Otters at the Mere...

A Shot From Down Under...

Earlier this morning I set off on my holidays to France with my friends, partener and my camera, so I have post dated a number of photos, I havn't added any information to these pictures but I hope that you like them.

This is my first of post dated blog

Bird In The Mountains...

This shot was taken whilst walking around Arnside Knott,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 150mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/1250. ISO: 800,

After I had taken the picture, I only added a gradient border

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Boat In The Evening...

This shot was taken whilst walking around Tendy on my last holidays...



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 100mm, Aperture: F.5.6, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 200,

After I had taken the picture, I added a gradient boarder and increased the shadow slightly,

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

A Reflection of Pink...

This shot was taken whilst walking around Martin Mere, the wild bird life was a bit quite so I headed into the captive bird enclosures to take a few snaps;



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/400. ISO: 400,

After I had taken the picture, I cropped in each picture to leave it with almost a panoramic shaped picture and then combined them together in paint, I did not edit the colours or shadows in these pictures at all; after I had pasted them together I smoothed of the corners and added a small white boarder in Photobucket...

I hope that you like my picture,
Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

A British Tiger

This shot was taken whilst walking around Martin Mere earlier this last weekend, the Tiger Lilly is such a beautiful flower...



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6, Shutter Speed 1/1000. ISO: 800,

After I had taken the picture, I spent a long time using the colour splash to keep the flower in full colour while changing the background to black and white...

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Hows That...

This shot was taken while walking around White Coppice earlier this week just after a thunder cloud was passing over;



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 18mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/30. ISO: 400,

This wouldn't be my usual landscape setup but this was a rushed hand held shot to to achieve better depth of field, I dropped my ISO and opened my shutter longer.

After I had taken the picture, I played around with some square boarders to achieve a thin white boarder and then added a gradient effect to black out the corners.

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Garden Photography...

This shot was taken while house sitting for my partners Grandparents, not been able to travel to far I decided to do a bit of garden photography,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 800,

After I had taken the picture, I cropped it in to make the subject bigger, upped the sharpness to increase the detail and added a gradient boarder to soften the edge and blend the picture into the background;

I hope that you like my picture,
Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Red Arrow Propaganda...

This shot was taken last year at Southport air show and with the thought of the next one soon coming up I decided to have a play with some of my shots from the last one,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 70-300 @ 300mm (this was my older lens that I changed to get a better compromise between wide angle and zoom), Aperture: F.6.4, Shutter Speed 1/1600. ISO: 400,

After I had taken the picture, I added more shadow to enhance the smoke and then upped the highlights to brighten the back ground, once I had done this I added more warmth into colours to give the picture a warmer effect and then add a very small graduated boarder to blend the picture in the background of my blog,

My aim for this picture was to give it a look of an old Propaganda or war style poster; I really wanted to play around with a picture of a spitfire but didn't had any good enough to get the effect that I wanted although I do like this picture because if Propaganda was ever to be printed again, I imagine that newer planes and technology would be the main focus of it... I imagine that this picture would fit the caption “Soar through Life in the RAF” or something along those lines.

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

The Beauty of a Meadow...

This shot was taken while walking around sand plant at Marshside RSPB Nature Reserve, this is a fantastic little spot for butterflies hosting most of the usual species that you would expect and then some more if you’re lucky.



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 180mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/160. ISO: 700,

After I had taken the picture, I added a green gradient boarder to blend the grass into the background and then I added a black gradient boarder to bend the picture into the blog background.

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

The Calm Before the Storm...

This shot was taken while taking a walk around White Coppice this evening with my Dad, it was lovely when we set off, the sun was shining and a couple of birds even broke into song, including a late singing Chiffchaff which was lovely to hear, but as we hit the half way point, the clouds rolled in and the thunder started to roll over the hills and I took this picture just before the rain hit us;



The technical information of how I took this photograph;

Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 18mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 400,

When I set off this evening, the sun was very intense so I decided to experiment and shoot on ISO: 400, as I am self taught I have always found ISO:800 the best for lighting and shutter speed but I wanted to see show much sharper my images would be with an ISO of 400; as I walked around the bird and insect life was very quiet but a thunder storm set in so I found myself taking a quick photograph while running for the car; as I was in a rush, I used only my shutter speed to control the lighting.

After I had taken the picture, I upped the shadow ever so slightly and added a very small graduated boarded,

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Eyes To The Skies...

This shot was taken whilst walking around Mere Sands Woods, the bird life was very quiet so I took a few experimental pictures,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.44, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 500,

After I had taken the picture, I added a greyscale effect to add more atmosphere to the picture and then added a graduated boarded to fade into the greyscale picture

I took this picture because I liked the effect that the branches had against the sky but taking just the branches didn't give the effect that I wanted, so I thought that if I have the free reaching up into the sky, and leading you into the picture, it could create the picture that I wanted.
It still wasn't quite how I imagined it but I can call it a work in progress...

