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Subcribe to comment rss feedJohn Barton, Michael Cummins, Mike Curry & Paul Gotts.
John Barton
John is a retired Teacher who spends his time creating images from a wide variety of subjects, but with particular concentration on Landscape and Architecture as the main themes. He is as comfortable in the urban jungle as the great outdoors where no buildings exist!
Michael Cummins
Very keen, amateur landscaper always trying to improve. Holiday website publisher when I can fit that in too. Husband, father, grandad, golfer. Season ticket holder at the Mighty Spireites (Chesterfield FC).
Mike Curry
Mike Curry has been a full-time professional photographer for forty years. He grew up in Yorkshire and moved to London in 1982, initially working for several years in the Selfridges’ photography studio. In the last ten years, he has been concentrating on commercial projects commissioned by clients, including Canary Wharf Group, Caprice Holdings and the National Maritime Museum but is primarily known for his abstract work, embodied in his book, “Fleeting Reflections” published by Triplekite in 2017.
Mike’s portfolio showcases his ability to create beauty from the overlooked. He has won awards in international competitions and has been featured in the Sunday Times Magazine and has written articles for Outdoor Photography and Amateur Photography magazines. Mike teaches photography at all levels and gives talks to camera clubs, sixth form colleges and is a Fellow of the British Institute of Professional Photography.
Paul Gotts
Paul Gotts is an amateur photographer based on Merseyside. He has helped pull together three collaborative photo books showcasing the work of 18 different photographers. He also makes handmade books whether for himself or others, often for charitable causes.
Our 4x4 feature is a set of four mini portfolios from our subscribers, each consisting of four images related in some way. If you would like to submit your own 4x4 portfolio please visit this page for submission information.
John Barton
Close to The Landscape
Haigh Hall Plantations, public grounds on the outskirts of Wigan, Lancashire, have for many years been the wooded area of choice for the people of the surrounding area to come for recreation and relaxation.
In recent years, the massive overgrowth of huge Rhododendron bushes have hidden the different array of other, more native, bushes and trees.
Now that a clearance programme has been completed, visitors can see the wood for the trees!
Instead of the standard landscape, wide lens, include as much as possible theme, I have decided to use only my 55-200mm lens in order to capture more close-up detail and be able to (literally) focus on creating a 'less is more' theme.
These four images concentrate on branches, leaves, colours, shapes, light and shadows to make the images convey the greater feeling of the whole area.
Michael Cummins
Miles of Stiles
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- Sunrise on Little Howden Moor, Peak District
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- Nightshift at the Hope Valley Cement Works
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- Summer morning in the Upper Derwent Valley Peak District
Thousands of stylish stiles and handsome gates in the Peak District. Stiles on isolated wintry moors and gates on remote hills and rocky ridges all inviting the walker to venture through, up and over or across. It's always re-assuring
to see them and impossible to resist their lure. As each new morning dawns and the first walkers of a new day approach, I imagine they sigh with quiet contentment. Big shout for the landowners, national parks, associations and farmers who maintain and upgrade them on our behalf too. Great as photographic focal points! Read Michael's latest article: Journey of Photographic Discovery.
Mike Curry
Urban Patina
Living in London and being very busy means I don’t get out into the ‘countryside’ as often as I’d like to. I used to get frustrated by this but after a few fruitless trips I decided to make the most of where I live and explore my locality more.
Trying to replicate the feeling locally that I wanted to create in my out of town work proved impossible, I just wasn’t connecting with the images. I decided that carrying heavy, bulky gear around was limiting me so I streamlined down to a Fuji X-E2 with 60mm macro lens and my Manfrotto BeFree tripod. I instantly felt less visible and less inhibited from taking photos as I was completely ignored, something that didn’t happen with the Nikon.
I walked for miles it seems on my first trip out looking for details and patterns and eventually found some old garage doors that had been untouched for decades and was immediately fascinated. The swirls of wood and the patina of aging in an urban environment made for surprisingly colourful images, some due to rust and some to paint I presume.
The area on each photo is only a few centimeters long and would have been easily missed had a not been prepared to scrutinize the surface so thoroughly. I got a lot of funny looks from commuters who I presumably just thought I was a bit mad. Maybe I am but I found it a rewarding and enjoyable way to spend a few hours!
Paul Gotts
Over the course of a week’s holiday in June we rented a family apartment overlooking the Dyfi Estuary in west Wales. Over breakfasts and teas we looked at the rise and fall of the tide, safe on our little balcony. These photographs were taken over a two day period.
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