This week I have been working with detail, creating black and white pairs - one dark and moody with plenty of contrast and one much lighter and more high key in appearance. These contrasting pairs were created using natural light working with areas of shade and sunlight. I love the striking opposites that they make so in this weeks post I thought I would discuss how I achieved this effect using a selection of flowers that I photographed in some dappled light in Southwold.

My idea for this challenge was to create sets of images that contained one dark flower with a light background, contrasting with one light flower and a dark background. My challenge was to achieve this in camera by working with areas of shadow and sunlight.

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The sun was sinking below the horizon as we made our way across the heathland. We were heading for an open area with a lovely combination of habitats; heather, bracken and a few scattered, gnarly old pine trees. This is a place where I love to make images, but on this evening we hadn’t come to take photographs, we had come to listen to the Nightjars.

These beautiful but slightly strange looking birds are so well camouflaged that they are rarely seen during the day. (They are also nocturnal and spend most of their day roosting on the ground). But as the sun sets and dusk falls they begin to start calling - a strange churring sound that carries far across the heath. If you have never heard it before the sound reminds me of a cricket or grasshopper but with a much deeper tone. It starts gradually as dusk falls and builds in intensity before the birds take flight. Then you may be lucky enough to hear the loud wing clapping that Nightjars are known for - a behaviour used to attract a mate. It is when the birds are flying that they are more easily seen.

On this particular evening we were armed with sound recording equipment to capture the sounds of the heath for a new joint project that I am working on with my partner Simon. Listening to the nightjars was amazing but seeing them flit across the sky in front of us in the semi darkness, like oversized moths was fascinating.

I have been thinking a lot about the wider aspects of photography lately and the reasons why I make pictures. I have been mulling over competitiveness, competitions and some of the reason people engage in landscape photography. Some of this thought process has been prompted by social media posts and comments from clients, many of whom don’t like the competitive nature of photography, but the most thought provoking comments came from a podcast interview with Christina Mittermeier. If you are unfamiliar with the name, Christina describes herself as a conservation photographer. She has worked for National Geographic and is co founder of Sea legacy - a major force in ocean conservation and education.

During the conversation Christina talked about the role of ‘glorious amateurs’ and how we can all do something positive with our photography. She also talked about having a well thought out philosophy for our work.

This really struck a cord with me and helped cement a few thoughts I have been having about landscape photography for a while.

I try to keep an eye on the photographic world and what other photographers are doing. I see all the beautiful places that have become must visit locations. I see the compositions that are becoming so familiar from each one of them and I wonder why photographers chase these images. I understand the desire to travel (and I have done plenty in the past) but I don’t really understand the ‘need’ to seek out a familiar landmark or composition just to add it to a portfolio.

When I first began taking photos I thought success was about winning competitions - striving to do my best and getting recognition for my work. I thought to be a good photographer I had to achieve recognition for my technical expertise, I thought I had to prove my ability alongside others and win awards to stand out. Now I realise that this is not important for me at all. I believe it is more important for me to have something to say - a passion and knowledge to pass on that goes beyond technical ability.

For me landscape photography is about a love for the landscape more than a competitive pastime. It is about spending time in nature and taking a break from the relentless pace of modern life. But it is also about learning, not photographic knowledge, but something deeper. Photography facilitates nature learning and a deeper connection to the landscapes I visit.

Over the years I have come to understand geology and the makeup of the landscapes I work in. I can identify birds from their calls as well as by sight. I understand what animals might live in a particular location and what plants I expect to find at different times of the year. This might all seem like inconsequential knowledge but I feel it has deepened my understanding of the landscapes I photograph and more importantly it has given me a voice.

I feel a deep love for the environments I photograph, but also a passion to share the knowledge I have accrued. I want my work to say something more profound about the natural world and am now drawn to producing meaningful bodies of work rather than building a random collection of portfolio images from disparate places.