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Natures Arrangement

This shot was taken whilst walking around Burge Meadows local to were I live whilst looking for a very elusive White letter Hairstreak,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/400. ISO: 700,

After I had taken the picture, all I did saw add a graduated boarded because I thought it had a nice effect,

I took this picture because I thought that the arrangement of the pine cones with the branch and distant back ground would make an interesting composition,

I hope that you like my picture, Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Dark Side Of The Bird...

This shot was taken today while I was walking around Mere Sands Wood with my mum and dad,


The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.6.3, Shutter Speed 1/160. ISO: 800,
I had to drop my aperture to F.6.3 rather than my usual F.8 and shutter speed down to 1/160 to achieve the right lighting.

After I had taken the picture, I upped the shadow to in Picasa to increase the darkness of the dark side of the bird, this bird was sat under a over hanging tree and only half of it was catching the light and then I added a black graduated boarded to give the branch the effect that it fades in from the edge;

I hope that you like my picture,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

The Little Things In Life...

This is a Picture of a Blood Sucker or Rhagonycha fulva if you want to use the technical name that I took almost a year ago while walking around the sand plant at Marshside RSPB Nature Reserve.



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.5.6, Shutter Speed 1/500. ISO: 800,

Once I had taken this picture, I cropped it in to create a bigger subject, sharpened the image to increase the detail and then added a rounded border.

TIP: This tip is more for the nature lovers out there, if you into your photography and have never tried your hard at a bit of macro, I highly recommend giving it a go, you enter into a different miniature world and could be amazed at what you see.

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping...

Great Crested Grebe...

This shot was taken whilst walking around Glasson Docks one lovely sunny evening,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800. ISO: 800,

After I had taken the picture, I just added a border to soften the effect of the picture,


I hope that you like my picture, Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Mans Best Friend...

I took this picture whilst walking along Ainsdale Beach this time last year,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 150mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/2000. ISO: 250,

This was quite an lucky shot, I was sat trying to photograph terns but the light was going, as I was sat there enjoying the sun set, I saw this picture develop in front of me, grabbing my camera, I turned down my ISO up to counteract the sun on the water snapped and the picture turned out like this, mostly luck but sometime that’s how the best picture are created.

After I took the shot I cropped it in to create a panoramic effect, Upped the warmth of the colours to create a slightly more orangey sunset, then added a border,

I hope that you like my picture, Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

A Fresh New Arrival...

I took this picture yesterday while walking around the disused sand plant at Marshside RSPB Nature Reserve.


"Six Spot Burnet Moth"

The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/250. ISO: 700,

This was a very opportunistic photograph, I was walking around photographing butterflies and moths but to find one so fresh, still drying out on its chrysalis was pure luck but I am very happy with the picture.

TIP: When I am photographing any type of nature, I am very particular about the eyes, for me the eyes must be perfectly in focus because if you focus just in front or just behind the eye it will stand out a mile off and if you get a glint light in the eye it will bring a whole new aspect of life into your picture, such simple things but it can change a picture from average to something a bit more special.

I hope that you like this picture and you might find these tips slightly useful,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Marsh Helleborine...

For the first time on my 365 day blog, I actually took this picture today while walking around Marshside RSPB Nature Reserve and I want thank Graham Clarkson who put me onto them, a plant that I have never seen before,



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/320. ISO: 700

I hope that you like this picture, I was quite happy with it as I've never had chance to photograph this type of plant before,

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Feeling A Bit Bug Eyes...

I took this picture of a Dark Green Fritillary 3 weeks ago while walking up Arnside Knott, a beautiful part of Cumbria especially if you’re into your nature and landscape photography.



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/1250. ISO: 800

After I had taken the picture, I sharpened the picture slightly to sharpen the detail, and added a black faded border.

When I found this butterfly, it was sat in a bramble patch warming it's self in the morning sun, not bothered by my presents I took the opportunity to take a few shots from different angle that you wouldn’t usually get the opportunity to get.

TIP: When photographing nature try getting down to your subjects level, such a simple thing but it can change the whole look of you picture.

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Still life and Motion...

I took this picture last Friday whilst walking around the Ingleton Waterfall walk with my partner...



I took this picture as an experiment, I wanted to open my shutter to create the effect of water running down the waterfall but I wanted to involve a person in the picture, finding the right shutter speed proved a bit tricky but with a bit of trial and error I Think that the photo turned out very effective and I hope that you would agree.

The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 44mm, Aperture: F.20, Shutter Speed 2 sec., ISO: 300.

Once I had taken the picture, I upped the shadow ever so slightly, just to give more definition on the rocks etc and then added a rounded border to soften the over all feel of the picture, if I could change anything about this picture, I would like more definition on my model but without editing the picture after I’m to sure how to achieve this while keep the background bright, so if any have any tips for my I love to here them.

I hope that you like this and that you might give it a try some time,

I would also like to thank Charlotte for sitting on a very uncomfortable rock whilst I played around with my camera.

