Skull

The Swiss/Italian Alps

2012 has been amazing. So much has happened and I have seen some fantastic sights.

From safari in Tazania to a walking tour of Amsterdam. There really is no greater contrast! There probably is, but so far I have not found it.

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog on Facebook about the “new things” I have done this year. In 2012, it was not so much the new things I had done, but the things that had caught my eye or made me think “would I ever get this opportunity again?”

Here are a few examples of those events.

1. Slept under the stars (no tent) in Saadani National Park, Tanzania.
2. Went to see Volleyball at Earl’s Court (London 2012 Olympics)
3. Got glasses!
4. Exhibited my art work at Southborough’s long-running Art Show
5. Became a trustee of a charity
6. Got out of debt! (I didn’t say all of them were exciting!)
7. Made proper pieces of art (with paint, not a camera)
8. Painted flowers and butterflies in the dark on a school in Tanzania.
9. Left working in Education to work for the family business.
10. Did a coach trip round some of Europe (Paris, Lauterbrunnen, Verona, Venice, Munich, St. Goar, Amsterdam, Bruges.

When I returned from my travels, I was amazed to find a deal online to get canvases at a really good price (80% off). I received 7 canvases of photos from each of the countries I had been to.

My travels enabled me to see 9 countries – taking my current tally to 20. My dream is to get to 165 which is about 70% of the number of countries in the world! How cool would it be to say that I have taken photos in that many countries?

Maybe in 2013 my photography will take off enabling me to afford a few more tickets to far off countries!

For now and 2012, Merry Christmas!

Cricket on the Common in Southborough, Kent.

Sometimes life does get a little crazy. Other times life seems to go so slow… well the last 6 weeks has been more than crazy. Changing jobs, continuing to worry about my previous one and then forgetting completely to register for an exhibition by 31st July… there is nothing like panic 2 days before!

So, with 10 hours to go, I write this post to invite you to pop along to Southborough Common (between Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells) this Bank Holiday weekend to see my latest exhibition.

With new prints ready to exhibit, I am excited! I am continuing to pray that the weather remains less worrying than the forecasts predict!

Saturday, Sunday & Monday – 10am – 5pm, by the Speed Camera in Southborough.

That has meant that my camera has sat in my bag since the end of June. Ridiculous! So, turning my hand to something a little different, I came up with a couple of designs and then thought a little more about paint.

No, my house doesn’t need redecorating, but sometimes I feel my appearance at exhibitions is a little bit of the “it’s just a photo” side and not enough on “wow, I love that piece of art”. So with a paintbrush in hand and a couple of tubs of acrylic paint, I created this little masterpiece. It may not seem anything to you, but to me, it’s the thing that has made me think: “Yeh, of course I take this a stage further”.

Along with my new vision for framing photographs through mounting them on different colour squares on a larger than necessary canvas.

So, take a look and let me know what you think. Remember, it’s my first attempt at taking the colour in my life, into this dull world we’re faced with at present!

Your prom photos have been despatched! They should be with you tomorrow morning. The envelope is A4 so may not fit through your letterbox!

Enjoy!

It was a great night. The later the evening, the photos did get better and I think you will agree. If you would like to purchase any additional photographs, please contact me and state which photos you would like. The file name will appear at the bottom of the enlarged photo when you click on them.

The quality of the photos is not great on the website, so they cannot just be copied and saved as a high quality image.

Enjoy!

Copy and paste this link to your browser address bar: www.get-capturing.co.uk/assc/index.html

Portrait shots are something new for me. I’ve been able to practice this week with my best mate and the feature shot today is of him. Probably the most relaxed he has ever been in a photo so that’s cool.

I am sure that the photos will turn out well, but it is just making sure that I set the room up correctly and everything goes well…

Prayers please!

This photograph of Barden Lake has been chosen for an open photography exhibition at The River Centre in Tonbridge for Tonbridge Art Festival 2012

If you have the opportunity to pop down to the River Centre any day this week 10-4pm, please do so. There are some fantastic shots from a great variety of people and mine is there too!

Enjoy!

The River Centre is at the end of Medway Wharf Road in Tonbridge (opposite KFC off the high street).

My only issue with today is that it was very hot! My forehead feels like it is stuck to a radiator or something equally hot! My cheeks are like fire balls and I am ready to collapse and fall asleep… maybe starting the sun block at 13:00 was not such a great idea!

Today I sold three prints:
Cogs (Ellesmere Port), Petals (little flowers) & Lighthouse (Cornwall).

I also sold a number of greetings cards and just under half of the key rings that I took to sell.

All in all, it was a great weekend and I loved it.

Hopefully looking at an exhibition wall at the Southborough Lions’ Art Show in August. I’ll keep you posted.

Take a look at my flickr page. If you’re interested in any shots, let me know and I can print and post for a fee.

www.flickr.com/get_capturing

In 2010, I set the photos up randomly but this time I really thought about the image I wanted to share with those that took interest, it was therefore my intention to ensure that the photographs were displayed in their genres: Landscape, urban, wildlife & flowers. I really feel this made the exhibited pieces hold more presence.

The wind did drive me crazy today. The photos were flying around all over the place and I really thought I was going to lose one or two into the river, but I was lucky and not one lost it’s place. Even the greetings cards stayed in the box.

I was surprised that even though I had a good range of key rings, not one sold. Is £1 too cheap? Should I up the price? I’ll leave that one for you to comment on if you so wish.

I have spent the last few nights creating around 150 greetings cards to exhibit and today I sold 23 cards.

There is a good deal on cards this weekend. 1 card is £2. 3 cards are £5. 6 cards are £10.

Framed prints start at £30 and go up to around £60.

People to thank for today:
John for helping set up and spending all morning doing little tasks.
Mum for getting lunch
Petra for helping me pack away
And of course thank you for all those that came, viewed and purchased a greetings card or more!

Looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

Bring on day 2!