Having a voice and something to say is far more valuable to me and to society as a whole than any competition win or accreditation could ever be.

My local landscape may not be the most sought after photographically, but it is still special and it is where care and understanding begins - in the places we know best. When I take people out on workshops I like to impart as much knowledge as I can about the locations we are working in because I feel this helps create pictures that convey connection.

Sometimes I look at images of iconic landscapes on social media and see the same scenes represented time and time again and to me they can seem a bit sterile, a bit devoid of emotion because I feel the the photographer has nothing to say. Perfect, beautifully composed images, but with little substance. It’s as if the images are made with portfolios, competitions or awards in mind rather than conveying a personal connection to place.

The future of nature and the landscapes we enjoy relies on each of us showing some care and connection, we need to find our voice, our passion and our reason for making images. Only then will we make picture with true meaning and that is when the real value of photography comes into play. In my opinion, images with meaning taken by a photographer with a point of view and a passion for something have so much more value to society as a whole than a random portfolio of well composed iconic vistas.

I am currently working on a Suffolk based sound and vision project with my partner Simon which will contain a collection of images from the last 20 years photographing Suffolk alongside some of the counties soundscapes which Simon has recorded over the last year. This project is still ongoing but I hope it will be a really immersive body of work. We are looking forward to publishing the completed works in 2027 and bringing the sights and sounds of the Suffolk landscape to a wider audience.

Apps for nature connection

Merlin Bird ID - identifies birds from their calls.

Picture this - plant identification app on Apple.

Seek by I Naturalist - Nature identification by photo

Other Inspiration

The Mood podcast - deep, thought provoking conversations with photographers, filmmakers, and artists.

Christina Mittermeier - conservation photographer

Alice Boyd - sound artist and audio producer whose work invites people to listen more closely to the natural world, and to our place within it.

Alex Boon Art - a nature journaling educator, artist, and content creator.

To finish I would just like to say that there is nothing wrong with striving to do well at competitions and working towards accreditation, if that is what motivates you to get out in the landscape then I think that is brilliant. However I really do believe it is worth spending time thinking about what inspires you in the landscape and why you love working in it. We all have different reasons, and different motivations, but if we can articulate what these are and build upon them we might just find our image making improves and our voice starts to develop.

I hope this has provided some food for thought and I would love to hear your opinions - what do you consider to be the true value of photography? Please leave a comment below.

Thank you very much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography.

Gill

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Last week I went out for a dawn shoot in an area of ancient oak woodland not far from where I live. I arrived before the sun had risen and the wood was cool and dark but alive with birdsong and rich in lush green foliage. I had gone there for photography, looking to capture the essence of the wood in summer.

I have heard many photographers mention that the woods are too green in summer and that they prefer autumn when the colours are more interesting. While I love autumn photography I also think that a woodland in summer has plenty to offer. However I am not always a fan of vibrant greens in my images so on this occasion I decided to experiment with some black and white photography. My idea was to use a high key processing style similar to infrared so that the foliage would recede into the paper and the trunks of the trees would stand out, a bit like pencil sketches.

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Each month I will be sharing a new post with a different theme and a challenge for you to go out and complete, should you wish to do so. The idea is to share some of your favourite images from the challenge on the chat page of my substack. Please feel free to post your images and comment on others so that we can build a supportive community around our shared love of photography.

This month the theme is ‘summer in black and white’.

I would consider myself a colour photographer - I love the beauty of colour and the way it conveys emotion in an image, but sometimes colour can be a distraction especially in the summer when the skies can be blue and featureless. So this month I thought we would explore the idea of conveying summer in black and white. At first this may seem counter intuitive - after all the beauty of summer is often found in its colour and vibrancy.

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This week I have been working with floral landscapes thinking about how to portray them in different ways. I love a good sunrise (even at this time of year!) and I really feel that the soft light of dawn conveys the feeling of spring better than the more contrasty light at sunset.

