As a wildlife and nature photographer, mostly working alone in remote and isolated areas, taking images of people and crowds doesn't come as easily as taking images of wildlife. Being shy doesn't help ! Occasionally, I take images for stock, such as editorial in magazines and newspapers. Keeping an eye on current affairs will often dictate what I photograph, such as flooding, the Waspi Women, removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance, climate change, or maybe the farmers working in the fields. Agricultural shows are also a favourite of mine with local people in rural communities. Though sometimes difficult, I endeavour to keep impartial and just concentrate on taking the best image I possibly can to tell the story. I continue to learn and improve the more I do this.
WASPI WOMEN
Westminster, London
Waspi Women are a formidable group of ladies born in the 1950's and have fought the Government for years for compensation. Â It was a pleasure to photograph them in London outside the Houses of Parliament.
Whether they eventually receive the compensation they have fought so hard for is debateable, so for the moment, it's just watch this space.
SOURCING OUR ENERGY
Always in the news, on television, in every newspapers, is the issue of sourcing our energy, our fuel and what impact this has on our countryside and our  climate.
I live just a few miles from Drax Power and in the fields surrounding this Plant, is just acres and acres of solar panels. Â These agricultural fields in beautiful countryside were once home to all species of wildlife. Â
It's so easy to become dragged into the politics of it all, but as photographers we must remain impartial and simply record what we see with our cameras.
WHITBY AND THE FAMOUS GOTH FESTIVAL - October
What an amazing experience this is ! Â So crowded you can barely move so I decided to stay up at the Abbey. Â Such fabulous people and costumes.
I have never really photographed people up close before so was a bit shy asking folk if I could take their photo but everyone was so kind. Â
There's so much to see, it's difficult to know where to start, but as evening approaches, the Abbey is illuminated which is just beautiful.Â
I wrote to English Heritage and asked permission to use my photographs of the Abbey and they were very gracious and said "yes of course".Â
As this was my first experience of photographing at the Whitby Goth Festival, I learned quite a bit from my experience including:
Go early !
Standing at the top of the 199 steps, you can catch the wonderful Goths as they make their way up the steps to the Abbey.
Ask the Goths if they mind you taking their photograph. Â Almost all will be delighted that you asked. Â I only saw one female Goth refuse a gentleman, but at least he had the good manners to ask.
Use shallow depth of field to blur out the many distracting obstacles
Be respectful in St. Mary's Church yard, which adjoins the Abbey, Â keeping to the paths to avoid the graves
Catch the bus at the Abbey to go down into town, making sure that there's one available to get back up.  I didn't, and there wasn't, so had to queue for a taxi to get back up to the Abbey where my car was parked. £10.00 !  there was no way I was fit enough to walk up the 199 steps carrying camera gear, so £10.00 was a bargain :)
Car Parking is free up at the Abbey in Winter - check the dates.
There is also parking available near the Co-op.
I made a weekend of it and stayed at a B and B in Goathland, made famous with the TV series "Heartbeat". Â There's also the steam Railway close by
FLOODING AND DROUGHT
Flooding is always in the news, so I shoot some images for editorial to be used in news articles and magazines. Flooding in the villages around Selby can be quite bad in some areas and the damage it causes is quite heartbreaking. I live near to the River Ouse, so when it rains relentlessly, flooding is always a worry.
On the other hand, with summers becoming hotter and drier with each passing year, our reservoir water levels drop drastically, often leading to hose pipe bans. Â
This image was taken near Ryther in North Yorkshire when the road was closed due to severe flooding, but a van driver thought he would risk it and took his van through the flood water.
#ExplorerPhotography
