Fireworks

Off the back of my Low light photography post i would like to talk about something rather fitting. As you may notice this post was uploaded on the 5th November, otherwise known at Guy Fawkes, firework or bonfire night.

For those of you who may not already know, Guy Fawkes was the man who attempted to blow up the houses of parliament. Despite his carefully considered plan, and tons of gunpowder, he was caught, and the big bang never occurred. Here in the UK, we celebrate this Parliament victory traditionally by burning a scarecrow-like figure in a bonfire, followed by lots of fireworks, although I think most people in the UK celebrate the genius behind the attempted act of terrorism, or maybe it's just me?

Anyway with any confusion laid to rest about my opening paragraph, I would like to talk a little about Fireworks, and how to photograph them. Despite only having been a photographer for around 4 years, I have actually gotten a fair amount of firework photography experience.

The first step to embark on any shoot is of course planning; however with firework photography, planning is THE most important aspect. So to get everyone ready for their Firework night, July 4th of whenever fireworks are ignited, I will run you through my personal preparations.  

The first step is to think about the time and date. In the UK Firework night is in November, during our Autumn/Winter time. Mostly cold so wrapping up is important. You need to think about what footwear, gloves, hat ect. Once you are fully kitted in warm clothing and appropriate footwear, you can start thinking about the photography.

Presuming you know where you are going to be shooting from, and roughly how close the fireworks will be, it is now time to think about the major aspects of photography, your equipment.

I will write up a small pros-cons list for the average equipment, and then talk about what I would, and frequently do, use. Then we can talk about tricks and tips for getting those shots. 

Tripod

The first thing you should consider with firework photography is a tripod. This 'yay' or 'nay' decision will impact the entire shoot. So here is the lowdown of fireworks and tripods.

The advantages of using a tripod are clean, steady shots, longer exposures, more control over the outcome of the images and considerably less grain.

The disadvantages are  more and heavier equipment, less versatility/portability and not as much of an organic feel.

I personally, choose to use the tripod, for various reasons. But for the sake of argument I will talk about shooting handheld first.

Shooting fireworks handheld is great fun. You can watch the display through the lens and follow the fireworks around. Should one firework shoot higher than the rest readjusting the composure is as simple as moving your arms. Shooting handheld is very fast, and action packed, a great buzz, but this comes at a price. If you want to shoot handheld, you have to think of the consequence of this on your images. Because firework displays are always in the dark, we know the exposure is going to have to be longer than usual. Shooting handheld you will need a quicker exposure, therefore you will need to ramp up the ISO, causing Noise and lower image quality to be a part of the final product. Also, is you want a longer exposure, you will have to settle with a light painting appearance to your image, this is when the camera moves while exposing, and the lights cause trails. This can work extremely well, if that is what you are going for. The shorter exposures from handheld shooting also mean you only capture the little bit you have exposed, and generally only one or two fireworks at a time. Shooting handheld can also be rather disorientating, looking up through the lens constantly can confuse your spatial awareness and balance.

Using a tripod is also less fun. However, in my opinion, yields better results. Using a tripod means you can have longer exposures, which in turn means you can pull back your ISO for better image quality. Using long exposures also means you can capture the entire explosion, and multiple explosions in one frame. The images will be clearer and brighter. Unfortunately, adjusting a tripod to catch a particularly large and high firework is not easy. The time between you realizing that one is going high, and it exploding, is rarely enough time to readjust the tripod and expose, so a few can be missed. Unless of course you have two cameras, in which case you probably should skip to the next section because you can just use one camera on a tripod doing long exposures and a backup camera for the high ones.

Lens

For the lens, it all depends on where the display will take place, and how far away are you. Just apply common sense here. If you are close, consider a Wide-Angle or Kit Lens, if you will be further away try a telephoto lens. If you are unsure of where you or the fireworks will be, take a variety of kit to be safe. You won't need to worry about the speed of your lens with firework photography, as long as you can go wide enough to shoot handheld, you will be fine.

