Landscape Gallery Updated + Special Offer

whilst it’s cold and icy outside I’ve been catching up with numerous emails and sorting out things that have been on the ‘to do’ list for an age!

One of which is to update my Photographic Online Gallery. At this point I’ve only had the chance to update the Suffolk landscapes, but please do take a look by either visiting www.julianclaxton.co.uk or clicking here to go straight to the gallery.

All images are available to purchase and until the 28th Feb I am offering a 80x60cm Canvas at £110 delivered (Saving £35 on normal rrp) or a medium framed print for £45 (saving £7 on rrp). To order you will need to contact me directly (through my websites contact page).

Also available are smaller prints and greetings cards.

It’s A Cold Morning on the Suffolk Coast

Leaving home at 6am in the dark and cold, setting out with the camera, it felt really quite refreshing and I was looking forward to a nice crisp morning and some atmospheric sunrise shots.

I had earmarked the Broads and was all prepared to head out, but as I was driving, something said to me that the sunrise wasn’t going to be anything spectacular. I rerouted, thought about the options and decided if it was going to be a little misty and grey I should perhaps shoot something a little industrial, rather than just going home.

Lake Lothing near Lowestoft was my choice. I’ve never seen  images of the area and I’m all for creating images which are slightly different or away from the usual.

Being pitch black and damn cold, no one else was about, and with the track going down to the water’s edge completely covered with litter, I wasn’t that optimistic. However, setting the camera up and taking time out to work out the shot, I loved the scene that was in front of me. It was cold, grey and industrial. It almost had a feeling of the soviet era about it.

I feel image DSC4054 really encapsulates the feeling of the lack of industry around this area.

Next time you’re out with the camera, take time and think. Just because it’s not sunny, bright and looking wonderful weather, don’t be afraid to try something different.

Suffolk Winter Scenes at Assington

Last Monday I had the pleasure of visiting Assington Mill in Suffolk, commissioned to shoot a storytelling workshop held in the old barns and thatched hut..

From research, I knew the grounds around the Mill were spectacular and therefore I decided to arrive early and shoot some images, ‘setting the scene’ for the images which would follow.
Arriving at 8:40am, I had the place to myself, the sun was breaking through the clouds and with a heavy frost on the ground, it was a truly spectacular scene. If you are thinking about taking a course at Assington Mill, I would recommend it, simply for the scenery – this 70 acre organic farm is a haven!

I often get asked when I’m shooting images, if I work on images a lot through Photoshop or a raw developer..the simple answer is no. Sure I adjust contrast and fine tune some of the colours, but generally the images are pretty much shot as seen. I hardly ever use HDR techniques, as I believe a lot of HDR images look far too false and inappropriate. It’s far better to use the expertise of the photographer to capture the moment.

Cycle 2 Rwanda…blog updates

Whilist I’ve been pretty poor at updating my personal blog, the Cycle2Rwanda blog and plans are coming along nicely.. please do pop along to our blog and have a read

http://cycle2rwanda.wordpress.com/

 

A little bit of Budapest…

It has to be said I wasn’t feeling particularly festive until I took a short break to Budapest..

Having visited Hungary before, I had never really taken the time to explore Budapest and loved the opportunity to visit some of the obvious sights for this time of year, such as the Christmas Markets… which were just immense! Plenty of mulled wine and hot apple cider..it could not have been better!

As well as getting in the Christmas spirit, I also took time to visit some of the memorials in the city, which naturally centred around the Soviet invasion, WWII and the Holocaust..All of which were naturally very moving and quite emotional.

On a lighter note, I took the opportunity to visit some genuine Hungarian food and fruit markets in the suburbs. These were the real experiences, meeting some wonderfully friendly people and experiencing ‘life’ away from the tourist trail.

One of my favorite images from the trip was of an elderly Roma Gypsy, who was sat at the side of a fruit and flower stall. She was very friendly and as soon as I spotted her, I knew I wanted a picture! The flowers she was holding complemented her wonderfully and I feel really added to the image.

Cold Morning on the Suffolk Coast

I popped out last week at about 6am, deciding to shoot some new winter sunrise material..

I love this time of the morning, especially when it’s a crisp winters morning on the coast!

This particular morning saw me set up my gear and shoot a few 15 second exposures..I was looking for something that emphasised a fresh winters morning and I think I’ve found it!

A Farmers life for me..

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of working on a shoot with Ray and Jane, the Sunderland couple who won the BBC television competition A Farmers Life for Me..

A national magazine is shortly doing a feature on the couple, to see how they are doing now..

Visiting their farm/land on the outskirts of Ipswich was a great experience.. The land offers tremendous views over Pin Mill and the river Orwell and is a real haven, away from the hustle of Ipswich.

The couple are two of the nicest people you could wish to meet, really down to earth and enjoying their new life.. naturally it’s been a struggle for them, but they are grasping this fantastic opportunity with both hands and who can blame them!

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Winter work on the Norfolk Broads

When the tour boats disappear and the Broads are less busy, the hard work really begins!

This shoot was great, as it meant discovering a part of the Broads that I hadn’t previously been to. Wroxham island is a small mooring in the middle of Wroxham Broad. The guys from the Broads Authority have been busy putting in new moorings and generally just improving what is there..

It’s cold work, but without any boats about, I can see why they love their work! it’s so tranquil out there!

I ended shooting the majority of the work with natural light, but going in close for a few, I used Slow Sync to give that added atmosphere..

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Images from the Norfolk Schools Project

I was hoping to make an update to the blog late last week or perhaps even the weekend, but somehow it’s now Thursday and it’s got the point where I simply needed to update otherwise it would be another week before I managed to update. Below are a few images from my shoot with the Theatre Royal Norwich on the Norfolk Schools Project.

Being the theatre’s photographic sponsor for this project, I get to see these young children at their school the week before the performance and also when they perform at the thearte on the Sunday, which is truly amazing. The Norfolk Schools Project really does make a differeance to these kids and from being lucky enough to experience two projects thus far, all I can say is, I wish this opportunity was around when I was younger!

If you children were performing, let me know what you think of the photographs!

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European STEP group visits the Broads

Last week saw a group of European professionals visit the Norfolk Broads as part of the  Sustainable Tourism in Estuary Parks (STEP).

The Broads receives funding from the EU to help with the development of Sustainable Tourism and the meetings which were held at the lovely Fairhaven Water Garden in South Walsham, really provided an insight into measures local businesses are making with regards to sustainability.

It also provided a great a platform for professionals from Flanders and the Netherlands to exchange ideas and concepts.

The group was treated to a guided walk around the grounds at Fairhaven, which provided some wonderful autumnal colours.