However, many of us can’t aways get out at the beginning or end of the day, so when golden hour photography isn’t possible how can we make our floral landscapes look and feel a bit more interesting?

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This year marks my 18th year as a professional photographer and ten years as a workshop leader. If you had told me in my twenties this is what I would end up doing I would have laughed. I had no confidence back then and the idea of teaching a group of people how to use a camera and take photographs would have seemed absurd. However life often takes paths we can never imagine and I guess that is all part of the adventure.

I came to Suffolk in 2007 and bought myself a Nikon D700 a year later. I began photographing the Suffolk countryside but my professional career began with yacht and sailing photography, photographing regattas, summer sailing schools and bigger east coast events. I imagine that might seem like an unusual way to begin a career in landscape photography, but then I had just bought a 65 foot Dutch sailing barge to run as a holiday business and everything about my life at the time was unusual.

Photographing boats on the water felt adventurous for a mum of two who had previously only had an office based job. I loved the adrenaline of flying around in a fast rib chasing the perfect angle and the best racing shots. I sold images to magazines in the days when they commanded a decent price and helped judge photography competitions in sailing publications. All the while my landscape photography was developing and I began to create greetings cards, calendars and books using my images. It was fair to say that my career wasn’t very focused in the beginning and I tended to embrace whatever seemed profitable, including product photography and dog photography.

By 2016 my focus had drifted from sailing, I gave up my holiday business and sold my barge and put all my energy into running a landscape photography business. After years of avoiding workshops and tuition I finally bit the bullet and began to offer small half day workshops along the Suffolk Coast. In 2020 I was asked to take part in an episode of Kate Humble’s coastal Britain and it was after this aired in 2021 that my workshop business really took off.

I would say that I have now found my niche in landscape photography. I have a recognisable style, but more importantly I know what I want to photograph and why. I believe I have found my voice.

Nature has always been really important to me, a love that was inspired by my Dad. I have many happy memories immersed in the natural world learning about the flora and fauna that surrounds me and I feel that I have now found a valid way to share my passion with others. Nature is important for all of us - it is something we are part of, not separate from and I feel this is a message I want to convey through my work.

Things I have learnt about myself:

During the 19 years I have been in Suffolk I have grown a lot as a person and have discovered much about myself along the way. Life hasn’t been easy and I have had many personal struggles which I have spoken about before, but through it all I have learnt some really valuable lessons which include:

• Knowing that I am a strong, confident and capable person despite being told otherwise and despite feeling the complete opposite when I was younger.

• I am adaptable, I can think on my feet and I have empathy and can relate to people’s photographic journeys and their struggles. I am not divorced from my beginnings as a photographer, I remember the hard work, the terrible images, the learning curves and the journey that I have been on to get my photography to where it is today. I also know that I don’t know it all. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new and that is why I love teaching. I get so much from spending time with clients, chatting about photography and learning how others see the world.

• I have learnt what I like photographically, I understand my style and where it comes from.

• I have learnt that the natural world is beyond valuable and photographing it in all its details is more important for growth than chasing iconic landscapes and images. There is so much to learn from the world around us and so much to convey if we open our eyes.

• I have travelled extensively in the past but I have learnt that I don’t need to travel to far flung places to make meaningful work. I can do that in my home country as long as I have something meaningful to say.

• I have learnt patience, humour and friendship are important qualities in a workshop leader and I will always put my clients photography before my own.

• And I have failed many times but I have always persevered and all my best work has come from dedication and commitment

  

Why are workshops important?

During my photographic journey I have attended several workshops with photographers I admire. Every single one of them was valuable, not so much for the technical knowledge but for the shared ideas, the vision and the confidence it installed in me.

I think when it comes to making decisions about our own photography confidence is key. We need to believe in ourselves and our work and the direction we want to take. A good workshop leader should help you see all this more clearly.

For me workshops are not about coming away with epic images to put on the wall, because half the time the conditions are not conducive for that anyway. Workshops are about ideas, vision, direction and confidence to believe in ourselves and our art.

