Normally I’d post a “year in pictures” round-up just about now, but I’ve decided to do something a little different this time just because.
Instead I’m going to focus on the more off-beat, off-diary photos I’ve taken. You’ll have seen most of them, but not all, in various blog posts through the year, but it’s fun to pull them together into a single gallery to enjoy again.
So sit back with your cuppa and your mince pie and enjoy…
This being the last blog post for 2012 it seemed like a good excuse to do a round-up of some of the photos I’ve taken for clients this year – one from each month except July for which I’m posting two images just because I have the power and I felt like it.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my clients without whom I wouldn’t be in business and I would very much like to thank all my blog readers for putting up with my drivel over the last 12 months and for being patient when I didn’t get time to post anything some weeks. I’m sure you were grateful for the breaks anyway.
I do hope you enjoy this selection of photos, have a very happy Christmas and New Year and I’ll see you again in January 2013.
January: Tom England of Frome poses for his acting college portrait
February: Overnight snow meant a last-minute task taking pictures in Cirencester for Mitie’s snow-clearance service
March: Dr Vince Cable addresses an audience of scientists at a bio-science innovation awards event, London
April: Warehouse interior near Exeter, soon to be the distribution hub for a toy importer
May: Olympic torch relay handover at University of Bath
June: Whitstone School website and prospectus
July: Programme cover shot for the J P Morgan Rugby 7s final in Bath
July: As you would expect in July I’m photographing Christmas trees in an office setting
August: An Olympic event organised by Sport England in Bristol’s Millennium Square saw all weather from bright sunshine to torrential rain.
September: Abstract image for Corsham-based digital print company Orbit
October: Exciting new venture Local Morsels online food magazine launches with an Autumn edition featuring pumpkin soup and sparklers in apples
November: Marksbury farmer Stephen Bendall uses a robotic milking system in his dairy. I just like this portrait which I took at the end of the session
December: Tom Calver of Westcombe Dairy cuts unpasturised cheddar at Frome Christmas Super Market
Those of you who pay attention will recall I recently wrote about my first foray into Instagram. I said it was more about the filters and effects than the content of the photos and I now think I was wrong.
It’s true many people shoot and edit their images in Instagram, but the beauty of Instagram is that it is primarily a way of sharing images. The pictures themselves don’t have to be shot in Instagram, or even on an iPhone to be shared this way.
I’ve uploaded images from my professional portfolio as well as more fun pictures from my personal life. A more recent fascination for me has been the introduction of the Panorama mode with the new iPhone operating system. Not only can I now shoot panoramas using this function, I’ve also been experimenting with it to see what weird effects can be achieved by panning in a way the phone and software don’t expect and seeing how they deal with it. As an example, see my “torn” ukulele photo below my more standard panorama.
A fairly standard panorama, though I’m impressed with the iPhone’s quality here.
Torn Ukulele effect using the panorama mode on the iPhone4s
Other Instagrammers build up massive followings and the most successful of them do it by shooting in a very consistent style – whether on their iPhone or by uploading images from their SLR cameras isn’t always clear, but consistency seems to be the key issue. I personally prefer to share a mixture of portfolio, experimental and personal-moment (drunk in the pub) snaps. I might take a photo of some recently published work and share it on Instagram so people get a better idea of the kind of work I do. I simultaneously share my Instagram posts on Twitter and sometimes Facebook too, which means I can reach an even wider audience.
If you’re on Instagram look me up @takeagander and let me see what you do. One account I’ve been especially impressed with recently is @tonytanktop who creates larger images from tiles of individual ones. A brilliant way of using the technology and the sharing platform in an unexpected way. I suggest you look him up too and prepare to be dazzled.
I think it’s fair to say, I’m starting to understand Instagram a lot better. It’s becoming a business tool as well as a way to have fun. My initial cynicism (and I’m a natural cynic about these things) has given way to greater curiosity to explore more boundaries.
