Magical Autumn Family Portraits in Cheshire

Autumn is my favourite season by far! Nights start to draw in, with a nip in the air there's an excuse to have a real fire and dig the scarves and hats out. True, this autumn has been a little strange so far with frosts few and far between. But the autumnal colours have been spectacular especially over the last week or so. And in just a few short days the trees and bushes could all be stripped bare of their fiery glory - it will only take one gusty day or a sharp downpour.

With the ephemeral nature of Autumn in mind I have packed several photo shoots into the last couple of weeks. Of course the backdrop of scarlet, gold and burnished yellow leaves is perfect for outdoor portrait sessions but so is the light at this time of year. The sun is lower in the sky, shadows are softer, the light is kinder and if you can work quickly in the magical hour between 2.30pm and 3.30pm you can maximise all of this, resulting in stunning images.

Beautiful light on the edge of the wood

My chosen location for these recent shoots has been Marbury Park but I imagine any park with decent stands of trees would be as good, as long as you've scouted out a few good spots first. Woodland can be tricky - if the canopy of leaves is too dense then it can be a tad too dark and flat but if you can find somewhere towards the edge of the wood the light can be wonderful.

The birdhides made an unexpectedly great place to take portraits, as the viewing slots allowed my subjects to be lit naturally from both sides and the green wood of the hide was a very complementary backdrop.

Kids love messing about in woods and no more so than when there's an ankle deep carpet of leaves on the ground. I adore the fun of the piggyback shot but just look at that light in the background!

The other thing I love about Autumn is that the colours all go together so perfectly - Mother Nature never makes mistakes with her seasonal palette! I particularly like the fact that in my last shot here the family dog also matches in so well!

So don't hang about - you've got about a week at the most (don't hold me to that!) to get out and about with your cameras. We will have the magic of that cold Winter light next but it's not quite so pleasant doing a shoot then and kids' noses have a nasty habit of turning red and a bit runny!

Thanks to the families who have allowed me to share some of their images - these kids were wonderful - very photogenic and really fun to work with!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Venice revisited and revamped

I found a gorgeous book on Venice and its food in a discount book store today ("Venezia - food & dreams" by Tessa Kiros). In all honesty it's doubtful that I'll cook any of the recipes in it but it brought a whole raft of memories tumbling back and I just had to have it. In 2007 Nic and I went to Venice to celebrate a landmark birthday (his not mine!) and our wedding anniversary. In some ways it wasn't the perfect time of year to go - mid January - but it did mean that it wasn't swamped with tourists and the damp cold weather was preferable to unrelenting heat and its accompanying eau de sewage. It was a truly magical weekend - if you've been you'll know exactly what I mean and if you haven't make sure you add it to your bucket list. There really is no where else like it on earth.

I was a keen amateur photographer back in those days and took oodles of very average pictures whilst we were in Venice. I was pleased with a handful of them (I've even sold one or two!) but had relegated the rest to a sub folder somewhere in the bowels of my computer hard drive. Today's book purchase inspired me to unearth and reappraise my Venice "snapshots", with the knowledge that these days I am more of a dab hand at editing images.

And I was very pleasantly surprised! With a little cropping, tweaking of exposure, levels and brightness I found I had around 20 very nice images. They're not of a professional standard and I'd hope that nowadays I'd produce much better, but I've been able to create a very attractive collage of memories that will eventually adorn the walls of our downstairs loo!

This is the final collage - I'm going to get it printed at around 30cm x 30cm. I've stolen the quotes from Tessa Kiros' book - I hope she doesn't mind as it's only for our loo - but they epitomise our weekend in Venice, especially the part about getting lost but it not being a problem. We set off from our lovely hotel each morning and just walked and walked. We stopped to eat when we were hungry, whiling away a few hours in cosy little bars serving prosecco and cicchetti (delicious bites!). We usually didn't have a clue where we were and only consulted a map when it was time to find our way back.

Just as a comparison I've created a collage of the images before any editing, to show just what a few simple tweaks can achieve. It makes an OK collage, but the final version (above) is much more vibrant and punchy, I like the occasional use of black and white and I love the addition of the quotes.

If you'd like to learn how to create very simple but really impactful and personal pictoral memories of special events in your life just get in touch. I run one to one tuition sessions at very reasonable prices. http://www.picture-it-big.co.uk/Onetoone.html. Even better get someone to treat you to it - I have gift vouchers too. All those photos should not be languishing hidden on your computer when they could be bringing back nice memories every day!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Should I buy an SLR camera?

