Just back from another very successful Norfolk Island photographic workshop. I had a lovely bunch of participants, who got on so well with each other and maybe its because there were 8 ladies and only one guy!! who knows… but we had a fantastic week with the weather turning on its charm once again. It rained at night or early in the morning, leaving everything damp and fresh. Fluffy white clouds billowed past us on their way through the South Pacific ocean and nearly every single morning gave us all a delightful display of colours in the sky. I usually get lovely feedback from my workshops, but one particular lady who is relatively new to photography expressed it this way….   Hi Ian, Thank you for a wonderful photographic opportunity. It was a great 8 days in delightful company and Norfolk Island is even more beautiful than I had imagined. Thanks to your knowledge of the Island we were able to experience everything in the best light available and, as you have taught us, light is everything. The tour exceeded my expectations and your ability as a teacher meant that I feel my knowledge as a photographer has improved immensely. Certainly I can see the difference between the photos taken on the first day and the images on the last day. Looking forward to having the opportunity to tour with you again and you will certainly receive a most positive endorsement from me.   Cheers Wendy.  What a great endorsement: and I always appreciate the fact and I also get real satisfaction that my participants receive something of real value out of these workshops… I will be running another one here again in late August 2016… If you haven’t been, then perhaps it’s time to join me here on this magical South Pacific Island.

I wanted to feature some of my recent photographs that have been published in British magazines of late. As I have only just returned from Great Britain, this has been the first opportunity to scan and get them ready to insert into my diary. I will add these all to my In print section as well. It was nice to be asked by the BBC in their 100th Special Issue of Countryfile to have a double page spread. the other photographic features are from Britain’s largest photo magazine, Digital Photographer and one of my desert sunsets was used for a Tamron advert featuring Travel Landscapes.

   The Front cover of the BBC COUNTRYFILE magazine the 100th Special Issue. The photo used was of the Stour river from the old bridge at a village called Sturminster Newton in Dorset. The photo was a dawn shot I did last year one morning in summer… very very early!!  The other articles set out below are from recent Digital Photographer issues. It was pleasing to be asked my thoughts on being a workshop leader and the magazine featured me along with two English workshop leaders who run Photographic Landscape workshops along similar lines to me.

I am totally hooked on using this new offering from the Sigma corp. I am also becoming very biased toward the lenses in general, this company is producing and this latest one added to my collection is no exception. I have featured a few photo’s taken with this lens on this blog when I first purchased the Lens, but now after having visited the Shetland Islands and having put it through its paces, I just absolutely love what this lens can do and the quality of the results. The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports is a versatile 4x telephoto zoom lens for full-frame DSLR cameras, and APS-C sensor cameras with an effective increase in focal length. The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports features a rounded 9 blade diaphragm which creates an attractive blur to the out of focus areas of the image,  It has built-in optical image stabilisation with an accelerometer for improved vertical and horizontal panning, an Hyper Sonic Motor for fast and quiet autofocusing, a zoom lock switch that can be locked at any focal length, manual override (MO) which is activated by rotating the focus ring while using autofocus, water and oil-repellent coating on the front and rear lenses, and dust and splash-proof construction. My good friend Ewen Bell has a real way with words and he also recently purchased the same Lens to use on our workshops in Scotland. So, read his take on what this Lens is capable of and his feelings about its quality and the conclusion he came to.

http://photographyfortravellers.com/article.php?story=1225

the first few images posted here show the ability of the lens and what the results are, all hand held, some on a rocking boat and in the most trying circumstances. It’s a beautiful piece of equipment indeed! The final few images I took of Ewen using the Lens on our workshops in both the Scottish Highlands and on the Shetland Islands.