Bullet Holes and Gun Crime

Back when i moved into the house i grew up in (a long time ago), i remember one of the first things i noticed was a bullet hole in one of the sheds round the side of the house. Still to this day i have no idea where it came from. The area i grew up in is a far cry from downtown LA so the likely hood that it was an actual gun that did this is tiny. Most likely it was an air rifle or something. But as i kid i didn't know the difference, a gun was a gun in my head. So i'd make up fantasy stories of armed robbers having a shoot out in my back garden over stolen jewels. 

Anyway on a more serious note, i'm glad i grew up in a town, actually, a country with relatively low gun crime. I understand the need for guns when it comes to security as long as they understand properly how to use them and WHEN to use them. That's where i think the US has gone wrong. It's far too easy for anyone to get a gun and that leads to too many people thinking they know how and when to use them when they clearly don't. Going to a certified gun range to shoot is absolutely fine, don't get me wrong! (Sounds amazing!) It would help with gun knowledge too, which i honestly think is lacking in the US. From people picking one up for the first time to the police, the knowledge of when to use a gun is just not there.

In recent times US has been criticised for a rise in fatal police shootings. A statistic came out recently about there being more fatal police shootings in the first 24 days of 2015 in America (59), than in the last 24 years in England and Wales (55). (For more stats visit The Guardian's article on police shootings in 2015). The US police can definitely learn a thing or two from UK police as in a recent online video became viral of police subduing and arresting a man wielding a knife without resorting to shooting him. Many people have openly said that if that happened in the US he would have been shot. I find it so sad and frightening knowing how so many people can just go out and get a gun in the US. Personally i feel gun laws need to be improved and become stricter. The reason people think they need guns is to protect themselves from gun crime... This just leads to a lot of paranoid and angry people carrying guns. 

Sorry for the more serious post today! Just wanted to share my thoughts on gun crime and gun laws. As always check out my Instagram for new work at peterboothphotography! Hope everyone reading this has a great 2016!

Into The Distance

This is a shot i took quite a while back using my 35mm film Canon camera. The uncrowded image contains strong contrast of the dark trees in the background and her shadow with the highlights of the grass and the outline of the model. This helps to give the image a feel of isolation. That, along with having the subject just off-center staring into the light source, helps to give a sense of wonder to the image. 

Thanks to the gorgeous Alex Edden for being such a great model. As always visit my work on Instagram at peterboothphotography, and check out Alex on Instagram too at alexmedden.

New Business Cards (Review of VistaPrint & MOO)

It's taken me weeks and countless different designs but finally my business cards have arrived! I decided to go through MOO to get them instead of, what is probably the more popular, VistaPrint. VistaPrint may be cheaper in price which is why it does so well, but i also think it's cheaper in quality. Not just paper quality but appearance too. The templates for VistaPrint seem very cluttered and in my honest opinion, not very professional. They're probably ok for certain businesses especially when you just need something to show your business name and a contact number. However showing off your business now is all about standing out while still looking professional. If you needed a lot of business cards printed for a cheap cost and quickly, then VistaPrint may very well be for you. You don't get a lot of control in designs but if all you really need is your contact details on a card for customers to know then this is certainly the option for you.

This is when i started to look at MOO. I first checked MOO out for business cards a few years back and they stood out straight away as being more professional. With MOO you can sort your design out and then get sent a free batch so you can see what they would look like. This gives you a lot more control when it comes to something that will be very important for your business. It all starts with their slick website that allows you to clearly pick which product you would like. From there you can simply start your design from scratch, upload a pre-made design you've done, or have some help from the beautiful templates available. With these templates you can then narrow down your options by choosing to search by industry so you can see other photography business cards, or architecture and real estate cards. With the templates you can still edit the font, size, composition of the text which allows you to make it a bit more personal as well. On top of all this you get the options to make mini business cards, square cards, rounded cards, embossed cards, as well as many different paper types including a more eco friendly green option. These will all jack-up the price of your cards a lot, but i see it as an investment into selling your self and not just your business. MOO and VistaPrint both have good and bad points but i'd say they are for two types of people. 