As well as all this workshops are fun. Spending a week in a beautiful location with like minded people is always enjoyable. Photography is relaxed, the countryside is beautiful and we have a laugh and for me this is how it should be. There are no egos and no competition, we are all in one place to get along, help each other and generally have a good time and if the weather gods are smiling we will also come home with some good images.

Advice for choosing a workshop leader.

How you choose a workshop or a workshop leader will depend on many factors and this list won’t work for everyone. But if I was to give some advice this would be my list of considerations:

Choose someone whose work inspires you. Look at the aesthetic, is it one you aspire to, is the creativity something you can learn from and is that person going to make you think differently? If the photographers work leave you feeling uninspired the workshop most probably will too.

Look for an instructor who will spend some meaningful time with you. Consider whether the photographer

• Gives one-to-one feedback

• Explains why decisions are made

• Adapts to different experience levels

• Encourages personal style rather than cloning theirs

• Spends time teaching instead of chasing their own portfolio shots

Look for a small group size - 4 - 5 participants should give you plenty of individual attention. Anything larger than this can feel compromised.

Look for someone you feel you can relate to and ask around at camera clubs or on social media. Word of mouth and personal recommendations are important.

If you are looking at a specific workshop rather than a 1-2-1 session ask yourself whether the workshop will fit your goals. Before booking a workshop it is always good to think about what you want to achieve.

In my opinion the best workshops are not the ones that take you to the most amazing places, but are the ones that teach you how to see differently.

If you are inspired by this post and would like to know more about my workshops please see my website or watch this short film

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Thank you very much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography.

Gill

Have you attended a workshop? Was it a good experience and how did you go about choosing your workshop leader. Please join the conversation and share your thoughts below in the comments.

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This week I have been in search of spring in an area of meadowland in north Suffolk. Winks Meadow is owned by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and is the only fragment of herb rich meadow to survive in this area. It is a small site but full of flowers and is a lovely place to explore and photograph.

When I arrived I found a mix of flowers to point my camera at, but the most interesting were the green winged orchids which grew in abundance across the site along side cowslips and buttercups. In this post I wanted to discuss my approach to photographing the flowers and my subsequent post processing choices to create a series of soft, dreamy images. For all the shots I used a 100-400mm lens and processed my images in Lightroom.

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I have been spending a lot of time recently in the bluebell woods with my camera running workshops and 1-2-1 sessions. Much of the time has been given over to flower portraits and in today’s article I thought I would spend some time discussing colour combinations in these smaller scenes.

It can be challenging to create emotive flower portraits. Not only do you need to find a good subject, but you also need to find a background that has no distractions and compliments the subject in light and colour. This is no easy task as a poorly selected background, clashing colours and inappropriate lighting can all ruin a shot.

Today I thought I would share some of my recent bluebell images and discuss their differences in terms of light, colour and background.

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Each month I will be sharing a new post with a different theme and a challenge for you to go out and complete, should you wish to do so. The idea is to share some of your favourite images from the challenge on the chat page of my substack. Please feel free to post your images and comment on others so that we can build a supportive community around our shared love of photography.

This month the theme is ‘the feeling of spring’.

Spring is my favourite season for photography. I love the vibrancy of the new growth, the colour of the flowers and greening of the landscape. It is the season that makes me feel alive and also really inspires me creatively. So for this month’s photography challenge I thought we would tap into that and explore how to create images that feel like spring.

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As a professional photographer I am always looking for the next portfolio image. Every time I head out with the camera I go with the mindset of creating something ‘good’ - an image to be proud of. But more often than not conditions conspire against me and I come home disappointed. Special images usually require special conditions, especially in landscape photography where we have no control over the light or the weather.

Recently I have been in Northumberland on holiday. It was a break from work, but not from photography and I took my camera with the aim of making some images and the hope of creating something special.

