I have not really made any new years resolutions specifically, id say it was a more of a to do list as 2017 looks like it is going to be a big one. Here are a few of those 'to do's' i have so far (in no particular order)

1. Blog/ write about photography experiences etc often or when i have new pictures

2. take newe pictures as often as possible

3. ignore gramatical errors (i make lots of spelling mistakes but i dont care im not the next poet laureate)

4. Shoot lots of weddings

5. be a best man

6. move house

7. eat healthier

8. take a camera out at every opportunity

So basically im attempting to do all my life goals within one year....

To Kick things off then id best have a nice start to the year, which so far has been the case. I have managed to get out and about with my camera a lot recently and this is again another more normal new years resolution - practice, practice, practice!! and take some pictures i can be proud of this year.

ending 2016 then was all about the winter walks and the first took place just after christmas in Avebury, wiltshire where their massive stone spread out in circles  and look like they are giant fingers bursting out from the chalk ground below. 

The light for this shoot was very good but the long shadows and amount of people who decided that this winter day was the perfect day to go out with the family for a walk made it very difficult to get a shot that didnt have a long human shaped shadow or 10 people climbing the rocks for the perfect selfie. I would wait (with chelsea getting more and more angry) until there was as little human activity as possible and then took out the rest in post processing.

Travelling into Avebury the village itself offered other photography opportunities like this one above of Avebury Manor, shot throught the bars of a locked gate on the 35mm F1.4.

The second of our winter walks took us through Bushy park when we were both back from Christmas with my parents. I awoke to find London shrouded in thick fog  from dawn all the way through to dusk. We decided that the mist might just be over the river thames (where we live) in Kingston and that the surrounding area would maybe just have mist over the fields so it would look great in Photos. I packed up my tripod and headed across to bushy park...

When we arrived the visibility was at best 200ft. i was gutted as there was no chance of a decent shot. I came up with an idea of testing out HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography which i have been aware of but not been totally convinced of, so took 3 images of the same scene (moving as little as possible when doing so). The first shot was very under exposed, the second was exposed correctly and the third was very over exposed. As i had done with my previous blog post, i merged the photos together using Adobe lightroom but this time i used their HDR merging option. This took all the elements of a very dull scene and brought the shot to life giving me the finished product above. The image is much more atmospheric and interesting than what i expected or imagined.