VistaPrint is better for a mass production of cards for people who need to get their name around to customers quickly. They allow you to buy more cards at a cheaper price which for a self owned business is a big bonus, but they lack a creative flare. They don't allow you to fully customise your design which is a downside if you had an idea of what you wanted it to look like. Also if you wanted it to stay in theme with your website it would be hard to get them to match.

With MOO they give you the option to design every aspect of your cards. You can edit pre-made templates and really make your cards the way you want them so you don't have to settle with anything you're not happy with. They also have a much wider range of papers and style of cards you can choose to really make them stand out. However if you choose anything other than the original paper quality then the price will go up considerably, and it's not as if it was cheap in the first place. 100 cards will set you back around £30.

I'd say if you're in a creative industry or is someone who needs to sell themselves well in their line of work then you have to go with MOO. For mine i decided to go for one of my photographs i feel shows off my work best, and for the information side i kept it simple with a white background, contrasting white text, and my occupation in another colour to make it stand out. 

As always check me out on Instagram at peterboothphotography and give me a FOLLOW and let me know what you think about my work! 

Stars

This post is about some shots i took a couple of years ago of the night sky. It was the first time i had ever tried taking photographs of stars and there were some obvious hit-and-miss images. It's DEFINITELY harder than it sounds.

I used my Nikon D90 and the standard kit lens for this shoot as it was just after i got the camera. The settings for it weren't the same for each shot as there was always tweaking going on with the settings. This was because if i turned to a different part of the sky there were lighter areas on the horizons due to light pollution over towns. But the general settings were around f5, 25-30 seconds, and ISO 500-750. You really have to do a couple of practices shots so you know the best settings, then make sure the light and the composition is right. 

These were just taken in my back garden but you have to be careful about the amount of light pollution that will get in the way of the light from the stars. Enough and you won't be able to make out the stars at all. It's always better to go somewhere with very little light pollution although in this instance it gave my images a nice burnt orange gradient which i quite like.

As always visit me on Instagram at peterboothphotography and give me a FOLLOW. 

Under The Bridge

As a kid when me and my friends were finally old enough to be allowed to walk down to town by our selves, we would always go a way that would lead us down a thin path through the middle of an industrial estate. About half way through this path you'd have to cross over a train track. As good young children we would hurry past it quickly and be on our way. As we got older though it was only natural to be curious of it because about 120ft down the track it passed under a bridge. There was enough space to walk along side the track and be safe just before people freak out too much! Checking it out occasionally meant avoiding piles of burnt ash, broken bottles, needles, tires, an empty gas canister, and sadly at one time some bedding which would be up along the sides.

Every time i would wander down there it would look different. Concrete slabs moved over for a bike jump. New graffiti. Different brands on bottles... It really got me thinking as to what actually happens down there. I have a pretty good idea as where i'm from isn't particularly full of junkies. More chavs who like to get drunk and start fires... But i much prefer to not to know exactly what happens there. I prefer seeing this gloomy and discarded place in the light and seeing the what's different. Allowing my imagination to take over as to what went on. It's much more interesting thinking about a photograph than just looking at it.

Just so everyone knows walking on train tracks is DANGEROUS. I know this. Just don't do it. Be safe, not stupid!

As always check me out on Instagram on peterboothphotography. Give me a follow and please let me know what you think!

I'm Ready For My Close Up!

"I'm ready for my closeup!" - Norma Desmond Chairman Meow

I've always been the kind of photographer that likes my digital photography pin sharp and perfect, and my analogue photography a little bit rough around the edges. This is probably because with digital you can take thousands of photographs in a sitting so there isn't much of an excuse for it not to be sharp and in focus, yet with analogue it's no more than 30 shots. Some images will be over exposed, some under. Some will be in focus, and some inevitably out of focus. But this gives 35mm and other film photography an edge in some ways. It makes you think about the story of the image more as well as making you a technically better photography. It makes you think more about what was happening when that picture was taken. Those "mistakes" become quirks of the photograph making them more intriguing. You don't stop to criticise what is wrong with an image, however makes you consider whether that "mistake" makes the photograph what it is. 

