Beautiful Starlings

I was recently talking to a friend who said that of all the birds they see in their garden, the most boring one is the starling. That may be true in the UK or the USA, but in the Gambia and other parts of Africa, they have some really colourful ones as you can see below.

Superb Starling

Purple Starling

First Prize !

Just returned home from the AGM of Bicester U3A where it was announced that my photo of Starlings Feeding in the garden, had won 1st Prize in the annual members photo competition. The first photography competition I have ever won, so lets hope for more to come in 2015!

Feeding Time

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As usual, my work is available to purchase as original  Wall Art, in a variety of formats including stretched canvas, metal or acrylic prints, framed prints, or simply as standard prints for you to mount in your favourite picture frame. Simply click on the links below each image - Fine Art America for international buyers or Photo4Me if you are from the UK.

Photography Club Competitions

I joined a local camera club about four years ago and while I have regularly entered club competitions last month was the first time that I had an image placed in the top three, when the following images were award second and third place respectively. Hopefully in 2015 I might even get a first place!

London Buses 

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The iconic Routemaster Red London Buses in Whitehall, central London, popped in red on a black and white image.

Winding Country Lane

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Winding Country Lane near Nettlebed in the Oxfordshire countryside on a sunny January afternoon.

As usual, my work is available to purchase as original  Wall Art, in a variety of formats including stretched canvas, metal or acrylic prints, framed prints, or simply as standard prints for you to mount in your favourite picture frame. Simply click on the links below each image - Fine Art America for international buyers or Photo4Me if you are from the UK.

Sunset

I would like to share with you these images of a beautiful sunset which I saw over the garden at home in Bicester, Oxfordshire, which I hope you enjoy.

Silhouette Of Tree against Sunset

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Sun Setting Over Bicester

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As usual, my work is available to purchase as original  Wall Art, in a variety of formats including stretched canvas, metal or acrylic prints, framed prints, or simply as standard prints for you to mount in your favourite picture frame. Simply click on the links below each image - Fine Art America for international buyers or Photo4Me if you are from the UK.

Batsford Arboretum

Went to Batsford Arboretum on New Years Eve (prior to going to Evesham - see below). The weather was dry and sunny and there was still colour in a few of the trees.

Batsford Arboretum

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Batsford Arboretum is a 55-acre arboretum and botanical garden near Batsford in Gloucestershire, England, about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. The arboretum sits on the Cotswold scarp and contains around 2,900 trees, with a large collection of Japanese maples, magnolias and pines.

As usual, my work is available to purchase as original  Wall Art, in a variety of formats including stretched canvas, metal or acrylic prints, framed prints, or simply as standard prints for you to mount in your favourite picture frame. Simply click on the links below each image - Fine Art America for international buyers or Photo4Me if you are from the UK.

10 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Photography This Year

This article from our friends at Picture Correct was written by Joaquin Duenas of theduenitas.com You can also visit Joaquin's blog at theduenitas.blogspot.com. The Duenitas Digital World is based in Miami, Florida and covers South Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.

Reading books, attending workshops, and browsing the Internet are all good things that can help you take better photos. The following tips will improve the way you create amazing photos and how you see photography.

1. KNOW YOUR CAMERA

Your camera has lots of features that most photographers—including yourself—never use. You might not even know they exist or what they’re for. Aperture, shutter speed, and focus are fundamental and very important, but there are many more features that can help you be a better photographer and spend less time retouching and fixing your average photos. There are functions like multiple exposure, timelapse, mirror lock-up, and metering, just to name a few. Take your time to learn about them and get creative. Creativity will change your photography. Do you know where your camera’s manual is? Time to take it out, go through it, experiment with each function, and learn what you can create. You’ll be amazed.

Follow this link to read the full article at Picture Correct....10 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Photography This Year.

Historic Town of Evesham

On New Years Eve I visited the historic Market Town of Evesham in Worcestershire, England. 

The town lies within the Vale of Evesham, an area comprising the flood plain of the River Avon and was founded around an 8th-century abbey, one of the largest in Europe, which was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, with only Abbot Lichfield's Bell Tower remaining. During the 13th century, one of the two main battles of England's Second Barons' War took place near the town, marking the victory of Prince Edward who later became King Edward I.

Bell Tower And St Lawrence's Church

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Evesham’s Bell Tower is undoubtedly the country’s finest detached Bell Tower and the iconic building of Evesham. Apart from being a beautiful building, it holds an acclaimed ring of bells (one of the best English-hung ring of bells in the world). The Bell Tower is also one of the last links to the great Abbey of Evesham. It was built around 1530 and was commissioned by the last true abbot of Evesham, Abbot Clement Lichfield, with the detailed masonry being overseen by Robert Vertue the younger. The Abbey Church and nearly all the monastic buildings disappeared following the Dissolution of the Monastries. In the background lies St Lawrence's Church.

St Lawrence's Church

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St Lawrence's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the centre of Evesham. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It stands close to the parish church of All Saints, and to the bell tower of the former Evesham Abbey. This large and imposing church is of Norman foundation, though it now appears entirely Perpendicular, having been rebuilt in the 16th-century. It fell into ruin in the 18th-century and but was rescued and restored again by the local architect H Eginton in 1836.

As usual, my work is available to purchase as original  Wall Art, in a variety of formats including stretched canvas, metal or acrylic prints, framed prints, or simply as standard prints for you to mount in your favourite picture frame. Simply click on the links below each image - Fine Art America for international buyers or Photo4Me if you are from the UK.