Thanks Lee Harrison Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

It turns out there's a Bird at the end of the tunnel...

I took this picture whilst walking through Lancaster with my family,



Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 80mm, Aperture: F.6.4, Shutter Speed 1/250, ISO: 800.
My camera was set up this way because it was a very dull day so I dropped my shutter speed.
Once I had taken the picture, I didn't edit it to much; all I did was up the shadow slightly to accentuate the dark bridge and bird in the foreground against the bright background then just framed it in a rounded background to complement the curves of the bridge.

This shot was not planned I was photographing the Heron sat on the foot path under the bridge when it jumped into the water to catch a fish so I zoomed out to try and capture a fuller picture and it came out like this.

I Hope that you like the picture I don't have any tips for this blog, but if you have any questions, please ask, thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping...

warhol-esk

I took this original photo whilst out and about around Pennington Flash and after a little inspiration decide to have a play around...



My original picture was an impromptu shot; I was just playing around with close focusing,
The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.8, Shutter Speed 1/800, ISO: 800.
This is my general setup for my camera when I am out photographing wildlife but obviously I vary shutter speed and ISO dependent on the lighting.

Once I had taken the picture I uploaded it into Photobucket, here changed the picture to a pop art setting and famed it.
My inspiration for this photo came not long back when I was cleaning out an old school back and for some of my year 11 art work, were I studied Andy Warhol, so I wanted to see if I could use one of my pictures to create a Warhol-esk piece of work,

Thank for look, Happy Days and Happy Snapping.

Watermans Cottage Old Style...

This picture was taken whilst walking around an Anglesark Reservoir near my home, this is such an iconic building I wanted to try and capture it in a different way;



The technical information of how I took this photograph;
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 116mm, Aperture: F.6, Shutter Speed 1/40, ISO: 100.

I couldn’t put my aperture as high as I wanted because me camera was hand held so I wanted to keep shutter speed up.

My idea was to create an old style picture, as if it had been taken with old equipment, to get this effect, I used picasa to add a washed out sepia tone to accentuate details and increase your focus on the building and increased the film grain to add and aged effect, after this I used photobucket to added a graduated creamy boarder and played around with the circumference until it looked right.

My inspiration behind this picture was due to my grandad, when he died I inherited his old camera from the war which was a Kodak Junior, which used a No. 1, 120 film, since I have got it I have always wanted to take a picture with it but until I do this I wanted to try and achieve the affect.

Thanks Lee Harrison, Happy Days and Happy Snapping…

A Fresh Start and Time For Something New...

Well this is my new blog, reading this introduction may take five minutes out of your day but if you’re an avid photographer as I am I think you will get a lot from this blog.

My aim is to upload a new, interesting and exciting image every day of the year, these could include pictures of Nature, Still life, Experiments, Portraits, old photographs of mine re-mastered so to speak, basically anything that I snap I will share with you, through this I am hoping to capture the interest and imagination of a wider range of photographers so that tips, advice and opinions can be shared.

This page will be run along side my other blog (http://leeharrisonsnaturephotography.blogspot.com/) but unlike my nature photography this blog will be run with more of an artistic influence, this may entail editing in Picasa, Paint or Photobucket but under every picture, I will write the technical information of how the camera was set when the picture was taken, if any filters were used etc. the inspiration or ideas behind the picture and editing that has been done, I will also write down any tips that I think might help; this way fellow photographer might be able pick up advice or tips that can help them progress and develop their skills.

I have been into my photography for many years now but only seriously for about two years so I still consider my self a beginner and I am willing to listen to any advice that can be given to help me to improve my pictures; So I urge and plead that any viewers or followers to comment on pictures, leave pieces of advice whether it is general to photography advice or specific to a picture any will be welcome.

To start with I will leave my comments un-moderated so you can use them for discussion purposes but obviously if any obscene comments are made I will have to change this.

Well Thank you very much, I hope that you all get as much enjoyment and advice out of this blog as I wish you all to.

This is my opening image, an experimental shot that I took a few weeks back whilst visiting family,



I set my camera up to capture the darkest possible image,
Lens: sigma 18-200 @ 200mm, Aperture: F.40, Shutter Speed 1/4000, ISO: 100.

This was a totally experimental picture, my idea was to create a totally silhouetted black image back lit by a spherical orange sun, I am very happy with the way that this photograph came out but I imagined it darker in my head.

After I had taken the picture I opened it in Picasa up the shadow to increase the darkness of the silhouetted, upped the sharpness to crisp up the edge of the silhouetted and slightly adjusted the saturation fade in the brightness of the sun.
After I had edited my picture, I uploaded it to photobucket and surrounded it with a square black and white border then rounded off the white border to it full circumference.

I have recently invested in a set of Cokin filter set, so next time I take a photo like this I will use one to darken and help emphasise the spherical shape of the sun.

Thanks Lee Harrison wishing you Happy Days and Happy Snapping.