minimalist image if you can compose to remove unnecessary distractions? Think creatively!

An example of this observation and thought exercise can be seen at the 4 minute mark on this video (If you find this useful, please do subscribe to the channel - thank you!)

• Finally, shoot!  Take into account composition, available light, depth of field, shutter speed, ISO – all the usual stuff.  Remember, you have time – no annoying people to worry about :-)

Once you’ve taken your shot, check it in camera – does it look as how you’d imagined?  If not, you have the luxury of time in terms of shooting again.  I have posted some examples of “no people” photography below.

Well, thanks for reading and Happy Shooting!

Taken in the back streets of Little India, Singapore - I like the grittiness, the red/white balance and the yellow elements through the shot - to me, they tie the whole image together…

Another bike image - but with more yellow . :-)

Hanoi Haverings

I have just returned to Singapore after a few days in Hanoi, my first trip to the capital of Vietnam. I have visited Hoi An and Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City before, but never Hanoi. There is always a sense of excitement when visiting a new location, possibly more so for photographers with specific ideas in mind.

The two ideas in my mind were street photography and street food - Hanoi lived up to all expectations on both counts. I shall produce a video at some point over the next few days, covering street photography and food in Hanoi - but in the meantime there is the following video - nothing clever, just a short clip from a Christmas Concert performed outside St. Joseph’s Cathedral.

Please do watch and subscribe to the channel - more videos will be forthcoming!

Hanoi - Christmas Concert

Now, for the first of my two ideas - street photography - I spent most of my time in the Old Quarter. This part of Hanoi really is the beating heart of the city. Street markets, scooters, roadside vendors, cafes, architecture, narrow lanes and hidden back alleys - the Old Quarter has it all in abundance. A street photographer’s dream - some images are posted below, with descriptions. As I say, I shall throw some images and video clips onto youtube, so please do check the channel and subscribe. The sights, sounds and smells of the OQ are experiences that will live with me for a long time and I am sure I shall return at some point.

For the food aspect, an afternoon with a local street food expert had been arranged. I would thoroughly recommend this approach as the choices are many and you may miss out on the best(and safest) Hanoi has to offer - so, hook up with a local expert if possible. My guide was Mark Lowerson, an Australian who has lived in Vietnam for almost 20 years. Mark, and his partner, Tu, run a twitter account and images are regularly uploaded to their instagram account

Incidentally, my own instagram account can be seen here - please do give me a follow, I’ll follow back!

OK, intro over - I’ll move on to some images and some stories behind each photograph. Thanks for reading!

Mango salad - this dish, or a papaya equivalent, can be found in restaurants and on the streets all over Hanoi Old Quarter. Variations may differ slightly but I never came across one that wasn't utterly delicious. Some versions I saw on the streets included meat, basically a beef jerky, shredded and sprinkled over the top of the salad.

Nem Cua Be - deep fried and square spring rolls, with vegetables, pork and crab meat inside. Hot, crispy and juicy, one of my favourites from the trip. The finished dish can be seen on my instagram account.

The night market, held on weekends in the Old Quarter. Here, two food vendors wait for customers. The vendor on the left is well wrapped up, as you can see - the temperature was in the mid teens, cold for Vietnam!

Bikes and scooters are everywhere - crossing the road is a challenging experience! I tend to prefer black and white of this type of image.

Street Photography – Portraits

“Smile, engage, shoot”

Another subset of street photography is “street portraits”. This covers images taken with the permission of the subject, i.e. “Hi…can I take your photo?” …” Yes, ok”…Snap…”thanks”

My previous blog entry covered candid images, photographs taken without the awareness of the subject, capturing slices of life or decisive moments. This blog is same same but different in that permission is asked for and received before the image is taken. There may be a small element of set up, but certainly nothing excessive – the idea, or mine at least, is to capture people in their natural setting and have an element of eye contact and thereby engage you, the viewer.

Some may argue that eye contact isn’t absolutely necessary, and I would agree. However, this is my blog, my style and if I’m overcoming my shyness to ask for a shot, I want those eyes if possible! I am the first to admit that I am not a natural street photographer, I find the genre challenging – but rewarding.

My approach to this is, if I spot a potential subject, to try and use two of the most useful weapons in a street photographer’s arsenal – eye contact and a smile. From that, you can generally tell whether your target would be open to being photographed. If so, engage with them – just ask!