I get asked this all the time when I’m teaching people with compact cameras, so I decided to try to write a blog that will help you make that decision before you part with your hard earned cash.

Firstly let’s take a quick look at the types of camera out there as it may be surprising to some that compact cameras and SLRs are not the only options available.

Compact camera: Often referred to as a “point and shoot” camera and is designed for ease of use and convenience. It does not offer interchangeable lenses, has a built in flash and has many automatic modes to make picture taking as simple as possible. Some do feature options for controlling aperture and shutter speed and there are some with extremely good lens or optic quality.

(I’ll do SLR next although really it should come last as you’ll see shortly).

SLR camera: stands for Single Lens Reflex but you don’t really need to know that! It uses a system of moving mirrors to allow the photographer to see exactly what they are going to capture (What You See Is What You Get – WYSIWYG). Non SLR cameras (the other three types discussed here) do not use this mirror system.  SLRs also allow you to use interchangeable lenses, have full control over aperture and shutter speed, use manual as well as auto focus and use additional filters and flashguns. Basically you get more control and can be much more creative than with a compact camera.

As I said earlier these are not the only two options and the alternatives are well worth taking into consideration.

Bridge Camera: bridges the gap between compact cameras and SLRs, hence the name. Bridge cameras are often a similar size to small or entry level SLRs and have common features. They do not have interchangeable lenses and usually have a lower ISO range (meaning that they won’t perform as well in low light). They have a fixed but very versatile lens which allows you to photograph close up and wide angle through to telephoto, with the zoom limit often being very high.

Compact System Camera: More recently manufacturers have brought out a fourth option designed to have interchangeable lenses and all of the flexibility of an SLR but in a much more compact body.

So now that you know about four options instead of just two, how on earth do you decide which is the right one for you?! I’ve used all except the newer compact system camera (if any of the manufacturers would like me to do a review of one, feel free to pop one in the post!) and they’ve all got their place in the market. It really comes down to what sort of photography you want to do,  how much money you want to spend and whether you like carrying and changing lenses or just prefer one that does it all.

Perhaps describing how I use my cameras will shed some light. I stick my compact camera in the bag whenever I’m going out with the kids and might want some quick snapshots. I know there’s quite a delay when I take pictures, I can’t get the nice soft focus background shots I love and I can’t capture close ups of faraway things. However, in good daylight conditions it delivers great quality snapshots. I have also done some really nice close ups with it. Shots taken with the flash aren’t great, but then I am used to using an SLR with external flash gun.

I use my bridge camera when I want to get better quality pictures than with my compact but don’t want to carry additional lenses. A good example of this was on a recent holiday to Cape Verde where I didn’t want to risk taking an SLR and all the lenses.  Sandy beaches and SLRs don’t mix well! My bridge camera has a 20X zoom so I knew I could get some good candid pictures of the kids playing in the pool and on the beach. It also does some great close ups with soft focus backgrounds and the image quality is better, sharper and crisper than the compact. It also has an optical viewfinder which I prefer to the LCD screen.

I bought this bridge camera as a natural step up from a compact, when I was still an amateur photographer stuck on AUTO.  I first started to see the limitations of it when I began an A Level evening course. I had my first play with an SLR and loved the quality both through the lens and in the final images. And of course there’s no delay when pressing the shutter (no more missed action shots!). Once I had tried a macro lens and an external flash gun I was hooked – there was no going back. However hard I tried I could not achieve the same quality of images or creative effects with my compact or bridge camera.

SLR cameras also allow you to shoot in RAW as well as JPEG. This gives you much more control when editing your pictures afterwards, a must for a professional photographer (some bridge cameras do offer this format as well).

If speed and image quality are important to you, if you’d like to enlarge your shots for display on the wall or enter them into competitions then you should probably go for an SLR. But only if you are prepared to spend money on additional lenses. The “kit” lens that usually comes with an SLR does not allow you to take real close up shots nor does it zoom very far, so you’ll soon find that you need at least one additional lens. You can buy lenses that have a similar wide range to bridge cameras (e.g. 18mm-200mm) but the quality is not as good as dedicated close up, wide angle or zoom lenses. I soon found that I needed a macro (close up) lens and a zoom lens. But then I’m selling my images. If I was an amateur photographer on a budget the one “Jack of all trades” lens is perfectly adequate, certainly when you first start out using an SLR. You can also save money by buying generic lenses such as Tamron or Sigma and by buying second hand.