While trying out my first roll of Agfa APX 100 (which is now my standard black and white film i shoot with when going analogue), i thought i would grab a couple of shots of Chairman Meow, the most dog-like cat the world has seen. The problem with that is he didn't stay still like a cat. Instead he bounded forward straight into the camera head first. Some might look at this image and think straight away "why is it not in focus..?". Others might look at it and think clearly that cat loves his picture taken! 

Either way, the point of this blog is to explain that in some forms of photography there is room for error or mistake to make a photograph so much more than a pleasing piece of art to look at. You can plan and plan a shoot until the cows come home, but the ting which makes it will be something you didn't expect. However areas such as product, advertising, and landscape photography will tend to benefit from perfect, sharp, crisp images as you're trying to sell something or show something as being beautiful and perfect. But in others don't be too quick to dismiss an image just because a part you wanted to be in focus isn't. 

As always visit peterboothphotography on Instagram to see more of my work and give it a LIKE, and give me a FOLLOW! 

Fantastic Mr Fox

As i've probably mentioned a hundred times before where i live i'm surrounded by nature. Around a month ago i was sat at my desk just editing some photographs like i always do and through my music i heard quite a large rustle outside. I looked out and saw my two cats looking pretty pissed off about something. Next thing i know a young, scrappy looking male fox leaps over the pond sending the cats running. At this point the fox just looked confused as i'm pretty sure he just wanted to play.

When i slowly opened my window to get a clearer shot i was expecting him to run, but he just sat there looking at me. Then his attention was drawn elsewhere and started to sniff through some bushes until he pulled out a vole, which was definitely one the cats had just hunted. (Explains why they looked so annoyed...)

Even though i see foxes quite regularly where i live it's always surprising when one stays around you for that long. I reckon it was because he was young and inexperienced, and just wanted to play, but even so it definitely made my day. Mainly because most of the fox's time was spent just sniffing around and looking at the flowers around the garden. He clearly didn't care about anything and was completely comfortable where he was, which is always great to see in nature.

As always check me out on Instagram at peterboothphotography, and comment, like, and give me a follow!

France

After the recent tragedy that occurred in Paris that past few days i thought this was a good a time as any to post some of my photographs from France. Photographs that i feel reflect the spirit of the rural towns and villages, and show why i feel it's such an alluring place. I took these images quite a few years ago while i was visiting family for my cousins wedding in the south of France. Having French relatives meant the first thing that went through my mind when i heard about the attacks in Paris was "I hope my family aren't affected". Thankfully everyone was away from that area at the time and all safe.

Anyway, away from the tragedy and back to photography. I want to just show some of my work which i feel shows France as the peaceful and beautiful country it is, above all else. Walking down narrow, cobbled paths through extremely old towns, with the warmth of the mid day sun beating down, just makes you smile as you walk slower than normal to take in the view. You get the sense that although most parts have modernised, peoples values have hardly changed. Petit boulangeries and patisseries still supply people with their fresh bread just as they have for years. As it gets cooler in the evenings people still come out to socialise (as during the day its too warm to do anything other than sleep or paint apparently), bringing with them a strong feel for their culture. The photographs below are summary of what i think of when i think of France, and i just wanted to show people the charming side of a country that is going through some hard times.

As always these photos and much more are available on Instagram, at peterboothphotography. Please check it out and give me a follow!

