Why I Love Photography

(And why you might enjoy it too!)

This blog contains affiliate links. 

I am going to start this with a caveat… this pursuit, like so many others, if you’re not careful, can end up being an absolute money pit; you have been warned! (But also, it doesn’t have to be that way).

I came to photography quite late. About six years ago, shortly after I had moved to London and got some lovely feedback from a few friends and decided to give it a bit of a go; things have just snowballed from there.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

But what attracted me to it in the first place? Ultimately, I am a bit of (a lot of!) a nerd and photography certainly scratches that itch. I’ve always loved a nerdy hobby - I have studied music since childhood and play the trombone and piano (both nerdy!), I used to DJ (yes it looks cool, but it’s also massively nerdy!) and play the odd round of golf here and there (nerdy with a side of frustrating!). Selling my DJ equipment financed my initial foray into photography and I haven’t looked back. 

My first equipment was my Canon 80D with an 18-55mm f/4 kit lens and the cheapest tripod I could find on Amazon. I also got a bag to carry it all in and off I went. You can have a look at the gear I am currently using by checking out the ‘My Gear’ page. You’ll see that the 80D is still there!

I started out whilst I lived in London and got really into night photography, long exposures, light trails and playing with depth of field. The result of this was that I got really good at taking photos at night, but was hopeless at it during the day - both styles are very different beasts. 

This leads me onto the next thing that I love about it - you are always learning. In the real world I am a teacher (Music if you’re wondering) and place real value on being able to teach young people a new skill, but also an equal weight on learning new things so that I can pass this on as well. Moving to the lakes has presented whole new set of challenges and means that my passion for the medium has developed further still and I am constantly learning and adding new skills to my arsenal.

YouTube is a great resource for learning about how to use your camera and how to post process in applications like the Adobe Creative Suite - find someone you like and who interests you and then go and put it into practice. Try to not end up down a rabbit hole though, if you spend too much time here, you won’t have time to go and do something with the learning you have done. You will learn more by going out and making mistakes than you will if you sit in front of a screen watching someone tell you how to do it.

I also really like being outside.

My current location, right next to the Lake District National Park really helps me to want to get out there and the air is a bit cleaner than it was in London, but all the same, getting out and about in all weathers is something which has always and will always appeal to me. Being able to do it in such beautiful surroundings is just a massive bonus, but again, it’s another learning curve and I’ll write a blog about that in the coming days; let's just say it’s a big difference to shooting in the city.

People have always been a big factor in my love for photography. I have met some awesome people who are incredible photographers whilst I have been doing this; I will link some of them at the bottom of this post so you can check their work out! Being out on your own can be really liberating, but having someone else to bounce off is always a great way to get out and shoot - you also never know when you’re going to need a model!

I’ve also managed to build out a nice little home studio; this happened during lockdown when I got really into Still Life and product photography. This is probably where the most investment has gone. Lighting isn’t cheap and decent lighting even less so. Then there’s backdrops, props and space to store it all. It’s a great place to retreat to after a busy stressful day!

The nice thing about being in the studio is that no matter where you are, you have (almost) complete control over the light, you just have to make sure monitors are properly calibrated!

Once you’ve taken your photos, you’re going to need to be able to edit them (God-tier nerding). You’ll need something like Abode Lightrom and/or photoshop which will require a subscription (there are free programs available, such as Photopea, which can be quite clunky but will get the job done) and then you might want to think about posting them on social media which is a time investment and then printing on top of that. If you then start shooting in a studio a lot, you might want to think about CaptureOne, which has awesome live capture abilities and really helps me to nail the compositions.

All that said, you shouldn’t let cost be a barrier to getting into photography. Find a decent secondhand body and lens from somewhere like MPB.COM and then get out there and see what you can do! And if you don’t want to do that, then we all have cameras in our pockets these days anyway…

Check out these photographers mentioned in the blog:

James Evans | Nick Minter | Alex Howard | Leon Simpson

Gear Review: Lowepro Fastpack 250 AW III

A solid, lightweight bag with only a couple of minor quibbles.

I’m going to do a quick review of the catchily titled Lowepro Fastpack BP 250 AW III, which from now on, I will refer to as the “backpack” or  the “bag”!

I bought this bag from Amazon as I wanted something that would work as both a camera bag and a day-bag for when I am out walking. Being the owner of a couple of other bags from Lowepro (the equally catchily titled Tahoe BP 150 and the ProTactic BP 450 AWII), they were really the only brand that were in the running for me. 

