Something I also like to do with any close-up photography is to keep the light looking as natural as possible regardless of the environment I’m photographing in – to this end I prefer to use reflectors and daylight rather than flash lighting.  When photographing close, it is important to ensure that the foreground does not dominate your point of interest especially if it is out of  focus.

To capture such images you need to be decisive and seize the moment – one such photo is the image posted here – King’s College, Cambridge – a location much photographed and arguably one of the hottest photo subjects in Europe! However, as everything looked almost perfect as I was passing on my way to a Photo assignment it seemed – especially with those lovely detailed clouds – too good an opportunity to let float by. The sharp-eyed among you will notice the groundsman’s tractor parked middle far right – I like the fact it is there as it reminds the viewer that a lot of hard work goes into keeping the courtyard lawn looking so fresh and pristine!

Instagram is a free photo-sharing platform which allows smartphone users to apply a digital filter to photographs and then share it with other online social networking sites. One of the program’s features is that limits all photos to a square format – just like the Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images. The user can choose a selection of filter effects – most of which seem to me to be a throwback to the pre-digital days when we prayed for better rendition and quality films!

What has got some Professional photographers hot under the collar is the suggestion that creative input at point of image capture will no longer matter – as everyone will be able to create stunning photos. To my mind this school of thought is poppycock – all it means is that lots of smartphone users will gain hours of more pleasure from taking photographs – and – whilst not wanting to appear flippant about any threat to my profession … I’m of the school of thought that as more and more people are turned on to image-taking, the more appreciative people will become about the skills required to produce good photos. How much easier my life would be if it was only all down to selecting the correct filter effect!

If fellow professionals feel threatened by Instagram, they had better watch out as social networking and how it may impact on our future lives has not even left the starting blocks. Like it or not, it’s here to stay – us photographers must embrace it and try to exploit it for all we’re worth. The observation that the lines between enthusiasts and professionals have  become less distinct is true in one sense regarding ease of image capture, but as a professional it’s down to me to continually “up” my photo technique and ensure my clients know that I have skills worth paying a premium for.

Facebook has allegedly paid a reported eye watering $1 billion for Instagram – which one assumes they think it is worth. However from where I’m viewing it, slightly tongue in cheek, I find it milady amusing that over one million of it’s subscribers are wanting their images to appear of a poor quality which since 1960′s   has been rejected by every picture editor working! The one important social point about Instagram is that it underlines how radically peoples use of imaging and networking is evolving – where it will end? imagination is the only thing holding it back.

The photo I have posted , Youth in  Prague in the Republic of Czechokvakia , is my homage to Instagram , for which I used my Nikon D700 and Adobe photoshop to get the square crop and a filter effect – sorry smart phone and Instagram  fans .. still as my Gran use to say ” What goes around , comes around” .

I photographed these oxslips in Gamlingay Wood. They seem so small and vulnerable yet – despite a lack of rainfall preceded by a very cold hard winter – they have still found the energy to push through the fallen leaves and stand tall. Seen through my camera’s viewfinder they really help to focus your mind on the detail in the natural world around us. Oxslip (primula elatior) is an attractive woodland perennial, common to some locations  in East Anglia. I had gone to the Wildlife Trust of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire location initially to capture the annual carpet of bluebells afforded by these ancient woodlands, however recent almost drought-like conditions seem to have discouraged large numbers of that species from flowering to date – so for once, hopefully just this year, the oxslip was not playing second fiddle.

When photographing flora, always beware of plant movement caused by light air currents or stronger air flows. Compensate by using a fast enough shutter speed to freeze any movement.

For a photographer the ceremony offers lots of  ’unique’ opportunities to record a part of history as the ceremony goes back a long way in time. I think it is rather marvellous that such a ceremony continues in these modern days – particularly in such a hi-tech environment as Cambridge. Cambridge had its first Chancellor way back in 1246; the most recent – prior to Lord Sainsbury –  installation was in the mid 1970′s (Duke of Edinburgh), so for many it was the first time to witness the pageantry which accompanies the congregation.

I achieved some rather striking shots of Lord Sainsbury wearing a very impressive gold state robe and cap. However, the photo I’ve posted here shows him dressed in his scarlet robe in the Chancellor’s procession into the Senate House at the beginning of proceedings, accompanied by the Vice-Chancellor. You will see that as it is Cambridge some undergrads decided to have a demonstration – although – this being Cambridge – it was very dignified and organised in such a way as not to prevent the installation going ahead.

Therefore, I was delighted when a political “battle bus” complete with PA system driven by a activist turned up on the main central square – a square which has seen a vast amount of bloodshed – because until his arrival it had been unproductive image-seeking for me.

Up until 1989, under Communist rule, it would have been almost unthinkable that a person would dare to voice their individual views without interception by secret police – so it’s rather remarkable that now a person is able to speak their mind without fear of persecution. In fact the only people who seemed to be heeding anything he said were fellow tourists! The speaker’s argument was with the Czech position and the EU, although I wasn’t able to work out whether he was for or against the Czech government’s current solidarity with the UK!

During my early schooldays those living behind the Iron Curtain seemed as far away as the Moon, so it’s rather exciting to experience  how close to our doorstep former Communist bloc countries are. I took just a 16mm lens and a Nikon D700 camera body with me as I wanted to experience an “easy” day of photography without all the usual accessories.

It was an enjoyable way to capture images, although there were times when I wished I had the flexibility of a telephoto lens – there really is no substitute for having the right tools for the job. I have adjusted the colour saturation of this image in an attempt to reproduce the typical look of a colour photo printed in a 1970′s news magazine – to help portray the drabness I assume it was like living in a Communist state.

I took this “fenscape” during an assignment to photograph the process of constructing footings for wind turbines. It was towards the end of a cold and windswept afternoon – typical of many in these parts – which, of course, is why it’s an ideal location for these cloud-scratching rotating giants.

I think these man-made structures make fantastic subjects to focus on with a camera. The trees in their winter state against the washed orange sky behind the clouds helps to portray a mood of coldness; the cable slung across from side to side of the image is a feature much repeated across the Fens.  I wonder what the original workforce – who claimed the once boggy area from the flooding seas – would think of  mankind’s new additions to the landscape … and this is yet another reason why I enjoy photography. Taking just one photo, such as the one here, can make us ponder deeper on what we see.

As a professional photographer I’ve always found that seeking the perfect image requires 100% concentration on the subject in question. Which is why, more and more, I find myself questioning the wisdom of journalists and photographers Twittering and Blogging photos and comments during the actual event.

I wouldn’t have thought that your average reader of a local paper could care less if one local media outlet places puerile non-information online before a so-called ‘rival’! One newsgroup even published online an image taken from a mobile phone – the lens of which was misted up by condensation!

It’s as if quality doesn’t matter any more in the world of regional news. Yet these same organisations bemoan falling circulation without questioning their current practice of very poor quality control. Radio is instant, while newsprint should concentrate on great photos and in-depth quality reporting. Unless the current trend of  publishing “instant” over quality is reversed, I doubt if there will be a local newspaper industry within two decades.