A recent convert to dawn photography (after years of thinking about it and then going back to sleep!) this year I’ve embraced dragging myself out of bed in pursuit of a good photograph. Photographing Nottinghamshire's woodland, the River Trent, or the urban sprawl of Nottingham is a joy when the sun is just appearing and no one else is about.

On this page, I’ll share some of those moments, but there will also be posts about my occasional travels further afield and also news of exhibitions and the like.

And not all of them will be at dawn. I mean, I need the odd lie-in.

If you like what you see here, you can pop over to my store to check out my landscape, woodland, and urban photography prints. Each one’s a fine art print that brings a bit of Nottingham’s light and atmosphere into your home.

Chasing The Light (Mostly) in Nottinghamshire

Woodland Abstraction with the Fujifilm X100VI

Messing with Multiple Exposure Modes

I'm a big fan of Fujifilm cameras, mostly due to their lovely big physical controls which appeal to me and remind me of my first photographic experiences with a Pratktica MTL5B in the 1980s. I've always found PASM modes to be really annoying and non-intuitive so when I discovered Fujifilm's retro styled cameras I was sold.

My first Fujifilm camera was the X100S - pretty long in the tooth now but still beautiful to look and still takes a decent picture. When I moved on to the X-T2 I was seduced by the multiple exposure mode which allows two exposures to be combined in camera. I've used this a lot over the years but of course there is always the lure of something even better and nowadays modern Fujifilm cameras allow up to nine different exposures to be combined in camera in a variety of different ways.

Pondering an upgrade of my X100S I recently had a couple of days with the super trendy and hard to find X100VI. The images below were all taken on a grey morning at the Arboretum in Nottingham. Looking at the vivid Autumn colours it is hard to believe it was overcast and the light was pretty flat. I haven't fully got my head around the new modes yet but I was pleased with these shots (so much so that I've made two of them available as prints in my shop.)

My trial of the X100VI is over now and sadly it has gone back to Fuji. For me there were a few practical things which would stop me splashing out on the significant investment needed to upgrade to it, but I have to say, I did love the updated multiple exposure mode and I am now considering trying a Fujifilm X-S20 which I think may suit my needs better. Watch this space!

Supporting the Dylan Rich Legacy Charity

The City Ground, Notts Forest at Dawn

Prints of Nottingham Forest City Ground

50% of all proceeds from sales of the prints of Nottingham Forest's City Ground are being donated to the Dylan Rich Legacy registered charity.

North Uist, Outer Hebrides

In July I was lucky enough to visit the dramatic landscape of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Photographic conditions were not ideal - over a three day visit the sun was stubbornly hidden behind heavy cloud and rain. I wasn't really expecting to be wearing full Winter gear in the middle of July but I guess in the Hebrides you have to be prepared for any conditions. Despite this I did what I could with the conditions and got at least some photos I was happy with. Thankfully on the last night the sunset on the beach at West Berneray proved to be magical and I really enjoyed capturing the incredible light as the sun sank below the horizon.

Shifting Light, Shifting Seasons: Bestwood Through a Local Lens

Expanding on my 2025 exhibition, this book features seventy photos that capture the changing beauty of Nottingham's Bestwood Country Park throughout the seasons. Photographed between 2022-25, this collection aims to demonstrate that we don't need to travel far from our own front door to find stunning scenery and moments of magic.

A Change of Scene - Down to the Water

Alongside my usual woodland explorations and hikes in the Peaks I have recently been enjoying getting up far too early and watching the sun come up over the River Trent. It may be a total cliché but the changes in light as the blue hour progresses through the golden hour into the day are absolutely magical.

Beautiful Wales

I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days shooting dawn 'til dusk in North Wales a few months ago. Trying to cover as many locations as I could cram into the available time was a logistical challenge. The weather wasn't really in my favour - lots of cloud, lots of heavy rain - but when it cleared the beautiful Welsh countryside was revealed in all its glory. Llyn Ogwen and Penman Point were two particular highlights.

Liverpool

A short break in Liverpool earlier this year gave me the chance to capture some cityscapes for a change. These were captured with my fixed lens Fujifilm X100S - definitely a refreshing change from lugging about my usual bag of lenses and accessories!

Shifting Light: Bestwood Through a Local Lens Exhibition

Between 10th February and 10th March 2025 I exhibited some of my woodland photography at the Central Library in Nottingham. The exhibition 'Shifting Light: Bestwood Through a Local Lens' was part of the Light Night programming.

Bestwood was part of the medieval Sherwood Forest and contained a royal hunting lodge from as far back as the early 1100s in the reign of Henry I. The estate remained in royal hands until the 17th Century after which it was divided into tenant farms before coal was mined on the site between 1871 to 1967. Since the closure of the colliery the park has become a council-owned public open space and today remains a popular destination for walkers, cyclists, nature lovers and people interested in its industrial heritage.

The images in the exhibition sought to celebrate the changing landscape of Bestwood throughout the seasons.

The companion book to the exhibition featuring 70 photographs is available in my online store in two editions.