For me, using an SLR feels like a “proper” camera – I can look through a view finder, it instantly takes the picture when I press the shutter button and has a real and satisfying feel, it’s fast and overall a more quality experience. If automatic modes fail to give the result I am looking for I can take control and make fine-tuned adjustments. A bridge camera can do this too but the quality is generally not as good, with more noise (speckled dark areas) on the final image and just not as crisp and punchy. I know that if I use a particular lens with my SLR I can achieve a particular result – it gives me much more control.

I can’t truly answer the question of SLR cameras versus the new compact system cameras as I’ve yet to use one and can only rely on the reviews I’ve read. They seem to have a place in the market, based predominantly on compact size and being light weight, but opinion seems to be that although very good, they don’t always perform as well as SLRs in the more challenging lighting conditions.

All my cameras have their place and role to play and I'm sure I could come up with an argument to add a new compact system camera to my kit bag! If I was forced to give them all up except one I would hang onto an SLR - and it would be my mighty Canon 5D - I'll blog on why it knocks the socks off my 350d and 40d another day!

Whatever you decide to do, make use of the internet and read lots of reviews. Stay away from manufacturers’ reviews initially as they will be biased and stick to web sites that offer independent reviews e.g. http://www.cameras.co.uk/ but there are many others

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

A digital photography class for beginners at Davenports Farm Shop, Cheshire

I ran another course for beginners in digital photography today and had such a great day. It really doesn't feel like work - sharing something I love with other people who go away so enthusiastic and excited about what you've told them. Today I trained a former colleague, Catherine, who last knew me as the foot expert rather than the photographer - although she remembers me jumping up and down in excitement about buying a new camera lens too. And flogging flower photography calendars up and down the office! Talk about moonlighting - the writing was probably on the wall way before I was made redundant.

So, anyway, there I was today teaching her and her two friends how to take better photographs with their new SLR cameras. They were typical of the people I teach - they know how they want their pictures to look but get frustrated as they don't know how to achieve it. They consider their good pictures to be lucky snapshots. As ever, they are hard on themselves and have usually got a good eye for a nice image. Husbands and dads have tried to explain about apertures and shutter speeds but somehow the penny has never dropped and the camera has stayed on the fully AUTO mode (little green square).

By the end of my training sessions people usually tell me that I have cut through all the jargon and made it all make sense. Catherine commented today that she hadn't known what anything on the screen on the back of the camera had meant and that she was going away able to interpret it all and say what ISO setting she was on and why and what shutter speed and aperture she / the camera had used. Things like Auto White Balance and Exposure Compensation now made sense.

On week days I train at an amazing venue - Davenports Farm Shop at Bartington on the A49. The staff are very friendly and accommodating, giving over an entire room free of charge  in the Alice in Wonderland themed tea rooms to me. The choice of tea and coffee is dizzying but Belinda will guide you through and select the best one with you and all the food is locally sourced and freshly prepared by Belinda and her husband. The cakes are to die for - I drooled so much over the miniature cakes served to two ladies nearby that they donated the ones they couldn't quite manage to us!

I combine the classroom sessions with practical exercises outside and Davenports has oodles of interesting subjects. Today we concentrated on the outdoor chess set, practising using the Av mode to set different apertures to increasingly blur the background and also seeing how zooming in compresses perspective. On previous courses we've photographed the ostriches and alpachas, flowers, fruit and veg, old fencing - the opportunities are endless.

If you like the sound of it get in touch and we'll sort out a convenient date. I can tailor the courses to suit particular interests e.g. portraits / close up flowers etc. All in all I am always told that it's a great day out and very informative and practical.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

New Digital Photography Taster Courses for 2011

If you want to take great pictures you need a lot of expensive kit and you need to understand all the technical stuff - don't you?

No, not necessarily. Of course great quality cameras and lenses and an understanding of how to use all the settings can help you to produce fabulous images. But if you don't know some basic rules or tips then it doesn't matter how good your kit or technical knowledge is. Occasionally I leave all my SLRs, lenses etc at home and just take my Panasonic DMC-FS12 compact with me to remind myself of the basics. I also like to demonstrate that you can get some really good shots with a compact camera.



