UK based landscape photographer and lover of the outdoors.
A landscape photographer based in Warwickshire, UK. With a passion for capturing the natural beauty of the English countryside, I love exploring the woodlands of my home county, as well as the stunning landscapes of Snowdonia, Lake District and beyond!
Often accompanied by friends, who share my love of photography. Together, we seek out the most picturesque locations and strive to capture the perfect shot.
Photography isn't just a hobby - it's a way of life. Constantly seeking out new challenges & opportunities to hone our skills and refine our craft. I'm eager to share my knowledge and experience with fellow photographers, whether I'm shooting solo or with friends.
If you're looking for breathtaking landscape photography, a sense of community, and the opportunity to learn and grow as a photographer, you've come to the right place. Join me on my journey through the stunning landscapes of the UK.
As an amateur photography who does it just for fun and to motivate myself to get out of the house, I have never even considered the phrase, 'The pros do this..." to be insulting or condescending at all. None of those people who I watch for inspiration come off to me as arrogant at all. They are just people who have been lucky enough to make a living doing what they love and want to share it. I do find a lot of braggards in the comment sections of those videos however.
Woodland photography is something I really struggle with. I enjoy your videos and suggestions for improving. It all about compositions and your videos help. Thanks.
I've had exactly the same thoughts recently - 'Pro's do this!' In their clickbait title and/or thumbnail. When i see that, it just feels condescending.
Very good point put across there mate, I think with all the Pros do this Pros do that, can really dishearten people new to photography, which then takes away the whole reason they took up the hobby which, like many of us is purely for the love of it, the out doors and meeting up with others with the same passion.
Martin, I can perhaps some sympathy with your comments, there are certainly some professional You tubers who are very good at putting them selves on pedestals , often indirectly, but they make sure that everyone knows that they are the expert, the best , in either Denmark or in Camper van conversions for instance , but they see this as their USP , that gets them even more viewers and sponsorship. This is how they make a living , and its what they have found has to be done to get the revenue and lead the lifestyle they have chosen. They do tend to produce well crafted vlogs, that have an impact, even if we don't agree with the content . Other professionals simply have charisma , and people watch this . There are some other professionals who just get on with it, without patronising everyone. Their work is useful and informative and well worth watching. Each of these have their idiosyncrasies, that makes them unique. It will appeal to some but not everyone. They are useful and these tend to blend into the amateur market where many people like yourself are creating great content and often just want to share things and shoot extremely good images and talk a lot of sense. However there other people out there at the 'amateur' level, who set themselves as something special just because they have the latest Nikon Zx camera for instance or because they know beyond all doubt they are the worlds leading expert on landscape photography, but cant understand why everyone doesn't love them . These are just as bad as the some of the professionals and compound thing's as they dont shoot great images and often waste peoples time in watching them through poor content or repeating other videos content that has been produced by others a few days before to a high standard. Neither side of this argument is without issues. Its down to people and the way they work and in the pro case get paid. Both sides have short comings for certain, the need for attention snapping headlines to get the views sometimes drive these things. As a consumer of the content, everyone gets the same chance to impress , and I often subscribe to channels, which after several weeks viewing , you start to realise that they are not making it for you, so you unsubscribe and stop watching their content and move on. You will never change peoples personalities and their motivation for doing these things , everyone of us is different. When people talk S**t too much people move on, they eventually get found out. The last election in the UK showed that. Keep it up Martin, the content is good and worthwhile , don't forget that and dont be distracted by the false gods out there.
Thanks so much Paul, you've made some very compelling points there. I didn't consider the other side, those at 'amateur' level that see themselves as gods in their field are every bit as bad 😂. At the end of the day most of us put content on here in the hope that someone will watch it and take something away from it, whether that be inspiration or advice. I think all of us putting content out would do really well to remember that.