Settings

The settings, as previously mentioned, will be completely dependent on whether or not you are using a tripod. So here is a quick reference guide to the settings.

Tripod - If you are using a tripod, put the camera into manual, set the ISO to around 400, this should give you plenty of light without disrupting the image quality. The Aperture should be left between F/8 and F/11. For the shutter speed I would avoid setting one altogether, and shoot on BULB mode. To do this you will need a simple remote shutter, I have a locking cable shutter, which cost me around £10. Using BULB mode is much better because you can decide when the exposure ends, this is useful because sometimes the exposure might end just as a firework is exploding, leaving you with a rather pathetic attempt of an explosion. White balance is not really an issue, I leave mine on auto, shooting in raw means you can alter the white balance post-production.

Handheld - The hand held settings are a little different. The ISO will need to be at 800 and up. The Aperture should be wide open at around F/4.5, and the shutter speed will vary depending on your desired outcome. I would avoid shooting for any longer than 1/125th of a second for clear shots.

So now, hopefully, you have an idea of where you will be and what you will be using, I would like to talk about a few techniques for getting that shot. Once you are set up and the fireworks begin, you may realise you want busier images, almost resembling that of the big finale at the end. To do this, you will need a tripod and a remote shutter. Putting the camera into bulb mode, you can lock on the exposure, and start shooting, if only a few fireworks go off and there is a little break between, instead of stopping and starting the exposure, try covering the lens with a black glove, and then removing the glove when the fireworks come back. This works as a DIY multiple exposure, if the foreground is not visible (you are just shooting the sky) you could even recompose while the lens is covered, to get even coverage of fireworks.

The next technique is a little more complicated. Focusing on the fireworks, or infinity, try winding back the focus ring while the firework is exploding, this gives a clean centre and softens the edges, which can look pretty interesting. This technique also works the other way, however it is considerably harder to go into focus than out of it.

Try getting close ups of the fireworks, as well as full shots of the display, close up can create very interesting and abstract images.

When it comes to firework photography, plan, prepare, travel light, but above all, HAVE FUN! Love what you do, and someone else will too. 

Please add me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710

Alternatively you can follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/AJTPhotographer

or email me Via ajthomasphotography@live.com

Packed!

I was originally going to leave this one out, however after flicking through the images I thought it might be worthwhile showing you guys the diversity of my work, and hopefully some useful tips for shooting in a busy environment. As suggested by the title, this post is about photography in packed venues.

As a Music Performance photographer, I enjoy whacking the Telephoto lens on and catching those expressive shots of the artist on stage. But there are just some things that throw a spanner in the works, for example, what is the artist isn’t on a stage? Or if there is nowhere to shoot from without the audience being in front of the camera?

There are a few things that can work, depending on the mood of the subject, however if this is the situation you may not have much of a choice.

So to point out the obvious, if the artist is not above the crowd (not on a stage), then try to fight your way the front, as a photographer it is also easier to gain a pathway in busy venues. Make sure you HOLD THE CAMERA ABOVE YOUR HEAD when relocating, this not only means everyone can see your the photographer and generally clear a much less resistant path, but it also means you won't get a drink spilled on your camera or bump into people with your kit.

So health and safety speech over, what can you do to get that shot, should you be unable to get to the front.

Let me take you back to an event I covered a few months ago. This event was a Hip Hop night. As you can imagine, the Hip Hop night attracts a colossal crowd of disorderly delinquents.

The first technique I use is called "f*ck it", it's a great attitude to have, instead of getting worked up about how I am going to do it, I just don’t worry and snap away. We all strive for that crystal clear shot, however, sometimes breaking the norm can open up new barriers and get you thinking again.

Remember the venue I mentioned in a previous post, the dark one that made life hard work...well this Hip Hop night was at this venue. So dark and hard to shoot venue, with a packed crowd...technique 1 indeed.