The Med

Back when i was on holiday in Rhodes i took the opportunity to try and get some photographs that i thought reflected the mood of the remote area. You can't help but get drawn into a more relaxed pace while you're there especially as we were situated away from the popular tourist destinations. A short walk up a (steep) cliff to the top of the acropolis in Lindos you get an amazing view of the entire east side of the island. Although the acropolis is fairly busy with tourists (understandably), the surrounding areas are peaceful, slow paced, fishing harbours. The only boats you see are small fishing ones going at a snails pace, but there isn't a need to go any faster. 

Above is a photograph of the busiest part of the water i could find. I entered this image into the recent National Geographic photography competition along with another image from my trip to Rhodes. The complete stillness of the water and the lack of boats really does emphasise the calm, relaxed nature of peoples lives in remote parts in the mediterranean. Nothing is rushed.

Below Alex shows off just how stunning the view is from the top of the acropolis. The boiling hot trek was definitely worth it in the end, even if Alex thought her shoes had melted.

As always remember to visit peterboothphotography on Instagram and give me a follow!

Sunset On Zanzibar

Nearly 4 years ago, just after i had volunteered in Kenya, myself and the others who had volunteered had a couple weeks free time before our flights home. Naturally one of the places we all wanted to stop off at was Zanzibar. Zanzibar, a little island just off the coast of Tanzania and birth place of Freddie Mercury, is stunning. No other way to put it. The whole island is just, wow. The capital of the island, located on the west, is full of beautiful, winding, cobbled roads that all lead back to the harbour which is surrounded by crystal blue waters. As you travel out of the city in any direction you are guaranteed large stretches of green forest with the blue of the ocean peeking through. Anywhere you go you'll end up on a stretch of golden sand. Definitely the closest thing to paradise i've seen.

As a large group of around 13 of us all ended up at the far north of the island in a place called Kendwa. Little cabins situated on the beach front (with a bar on the beach) made it hard for anyone to leave. The one thing i remember most clearly about my time on Zanzibar though, wasn't the green forests, or the brightness of the ocean, or even the great food, it was the sunset. Every night it would fall directly in front of you and make everything a gorgeous orange hue. In the middle of the beach, just off from the water were two palm trees. Hanging in between was a large hammock. I can honestly say one of my favourite memories was sitting in that hammock with my girlfriend and watching the sunset. (Probably why to this day i love hammocks).

As always remember to check out my Instagram page at peterboothphotography and give me follow! 

AV And Kenya

I wanted to show a couple more photographs i took while i was in Kenya. These photos were taken at the school that i was volunteering at. I've probably mentioned it before but the kids there are just so inquisitive and want to know everything about you and all the things you have. (Such as my camera). This made it a lot easier to capture some portraits, which was made EVEN EASIER by the beautiful natural light seeping in through every gap in the building. While i was there i was teaching P.E and creative arts to some of the older kids, but the teachers were more than happy to let you take over a younger class. 

I took my camera in to try and get some more natural shots of the students and teachers at school going about their business, but when you're one of the first white people they've seen and have this thing that can take their pictures then all relaxed students learning pictures go out the window. I honestly wish i had a wider angled lens at the time as the kids were wanting to get as close as they could.

The company i went with, AV (www.aventure.co.uk), were absolutely amazing. This was the first time i had been away without knowing anyone before i went, but i think that's part of what made it so special. The way i would describe volunteering with AV is like bungee jumping. The jump itself is you having the freedom to do exactly what you want to do in a new environment without having someone constantly there, and immersing your self within a new culture with new people. AV is like the bungee rope. If you need advice, help organising anything, or just a chat, there is always someone on the end of the phone, or someone who can come and visit to make sure everything is ok. If you are ever planning something like this i would highly recommend AV. Without them some of the best things in my life wouldn't have happened. 

Once again just a reminder to visit my Instagram page, peterboothphotography, and give it a follow! I'll be uploading some new stuff very shortly so keep an eye out! 

Grandma's Books

The years my grandma lived with us, i never once saw her read any of the old books she kept in her large, ornate book case. Those books were always locked away with a tiny key, and it always looked as if the slightest touch on the glass would shatter it. All these years later I'm starting to wonder if she even read any of them! 