All these shots were taken with a compact camera



This led me to thinking about how easy it is really and how everyone can take good shots if they just have some simple tips and techniques.

That's what's inspired me to run some taster courses in 2011. I love running courses - so much so that I'd do it for free if I could, but I have bills to pay, cosmetics, shoes and clothes to buy!

The idea of these taster courses is to give people some completely non-techie knowledge that they can go out and put into practise straightaway and see an immediate improvement in their photographs.

If this sounds like it's for you please get in touch. I'm running two courses - one in June and one in July. Details are on my web site. The taster courses are just £20 per person for two hours.

If you're ready for for the next step - getting off the AUTO button and finding out what all the different settings do then take a look at the workshops and small group courses I offer.

To book or find out more contact me on 07868 750505 or via http://www.picture-it-big.co.uk/

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Slipping through my fingers...

Schoolbag in hand

She leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye

With an absent-minded smile

I watch her go

With a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

The feeling that I'm losing her forever

And without really entering her world

I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter

That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute

The feeling in it

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Do I really see what's in her mind

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

She keeps on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time

(Lyrics from by Siobhan McCarthy & featured in Mamma Mia).

I don't always know exactly where my daughter is sometimes and I don't like it one bit! She has been glued to my side (or her daddy's) or in the care of someone we've handed her over to ever since birth. How am I supposed to let her go her own way without worrying myself into a nervous breakdown?

To put this into perspective (I'm just clinging onto some) she is 10 years old and has started to call on friends and meet them in the local park. I know I can't stop her going and although I can warn her about stranger danger I can't terrify her with stories of kidnappings and worse. She came home half an hour late today - it wasn't really her fault, she ended up going to pick up her friend's brother with their mum. And I can't go ballistic at the mother who is much more laid back than me as she's been through it once already. I limited myself to two text messages and five bitten nails - I'm saving the other hand for tomorrow when she'll no doubt want to exercise her new right to freedom again.

But this isn't a blog about how to let your children go out on their own without worrying yourself sick (I have an inkling that will only happen when senility kicks in). It's more of a realisation that this time is so precious and so much of it has already slipped by so quickly.

I didn't find motherhood easy and I think I have only recently become completely comfortable in my role as mummy. I had postnatal depression and spent the first five months on a rollercoaster of emotion - "yay I'm a mother and my daughter is absolutely gorgeous"! Then five minutes later "oh my god what the hell have done, what was I thinking of?! I'm rubbish at this, everyone else is coping so well, they have lots of other mummy friends, I'm the only one on my own all the time". It all happened again when I had my son 2 years later and redundancy and stress related problems didn't help me settle into motherhood either.

I think the fact that I never knew my own mum (she died when I was a few weeks old) also had an impact. Lacking a role model must have had an impact on how I would adapt. I think I've done an OK job in the end, I'm never sure if I'm being fair, over-indulgent, too strict, too much in love with every hair, mole, smell, expression - but I don't think that makes me any different to any other mum. I have a feeling I seek approval more than I should and can't believe that she loves me and looks up to me as much as she does. It amazes me that she wants to copy how I apply my make up, do my hair - I'm not a girlie girl and did not do this with anyone when I was young. Through her I think I have come very late into girliness and am so enjoying going through this stage with her. I'm making the most of it as it will be shortlived - she already tells me when I look naff and, when I let her, she applies make up much more adeptly than I ever did.

And did I mention that she is hilarious and a great mimic? When she's in her comfort zone she has attitude in spades and will hold us all rapt with her performances. I can't understand why her teacher describes her as "quiet" - are you sure you have the right child?

I feel as if we are in a magical time at the moment - her  inbetween girlhood and adulthood and me finally completely content with being (1) mum and (2) photographer. I want to freeze this time and not let it slip through my fingers.

When I went to watch Mamma Mia for the first time I had never heard the song "Slipping through my fingers" before and I absolutely sobbed during the whole scene. I still think it was more than just a chick flick weep - more of a cathartic moment when a lot of stuff hit home. I love the lyrics and feel as if they were written for me and Abbie. She, however, thinks they're really dumb and has taken out an injunction against me playing the song at her wedding along with a slide show!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Easter eggs, tulips and...sunburn...?!