Technique 2, a difficult one, relying on not only your skills as a photographer and opportunist, but other people too....Luck to put it simply. This technique is just composing the shot of the artist, regardless of all the people in the way, and then waiting for a clear path. A completely clear frame is a rarity, however with some quick reactions and cropping, this technique can be surprisingly effective.  

The last technique, that I can think of, is raising the camera above everyone else. I have used this technique so many times, and had great success. The issue with this technique is it is blind. I never use live view on this technique, so I have learnt to fire with fair accuracy. With a wide angle lens, this technique can have a nice appearance, and add feel to the busy scene.   

If you have any questions or would like to ask something, please email me at ajthomasphotography@live.com

Alternatively you can contact me via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710 

You can now follow me on twitter! just go to https://twitter.com/AJTPhotographer

Low Light Photography

Off the cuff of my last post I would like to talk a little about lighting, specifically low light situations.


So as I'm sure anyone with an ounce of logic will know photography is based purely on light. Without light there would be only black frames. To avoid said "black frames", one must understand how the camera works, and how light works. Assuming you all know about Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO, and how they all work together, i would like to take a trip into exploring low light photography.

Low light photography can be very challenging indeed, and when coupled with the job being paid, causes an infuriating situation. Personally, i find paid work to be very pressurizing, and when the job at hand doesn't quite fall into the camera, things can get very tricky.

This is the way i had lighting taught to me, and the way many people have been taught. There are two types of light. Hard and Soft. These two light types make a significant impact on your photography.



Hard light, is like the sunlight with clear blue skies. very bright and penetrating. This light causes sharp shadows and blown highlights. Hard light is also typically brighter. lighting such as flash units would be considered hard lighting, for their sharp and bright blast.

In a situation with hard light, exposures will need to be fast with a low ISO. Should a longer exposure be desired either a tiny aperture or dark ND filters will be required to avoid hot spots or blown highlights.


Soft light, is like the sunlight in an overcast sky. with the clouds diffusing the light over a larger area. This light is more subtle and thorough. highlights and shadows are often very close in tone, shadows have less of a sharp edge to them and are often dim. with low contrast and dim lighting, this light will often force the photographer to make fine tuning in post production, however with a good knowledge of your camera, on-board solutions are often the way forward. Soft light in photography could be ambient window lighting or continuous "model" lights.

Soft light will require a higher ISO if a fast shutter speed is desired. A polarizing filter is often useful for boosting the contrast.

So now we know of our two lighting types, we can begin figuring out what to do in low light situations. From my own personal experience, i have discovered three methods for shooting in low light situations, depending on the subject, one of these three will sufficiently allow decent photographic work.

First off is the obvious. Take the light with you. If you don't already have a hot-shoe/external flash you i highly recommend you go out and buy one. Try not to get too wound up over the prices, with most kit it is always better to with a brand you know and trust (Cannon, Nikon, Sigma etc) however, with an external flash, as long as you are confident it will have a good flash on it, it should be worth it. For my external flash i found a Chinese knock-off of a Nikon Speedlite. Initially, i was unsure about purchasing it, but after reading reviews and checking the specs i decided to go ahead and buy it. I payed about £40 to have it on my doorstep within 2 weeks, not bad considering it came all the way from China. The flash is absolutely brilliant and i use it regularly. I will add another post soon about using external flash units.

The next two techniques are for when an external flash is not available.


If you can't get yourself an external flash, then that doesn't mean you can't shoot in low lights, it just means you will have to compromise on a few things to get the shot. The Second technique for low light photography requires boosting your ISO to quadruple digits. Somewhere between 2000 and 6400. to shoot with this high an ISO, depending on the subject, it is better to shoot in black and white.



Grain and Noise show up as tiny white speckles, which when shooting in colour means a high level of interference. Because black and white photographs are just blacks, grays and whites, the noise doesn't interfere as much, and they can often add a cool dated look to the images.