I began my photography on Bamburgh beach with a sunrise shoot. The conditions weren’t looking that promising at 5.15am with heavy cloud on the horizon and not many gaps for the sun to break through. I took some blue hour shots, then some sunrise shots and then just as I was thinking of packing up the magic happened. A small gap on the horizon allowed the sun to break through bathing Bamburgh castle in some wonderful warm sunrise light. Contrasted with the dark black clouds that had been present all morning the landscape suddenly came alive.

This moment was definitely unexpected and the resulting image is one that I am quite happy to put on my website. But after that lovely light I knew the conditions wouldn’t be as good for the rest of the day. Despite this I didn’t want to put my camera away so I set about finding some other creative challenges to keep me occupied.

I headed over to Seahouses harbour to look for Eider ducks and then on to Lindisfarne island where I spend the rest of the day. By this time the light was bright and contrasty and most of the cloud had cleared leaving a featureless blue sky. It was also really windy which made some aspects of photography difficult.

I knew I wouldn’t get any more stand out shots so I decided to look for images that I could use in small creative bodies of work. I walked to Lindisfarne harbour and photographed the old fishing huts which are actually upturned herring trawlers. Some had been covered with tar and old sails and their uneven surface and textures made for great detail photography. I decided to use these detail shots as texture overlays to combine with some of my landscape images of the harbour.

I created this diptych because I wanted to make a connection between the landscapes of the harbour and the fishing huts that sit amongst it. Using the angles of the harbour steps and jetty to create a landscape image I then looked for some detail compositions from the huts that mirrored some of the shapes in the landscape. I loved the grey and aqua colours in the weathered sail cloth on the huts and chose to create a black and white landscape with a hint of these colours coming through. I created a texture overlay for my landscape image and combined the two in Photoshop. I then found a detail shot that mirrored some of the shapes in the landscape image and combined the two to make a diptych.

Further exploration of the harbour revealed lots more modern fishing apparatus. Colourful buoys and creel pots were stacked everywhere amongst upturned wooden dinghies. I found the vibrancy attractive and decide to create a body of work based on colour. This became a panel of 9 images with a more modern theme, but with a nod to the traditional and historic side of the harbour.

I have been running photo walks for several years now and always refer to them as ‘sketch book photo walks’. The sketch book idea comes from the art and journalling world where the essence of a walk is captured across a page of related images and experiences. I have always wanted to apply more of a journalling approach to my photo walks so using the images I made at Bamburgh and Lindisfarne I decided to put together a travel and nature journal page for my day on the Northumberland coast.

This page was create digitally using Indesign, but I could just have easily made it on an A3 sheet using handwriting and printed photos. It is my way of using some of the images I took to create a journal page of the things I found interesting. As single images these shots may not have seen the light of day, but as a collective body of work I think they create a lovely record of my time out with the camera.

All the images in this post were created on one day in three separate locations. It took a while to process them all, but I really enjoyed laying them out and formulating the three projects that I created.

I wanted to share these ideas because I think we often don’t do enough with the photographs we make. Many of them sit on our hard drives, not good enough to become portfolio images but maybe too interesting to delete.

Photo walking, like nature journalling is a way to observe our surroundings and connect with elements of the landscape we find interesting. Using these images to then create small bodies of work is a lovely way to stay creative, giving a voice to our images and saying something meaningful with our work. I would encourage you all to give it a go.

If you would like to join me for a photo walk I have two spaces left on my ‘Capturing detail’ photo walk at Shingle Street on 16th May.

Thank you very much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography.

Gill

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For the past week I have been photographing in Northumberland. I was there on holiday and had the time away from work to experiment and play with creative techniques and ideas. For this week’s inspired post I wanted to share some of my thoughts about the images I made using long exposure ICM and focus stacking smaller details.

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On Monday I shared a post about my most recent sunrise photography session, during which I spent some time photographing reeds. Today I wanted to share my thoughts about photographing a single subject and talk about how many different possibilities there are for creating images.