Easter was ages ago wasn’t it? It feels like it especially with wedding fever having dominated in the intervening period. But it was only less than a week ago on Easter Sunday that we went to Quarry Bank Mill http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-quarrybankmillandstyalestate for a picnic with my great nephew – that’s not my “fantastic” nephew (although he is), but my “great nephew”, as in I’m a Great Aunt (feeling old)! You’re always guaranteed a good day out with the National Trust – this isn’t a sponsored plug, just my honest view as a mum and garden lover. If you're a member it feels like a free day out too – there were six of us and we spent a grand total of £8.60 between us on ice creams, and as the photographs will evidence, we had a really great time.

After a picnic on the grass by the car park we headed down to the meadow where staff from a certain chocolate company were organising events for the kids. It was busy but not crazily so and our guys had a go at just about everything. I was majorly impressed with the face painting especially Sam’s slightly angry chicks and Abbie’s rainbow, which was done in one stroke with some great gadget. First photo lesson coming up – like any proud parent I wanted to photograph the face paints before they got smudged and the first picture I took of Abbie didn’t work because the sun was just way too bright – just look at the harsh shadows and contrasts on her face. There are two ways to get round this; one is to turn your flash on – the camera will fire what’s called a “fill in” flash, just enough to get rid of the shadows. It works but looks a bit false. The best solution is to get the person to move into a nice shady area and take the shot without flash – this looks much more natural. But of course your model might not always want to do as you ask! Luckily Abbie obliged after being blackmailed with ice cream (after the photo!).

Have I mentioned that it was a belter of a summer’s day (at the end of April!) and we couldn’t have been seeing the gardens at Quarry Bank Mill on a more beautiful day. But bright sunshine does create lots of challenges when you’re trying to take photographs of pretty much anything and you really have to think about what you’re doing if you want to get some nice shots. The camera can struggle to capture what you see with your eye and contrasts between shadows and sunlight will be much starker than with the naked eye. Case in point - just through the entrance of the garden is a path alongside a glade carpeted with bluebells and in the distance bright splashes of colour from the rhododendrons. This looked lovely but was impossible to photograph because the foreground was dark, a shaded glade, and the background was very brightly lit by the mid-day sun. Later or earlier in the day with the sun at a lower angle this might have been possible. Sometimes you just have to look for a different shot.

The garden at Quarry Bank is spread along a number of terraces up quite a steep bank (hence its name!) and at the lowest level by the river there is a path lined with the aforementioned rhododendrons (I’ve just recently found out that azaleas are a type of rhodendron so I can now stop fretting about which is which and just lump them all together!). With the sun filtered through trees and bushes to the left I was able to take a nicely lit shot of the pretty pathway. I cropped out as much of the sky as possible as it was so bright that it was white and wouldn’t have added to the shot. I also did some close ups of the rhododendron flowers as they were breathtaking, but I made sure to pick flowers in the shade or in soft, dappled light.


The deep purple tulips on the lower terraces were the real stars for me and I spent ages taking a variety of different shots, some wider angles and lots of close ups with the light shining through the petals. You can see in the collage the dramatic changes in colour caused by the light. The tulips in the shade were a blackish purple whereas those lit by the sun were a sparkling deep ruby. All were set off so perfectly by the green stalks and leaves and flashes of blue from the bluebells in between.

As you climb steeply up the terraces (or take the gentler zigzagging path) you are quickly rewarded with views across the garden to the mill in the background. I’ve photographed from this viewpoint in the autumn when the leaves have turned gold and red and it’s a lovely vista then too.

At the top of the garden there’s another area of bluebells and this time I could use the light to my advantage and get a sense of a shady glade that was a resting place for some people after the steep climb. Others chose to stop awhile under the magnificent handkerchief tree in the grassy meadow just beyond.



 
 
 
 
 

I stopped off one last time at the tulips before I left the garden - I felt as if I wasn't done with them yet. I did some more close ups, this time with my 60mm macro lens. I also collared Abbie into posing in front of them for me and this demonstrates nicely why a macro lens is often also called a portrait lens.


We didn't go into the mill this time - I've been twice on school trips as an accompanying mum - this trip is always popular as we have to go off to the restaurant for cake whilst the kids experience Victorian schooling at the Apprentice House! On a less gloriously sunny day the mill is well worth a visit - there's often some craft making activity and something to interest everyone.