The last technique is purely for still subjects, such as landscapes. This is the obvious one, when shooting in low light, slow down the shutter speed. I often find myself indulging in my personal work, consisting on landscapes. This means i spend a fair amount of time in low light situations such as sunrise or sunset. More recently, however, i have found myself experimenting with Astrophotography, which often requires an exposure of 30 second to 2 minutes.


Long exposures will not work for moving subjects, unless you are trying to achieve an abstract look, in which case it works very well.

If you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss please email me at ajthomasphotography@live.com or contact me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710

Thanks again!

Second Event

This was my second ever photographic event and my fist paid job. This event was a Reggae event held at a local nightclub. Upon arrival i realized instantly that the light was far to low. This Photo (Left) was taken without a flash unit, and the exposure brought up in Photoshop.

 I asked my employer if he could turn on more lights, which unfortunately made no difference at all. So it was time to bring out the external flash.

Once the flash was brought out, i had a slight play around finding a good balance between stage lighting, external flash and my exposure. once this was achieved i knew the exposure i had to play around with. most of the night was shots like this (right). Up close performance shots.

 I was also asked to take crowed shots. This is something i particularly dislike, however work is work so i took the shots i found interesting. unfortunately with events held in a nightclub, there are lots of drunken people asking for group photographs, and once one group has one, EVERYBODY wants one. This is a fact of photography and you cannot refuse you just have to get it over and done with, especially if you have been asked to do so. Shots like these are my favorite crowd shots, i like to find an image that shows personality but also satisfaction with the event, as opposed to groups of people posing.


I much prefer to be separated from the crowed to avoid this and allow myself to get into the performance photography. Every time i go to an event, i try to find a portrait such as this (right). i like to find people looking completely natural in the most unnatural circumstances, like on a stage. I love finding those Studio type shots out on location. There is always an interesting background and the location often adds a strange twist to the image.



It is also interesting to try and find texture and pattern on location or event shoots. Sometimes. it is the simplest shot that makes a cracking image.

For this shoot i shot mostly in black and white, this was because of the lighting. the lighting was very dim and therefore my images were grainy.

The stage lighting also conflicted with my external flash, often giving a strange balance of coloured light and cool flash.

Overall, for my second shoot, i was very happy with it. despite this being one of the first times i'd used my external flash, i was very impressed with the outcome of the images. I would love to go back and do a similar event with my new experience, and i'm sure it won't be long before i am back at this venue.

Thanks readers!

Publicity, Local Recognition and Work

So one of the biggest problems with Photography in this day and age is that there are so many AMAZING photographers out there, it becomes an up-hill-struggle to gain recognition. With the increasing number of photographic talent breaking through by the day, it's hard not to sit back in your chair and degrade your own abilities. I would like to take a little time to talk about a few techniques i have used, a few I've heard of and some helpful tips.

The first and most essential key to gaining recognition in any art form is mentality; not only referring to work ethic but also personal characteristics. to evaluate your own professional skills try a quick SWOT analysis of yourself. For those of you don't know what a SWOT analysis is, SWOT stands for

Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

To begin the analysis remember Strengths and Weaknesses are personal, whereas Opportunities and Threats are environmental.

The idea of the Swot analysis is to reveal you to yourself, give you both confidence and knowledge of what you need to work on, the SWOT will also give you some ideas of how to work around your environmental issues.

An important aspect of achieve any form of recognition is to respect yourself as an artist and not be too harsh on yourself. Don't get me wrong, the last thing we need is a bunch of cocky and arrogant photographers to take over the industry, confidence and big-headedness are two completely different things.

Now i myself have a lot of trouble looking at my work and being happy with the results, however, the client is always happy so i must respect that. It is important to remember that someone out there will like your work, so never give up, and stay determined.

