Buxton Gallery Day

My first day of 2013 looking after the Gallery in the Gardens in Buxton Pavilion Gardens. Walked over this morning in the mist. Felt a bit sluggish, may have eaten too much in the last week or so!

New images of Oxford

We visited friends in Gloucester at the end of November and nipped across to Oxford for a few hours.

It was a good day for photos, although parts of Oxford were flooded after recent heavy rain. Nice skies.

I took 9 rolls of Ilford FP4+ 120, my first shots of Oxford. I have lots of photos of Cambridge as that's where I did my PhD and needed some of Oxford for a bit of balance in my new book, City Light, due out early March. Don't want to be accused of favouritism!

Here are a few examples, more on the web site Recent Gallery or follow the Oxford permanent links:

All Souls College and Radcliffe Camera

from St Mary's Church Tower

Christ Church College Puddle Reflections

Bridge of Sighs and Hertford College

Flooded Christ Church Meadow and Trees

Radcliffe Camera from St Mary's Church Tower

Frozen Peak District, No Snow

We are back from our recent photo travels to Oxford and Rome; home late afternoon yesterday.

Today I walked across the hills for a day in the Gallery in the Gardens in Buxton Pavilion Gardens. It was a very heavy frost last night and temperature still below zero. Lots of ice everywhere but no snow, could see across to Kinderscout, highest land in Derbyshire, and couldn't even see any there.

Really nice day today. I should be out taking photographs!

Rome Photo Trip Day 3

Today was the best weather-wise on our photo trip to Rome; clear blue sky and no clouds all day. Cold breeze kept it cool too. I probably took some better shots yesterday when the clouds were good but at least I knew I could shoot all day today.

We revisited some previous locations as well as new ones like the Pantheon.

Used drugs and heated back support to ease my bad back. Also had a break for a lie down before dusk/night session; that helped lots.

Sorry no images on mobile today so nothing to add to text.

Home tomorrow; early flight and even earlier taxi. Not looking forward to that bit!

I took 31 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 over 2 full days plus the evening we arrived. That makes 40 rolls in total with the 9 that I took in Oxford on Thursday before we came to Rome.

That's a few too many for me to easily process as it would take me about 8 hours to work through them. I will send them to Ilford Lab Direct, at the Ilford factory in Cheshire, who use the same chemistry as me (Ilfotec DDX/DD) and a gentle dip and dunk processing machine, so no roller damage - ever! They also look after me very well with excellent fast service every time.

Looking forward to seeing the negs and doing the contract prints so that I can see exactly what I took. With the daytime shots I pretty much know what I have but the nightime ones are less certain as the exposure is guessed (my Sekonic spot meters don't measure anything longer than 15 seconds at f5.6).

I will try and add some to my website before Christmas but it could be the New Year before I get to it. Can't leave much later than that as I need shots from both Rome and Oxford for my new City Light book, published March 2013.

Rome Photo Trip Day 2

We were busy today, walked miles, as the weather was good from mid-morning until the evening.

We started in the Popolo area with some fountains before moving on to the Umberto bridge; one of the best viewpoints for the Vatican St Peters. Great clouds here made for some good shots.

Next came the Castel Sant Angelo beside the next bridge along the river. From here we headed south to the busy Piazza Navona and impressive fountains. Then on to the Isolo Tiberan island, surrounded by some pretty wild water as the river was in full spate.

The Circo Massimo was next then the busy Colosseum as the sky clouded over.

My back was painful so we returned to the hotel to rest it for an hour or so before heading back to the Umberto Bridge for some dusk shots of the Vatican.

We followed the river, adding a few shots along the way until we reached the Vatican. Lots of building work going on here so not as good as I'd hoped for. Surprised to find a fun fair in St Peters Square.

From here it was back to Popolo and on to the Spanish Steps. These were overrun with people so no chance of taking the shots I wanted so we went for a meal instead.

By the time we came out heavy rain had cleared the streets and we returned for the Steps shot.