So, another garden visited at this amazing time of year, when nature wakes up after the winter and announces it with fabulous displays of colour in the form of daffodils, then blossom, bluebells, tulips and azaleas. For the last few years at least we've had periods when the sun seems to shine for weeks on end and yet again I've been caught out and got a sunburned nose at Easter!


Technical Info: I used my Canon 350D and had two different lenses to choose from. Most shots were taken with the 17-40mm lens and usually in Program Mode. The close ups of the tulips and the final portrait of Abbie were taken with the 60mm prime lens on Aperture Priority. I used a feature called Exposure Compensation quite a lot as it's a quick and easy way to make shots brighter or darker. If your camera has this feature it's well worth checking out ... I feel another blog coming on for this!

This blog is also published on the Cheshire Life web site http://cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/community/blogs/entries/jane-burkinshaw-photographing-cheshires-gardens/id/379/

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

In awe of tulips

I’ve been visiting Bluebell Cottage Gardens (http://www.lodgelanenursery.co.uk/) near Dutton for several years and have photographed it right from early Spring to late Summer, witnessing neatly edged flower beds with low clumps of new growth transform into borders overflowing with colour and texture. The garden is named after the adjacent bluebell woods which are currently in flower. I didn’t have time to photograph them on this visit (you’ll soon find out why!) but have done so before. The garden itself is lovely to stroll around, with some very different areas and lots of shady places to sit awhile. I think what I love about it is that it gives me the feeling that it’s do-able or achievable to some degree in my own garden. I could never create a garden like it by myself but I could take an idea and do something that is inspired by what I’ve seen. And chances are you can buy the plants in the nursery and also get advice from the owner, Sue Beesley.

I had a different reason for being at Bluebell Cottage Gardens yesterday – I had permission from Sue to sell pink cupcakes to garden visitors to raise money for charity – my daughter and I are taking part in Race for Life in May (if you would like to support us or find out what we’ve been doing visit our Race for Life page http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/janeburkinshaw0309). The wonderful cupcakes were very kindly donated by Heather's Cupcakes - you can contact her on 078434 85500 or follow her on twitter @heathercupcakes.

At the end of a very enjoyable day selling sweet confectionary creations to lots of lovely and often very interesting people, I finally got chance to go into the garden. I was tempted to go straight home and put my feet up but Sue persuaded me to have a look at the tulips and I’m so glad she did. The early evening light was marvellous – I don’t usually get chance to photograph public gardens at this time of day. So the topic of this blog is inevitably light and how to maximise it.

The tulips were the show stoppers in the garden and are also my all time favourite bloom, both as a flower to appreciate in the garden and as cut flowers, but also as a photographic subject. My natural style is to get up close and photograph a single flower or a small group, with a shallow depth of field (only a small area of the shot in focus and the rest very soft and blurred, achieved by using the Av setting and choosing a low f value such as f2.8 – f4.0) as I love the painterly effect this creates.

However, I also wanted to capture some vistas of the garden so I made myself stand back and take some wider angle shots. It was as I was doing this that I saw how the low sun was backlighting some of the tulips, making them appear to glow from within. Usually I preach that you shouldn’t photograph flowers in direct sunlight, nor to shoot in the direction of the sun, but this was the time to break the rules and make the most of this magical light.

Once I’d satisfied my desire to get some close ups I hunted around for some viewpoints where I could capture the beauty and presence of the tulips within a larger vista. I looked particularly for places where they were still illuminated from behind by the sun and then tried shooting from different heights, simply standing or kneeling to see how it altered my perspective. It’s always worth experimenting with landscape and portrait shots of the same scene. I often do both and then choose later. I much preferred the landscape shot of the dark red tulips and the lower angle. I made the tulips the point of focus and softened the background to create a complimentary backdrop and to also give a flavour of the rest of the garden.

On the way home I stopped off at the supermarket to buy emergency Easter eggs (nothing like leaving it to the last minute!) and treated myself to a bunch of purple tulips. They’re lovely but nothing like as beautiful as those back lit by the sun in a garden where I could feel the last warmth of the evening sun, hear the sounds of birds calling and, bizarrely, listen to people chatting as they prepared their supper aboard a boat on the nearby canal.