Easier said than done but I try and ignore those click bait ‘tubers. Great video Martin, with the usual high standard of images 👍🏻 Absolutely love woodland. Definitely my happy place to be as a location. I just get disheartened when I can’t transfer the feeling of being there in to the images 🤷♂️
Indeed easier said than done mate, we've been in the game long enough now to not take in their BS, but guys new to photography probably not so much. Let's have a day together in the woods soon mate
Nice one Martin - must admit RU-vid video titles wind me up at times... I defo think a lot of RU-vidrs just use them as 'click Bait' to draw you in... Some nice images given the conditions..👍
I have to agree with you Martin, about the "pros do this" and also my bug bear "3/5/10 + bonus tips" videos, disappointingly do effect my motivation to produce content for youtube. Although I dont actively watch those videos, when i'm considering producing a video on my photography for YT, I will like all others, research what is already been done and in 99.99% of cases my idea has been executed and delivered far better than I can/could do, so I end up not bothering. If you or any of you subscribers have thoughts on combating this attitude im all ears has i have been trying for years to break that blocker lol :) 😆
Mate if anyone else has any ideas how to break that attitude I'd love to know, best thing is just to get out there and enjoy your photography and hope others do too.
Hi mate, some very nice images that morning. i think the vloggers that use titles like you mention are really only trying to play the RU-vid algorithm , i dont think they all think their better than everyone else, although im sure there are a few that do. RU-vid has created the problem and those that are trying to make revenue from youtube are trying to maximise that. Sadly if your new to photography and or the youtube platform you may not be aware of this and can lead to the problems you spoke about. There are many amateur photographers out there that are fantastic at what they do , better than many pros . I dont think i can make the same income from my photography as i can from my full time job and if photography was to become my job would i loose the love i have for it as i would have to concentrate so much more time than people realize into running the business side of things . Like you and many others im more than happy shooting when i can . Hope your feeling better having offloaded :-) , take care mate !
Much better thanks Lee 😂 I won't make a habit of whinging 😂 I don't necessarily mean they think they are better than everyone else, but I fear it gives off the impression, especially to beginners who will feel they aren't good enough unless they shoot everything the same way as the "pros" which for me would make landscape photography very boring if we we're reduced to copying rather than flexing our creative muscles. Thanks for watching Lee
Totally agree with you one this one, nearly never watched it because of the title but glad I did. Pros are under constant pressure to produce the goods and self promote. One of the things I like most about photography is that it is a constant learning curve and the great feeling when it all comes together and you produce an image that you are proud of.
Haha, thanks for watching despite the awful click bait title. Promise I won't make a habit of it 😂 I get why "pros" feel like they are under constant pressure to put things like "pros" do this. But there are many pros that don't do this and make a good living out of their videos still.
Hi some good thoughts great photos! Like you I take photos because I enjoy getting out being around nature not for a living! It really does help you well being and balancing life best wishes Anthony
Well said Martin, the difference between an amateur (hobbyist) and a pro is, an amateur (hobbyist) has to work for living and has limited time to shoot… Not all the so called pros make great images all the time either.. Love your channel, all the best.
Hi Martin. A video that could of been called "The Humanising of Inanimate Objects" as the key feature was the interplay between trees and how the shapes they form remind us of humans in various situations relevant to our life experiences (akin somewhat to pareidolia). Plus, it would of made a great clickbait title :-)) Our tax status from earnings associated with photography, in the eyes of HMRC, is what separates amateurs from professionals, 😂 I look forward to more videos of trees/people dancing in the forests and woodlands. Enjoy your weekend.
I'll save that click bait title for another video. 😂 It's a very good point you make about tax status. It's taken a while to realise but Pro/amateur has nothing to do with the quality of the images. Thanks for watching Colin.
Great video mate, i totally agree i get sick of all the crap thumbnails Pros do it this way etc, its a load of shite lol some of the image they show are nothing special either. When i think about it most of the amateur Vloggers that are out most weekends because they love being out with a camera get better images than the so called Pro photographers.
Resonate with that one Martin. Having said that, it’s not something that bothers me as I recognise the people you are probably referring to are only doing what they need to make a living. Completely agree that amateurs are just as capable as taking great images as the pros. I guess that the pros typically have more opportunities to get out which increases their chances of taking those better images. What I don’t like is some of the snobbery that exists in photography, but thankfully that seems to be contained within the non RU-vid community!