Last stop of the day was the Trevi Fountain. I managed a few shots then the heavens opened with heavy rain. I waited several minutes hoping it would clear but just got heavier. We called it a day!

Tomorrow the forecast is for good weather all day. Fingers crossed that's right!

Rome Photo Trip Day 1

We arrived in Rome today 2 hours late because of fog at Heathrow. This meant it was too late for any daytime shots; it was getting dark as we reached our hotel in the old town.

We did some night shots around the Colosseum though, in between rain showers. I ran off 3 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film. Had the full moon in some of them as the clouds thinned.

I did take some on my mobile phone but even turning up the ISO to maximum didn't give me a fast enough shutter speed to avoid blurring of the image. You will have to wait until tomorrow to see the sort of shots I'm taking with my Mamiya 7 cameras and Gitzo tripod! All the ones I will be posting during the trip will be mobile versions of my film shots.

Oxford Photo Trip

We visited good friends Carol and Al in Gloucester for a couple of days. That's a bit over an hour west of Oxford. We decided to combine the visit with a photo trip to Oxford. That was yesterday, Thursday, and what a spectacular day it was! Sunshine and high wispy clouds.

It will take a while for me to process the 9 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film. I now have shots of the Oxford skyline from South Park, the Bridge of Sighs, Bodleian Library, Ratcliffe Camera, Christ Church college, Merton College, Brasenose College, and more including the flooded meadows near Merton. Sorry I forgot to take any images on my mobile phone to illustrate this post.

I have had lots of requests for prints of Oxford over the years. If any of the locations listed interest you let me know and I will sort them sooner rather than later.

We were well looked after in Gloucester but left this morning to stay close to Heathrow tonight as we are now en route to Rome for another photo trip. I will be taking some of the last shots that I need for my new book, City Light. Keeping fingers crossed for good weather but quite a bit of rain is forecast.

Craft in Focus Christmas Contemporary Craft Fair at RHS Wisley

We (well Jan is, I'm at home with my feet up - only joking!) are doing our last show of 2012 at RHS Wisley with Craft in Focus. These are always well run and the marquees this year are the best ever with solid  walls (no flapping leaky canvas!), as well as the usual solid floors and heating. Luxury!

Jan is doing it on her own and sent me some pictures taken on her Blackberry, here is one of our stand. You can see one of the new London panoramics, of Tower Bridge, the Shard, Butlers Wharf and the Thames (taken from Wapping), is on show in a tasteful narrow black frame.

The show is on until Sunday late afternoon. It has been busy so far, Jan has already sold one of the other London panoramics, fortunately she has a spare and a frame so managed to replace it. Lots more though. Free entry to RHS members.

Dave Butcher Newsletter November 2012

Events
We have one more event in November over this coming weekend, the last Christmas show:

Christmas Contemporary Craft Fair, Stand 51, Craft in Focus at RHS Wisley near Guildford, Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th November; £7 entry, RHS members free. Jan runs our stand single-handed for this to give my bad back a break as it's a long show; 5 show days plus a set-up day. Hopefully you will keep her busy!
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We have lots of framed and unframed photographs, posters, books and more. There are 2 new 1 metre panoramas of London. Also some sample prints at reduced prices. Many of the posters have sold out but we have a new Chicago Riverside in Snow poster as well as some New York ones. There are a few waterfall posters, a couple of Lone Tree posters and some tree or waterfall triptychs too. They make inexpensive Christmas presents! In total maybe about 400 individual prints, not counting spares. If you are visiting the show it may be best to allow yourself a few extra minutes to browse everything.

No more shows after this until Focus on Imaging at the NEC from 3rd March 2013.

Next year we have also booked shows at Hatfield House (May), Glasgow (May), Stonor Park (August) and Birmingham NEC (March and November) as well as the usual local shows in Buxton. Maybe one or two more still to book. Not so many as this year which was too manic at times!