Admittedly, I’d been spoon-fed some social media ads before I made this purchase, so it was at the forefront of my mind when I was making the decision.

It’s a well constructed, light backpack which comes in at around 1.5kg, which is a reported 33% reduction on its predecessor and it’s almost all black/dark grey, except for the webbing which is a stone grey colour and some orange detailing around some of the seams. The zips are solid and it comes with a grey waterproof cover. I am yet to test it out in poor weather, so will report back on that when I find out whether or not it passes the weather test! (Edit 14/11/2024 - it does ok in the wet, but you don't wanna get it soaked without the cover on!)

It’s fairly roomy inside, but the layout, even with some adjustments means that my 70-200 f/4 will have to live on my camera (a Canon 80D which is quite large; mirrorless owners may be a little luckier here) however,  there is plenty of room for my 24-105mm f/4, my 18-55mm kit lens and my 10-18mm f/4.5 super-wide.  

If you want to take a drone, then this is either going in the top section of the pack, or you’ll be leaving lenses behind. Or just not taking your drone. My 50mm f/1.8 doesn’t make the cut if I’m going out to shoot landscapes as there just isn’t enough room. But maybe I just want to take too much kit. Better to have it and not need it and all that… 

The bag benefits from a “2 stage quick door”, which you can access easily by slinging the bag across your body for those quick lens changes, or when you need your camera 10 seconds ago.

This does mean that you lose one of the side pouches to allow for the access, but I feel like this is a small sacrifice to not have to take off my bag, lie it on the floor and open up the whole back of it. 

You do need to make sure that you know where the zips are and then take care when opening so that you don’t just pour your camera gear out all over the trail that you’re walking. So far so good though, and I appreciate the convenience that this is affording me.

Inside the bag is the stuff you would expect from a bag like this by Lowepro. The colour is a light grey with some orange details and I was really impressed with the feel of the updated adjustable dividers. These are now much more solid than previous iterations and feel like they will hold up a bit better when the bag is full. 

A decent sized front pocket adorns the top of the bag, and this will certainly hold your filters and the other photography accoutrements that we all seem to carry (camera tool, lens cloths etc). Those of you with smaller drones might find that yours fits in here, but there isn’t any padding and your drone case isn’t fitting inside.

The laptop compartment is generous and well padded and should take anything upto a 16” laptop for when you need to do your edits on the go. My ipad is my go to for this now and this fits more than comfortably.

The top section of the bag is a fair size and would allow you pack in a lightweight waterproof, small flask and something to eat. It’s difficult to say what will fit in here because we all carry different things, but the pictures should give you a bit of an idea.  

In summary, it’s a well built, well made bag, is comfortable to wear and provides quick and easy access to your kit when you’re out walking. The top “day pack” section is great and allows you to take out enough stuff for a day’s walking and the laptop section is well protected. I’d like to see some improvements to the strength of some of the clips. If you’ve got long lenses and a DSLR then you might want to consider something a bit bigger. Am I happy with it? Yes, absolutely! You can get yours by following this link to Amazon!

At a glance:

Lowepro Fast Pack 205 AW III

Price: Currently available at good camera retailers from £95.00 to £115.00. I got mine from Amazon

• Total Volume: 20.5 L

• Internal Dimensions: 30 x 19 x 53 cm

• External Dimensions: 31.5 x 20 x 54 cm

• Camera Compartment Dimensions: 29 x 12.5 x 22 cm

• Laptop Compartment Dimensions: 27.5 x 2 x 41 cm

Who’s it for?

Photographers who want to get out walking for the day, with a decent sized handful of gear but who also like to pack fairly light.

Those of you who want a decent sized bag at a reasonable price point.

Who should avoid it:

Wildlife ‘togs with a bunch of long lenses might struggle with the small size of the camera compartment.

Those of you who want to take the kitchen sink out on a walk and still have room to take some food and a waterproof.

Pros

Good sized camera gear section with a further decent sized day pack for clothing/food/drink or a drone.

Lightweight.

Solid construction.

Waterproof cover included.

Updated internal dividers feel much nicer and much more solid.

Cons

Uses of larger cameras and lenses may struggle with the smaller size of the gear section in the bottom of the bag.

Plastic clip on the chest strap looks a bit flimsy

Tripod pouch on the side isn’t over-generous so you might need to take something a bit smaller or attach it to the bottom of the bag using the supplied webbing.