You can use some small talk, say hello, show them some of your images – anything to break the ice and develop some rapport. The result of that initial effort should show in the final image through a more genuine smile or more engaging eye contact. Some languages are universal – a smile, saying hi, showing some photographs, wiggling your camera about…make the effort and don’t use a language barrier as an excuse.

To dig a little deeper here, an element of human psychology comes into play. There is a school of thought around “mirror neurons” that, at a very simplistic level, suggests we are hard wired to mimic the behaviour we see in others. Essentially, if someone smiles at us we generally find it natural to smile back. Obviously not a 100% guarantee but this approach will certainly increase your chances of getting the shot. Smile, engage, shoot.

Another way to look at this is that we tend to avoid rejection, we actively seek ways to avoid the action of being rejected. That’s a big challenge in street portraiture and the “smile first” approach is one step towards increasing your chances of acceptance.

For the “engage” step, again this doesn’t always come naturally to all of us and it can be another example of stepping out from your comfort zone. There are several things you can do here, and I have listed some suggestions:

• A simple “hello” along with that smile

• Compliment your subject – but be genuine! Avoid the bull, people see through that

• Don’t rush, spend some time chatting – make your subject feel valued

• Explain what you do and why you’d like to take their image

• Be prepared for questions and have answers ready

Expected questions may be “Why me?” and “What do you want me to do?”. Those answers will vary on the individual and the setting – sometimes a beaming smile may be what you want, other times it may not be appropriate. Be prepared for the type of image you want to take – is it a “pure” portrait or do you want some context in terms of the immediate environment? I have posted examples below.

Depending on how you’ve done so far, you may have options when it comes to shooting – will it be a single portrait, or will you be able to take a series of shots? If you can take images while your subject is talking and animated, you may be able to capture some wonderful expressions or gestures.

Post shoot, it is a good idea to continue to engage with your subject – don’t just love them and leave them! Show them the images, give them an option to delete ones they don’t like – and offer to email them on at a later date.

There is certainly a lot to think about in street portraiture, both in the build up and in the actual shooting – this blog is really just designed to give you food for thought and some pointers to get started. In a short blog it would be impossible to give this subject the full attention it deserves.

Anyway, I do hope that this was of interest – feel free to like, comment, share! I have noted a couple of books that may be of interest should you wish to read more on street photography.

Mastering Street Photography

The Street Photographer's Manual

A vendor in Hoi An, Vietnam. I had bought some street food from him, engaged in basic conversation and then asked for a photograph - he was happy to oblige and I showed him the results afterwards. There was a degree of editing to darken the background, the availably light came from a lamp on his stall.

A stall holder in Paro market, Bhutan. Unlike the previous image, I wanted some background to add context - but I am unhappy with the green/black strap - this is a lesson on checking the composition properly and trying to avoid distracting elements in a shot.

A village boy in Laos, taken near the banks of the Mekong. The lack of smile was intentional here, it was just a “look into the lens” shot, with his mother and the outside of his home adding context.

Street Photography - Use Of Light

Before I delve into the three main categories that I see under the umbrella of street photography (‘life’, ‘portraits’ and ‘environment’, see previous blog), I want to talk a little about the importance of light.  Now, whole books have been written on this subject and, while I may do that at some stage, not here and not now. 

So…will keep this high level and focus on one specific style of image that appeals to me – those shots with high contrast – strong shadows and specific areas of light highlighting a point of interest, usually a human element.

Photography, clearly, is all about the capture of light.  When thinking about how to create a compelling image, awareness and use of light can make a significant difference to your final image.  For this style of photography, I would highly recommend a YouTube video by Sean Tucker, a London based photographer who does a lot of street work.  His video, “Protect Your Highlights” is well worth a watch.

As always, I write this blog from my own perspective, based on my experiences and my personal tastes. - I am in no way portraying myself as the Final Word on this subject.   However, I do hope some of this will resonate and give food for thought in your own photography. 

My favourite time of day for street photography is early morning, just after sunrise.  The quality of light at this time of day is well documented – the Golden Hour – but I often shoot in black and white, rendering this aspect largely irrelevant to me.  Instead, I like the effect the low-lying sun has on shadows.  I have added examples below, with brief commentary.  Choosing the right location is important as you want a “dramatic shadow” effect.  There’s no point going out at the right time of day and subsequently discovering that your ideal location is either fully lit or entirely in shadow – that awareness is important.