New Book - City Light

I'm busy scanning negatives for my next book which comes out in early March. Ilford Photo/Harman Technology have kindly agreed to have Jan and I on their stand (C2) at the Focus on Imaging show at the Birmingham NEC starting Sunday 3rd March 2013. This is a great place for book launches and City Light will be available there at a special price (we'll have all the course dates and info by then too). We will also have as many framed hand prints of the city photos from the book as we can fit in. I'm sure Ilford Lab Direct will also want to do one or two large prints from the book too; maybe 1 metre or larger panoramas. So lots to see.

At the moment it looks like there will be 4 sections of photos: UK, Europe, USA and Far East. There will also be a short feature on City Photography, including night photography. So far my list runs to 37 cities; too many for 80 pages/90 images. I think I have some editing of the list to do before I scan very much more!

Landscape Photography Courses
We have started thinking about next years courses. Still just the one in the Peak District. We are waiting on the dates for next years shows in Buxton before setting too many more. Should be out soon.

Peak District Photo course at Bole Hill and Padley Gorge, Saturday 6th April 2013, £150 per place.

This offers a full day of practical photography, no classroom sessions, just 5 people with 2 tutors (Dave and Jan Butcher) in an enjoyable atmosphere. We cover both black and white and colour between the pair of us so all needs should be met. They are suitable for complete beginners to advanced photographers as well as for both digital and film cameras. Overall, we help you to be more creative with your photographs, producing images with more impact. Book through davebutcher.co.uk.

Private courses: All courses can be run as private courses. Prices for all locations are shown on the web site. If you can't make the dates in our programme or would like more attention than is possible in a group, or you have your own group then talk to us about what we can do for you.

Darkroom Printing Courses

The darkroom printing courses are £160 per place and include all paper and chemicals. Ilford subsidise the cost of the paper and chemicals used on the courses for which there is no extra charge. There are 2 places on each course so you are assured of lots of attention during the day. No previous experience needed but you will get more out of the course if you have a few of your own negatives.

Next available darkroom printing course: Sunday 7th April.

Private darkroom courses also available on dates to suit you, more details on the web site.

New Photographs
Still adding city images to my web site with my new book in mind. Here are a few more from Manchester and Glasgow. Last major trip for the book is to Rome in less than 2 weeks time. There are more new ones on the web with more being added each week.

I have quite a big back-log of landscapes to do once the city ones for the book are finished. Please be patient if you are waiting to see some of these from trips that I've mentioned this year.

Glasgow Royal Exchange Square and Christmas Lights

Glasgow University from Kelvingrove Park

Salford Quays Lowry Bridge

Salford Quays Victoria Building and Mariners Canal

Manchester Castlefield, Canal and Railway Bridges

Photo Tips

The changing leaves of autumn seemed to pass really quickly this year; early frosts caused the trees to shed their leaves quickly. I hope you managed to get out and take the turning leaves before they dropped. We are back to unsettled weather again, wet one day, sun and showers the next. It's been a bit chilly too. All good conditions for landscapes. The views when the rain stops are great, no heat haze, and nice light through the day with the sun low in the sky. This time 2 years ago we had heavy snow (hoping it keeps off for another week ot two as we finish shows and trips!) so you should be getting ready for cold crisp snowy days when they come. Don't forget to over-ride the camera meter system for the extra light reflected off the snow. This is usually about 2 stops if the sun is out. Hope that helps.

There's quite a bit of extra technical stuff on the web site if you want some more tips.

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Dave Butcher  19-November-2012

ICHF Crafts for Christmas at Birmingham NEC

We are at the Birmingham NEC for day 1 of the ICHF Crafts for Christmas show. Stand E6 in Hall 19.

Open 9.30am to 5.30pm until Sunday night.

We have several hundred photos on the stand. Show offers too!

It's actually 3 shows in one. On the same entrance ticket you can also get into Hobbycraft and Cake World. If that isn't enough to tempt you I don't know what is!