by Steve Tanham
It shouldn’t be happening. Bowness-on-Windermere swans are notoriously aggressive, and yet these two are approaching me as though I were another swan. I’m not, obviously. But I am in the water with them. Why this is taking place needs some explanation… We live a short drive from the shores of Lake Windermere. Our collie needs a decent daily walk, and the park areas around … Read More Approaching delight
by Steve Tanham
There’s something special about the two week period when one season blends into another, particularly winter into spring. This liminal period is capable of showing us the subtlety that winter lacks… (200 words, a two-minute read) Something wonderful happens to the winter sky towards the end of February – there is a weekend during which the light energy doubles – it’s the largest upward … Read More Winter walks with camera (12) liminal crossing into Spring
by Steve Tanham
Winter is a natural fit for black and white photography. The essence of a good monochrome shot is strong contrast, aided by subtle mid-stones. The low winter sun lends itself to that mix – as long as there is any sun, at all… (460 words; a four-minute read) The power of the high-end mobile phone camera has provided the means to carry out sophisticated … Read More Winter walks with camera (11) : black and white
by Steve Tanham
Winter landscapes involving water are plentiful, but water can be a tricky subject to photograph. The eye is much more subtle than a camera lens, and we have to help the camera overcome this… (200 words, a two-minute read) Watery landscapes can look pale and ‘flat’ if you let the standard camera settings take charge. The lens is doing what it’s supposed to, but … Read More Winter walks with camera (10) flowing water
by Steve Tanham
We think of winter as being full of disadvantages for the photographer, but it also brings unique colours and dynamic contrasts: from clouds in the sky to the low sun on the landscape. (200 words, a two-minute read) One of the most subtle contrasts is between the dull green of winter’s foliage and the colour of the residual life of trunk, branch, twig and … Read More Winter walks with camera (9) dull green and soft ochre
by Steve Tanham
I love that fragile first coat of snow that changes the landscape like a frosting… yet leaves the main features visible behind the sheet of white. Here, the thin snow is not sufficient to do anything but emphasise the railway tracks and the tall, bordering conifer trees. There was something stark about the collie and the single post in the field near the coastal … Read More Winter walks with camera (8) first frosting
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by Steve Tanham
The modern mobile phone puts an arsenal of photographic tools at our disposal. One of the strangest and most difficult to master is the panorama… yet the results can be wonderful. (550 words. A four minute read) The panorama is not a gimmick. It’s a wide-angled shot in which the correct proportions are retained, rather than the treatment of a ‘fish-eye’ lens, where the … Read More Winter walks with Camera (7) : panorama
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by Steve Tanham
Drama comes in many forms, but those forms can be accentuated by the rigours of Winter (250 words, a two-minute read) The estuary to the west of Arnside has an ancient feel, and is filled with dramatic shapes and foliage. In Winter, some of these can look primeval, and the natural desaturation of colour caused by the lower levels of light play to the … Read More Winter walks with camera (6) : the shape of drama
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by Steve Tanham
A bright winter day brings a wonderful benefit: long shadows. Often a matter of being lucky and at the right place at the right time, the long shadow is at its best extending the movement of people… (300 words, a two-minute read) The opening shot was taken while walking behind a family. It was a Sunday afternoon and we had been strolling behind them … Read More Winter walks with camera (5) : long-shadowed figures
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by Steve Tanham
Winter is not generally associated with clear skies, not in Cumbria, at least! But when when a period of high-pressure brings clear air, and everything begins to freeze, there can be found the most beautiful of sunsets… (300 words, a two-minute read) Sue Vincent, one of my fellow Directors of the Silent Eye, along with Stuart France, the third in our trio, are both … Read More Winter walks with camera (4) : cold sunsets
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by Steve Tanham
I find a nobility in winter trees. They endure the brutal weather, but show us, in that endurance, their purpose in revealed structure… (140 words, a one-minute read) The inner process of leaf-life to come is laid bare as the rain howls and the wind tests whether this year will be the last. Below the ground, the vast spread of roots has a life … Read More Winter walks with camera (3) : the fire in trees
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by Steve Tanham
It flows, seemingly singular… until something intrudes. Then, instead of resisting, it parts at the level of molecules, and recombines on the other side. The bank is the end of one world and the beginning of another; a place of soft contrasts, where organic forms reach the limit of their existence, and begin to dissolve. The water embraces them all. Its force and flow, … Read More Winter wanderings with camera (2) Water: form and flow
Sun in Gemini 
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