The hardest part about photography is staying inspired. To keep up inspiration, i am sorry to say, is something i cannot seem to grasp. With most other art forms i find inspiration through looking at other peoples work, with photography this only makes me feel bad that i cannot come close to the talent that is out there. To me, i just try to keep the photography flowing, and when i hit a patch of inspiration i allow myself to completely indulge. i always look at others work for the simple fact that i love the photography, despite the negative impact on my state of mind, i am fascinated. I will talk about other photographers in a later post.

So all life coaching aside, here are some simple and effective methods to get out there in the world of photography.


Social Networking

Social Networking is an undeniably useful tool for budding photographers. Not only does every man,woman, child and dog have either Facebook or Twitter, its a great way to get noticed and speak to all of your followers at once. I would recommend setting up a specific page or account for your photography work, this helps your page to stay professional and allows you to keep track of and separate your personal life with your work, making organisation and image a piece of cake.

Here is a link to my Facebook photography page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710

Local Recognition 

The quickest way to gain local recognition is to keep an eye on any local information outlets such as Newspapers, Websites, Leaflets and Roadside Advertisements. Find local events that you think you would be able to and enjoy photographing. Be careful with entrance fees, only attend a payed even if you both have the money spare and think it will be worth your time. Often, if you can locate and contact the event organiser, you can get a photographers pass.

Try to attend as many events as you can, and carry around lots of business cards to hand out. After the event, try to locate and contact the subjects, weather they are an act or an audience member, and see if they would like the images. Be sure to watermark the images before handing them out.

Competitions 

Competitions are a great way of gaining recognition and a small following. Sites such as Worth1000 are great for getting recognised, as well as receiving feedback and also inspiration. Worth1000 has a deferent topic each week, in novice, amateur, experienced and expert categories. This keeps you trying new things and picking up the camera regularly.

Some of the more well known competitions are also worth a try. It is very hard to imagine your own images making it to the top, but you never know, and it is great publicity regardless of the outcome.

Newspapers and Magazines

If you have captured a local newsworthy event on camera send them in via email to your local paper. you can also repeatedly send in your photographs to relevant magazines. It will take a long time, but eventually you will get published. As the photographer it is your job to seek recognition, if you expect it all to fall into place, it is highly unlikely you will receive work.

Work often comes your way off the back of something you have done to get noticed. So keep snapping away, updating your pages, contacting the appropriate people. eventually, you will get somewhere.

Thanks again readers!

Reviews and Comparisons

This is a Review/Comparison between all 4 of my lenses. i have used all four of these for both my professional and personal work, and will talk about the main differences between them.

Here are the four lenses i will be comparing: 

Sigma DC-EX 10-20mm F/4-5.6   
                                








Nikon AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR (kit) 

Nikon AF-S DX 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6 VR  

                                                                   







Sigma DG-EX HSM 50-500mm F/4-6.3

These are my four lenses, ranging from 10-500mm, with no area unreachable in between. I would like to review each lens and offer advice to anyone thinking about buying them (or something similar)

To start this off i will talk about my Sigma DC-EX 10-20mm F/4-5.6 Wide Angle Lens. To sum up my opinion of this lens, i take it with me everywhere, it never leaves the camera bag. This lens is fantastic. Although i rarely use it for my professional work, this is my lens of choice for my landscapes.

The Exterior of the lens feels very professional, i find the Nikon Lenses are mostly Plastic and have a very delicate feel to them, This lens is Heavy for it's size and is constructed of metal with a strange rubbery/felt coating. I much prefer the heavier lenses because i can feel the weight and i am less likely to drop the lens during changes. The Coating also offers extra grip.

Performance wise i have yet to discover a fault, it does everything you would want a wide angle to do. The lens is fast enough for me, although i have found it to be slower than my other lenses. I have gotten rather annoyed that i cannot zoom in very far, but that is only due to the fact i cannot be bothered to switch lenses again. Being a Wide Angle lens, it has to be taken into account that it is not as versatile as my others. which is why i am leaving out the negatives to this lens, as a loose Einstein quote "You can't judge a fish on it's ability to climb a tree".