This blog is also published on the Cheshire Life web site.
http://cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/community/blogs/detail/in-awe-of-tulips/id/4646/

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Where to start...

A perfect Friday afternoon in early Spring – warm sunshine, a light breeze and clear blue skies. Catch up on some emails or escape to a local garden, take a few pics and enjoy a cream tea? Before you could say “cheese” I had packed my camera bag, raided my husband’s wallet, left a reminder to pick the kids up from school and jumped in the car.

Arley Hall is just down the road and although I’ve been there several times I haven’t photographed its lovely formal gardens. Actually I was in for a bit of a surprise as it wasn’t the latter that held my attention on this visit, but rather an area that I was directed to by the lady behind the counter in the gift shop – the Grove and Woodland Walk. It’s easy to miss these unless you pay careful attention to the map or are tipped off as I was. Instead of following the signs to the gardens you have to head off to the left towards the Chapel – itself well worth a visit especially when it’s decked out with flowers.

As I approached the Grove I was struck by the usual dilemma of where to start taking photographs. Everything looked so beautiful, especially given the perfect weather conditions, and it’s tempting to just click away at everything. Experience has shown that it’s better to give it a little thought and have a plan of sorts – but nothing too rigid as you never know exactly what you’re going to come across. I find that trying to bear the following few points in mind will help to focus your attention and stop you from just “firing at will”.

Capture a sense of place... try to consider what makes this particular place memorable for you, which features and aspects. For me, at Arley Hall, it’s the clock tower first and foremost. It is pretty rather than imposing and it can be seen from almost everywhere in the gardens. The first view of the clock from the end of the Pleached Lime Avenue never fails to please visitors and it must surely be a very well photographed view. I particularly liked the criss-crossing shadows formed by the trees.

If you’re photographing flowers and plants in gardens that you go to, it’s inevitable that you will capture the season during which you visited, but by ensuring that you also make a concerted effort to capture a sense of place, you will avoid the feeling that those pictures of daffodils or cherry blossom could have been taken anywhere. I try to have a mix of close ups of particularly spectacular blooms and vistas that indicate where I was.


 The magnolias are the show stoppers at Arley at this time of year. They are so large and showy and seem to know that this is their time to shine, after the best of the blossoms and before the rhododendrons and azaleas burst onto centre stage. They are not the easiest of flowers to photograph as they tend to look better from a distance, like delicate coloured hankies attached to the branches but I found that by looking up I could put them against the deep blue of the sky.


Later on, as I wandered through the formal gardens I was on the hunt for a different view of the clock tower. I found it in the Kitchen Garden, with another magnificent magnolia tree in the foreground and the clock tower against the blue sky in the background.

I’m acutely aware that I’ve mentioned the deep blue sky several times now and that brings me to another key point on your mental checklist. Before you start shooting away, especially on a bright, sunny day, consider the position of the sun. In the direction of the sun, the sky will appear almost white (unless you’re lucky enough to be visiting the garden at sunrise or sunset) and will not add anything to your scenic pictures. Consider cropping the sky out altogether rather than having an expanse of white nothingness at the top of your shot. The sky will be at its most blue in the opposite direction to the sun and ideally you need to shoot in this direction.

Bright and sunny conditions are problematic when you are photographing flowers in the garden. What looks like a beautiful flower in bright sunshine may look very different in your final shot, with harsh bright areas and deeply contrasting shadows. It’s always better to photograph flowers in even, filtered light or sometimes in gently dappled light. I experimented with this in the Glade where there were some magnificent early rhododendrons in flower. Rather than the obvious shot of the sunlit flowers I crept around the back of the bush and photographed the blossoms in the shade. (I hope I didn’t startle too many other visitors as I popped out from behind bushes!).

If you would like to read more on the subject of the right light for photographing flowers see my blog post Photographing flowers.

 Go for variations of the obvious shots. Everywhere you visit has a view that everyone photographs, like the Taj Mahal with the long pool in front of it. Gardens are no exception and you’ll recognise them from the garden’s literature or by the amount of people jockeying for position in certain places. There are various aspects of the formal gardens at Arley that are probably photographed by every visitor – the view down through the Walled Garden, Ilex Avenue lined with its imposing columns and the Tea Cottage.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to photograph these beautiful places, but you’ll be more proud of your images if you manage to give them a slightly different twist. For example I included the branches of a magnolia tree in the foreground of my shot of the Tea Cottage. Ilex Avenue was more of a challenge as the sun was high in the sky and the columns cast very large black shadows. I did settle for a rather obvious shot in the end and found myself wishing for the first time that afternoon that I’d got my daughter with me to photograph on the steps leading up to the Avenue. I waited for a while for all the people to disappear out of view – folks do amble slowly when they’re garden gazing!