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The heavy darkness of night is receding as I make my way towards the river. I am drawn by the warm orange pre dawn light that is beginning to push the inky blue tones from the sky. Ahead the river reflects the colours, the flow of the tide imperceptible on the mirrored surface.

This is one of my favourite places for sunrise photography - a little bay on the River Alde, overlooked by Iken church and inhabited by an abundance of wildlife. I can already hear a tawny owl calling from one of the old oaks on the edge of the salt marsh and on the mud flats the bubbling sounds of curlew rises up to greet me.

I wander to the far end of the footpath and set up my tripod to take some photos as the light changes quickly in front of me. I soon notice a pair of oyster catchers sitting on the posts of an old jetty and turn my camera so that I can incorporate them into my composition.

This is the first time I have been out for sunrise in weeks and it feels good to be back amongst nature in such a special place.

Having taken my sunrise photos I swap my 24-70mm lens for my 100-400 and wander back along the riverbank towards the reed beds. With the sun shining brightly I decide to work with some of the backlit seed heads on the reeds.

Shooting into the sun with an aperture of F5.6 gives me some beautiful effects which I find really appealing. I feel inspired and want to capture what it feels like to be in the thick of the reeds.

When I get home I combine the images I have taken with some recent shots I made further along the coast of the reeds taken in slightly more diffused light.

On that trip I had also taken some abstract reflections which I felt emphasised the confused and random nature of the reeds as they are blown around by the wind.

Using all these images I decide to create another of my concertina photo books to show the beauty of the reeds.

To do this I laid out 12 images on an A3 template, 6 to a sheet. I then printed each sheet on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Duo 276 paper.

To make the concertina book I cut each sheet in half so that I had 3 images per strip. I used a bone folder to make the concertina folds in each of my strips which gave me 4 folded pieces of paper which I stuck together to make my finished book.

The idea behind the images was to show the beauty of the reeds using different photographic techniques. The first 6 images were the backlit images that I made after sunrise. The next two images were made on a much quieter day in diffused light and the final four images were reflections shots taken on a windy day.

I have deliberately made all the images fairly abstract and have tried to create glimpses of what the reeds feel like to me. I love their softness, their delicacy, their muted colours and the chaos that ensues when the wind blows and the reed stems dance.

This little book is all about that beauty, from static seed heads to shimmering reeds and dancing reflections - it is my take on the beauty of the reeds.

I love these little photo projects that can be made from small insignificant subjects that at first glance might not seem very interesting. There are multiple ways that subjects like this can be photographed and I find the challenge really inspiring.

If you would like to have a go at printing and making one of these small books I am running a photography and book making session in August on the heaths local to my studio. You can find more information about the course here.

Thank you very much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography.

Gill

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Patterns and textures are everywhere in nature. They make up small parts of the wider landscape and are present in all of our images most of the time. They can be physical elements or something more transient where light and shadow play across the land. Wherever we find them we can use them to enhance our landscape images or if we look more carefully we can use them to create compelling images in their own right.

For this week’s inspired post I am going to look at patterns and textures and discuss how we can use them to create single images or combine them to create triptychs where the final image is often greater than the sum of its parts.

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Each month I will be sharing a new post with a different theme and a challenge for you to go out and complete, should you wish to do so. The idea is to share some of your favourite images from the challenge on the chat page of my substack. Please feel free to post your images and comment on others so that we can build a supportive community around our shared love of photography.

This month the theme is abstraction and patterns in nature.

This month’s theme has been inspired by the final challenge in my winter project Cohort which finishes at Easter. We have been looking at ways to create triptychs and in the final challenge we have been looking at the boundary between reality and abstraction. As part of this challenge I created my ‘Aldeburgh reflected’ body of work which I wrote about on Monday. This was quite a departure from my usual style of photography but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and it has taught me a lot about working in a more abstract way.