This lens was fairly expensive, although it has shot down astronomically since i purchased mine. I bought it second hand for around £350. However it can now be picked up brand new for under £400.  

Next comes the kit lens, my Nikon AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR. This lens is the lens i got when i purchased my Nikon D7100. The Lens is absolutely brilliant for an events photographer, with the ability to go wide and photograph big scenes, and the capabilities of zooming in to artists and crowd portraits. This lens has a generous aperture width and allows fast shutters, making it a great lens for events you suspect could get messy. The zoom is also very smooth and coupled with the D7100s auto focus time this lens is useful for switching from subject to subject.

The lens is very light, which some consider to be a good thing. i do appreciate the lack of weight when it comes to hauling my bag around, however i much prefer to be able to feel the lens in my hands.

Overall this lens makes light work of busy and varied subjects, a perfect all-rounder for both novice and experienced photographers.

The Nikon AF-S DX 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6 VR....possibly my most used and loved lens in my bag. this lens is the perfect lens for anyone after a portable and lightweight telephoto lens without compromising on zoom reach and quality. This lens is very quick for a 300mm and unbelievably light, which in this case, is good. The lens offers a decent zoom to allow great close ups and capturing distant scenes. The lens also allows a fairly wide bottom area. which means i can capture most things and only swap lenses a few times during a shoot. The image quality is phenomenal and i have used this lens in situations varying from 30 second exposures for astrophotography to 1/3000th of a second exposures for mid-flight bird shots. This is a highly versatile and impressive lens.

I picked up my lens for around £180 from Amazon, an absolute bargain if you ask me.

Finally comes the "BEAST" the Sigma DG-EX HSM 50-500mm F/4-6.3 . My largest, Heaviest and most expensive lens. Again, i absolutely love this lens. On the other and, it is very impractical and difficult to handle. However, should you be willing to put the effort in, this lens offers an amazing zoom range and a fair aperture as-well. This lens has a great feel to it, but it is much better off on a tripod. i have shot with this handheld many times with no problems, i would just say it is very heavy and will be much nicer on your arms if it is mounted.

The zoom is fantastic and the focusing is quick. I would however have preferred a much closes focus area, to allow for macro images, athough a decent attempt can be made, especially if the lens is mounted in front of a good sensor to allow lots of cropping.

This lens set me back £900 for a reconditioned one. New, they vary from around £1000 to £1500.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experiences of these (or others like these) lenses please do not hesitate to contact me via email at ajthomasphotography@live.com or visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710

Once again, thank you readers

My First Event

Starting from my first Music/Event opportunity, i take you back to December 20th 2013, not long ago. Held at the MECCA in Swindon, this event marked the 40th Anniversary of  Swindon Viewpoint. for the entire event i used my Nikon D7100 with my Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 telephoto lens. This event was the kick-start to my working relationship with a local artist, ironically named AJ (below)

This opportunity was given to me by a College Tutor who could not attend the shoot herself due to pregnancy. The shoot went relatively well considering i had little to no experience, once the night was finished i began editing. Upon completion of the editing i uploaded some image to my Photography Facebook account and began locating the bands, asking if they wanted their shots. every single act i contacted told me they wanted the shots, however only one of them replied afterwards to give me their email addresses. The only act that gave me their details was AJ, my now regular client. 

As a whole the shoot went surprisingly well, however i see many issues. The biggest issue was with my watermarking. This was my first watermark and by far the worst. Having been so desperate to get my name out there, i forgot to focus on what shows the viewer the photograph is mine. I settled with a fancy script writing reading "AJ Thomas Photography". Bad idea!  

Firstly, this watermark is far to tall and long, it imposes a lot on the image. Secondly, the watermark is far to fancy, making it almost impossible to make it flow with the image. Thirdly, this watermark is often hard to read due to colour and shape, it often blends into the image and somehow distorts the image at the same time. 