5 Quick (and free) Tips to Boost Your Photography

Nothing techy, nothing expensive, just 5 things that you can do today!

1: Shoot what you love and what you enjoy.

Don’t be a slave to social media and shoot what you think everyone else wants you to photograph. Photography should be something that you do because YOU enjoy it; i really believe that if you’re shooting what you enjoy, somewhere you enjoy doing it, then you will take better images because you will have more of a connection with your subject matter. It might be wildlife, it might be landscapes, it might be street, it might be commercial but it should be what you enjoy! I manage to combine my love of being outside with my photography, so I get the best of both worlds!

2: Look at the work of other photographers. 

Read photobooks, look on the internet, soak it all up! You don’t have to copy everyone else’s work but it's useful to have inspiration and to see how other people compose images.

If you can avoid all of the other distractions, then using the internet to do this is a great idea, but know what you want to find and then go find it!

Some of my favourites are Nigel Danson, James Popsys, Scott Choucino (these three have really active social media and YouTube channels and I have learned a TON from them!), Galen Rowell and of course, the master: Ansell Adams.

These aren’t the only photographers out there, so find ones that you like and learn about their photography!

3: Talk to other photographers!

This is where I have learned more than via any other medium, other than actually going out and shooting. And let’s be honest, if you’re talking with other photographers, you’re probably out shooting anyway! Talking to other photographers and shooting with them is one of the best ways to learn, to get better and to develop your skills.

4. Be Present. 

By this, I don’t just mean be there and be ready to get the shot. I mean be present in the moment, be aware of what is going on. Put your phone away, take the AirPods out, look and listen. Doing this meant that one a recent trip to a local viewpoint, I got to see things in the night sky that I haven’t seen before and it was really special. Allow of your senses to play a part in what you’re doing. Nothing beats being out early morning listening to the birds and watching the world come to life in front of you and capturing it with your camera.

5. Get out and shoot!

Make a plan and stick to it. Go out without a plan. But go out! 

Some of my best shoots have been spontaneous, some have been the planned shoots, but they all involved getting off my behind and going out and doing the thing that I love. New years day last year was a really special one - I was up early and took advantage of the empty streets (I was still living in London) and saw one of the best sunrises I saw in all of my time in London. It was a great start to the year!

Bonus Tip!

Take lots of photos - I see so many people who have gone out and taken 10 photos on the same photo walks where people have taken 300. It pays to have shots in the bank, because the more you take, the more chance you have having something different or something interesting. Taking fewer photos because you “know how to get the shot” doesn’t make you a better photographer, it means that you get shots that other people miss. 

Bonus Tip 2!

Know your camera. It should be like an extension of your body. READ THE MANUAL! Watch YouTube videos about your camera and find out everything it can do and then learn how to do it. There is nothing worse than seeing something amazing happening in front of and then having to faff about with your camera to dial in the settings meaning that you miss the shot. Even during the longest of golden hours, the good light can be there and gone in a minute (or even seconds!) and you don’t want to spend that time staring at your camera wondering why you can’t make it do what you want it to. Oh, and make sure that you’re shooting in raw so that you have the flexibility when you’re doing your post processing!

Keep Creating!

Chris

Does Photography Gear Matter ?

Welcome to my first blog! It’s a cold, sunny, Sunday morning here in Cumbria so I’ve made a brew and sat down to try and answer the question “Does photography gear matter?”. This a question that will have ten’s of thousands of answers out there on the wider internet, and I’m going to share my thoughts here.

Where to start?

There are thousands of camera options available to you, just as many lens options, there’s all of the different filter and tripod options and don’t even get me started on bags (this is a separate blog all on its own!).

I get asked a lot “what’s the best camera?” or “what’s the best lens for portrait/landscape/street?”. The best answer I have heard to these questions and the one I like the best is “the one you already have”. Even if that’s the one that you have on your phone. Phone cameras are getting better by the day, and some of them even shoot raw images, which give you more flexibility when you’re editing.

But what if you don’t already own any camera gear and want to move away from your phone, where should you start, what should you get and where should you buy it from?

In truth, if you have a budget of, for example, £1000 (about $1200US), then you should (in my opinion) look to spend about half of this on your camera and lens combination. Why? Because if it breaks or you break it, it gets full of water or some other unthinkable thing happens to it then you have enough in the bank to be able to replace it. So the best camera is the one that you have and the one that you can afford to replace. I’ll talk about your first lens later.