Just after she passed away i wanted to try and capture it exactly how it has been for nearly 15 years. Using my go to camera, the Canon A1, and a 28mm prime lens to draw in the subject closer, i tried to show the fragility of it all. I only used the natural light pouring in through the window which cast a diffused glare on the glass cabinet while enhancing the shadows. Making the focal point objects through the glass i feel helped show how thin it actually is. 

Just as an added note, when i use my analogue cameras i prefer to only use natural light. This is a personal thing, but i think when you have to think about the aperture and shutter speed you start to think more about how shadows will fall and highlights will show, along with thinking more about the composition of the images. 

Cornwall

A couple of months ago i took a weeks holiday down in a little place in Cornwall, called Trevone, with my girlfriends family. I think it was my second ever time in Cornwall and as soon as i arrived in to the sun soaked beaches i knew exactly why i fell in love with the place the first time i visited. 

It was sunny every day except for one where it wouldn't stop raining for about 24 hours. But when it was sunny my time was spent walking along the beach filled coast, learning to surf, body boarding, taking photographs of nearly everything i could, and getting sunburned. (Wasn't even that hot...) 

Due to wanting to travel light i decided to just take my trusty Canon A1. I pretty much take it wherever i go now. I also brought with me the two types of film i always use now, which is the Agfa Photo Vista Plus 200 colour film, and the Agfa Photo APX 100 black and white film. The Vista Plus film gives really nice green/blue and washed out red tones to the photo. Both of these films are fairly cheap if you bulk buy and can be found on Amazon so you don't have to shell out loads for them.

These are just a small selection of the photographs i took, and more can be seen on my Instagram account at peterboothphotography, so go visit me there and give me a follow, like, and comment if you want! 

Like Birds?

Who doesn't like birds!? Well, a lot of people i think... But this male bullfinch is pretty cute though, right? 

This bright male was pretty playful considering they're normally pretty shy. Being around double the size of tits and finches they are fairly easy to spot, especially as the males have the bright orange chest, with the females being a more of duller brown-orange.

Please visit my instagram page, peterboothphotography, and follow and share! 

If there are any photographs you'd like, let me know and you can buy prints.

New Edits (Family Portrait Of Elephants)

Lately i've been going through my photos from my trip to the Masai Mara and editing some. Some are available to view through peterboothphotography and would love more people to follow and like. The more followers i get, the more people i can share my work with.

The image bellow is a portrait of a family of elephants. They were so friendly and definitely not camera shy! I have more portraits and landscape photographs in monochrome to share so please follow peterboothphotography and leave me lots of lovely comments!

Lone Giraffe

My latest post on my Instagram page is of a giraffe i saw whilst in the Masai Mara. Giraffes are not a rare sight, but they are still beautiful to watch. As this lone giraffe was walking across this plain landscape the photo framed itself. Click here to view my page, peterboothphotography. 

Instagram

I know it's been a while posting, but i'm going to make sure i post more from now on! I've recently just come to the end of my degree, which is one of the reasons for lack of posting, but i'll make sure i do a post about my work on macro photography i did in my final year. (I'm proud of it)

Anyway, the main reason for this blog post was to tell everyone that i've set up my professional Instagram account! I know i've done a previous post about the pros and cons of Instagram, and i may be contradicting my self from what i said in it, but i decided i would take the leap and set it up. One of the biggest issue people have with setting up an Instagram account are the copyright infringements of your work. Makes it a lot easier for people to view and share your work, which is definitely a good thing, but makes it easier for people to use your work without permission. Not so good.

Well after reading lots of opinions of the matter i thought "this stage in my career i need people to see my work and know my name..", so i did it. Many very successful photographers have accounts which definitely helps get their work seen. But what i made sure of was that the pictures i uploaded were at a resolution that couldn't be blown up past A5 size, watermarked, and made sure my account says all rights reserved on it. If anyone wants to use my work for anything that would be great! Just ask me first and i'd be happy to help! 