Since this shoot, i have developed a number of Watermarks for different jobs, i now have a logo in which i use as-well as the writing. this creates a far more eye catching but not too distracting watermark. i will delve further into watermarks on a future blog.

if there is any topics you would like me to review or discuss please let me know at ajthomasphotography@live.com or visit my facebook pages following this link https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710

This Blog

This Blog

For the sake of professionalism and partly popularity, this blog will be focused solely on my work as a professional photographer. This means my blog will be focused around music and events photography, should you desire to see or read about my work as a landscape/wildlife photographer, please email me at ajthomasphotography@live.com and i would be happy to set up/talk about or direct you towards my personal work. 

To kick start this blog from a slightly more professional angle, i will reintroduce myself. As you may have previously read, my name is AJ Thomas, and i am a student currently undergoing a HND qualification in photography. As this is my 4th and final year of studying photography, it is the perfect time to start attempting to get my name out there and gain some sort of following. Despite this, i would like to keep the atmosphere relatively informal. I am by no means a photographic know-it-all, and would like to show those who are following me my true personality and allow my followers to watch as my work (hopefully) improves. I would also like to hear feedback of my work, good or bad, and would like to keep my audience comfortable and relaxed. 

I hope you continue to follow my blog, and we can both gain something from a blogger - audience relationship. please do not hesitate to contact me via email, and i would be happy to accept followers on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710 

Introduction

AJ Thomas Photography

Hello, my name is AJ Thomas, i was born in 1995 and have spent the past 4 years studying and working as a photographer in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. In case you haven't already guessed, i am new to blogging and have no concept of what is or is not a "bloggable" statement, so i will begin with a short backstory of my life and how i came about to be a photographer.

I was born in Swindon and have have lived in the village of Chiseldon for 14 years. I spend most of my time juggling between photographic work/study, music and socialising with close friends and family.

My passion for photography started back in 2011, shorty after leaving secondary school. After having my inspiration for both music and art destroyed by GCSE study, i found myself struggling to decide what to study as AS/A Level. At this time the house was undergoing some work, which included repairs to our chimney. This meant that for several weeks the house was surrounded by scaffolding.

One day, mostly out of boredom, i decided to climb the scaffolding and listen to my music, i spent a lot of time sat up there enjoying the view of my rather rural village. As the sun started to set i found myself in complete awe of natures beauty, it was around August time and the sunsets were absolutely phenomenal. The next day i decided to watch the sunrise again, but this time i brought up my mothers 10 Megapixel Compact Kodak camera. The shots of the sunrise left me feeling both satisfied yet desperate for more. From here it was suggested i spent a few days taking photographs in an attempt to produce a small portfolio for late enrolment at Level 3 Photography.

I managed to make a good enough portfolio to be accepted as a late entrance onto the course, eventually being gifted my first camera, a Kodak Easyshare Compact. From here i upgraded to a Nikon D3100, which was eventually Stolen. Once i had moved onto DSLR i began learning fast and found myself as a photographer.

Since then i have passed the Level 3 Course with a Triple Distinction and am currently on my final year of a Higher National Diploma in Photography. My Kit bag now consists of a Nikon D7100 with a verity of lenses ranging from a Sigma 10-20 wide angle to a Sigma HSM 50-500mm Telephoto, with others in-between. Alongside the kit you would expect (Tripods, Remote Shutters, Filters etc.) I also own a low power studio flash unit and backdrops.

My main area of Expertise is Landscape and Wildlife Photography, however i work mostly as a music and events photographer in and around Wiltshire. I hope you will follow me on my journey through the photographic world as i exit the education system and enter the world of professional photography. I will be updating as regularly as possible, and hope to improve my skills as both a photographer and a blogger, so please bare with me.

if you would like to contact me, i can be found on Facebook by clicking this link: ://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007321418710

Alternatively, you can email me at ajthomasphotography@live.com

Thank you

AJ