There is an app that is very helpful in this regard – “The Photographer’s Ephemeris”.  This wonderful app gives times of sunrise and sunset along with a great wee map showing the direction and path of the sun over the course of the day.  For me, this is a “must have” app and I have posted a sample screenshot below.  A good weather app is also useful – no point going to a great location if any anticipated light effects are ruined by cloud cover.

In addition to the light quality and the effect on shadows, I take great enjoyment from experiencing a town or city as it wakes up in the morning.  When I travel, I try to walk the streets around sunrise.  Being part of a city coming to life and capturing that on camera can be a rewarding experience.  In many parts of Asia, especially, with local markets setting up and that feeling of early morning hustle and bustle – that experience is an absolute highlight of any travel in my mind.  Another benefit of early mornings is that you tend to avoid crowds and other tourists, giving you more time to make the most of your photography.

OK, so you’ve got a location, the weather works, you get some interesting shots – what next?  Post Processing, or pp, that’s what.  This is just the editing process.  Ideally you want to get images as close to “right” as you can in camera, but all images can benefit from some editing work – don’t fear it, don’t be put off by photography elitists who scorn pp work.  Even the greats did it, back in the day is of film.  Embrace it, use it.  For the high contrast images my workflow is fairly simple in Lightroom – I tend to bring the shadows down (make them darker) and adjust the highlight slider to a level where I’m happy – and a crop if needed.  That’s about it, most of the time.  Colour photos may require some more tweaking than b/w.

The essence of this blog is to encourage readers to think about light and how to use that to produce interesting images in the style of the ones shown below.  The main takeaways are:

• Be aware of sunrise/sunset times (And the weather! Cloud cover can ruin light…)

• Scout for a good location in advance.

• Look for “local” activity, such as a market.

• Expose for your highlights. Shooting in “aperture priority” is my suggestion, balancing ISO and shutter speed accordingly.

• Get right what you can in camera, but don’t be afraid of post processing. Even Ansel Adams* did it.

To help understand exposure, I’d recommend this book, Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

* For those of you not familiar with Ansel Adams, Ansel Adams' Yosemite: The Special Edition Prints will give you some insight into the man and his images.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

A screenshot from The Photographer’s Ephemeris - especially useful when shooting a sunrise or sunset, but can also help with street photography

An example of a “deep shadow” image with strong lines and the human element to add context and interest

For this image, I knew the location in advance and waited for the moment - for someone to walk into the light. Shadows were darkened in Lightroom.

“Tokyo Nights”. Artificial lighting can also be used. Here, the subject has walked under a street light. Again, pp work was used to darken the shadows and remove some distractions.

Street Photography

Street Photography

Street photography is a complex subject – What is it?  How to do it?  Where to do it?  I shall address these questions over a series of blogs, starting with this one. My aim is to give high level introductions to the genre, over a series of blogs - starting here!

So…what is it?  It can be hard to get a clear and agreed definition of “street photography” – all I can do is give my definition, based on my experience, thoughts and values – “street” can be a minefield with both moral and legal issues for each of us to address.

In my mind, i tend to divide street photography into three high level areas

·      Life. Basically, candid images of people going about their every days lives, with all the issues that entails

·      Portraits. Where I ask permission to take an image

·      Environment. No people, just images of the street environment that happen to catch my interest

I shall post an example of each type at the end of this blog.

I believe most people think about the “Life” category when they think of street photography - i.e. capturing slices of life, real people in real situations.  Frozen moments in time with no set-up involved. 

 The moments may be mundane, they may be dramatic – but they are real, not posed.  However, even in an apparently mundane moment, it is possible to capture a certain “something” that lifts a shot.  That “something” could be one of several things – for example, a moment of eye contact, a facial expression, interaction between people or a degree of connection between a subject and their environment.  Essentially an element of a shot that lifts the whole image to give extra interest to whatever has been captured. 

 Overall, however, the driver should be to capture a scene that conveys some degree of emotion, an element that compels the viewer to spend time looking at the shot.

