Holmes' Dunes and The Golden Hour

I like the use of foreground, middleground and background... It gives this picture more depth and makes it more life like. I love it because I always thought that boats like this one look like toys; the colour of it enhances that idea. It looks a bit surreal as well, as it rests on sand and has a little river flowing past it to the sea. 

This needs editing... Possibly a curves adjustment and a bit of a vignette would be nice. I wish that the wheat was backlit a little bit, as I think it would look quite interesting with more texture, and a light behind the wheat would highlight the texture of it more... From the photos below, you will also probably realise that I have a penchant for photographing with a more golden-y tone to it. I like things warmer... Also, this is starting to annoy me a little bit because, while my friend is on the third, she isn't immediate and clear in this photo which I think is caused by the fact that the wheat kind of dominates the photo. I could possibly try to make this better with brightening her up and making her 'pop' out of the photo, but I think it's almost irreparable, regardless of her being in focus and everything else not.

I love the depth in this and it almost has a notion that the dogs are leading the way, connoting that they're braver and more powerful than their owners. It seems very Alpha-Beta to me, even the relationship between the dogs. The way that there are only three things in this photo makes it seems more even and balanced out - discarding any feeling of symmetry. It seems more natural.
I liked getting down low and crouching on the floor (and having muddy, orange knees as a result) and photographing at their level; I had to wait for the exact time to press the shutter down, as it is very easy to make things look awkward when someone/thing is moving towards you.  It was all timing and levels with this one... 

I like both this one, and the very similar one above it... but I can't decide between the texture of the sand in the first one, or the bird silhouette in the second. Regardless, I like the way that the sun makes the middle of the picture look lighter, almost as if there was a vignette around it when, in fact, I didn't edit this at all.

love the reflections in this one, and the contrast between the fluffy, pink flowers and the harsh barbed wire. I was tempted to edit this a lot to bring out the pink a lot more to add a bit more punch to the photo, but I've grown to love it the way that it is.

I feel magical when I point my camera into the sun and see the little circles and colourful smudges that it causes to appear. It's almost like I'm really little again, confronted with something that I really can't explain and really don't care to - I think they are beautiful and I accept, unlike most other things, that they are just there. Make fun of me for making a big deal out of something that a lot of photographers would try to edit out or try to take another picture without it in, fine, but it's just one of those things that I've fallen in love with... Maybe from my love of the sun or surreality, I don't know, but I'm not about to stop and try to figure that out either.

Because I don't have photoshop, and only a Macintosh variant of it, I didn't do a vignette per se, but I did a smudgy thing around the edges, which I really don't regret because I feel like making this photo any darker would only take away from it, as the picture has a golden, wholesome quality to it at the moment, and making the edges just smudged goes with the theme of the colours blending in the sunset and it doesn't add any more darkness which more goes with the wholesome quality I was talking about. It also feels more lighthearted and childish... It feels like he's going on an adventure; and I don't want to make his adventure have any darkness in it.  

Again with the magical, lovely, colourful circle smudgey things. This child has beautiful hair.

Ending with a picture of myself; taken by the lovely N.Street.  How strange the feat of death is - we never fear sunset. 

Looking at these pictures I just can't help but feel an optimism. Summer is coming. I'm soon off to boarding school. This is my clear horizon; it can't be obscured by anything, not anymore. Not even clouds. They come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.


I've learned from this photo shoot the effect that shooting into the light has, and I've realised that it's easier to photograph when you're really passionate about something.  This was such an enjoyable experience.. Though I don't see how it could have gone badly  - in such a beautiful place with my best friend. It's a new kind of beginning for me... For so long I've felt like I've been stuck in one place, going nowhere; doing nothing of value, but this symbolises clarity and endless horizon for me.