I hadn’t realised that Arley also has a rock garden tucked away in a far corner beyond the tennis courts. It was really peaceful and I could have sat for a long time listening to the water tinkling on the rocks, but I didn’t want to miss out on a cream tea on the Tea Lawn by the Tudor Barn! As I hurried towards the garden exit I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of two lambs snoozing under a tree with their mum. A reminder that Arley Hall is set within a larger working estate and a perfect closing shot for my visit!


As usual I am already planning a return visit – most likely in July or August when the Herbaceous Border will be at its best. I’m also going to be watching out for Arley opening its gardens for an evening event and being able to capture the gardens in a totally different light.

This blog is also published on the Cheshire Life website.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

How to take great pictures of babies

From the moment they explode into our lives babies are amazing! For something so small they have a massive impact on everything we do. Life as we know it ceases to be and the world revolves completely around them. We are totally governed by their every need and mesmerized by their very prescence. Go on, admit it, you've idled away many a moment just watching your precious new arrival sleeping and breathing. It's no surprise that we take literally hundreds of photographs, trying to capture every expression and moment. And it's not easy is it?! New babies sleep for England and when they're awake their eyes can't focus and can look a bit bozz eyed for the camera! Well, here's a few helpful hints to ensure that you make the most of this magical, albeit brief time.

Place baby on a sofa covered by a blanket to create a neutral background.

Location: Put your baby in a snuggly, safe and warm place in front of a window where the natural daylight from outside is falling onto them. Floor to ceiling windows are best. If the window is higher up then place baby safely on a sofa or bean bag. If you cover the sofa in a neutral blanket it creates an uncluttered background. Avoid areas of bright sunlight as it creates harsh shadows. Just move back away from the window a little. My children used to have a crib under the living room window and in the afternoon the light was wonderful. Hold your camera nice and steady, lean against a wall for extra support if possible.

Clothing: Personally I think new-born babies look amazing in the altogether - their skin is so precious. You have to be careful to arrange limbs and shoot from the right angles of course and sometimes I use blankets or muslin cloths to preserve baby's modesty! Knitted hats and bootees can look very cute, especially if they are special gifts.

Camera settings: Whatever type of camera you are using, make sure your flash is turned off! If you are using a point and shoot compact camera or phone just take pictures from lots of different angles and zoom in to capture close ups of feet, hands and faces. Try using the Macro / flower setting to get some real close ups.

If you are a little more adept with your camera then take into account the following too: ideally you need a shutter speed of 1/60 minimum - you should be able to see this displayed on your camera LCD or in the viewfinder. If it's less than 1/60 try increasing the ISO number. Using the Program mode will allow you to get some nice shots, especially if you zoom in on details, but try using the Av / A aperture setting and try different low apertures such as f/3.5 or lower and close up shots to focus on tiny details and blur the background. If you are using very low apertures you need to be very careful where you focus. If you have time to plan ahead a 50mm fixed lens will give some great results.

Photograph newborns when they're asleep... because it's easier and also because they look so cute! In the first two weeks a newborn baby will still tend to curl up its legs and arms when asleep and it's such a beautiful pose. The best time is when baby has been changed and fed and has gone into a deep sleep. I'm sure you've realised that nothing short of an explosion will wake them and it's surprisingly easy to move them into nice positions.

Having said that, it's lovely to get some pictures of eyes open and new babies have some extremely comical faces - even mid cry!

Photograph hands and feet... and include your own hands for a sense of scale and to create a picture full of emotional impact. And don't forget to photograph those all important little bootees and gifts, again putting them in natural daylight near a window.

For ideas and tips on how to photograph babies Pinterest is an amazing resource and I've collated quite a few boards full of gorgeous pictures and useful suggestions.

If you've enjoyed my blog please leave me a comment! If you're interested in photography lessons or know someone that would like a newborn shoot then please just get in touch with me!

jane@picture-it-big.co.uk

Tel: 07868 750505

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!