Good abstract photography is not random. It is still governed by the elements that make up traditional landscape photography - lines, shape, colour, form, texture and space. However in abstract photography these are used creatively with pattern, rhythm, motion and contrast to create images where the subject becomes indistinct and the mood and emotion shines through.

In this month’s challenge we are going to look at four different ways to remove reality from our photographs and create a more personal way of viewing the natural world.

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In the centre of Aldeburgh lies a model boating lake; a popular attraction that I remember from my youth. The lake began life as a military water tank and was enlarged in the 1960’s to provide a shallow body of water where children come to sail small wooden boats and dream of owning the real thing.

I have often found this lake an interesting place to spend time, sailing boats with my own children or exploring with the camera. This week I went back with a different idea. I wanted to see if I could portray this area of Aldeburgh in a more abstract way using reflections to depict a changing town that I feel has multiple identities.

The day I chose to visit dawned bright and blue with a gentle breeze - a perfect day for a bit of abstract photography.

Using a 100-400mm lens I created a series of images using reflections and the eclectic mix of architecture that surrounds the boating lake. I was drawn to the colours and patterns and the beautiful way in which the solid buildings were rendered fluid by the movements of light and water. As I photographed I loved the way the features of these buildings became soft and painterly gestures shimmering between abstraction and reality.

I took home about 100 images which I made during the morning. The original files were quite dark reflecting the blue of the pond liner as well as the sky. I decide that I wanted to lighten everything up bringing out the pastel shades of the buildings. I also decided to flip some of the reflected images so that they were orientated with the sky upwards.

I processed about 25 images and reduced these down to a collection of 12 which I decided to print and turn into a hand made concertina photo book.

To do this I laid out my images and my artist statement onto an A3 sheet of Hahnemühle PhotoRag 208 paper. Printed on this paper the images took on a soft painterly feel which I loved. I used two sheets of A3 paper with 2 strips of images per sheet.

Next I cut each sheet into individual strips so that I had four strips in total to fold and glue together.

I used a bone folder to create professional looking folds in the paper and stuck the 4 strips together using a folded flap on the edge of each strip and double sided tape.

I was pleased with the finished book but I felt it only showed a small sample of the images I had created. So I also produced a 24 page zine with a very short print run of only 20 copies and this is now available from my website.

I wanted to show in this post that it is possible to create a small body of work in a short space of time if you have an idea and a focus.

While these images represent a departure from my usual landscape work I really like the effects that the moving water has created and I am pleased with the over all body of work.

Aldeburgh is a place of contrasts and one that I have a complicated relationship with. I love it in the winter for its quite, authentic vibe but I tend to avoid the business of summer when the influx of visitors changes the quiet nature of the place.

I think this imbalance is part of the reason why this body of work appeals to me, because it shows a place that is constantly changing and one that I feel never quite reveals its true character.

If you would like a copy of ‘Aldeburgh Reflected’ it is priced at £10 and there are only 20 copies available. You can purchase it from my website.

Thank you very much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography.

Gill

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It has been lovely to see the sun recently and it finally feels as if winter is in retreat and spring has arrived. However with this week’s sunshine came clear blue skies, a characteristic that many landscape photographers like to complain about.

For this week’s inspired post I headed out to the coast to see what I could make of the harsh light on a blue sky day.

I agree with the sentiment that blue skies are dull and I would much rather shoot on a cloudy or rainy day than on a sunny one. However I think there are images to be had in these conditions and in this post I wanted to explain how I go about finding them.

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Foggy conditions loved by many outdoor photographers. They allow us to create atmospheric and minimalist compositions and provide intrigue by obscuring parts of the landscape that might be distracting. For woodland scenes fog is the holy grail, providing a means to simplify complex scenes.

But what do we do if the conditions are more mist than fog, creating a veil of grey light that feels quite uninspiring? This week I headed to the coast to see what I could make of the diffused light on a flat, grey morning.