Buying you first camera and lens is only the beginning. Once you have made this purchase, you’ll need to think about what sort of photography you’re going to do and the conditions that you’re going to be shooting in. If it’s anything that’s likely to be in low light situations, then you’ll need a tripod if you’re going to get sharp images, free of camera movement, which you can be proud of.

Then you’re going to need to be able to move it all so a decent, comfortable camera bag will be essential. So out of our remaining £500, we’ve probably just spent another £50-75!

But what about your lens? This is an important decision. The quality of your glass is important and is probably one of the things that will have the biggest impact of the quality and feel of your images (vintage lenses create some great looks, when you’re ready to dive down that rabbit hole). Most consumer DSLR/mirroless cameras can be supplied with a “kit” lens. These are usually cheaper than premium lenses, but won’t be weatherproof, so be careful if you’re using it in the rain. Kit lenses are generally zoom lenses, which is great when you are just starting out as it means you’ve got a range of focal lengths covered so you can experiment, be flexible and have fun with your images. The Canon 18-55mm f/4.5-5.6 is a common kit lens that you can buy with their cameras. Just be sure the check that the lens is included in the price that you pay, as a general rule, DSLR/Mirrorless cameras don’t come supplied with a lens and you’ll have to buy this separately.

New or Secondhand?

This is a question that is likely to be dictated by your budget, but you also get a lot more bang for your buck if you are willing to make a second hand purchase. The secondhand camera market is huge and there are some bargains to be had if you know where to look. The best places to start this search are websites like MPB and Wex.

Both of these sellers are reputable UK brands who supply the kit with a warranty and everything is thoroughly checked before it goes on their websites, so you can be sure you’re not throwing money away and buying a dud.

3 of the lenses in my current set-up were bought secondhand and haven’t caused me a single problem and have proven to be great value for money.

You can also consider places such as Facebook marketplace and eBay, but make sure that you do your research and don’t get either ripped off or scammed!

There is also a large “grey market” for cameras. I won’t post any links here, but I am sure you will be able to do a quick Google search and make up your own mind. With regard to the grey market for cameras, you’ll get an authorised product but outside of the manufacturers authorised distribution channels. So you might buy a lens from a UK based seller, but the product wasn’t intended for the UK or European markets, meaning you don’t get any of the manufacturers warranty protection if something goes wrong.

Will people take me seriously?

Don’t worry about what other people think. Use what works for you; the most important thing is that you ‘get on’ with your setup. That being said, if you get booked to photograph a wedding and turn up with an iPhone and nothing else, you’re going to get some funny looks!

“Is this a professional camera?”, another question that gets asked repeatedly and one that doesn’t have a really well defined answer. Any camera can be a professional camera if you’re using it to make money. What portion of your income you need to be making to be considered professional is another discussion for another time! Also worth noting at this juncture, if you’re out shooting and you end up on private land (such as Canary Wharf in London or the area around Tower Bridge), you’ll probably told by a security guard that any camera that has an interchangeable lens is a professional camera so that they can make you stop and move you on (always be polite and do what they ask, it makes it easier for everyone else who has to encounter them in the future); luckily, you’ll probably have another camera in your pocket anyway.

So, does gear matter?

Yes.

And no.

And also maybe. To some extent.

If you’re reading this and you have made it this far, chances are you’ve read a few articles on this topic and heard a number of different opinions.

If you have a camera on your phone and you’re happy with it then great! If you want some more flexibility in what you do then you may want to consider your first DLSR/mirrorless purchase.

Gear matters if you let it matter. Going out and buying a Canon R5 with an L series lens is going to set you back in excess of £6500 and isn’t going to make you a better photographer, no matter what your experience level. It will create lovely files with lots of data that will be great to edit, but they won’t necessarily be “good photos”. If you’re spending this kind of money on your first camera because “it will encourage me to go out and shoot” then the chances are that in 6 months time you’re going to have a very expensive ornament sat on your shelf! Remember the old adage that photography happens in the space between the photographer’s ears.

The resolution/megapixel count on newer cameras is huge, which is great if you’re drastically cropping images and want to retain the image quality. But bear in mind, that if you’re after the resolution, then consider the Canon 5DS or 5DSR. Both of these have more megapixels (50.3MP) than the R5 and are now about 8 years old so can be found for about £5000 less than the newer cameras.

What matters most is that you’ve got a setup that works for you and that you can use easily, confidently and that allows you to be out there making photos. You can’t make images if you don’t get out to take them!