November 2007 Newsletter

News, Reviews and Articles from All Things Photography

November 2007 Newsletter

Hi and welcome to our November 2007 Newsletter!

Brrrr…well, I am finally back in the UK and to be honest it isn't as cold as I expected, Spain is actually quite chilly in the winter.

On my second day here after nearly 10 years (in the very early morning) I think I received "a message" that I had done the right thing. I was always going to miss the bright sun, long days and endless photo opportunities that Spain offers. However, whilst travelling on a 5 hour train journey to Stansted Airport to collect my car I found myself grinning much of the way.

I hadn't seen the English countryside like this for years. I'd always seen it via the motorways and "B" roads. Even then, my mind was always elsewhere which meant I couldn’t always appreciate it.

As the sun started to rise the train sped past a forest on the edge of a large field which had morning mist in its undulations. 3 young deer were just standing there and the sunlight beaming through the trees…beautiful. I made a note of where I was and intend to go there for more than just a fleeting glimpse soon.

Eyes wide shut

What I also noticed was that nobody else on the train saw what was staring them in the face as they made their way to work. I feel lucky to:

  • Have photography as a hobby because it makes me aware of my surroundings at all times
  • Have photography as a career…I get paid to see and find beauty (most of the time)

If there is any sun this time of year it tends to stay low all day and is great light for many types of photography. Almost like a daylong "golden hour". I am still trying to convince myself here…humour me…please!

I now have a huge challenge in front of me. I have left a thriving photography business, excellent contacts and a ton of work in Spain to start all over again in England. I'll try as best as I can to document how I get on. I am now like so many other people out there…a newbie to the business of photography once more.

Even though the aim is to run this site full time, I still want to shoot the occasional wedding and a ton of stock. Mainly to keep myself on the ball (and because I love it). 2007 has been an excellent year and I have met a bunch of amazing people during many of the weddings I have shot.

Nickstubbs.com

I have a new website with my portfolio and sample wedding images here if you are interested. Please let me know if this plays ok. I'm currently using an antiquated PC with "snailband" internet in the middle of a guesthouse restaurant in Weymouth. I can't view it properly online!

Speaking of guesthouses in Weymouth. Something I am toying with is using my in-laws' 8 bedroomed guesthouse to hold 3 or 5 day wedding photography courses here in Weymouth in the UK.

I have thought about this for a while and would appreciate any feedback from anyone interested. It is early days yet but the course I am thinking of holding would be a full on, no holds barred, no fannying about, no wasting days on fancy poses that no-one wants anymore with precocious models, get started in wedding photography course. It would include:

  1. 1
    Equipment
  2. 2
    Getting the shots throughout the day (obviously)
  3. 3
    Attitude and demeanor
  4. 4
    Marketing yourself to the max
  5. 5
    Running the business day to day
  6. 6
    Suppliers
  7. 7
    Photobooks
  8. 8
    And just about everything else that you will come across

Get in touch via our contact page if you are interested and if feedback is strong enough I will get to work. Prices to be arranged but would include bed and breakfast for the duration.

So, apart from that...what's new in our November 2007 Newsletter? 

Not much for me really as the entire month has been spent organising, travelling, and sorting schools as well as somewhere to live. However, I have tried to answer all emails and keep myself up to date during this stressful time.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6

One email I received was from a young lady having problems getting to grips with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. As well as trying to "clean up" one of her images. In order to help her, I made a screen capture of my workings within Photoshop Elements 4. I worked on her "problem shot" knowing the same process could be applied to Elements 6.

She kindly gave me permission to use this as a tutorial on All Things Photography.

Adobe Lightroom

All software can be daunting at first but it is surprising how quickly and easily you can get yourself acquainted with it. I found this myself with Adobe Lightroom recently. I kept putting off learning more about it as I was so busy and I assumed that it would take forever like Adobe Photoshop.

However, I recently received a copy of the nice Mr Kevin Kubota's Lightroom Tutorials for review. I found myself completely at ease with this amazing piece of software. There are times when using Lightroom that I don't even need Photoshop. It has so many amazing features.

Lightroom Tutorials

Already have Adobe Lightroom or are thinking of getting it? I strongly advise that you get hold of Kevin Kubota's Adobe Lightroom Tutorials. Worth their weight in gold they are!

Finally, there were a couple of things I promised to cover last month that I simply haven't had time to do. However, I will get on the case ASAP. I am a little camera shy and want to get some exercise before getting in front of a video camera ; )

Thanks for reading and being part of the ATP community. I hope to add a forum very soon so the site can become more interactive amongst its readers. Christmas is coming (if you are that way inclined) and I hope to get the newsletter out just before if not on Christmas day itself. A great time for snapping away candid, happy shots. Stock, stock, stock is all I am thinking!

Thanks again and take care.

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