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The view from the top of the cliffs eastwards is beautiful. The North Sea, usually a churning mass of grey and brown, today reflected the pale blue sky while its surface danced with lazy waves and shimmering light.

It is a tranquil scene that lifts the spirits and fills me with joy. But this shore, with its sandy cliffs and sea worn coastline has another story to tell, one that isn’t so heartening.

The beach, at the foot of the cliffs about 15 meters below me, resembles a war zone. Everywhere I look fallen trees litter the tide line, accompanied by mounds of sand and soil where the soft cliffs have crumbled. The wood I am standing in is eroding away. Change is everywhere on this stretch of the Suffolk Coast, and while it is interesting photographically it is frightening to see the extent and speed at which the land is retreating inwards.

The last time I visited this beach was at the end of the summer in 2024 and I wrote about my trip in this blog post. Back then the beach was tidy, with only a few fallen trees on the tide line and some good compositions for minimalist seascapes. One of my favourite images came from that outing.

Today, this shot is no longer possible. The tree is still in the same place on the beach, partially buried in the sand, but it is surrounded by the debris of a fallen forest. Tangled limbs, interlocking branches and marine debris have transformed the once calm scene into a chaotic jumble, the aftermath of violent change.

At first I feel sad that I can’t reimagine one of my favourite images, but then I ask myself why I would want to do that? Why repeat something I have done before? Surely it is better to look with fresh eyes and see what presents itself.

So that is what I do, I walk, I observe and eventually I feel a compulsion to create a series of images to tell a story - a triptych of change. I want to depict the passing of time (a theme we are exploring in my winter project cohort at the moment) and this is what I came up with.

I spend a lot of time working with the tree in the final image in this triptych as I loved the textures and patterns in the wood. I photographed this tree on my last visit, but the beach was higher then and most of the trunk was buried under the sand.

Now it is revealed in all its glory and I enjoy the challenge of creating an alternative composition, which I feel tells a better story.

Change is inevitable, it is part of life and I don’t think we should be sad when a favourite composition disappears. The evolution of the landscape opens up opportunities for us to see with fresh eyes and exert our creativity. It is too easy to fall into the trap of revisiting locations and repeating what has been done before. Change keeps things fresh, it provides challenges and it helps our photography evolve.

Are you good at embracing change? Do you enjoy re imagining familiar landscapes? Please leave a comment and join the conversation.

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In this post I mentioned my winter project cohort which I have been running throughout February. This is an online workshop which brings together 10 people interested in pursuing a mini project. This session is fully booked but if you would like to join me in future sessions I have the following available:

Summer Project Cohort - 6 week project based workshop over zoom exploring ‘Summer in layers’.

Winter Project Cohort - 7 week project based workshop over zoom exploring the theme of Thresholds.

Thank you very much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography.

Gill

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Each month I will be sharing a new post with a different theme and a challenge for you to go out and complete, should you wish to do so. The idea is to share some of your favourite images from the challenge on the chat page of my substack. Please feel free to post your images and comment on others so that we can build a supportive community around our shared love of photography.

This month the theme is light.

As photographers we are always chasing the light, seeking the golden hours at the beginning and end of the day for the quality of the light they produce. But working during these hours isn’t always possible and sometimes we have to make our photographs at other times of the day when the light can be harsher. If this is the case then I think it is important we embrace the challenge. After all there is no real ‘good light’ or ‘bad light’. There is just ‘light’. It might be harsh mid day light, or soft and diffused cloudy light or beautiful golden hour light, but whatever it’s qualities it is up to us as photographers to work out how best to use the light we are presented with.

Unlike composition, natural light is something we cannot influence. We have no control over the sun, the amount of cloud in the sky or the quality of the light at any given time. As a result we have to learn to work with the conditions we are presented with when we are out in the landscape. To do this we need to be aware of how light affects our images and how to work with it to achieve the best results.

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