Trying out Prisming in Littleworth Common

 I went out Saturday to scout Littleworth Common near Esher for a potential location for an upcoming portrait session. I really loved it's dense forest.

It also gave me my first chance to try out prisming or aka 'hurding.' I think Sam Hurd is pretty incredible for sharing his method where most photographers keep their techniques closely guarded secrets; afterall a six inch prism isn't going to make me Sam Hurd, his photos are so much more than some clever light refractions!

Not the most subtle examples of prisming, but i was learning the nuances of my prism, it was fun stuff! I particularly liked that you could use the reflections of a prism to erase areas you don't want in your photo, for example i liked the framing of some trees but not so much the ugly muddy ground and so i could use the reflections of the prism to remove it. Likewise as a tool for directing your attention to certain parts of a frame, much like you would use the plane of focus on a tilt shift lens. I also really liked the way you could bend the light and produce rainbows.

I got my prism here.

day dreaming about sunshine

As temperatures dip below zero and i tenderly hold my hot water bottle close like an old faithful friend, i look back to the Summer and our two weeks in Tenerife...

My aim for this year is to call upon friends and family for photo shoots to move one step further... towards what I'm not sure yet, but i do know I would like a new challenge like trying my hand at a photo shoot. And so I thought I'd scout some locations for said future shoots at a nearby forest park.

These were the only two shots i managed to take, early on when we arrived, just metres from the car park. Thereafter she bowed her head and pouted, and that put an end to anymore photos. Still my main aim was to scout a location rather than take photos, and this was forest was beautiful, so overall it was a successful trip.

The scenery and trees made me want a tilt shift lens so much more in terms of trying something a bit more creative. I found this really great video that breaks down how a tilt/shift lens works.

Hounslow Urban Farm

monkey see...monkey do

These photos made me giggle whilst i took them, when i edited them and when i posted them on here. Little Willa photo bombing her big sister.

Credit to Angie Muldowney for her tips on how to add text to photos. Just remember you have to come out of the 'Type' tool and then 'Flatten Image.'

practice practice practice

I come across this advice often, but here it is in Chase Jarvis's own words 'you have to take a lot of pictures, and the more pictures you take, the better your pictures are going to be.' So even on an unexceptional day at home i just take photos to keep up the practice.

A great tip i picked up today was from Bambi Cantrell (@ about 1:10) "the first thing i do when i walk in to a room is that i take my hand up and i start looking at the shadow areas on my hand as i walk round the room...it helps me to see where i want to place my subject in relation to the light source." 

I'm always trying to learn more about this mystical 'seeing light.' This explanation from Ben Langdon unlocked the meaning for me:

"You hear photographers talking about light all the time. There are lots of different types of light and ways in which to use it and people talk about learning to see the light. Which when you first hear it sounds ridiculous, but is one of the keys to good photography. It’s really about understanding where your light is coming from in any given situation, how it’s falling and then you can choose how to use it."

I also recently bought Redleaf Studios Basic Lighting Guide which I'm reading at the moment and so far I'm finding it a very practical and easy to follow read.

Santa's Grotto at Bocketts Farm

Update: I've written a new post on Bocketts Farm with a bit more information, click here!