Thanks Anthony, good point you make there, I get why they do it, I just feel that beginners especially could fall into the trap of believing all the BS they flog on their channels and feel inferior because they aren't up to "pro" standard.
I would like to pull you up on one point there Martin...... They don't all produce amazing photos lol. But I get what your saying, its click bait marketing and often only teaching you to suck eggs. But they know that its people just starting out that is the biggest market I suppose, so play on it. If half of them where with you on that day I doubt they would have matched your images 👌👌
Haha thanks mate, not all of them produce amazing photos, not naming any names.. ahem... 😂 But yes all about marketing and playing the algorithm, which I understand is their way of making a living.
Are the nobs the only way to adjust the ca era position? It seems like you would be turning the nobs forever if you wanted to make any kind of large adjustments.
Wouldn’t have thought for a second to use that cow parsley as foreground but that’s a great set of images from that side of the castle. Really enjoyed the whole video Martin 👍🏻
You could definitely tell you were knackered at the start 😴 Although the conditions weren't great you made the most of the light. The cow parsley image with the castle was a simple image but well balanced and it worked as did the one with the castle and the puddle. The side lighting on the castle was really nice. As I mentioned on the other vlogs if you can time it so you get onto the island before sunrise with the tide rising it'll keep most people away until the causeway opens again. I managed it last year and probably had a good 4-5 hours with just another photographer
Thanks mate, I was completely knackered 😂 glad you enjoyed it, it's a cracking place. Definitely one to return to and hopefully time it right like you did.
Hi Martin. The vertical picture with the cowslip in the foreground was the right thing to do and you were rewarded for your efforts with an image I liked a lot. The upturned boats turned better than I initially thought they would and the edit was gorgeous. Have a good start to your week.
Thoroughly enjoyable mate I didn’t realise you were so tired but that was one knackering weekend it has to be said. Some great photographs but that’s always the case.
Lovely pics and a great location, got to get there early to beat the crowds unfortunately in high summer it is stupid o’clock. The heather on Cannock Chase is just turning purple and the early morning light is breaking through at the coppice, it’s looking good up there at the moment.
Thanks so much, I was at Cannock this time last year, it was beautiful, fear I miss the best of it this year as I'm up in the Lake District this week, will see what's left when I return.
Good to see your take on the location , blimey you guys crammed a lot in , in such a short space of time no wonder you were feeling it. Still great memories im sure and some really nice images to remember it by.
Lovely stuff mate, I'll echo what Dan's said. It shows you were knackerd but we were all in the same boat with that. A trend to be repeated throughout our visit. Regardless of that mate, you still pulled it off. 👍
Thanks Martin, you did get some fine images from the trip. Good time to go to avoid the crowds, I often bypass the castle and walk around to the obelisk and sand dunes where there are sometimes basking seals, you can hear their grunts.
Great location for photography by the look of it but man that was an early alarm call ! Some really nice images of the castle and i also liked the image of the textures in the sand, something a little different .
I agree about the balance in the first image. The problem with it is the castle seems to point left so needs to be on the right. The portrait with the green foreground I think would look great if you moved right not left imo. And it’s a great sunrise location as Paul said as you don’t have to dodge your shadows. Portrait on the Farne island works perfectly though. Great video mate, you’re a natural.
Hi Martin. As I commented on some of the other f7.1 vlogs I actually prefer sunrise at this location as you can get stunning colours behind the castle and no issue with shadows. I got one of my favourite images at that first spot using that sweeping rock as a lead-in but also had the water around it obviously very fortunate as I hadn't planned the shoot around the tides, we were just in the area but that's the way it can be sometimes isn't it? I don't know if you are like me but I regularly overthink an image when composing when sometimes simplicity works better. You still got some great images and I've said before, for me it's about being out with the camera, even better with great mates and any decent photo is a bonus 😊
Thanks mate, would love to return there at sunrise tbh, I can see it would work better. Would love to see the images you took there. I'm terrible for overthinking compositions, which actually causes me to mess up a comp or miss the best of the light 🤣