My name on it is Peter Booth Photography, so i would love it if you guys out there reading this, who have it, give me a follow and enjoy! Those who don't? Get it and give me a follow anyway! Heh heh

If you can share and get my work seen that would be great! I'd love more people to enjoy my work!

Bit Of A Catch Up

Woah, it has been a while since i've written anything on here! Sorry about that! Might as well have a bit of a catch up then. Let everyone know what i'm up to currently. Well if you've read my previous posts and know me, you'd know i've finished my FdA Photography degree! 2 Years of improving my photography, finding my own style, finding a career path, learning from within the industry. Well, i just can't seem to get enough of education so i chose to do a top up year to get a full BA Hons degree.

The year pretty much consists of a dissertation and a self set project brief. I (stupidly) decided to do mine on an area of photography which has always interested me... but have no experience with... at all. I chose to do my dissertation and project on macro photography (photographing something very close up). The project specifically is producing a photo-book of macro images of arthropods. Starting from scratch though has really helped me understand macro photography a lot more, from the equipment used (both cheap and expensive), to expressing a subject which wouldn't normally be seen any other way. There are lots of very talented macro photographers out there such as Heather Angel, Elin Toger, Damon Clarke, Hadrani Hasan, and Thomas Shahan. Thomas was actually kind enough to reply to an email i sent him to ask him a bit about his work and the art of macro photography. (All their work is amazing so go and look them up). 

Below is a quick image of my current cheap-ish macro set up. Nikon D90 body, old 50mm Canon prime lens reversed, set of cheap extension tubes, Nikon SB700 speed light, and a flash bracket for a sturdier grip. It's not my finished set up but it still works a treat. Under that is one of the first macro images i ever shot, so i know it's not great, but i just wanted to show how close up you can actually get, and that wasn't even using all my extension tubes!

Pretty much, to sum up, having a good photography year! Getting well into macro photography, and i'll try and keep more up to date with blogging.

(Little tip: If you reverse a 50mm prime lens that has the equivalent of 1:1 magnification. So when you shoot your image will be the same size as the sensor.)

London Exhibition and Prints

Earlier in the year, for my foundation degree we managed to hire out a studio in the hipster central of London, Kingsland Rd, to show off the best of our work for a couple of weeks. On one of the nights we had a private night, but for the two weeks it was open for the public to come and see our work. It was an amazing feeling to just have your work up on show in London for everyone to see. 

I chose to show of some of my favourite work i've done. The image which got shortlisted for the NatGeo competition was originally from a set of three i did, so i decided to show the other two close up portraits in the exhibition as they worked well with each other. 

Now that the exhibition is down, i feels it's only right to share my images! So i have these two A2 mounted prints for sale. So if anyone is interested contact me at peterboothphotography@gmail.co.uk.

35mm Canon A1

This isn't going to be a long post, sorry. Just a little one to tell you all about my film camera. I'm sure in a previous post i've shown a couple of pictures from a 35 black and white film, but i didn't talk much about the camera.

Most of the time i use my Nikon D90. Being the modern age as it is all photographers use digital. It's quicker, you can take loads of images quickly and quietly, check them straight away. Over all it's pretty much better. But years ago my dad got me a Canon A1 35mm. I didn't really use it much as i hadn't got a clue how to use it but now i know how i've always got it. Not so much for professional work but more for just if you spot something nice on a walk. The feel of winding the film on and hearing the shutter is just an amazing feeling (i'm not weird, trust me). 

If you don't have a 35mm you should definitely get one. Decent ones can be more expensive, but if you  want one for a more vintage feel then look in charity shops for old ones for a tenner. But i can't think of anything better than my Canon A1.

(the A stands for automatic as it was the first 35mm camera with a semi automatic setting so it was slightly easier to use than others.)