 An excellent way to think of this is summed up perfectly by Henri Cartier-Bresson who coined the phrase “The Decisive Moment”.  Anyone seriously interested in street photography should spend some time studying how HCB practiced and thought about the genre. Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment is an excellent resource.

Mastering Street Photography is another very worthwhile introduction to the art.

Some other examples of my own street photography can be found here.

Two significant factors to consider in street photography are legalities and moralities.  Legalities – each country will have their own laws around who/what can be photographed and where.  I shall leave that to your own research.  The moral aspect is down to each individual – being allowed to photography something does not always mean you should take the shot.

 Two examples that spring quickly to mind on the moral aspect are suffering and embarrassment.

 Hopefully these do not require much explanation, so I shall keep this brief.  If you are a witness to suffering, should your impulse be to assist or to take a photograph?  Your decision will be based on the circumstances and your own moral compass.  At an extreme level, war photographers have a clear job to do – document and record the horrors they witness.  Nick Ut’s chilling image of Kim Phuc fleeing from a napalm strike is possibly one example – an iconic image that sums up much of the horror from the Vietnam War.  But most of us are not War Photographers – so, if we see suffering, do we assist or do we document?

 The embarrassment angle is another tricky situation.  I am sure most of us have laughed at the misfortune of others at some point, be it in images or video.  However, would we be so amused were the subject ourselves?  A partner?  A child?

 Again, variables such as the circumstances, how extreme the suffering or embarrassment is and our own moral compasses all come into play.  I’m in no position to judge, make your own calls.

My second category is “street portraits”. To be honest, that’s simple enough - you ask for permission and take the shot in the street environment. I won’t dwell any further on this topic for the moment.

The final subset I shall touch on is street photography that does not contain a human element.  Sometimes images of the street environment itself can create interesting or compelling images.  An example is posted below.

Finally, please consider this as an introduction to street photography – in future blogs I shall give some basic tips, equipment thoughts and suggestions on locations. Thank you for reading!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

“Life”. A candid image taken in Chinatown, Singapore.

“Portraits”. Permission clearly asked, taken in Hoi An, Vietnam.

“Environment”. No people, just an image from the back streets of Little India, Singapore. I like the grittiness, the colours - especially the yellow in different areas of the frame - and door/red/white triptych effect.

Reflections...

Nope, this isn’t some sort of new age hippy post, where I muse about my life while sitting cross-legged on the floor and sharing words of thoughtful wisdom.  I could do that, of course – but not this time…

No.  This is about photographic reflections.  Mirrors, glass, water, that kinda thing…

The use of reflections in photography can be a very powerful technique to add drama and punch to your images.  Here, I want to briefly give some basic tips on this aspect of photography.

• Lighting, as so often, is important – ideally the subject should be well lit as this will help with the quality of the reflection itself

• Try to shoot on a flat plane(in relation to the reflective surface) rather than at a steep angle – that will generally help the quality of the reflection, especially on glass such as a shop window

• Make sure you nail the focus! While blurred images can often be atmospheric, especially in black and white, try to aim for a sharp reflection – at least until you build experience and confidence in your techniques. Then you can try for more arty effects! Focusing on the glass or water itself will not necessarily lead to a sharp refection – the distance between the glass and the person/object being reflected is also an element to consider when calculating depth of field. As a suggestion, set aperture to f8 or smaller, see how that works

• If there are subjects of interest behind the glass, think about whether they can somehow be composed in the final image to add interest or context to the reflection itself. This can be tricky to achieve but the results can be rewarding

• For reflections in water, using a tripod, shooting at night or using a neutral density filter can help lengthen exposure times and smooth out moving water, helping to obtain clearer reflections

• Circular polarizers can also help improve shots involving water, for example by removing unwanted glare

• For all the talk of fancy filters and f-stops – you can get good results using your smart phone, with a little knowledge and practice!

• Remember – not just glass and water can be used for reflections – look around for any highly polished surface

To learn more about exposure, I would recommend the book “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson. Please note this is an Amazon Affiliate link, see my merchandise page for more details.

A 13 second exposure time helped smooth the water and improve the reflection

With the camera flat against the glass window, the reflection became clearer - this type of shot could easily be taken with a smart phone camera

Again, the camera was held flush against a glass surface to produce a strong reflection - taken in the Tokyo International Forum