365 to 42

New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 18:11:00 +0000

It's been a few months and lots has happened, firstly Caz is doing very well, the first part of the treatment, the operation, went very well and she has made a great recovery, the next part, radiotherapy starts soon and should not take long then its just tablets for 10 years.

I had the misfortune to catch Covid in the run up to Christmas, the main illness was just like a bad hangover, but the lingering effects are taking a toll of me, with a shortness of breath and lack of energy.

We did manage to get away just after Christmas to Cornwall, see the picture above.

The reason I am blogging today is that I have just done a video for next months calendar page/photo, and had to look at the first blog post, it then got me all nostalgic. I really miss those days, there was a community of like minded souls, and I forgot how much I miss them. It's been over 10 years since I did this on a regular basics, and that group of people have for the most part done what I have done and drifted away from Blogging.

Home is where the heart is.

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 09:51:00 +0000

My beautiful wife has a lump and its cancer, it's treatable and we have known for about 6 weeks. During that grey period between knowing there was a lump and having it confirmed we spent a week on Davaar Island in Scotland, a quite and fabulous place to get away from the world.

Calendar shots

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 07:17:00 +0000

A shot from last week while I was out and about shooting for next years calendar. The calendar is a year long project that starts well before the last one has run its course. This shot was from Froghall, a spot that has no pictures in next years calendar as yet. This shot won't make it into the calendar as it is in the wrong aspect.

Quick catch up

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 08:12:00 +0000

Well its been a few weeks and I've not updated this. So what have I been up to?

First off we have had a great week in the Lake District, great weather and loads of good walking, what more could you want.

Next I have had my second jab, all went well with no side effects.

On the work front I have started work on the calendar for next year, putting it together not shooting the pictures, that has been going on for over a year.

Picture today from a walk down Bradford Dale at the weekend.

Toffee

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 06 May 2021 09:51:00 +0000

Such a shit few days, while I'm not in a position to say why, its my blog and I use this as a vent and a reminder for my feelings. It is mad that one small thing can effect your whole life.

On a happier note meet Toffee, a great dog and a joy to photograph.

Robin

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 15:15:00 +0000

A busy few weeks, the night after I had the jab I was really unwell, and felt below par for a few days after that. Since then I've had photo shoots, tax returns to complete and updates to my on-line store and my stock of cards. All of which has kept me away from the blog and other jobs around the house.

This shot was from the weekend in the garden, we had noticed a Robin flitting around as we worked so I grabbed my camera and put the unused spade in a likely position. A few minutes later this little chap showed up in just the right spot.

Jab

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 08:36:00 +0000

This time last year I was in the Lakes photographing this, there was talk of a lock down but nothing was yet official. Today I'm off for my vaccine jab, what a strange year.

New toys

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 09:23:00 +0000

Lock down has been so hard on so many businesses, I have friends that run pubs that have missed out on so much income over the summer and Christmas periods and shop owner that have been unable to open even while big supermarkets have continued to sell the same types of things.

On a personal note work just stopped for months at a time, but I am lucky that I can switch from commercial work to my landscapes and sell on-line if needs must. This still means that I'm down by about 80% on my income, so to make the decision to invest what little I have in my business might seem a bad idea. And it would be if I had no faith that the work will come back, but I'm sure that it will and when it happens I need to be in the best shape possible.

The back bone of any photography business after the photographer is the cameras, when I set up over 10 years ago I was running just 1 body and that was a low grade one at that. So first on my list was a new body, nearly £1000 of D7000 the latest camera in Nikon's line up, while not a full pro camera it shared the same internals as the top end cameras, you just had to look after it a bit more.

Those 2 cameras did great service for a couple of years, but a second semi pro camera was needed, so I picked up a nearly new D200, 2 generations older that the D7000, but in a better body and with more pro features, and more importantly nearly a 10th of the cost of the D7000.

8 years on and over 1/4 million shots put on the 2 bodies, I got a D300s, the replacement for the D200 in the Nikon range, this one was again second hand, but with only 5000 shots done it was a great buy.

So last week I got yet another D300s, so now I have 2 matched bodies which will make working easier, no more searching around for buttons or changing between to different menu systems. The new camera is working well, see the picture above, I have 2 great cameras in reserve and now am ready to face the future, bring it on.

Birthday blog

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 11:12:00 +0000

Yesterday was my birthday, it is also the birthday of this blog, as it started 13 years ago. Little did I known that I would still be taking photos and blogging them 13 years later. Lock down has seen a change in how we do things, so yesterday I only had my wife and dogs for company, but ended the day by having a surprise birthday party with my friends from all over the country. This was of course done by zoom and made a really special end to what had already been a fantastic day.

Now its back to work, sorting out my studio flash in the hope that I will be able to use it in the coming months.

Snow day

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:39:00 +0000

A scattering of snow over the last few days, so we grabbed a day to run around this side of the Peak District. It was great to get out and about.

Quick trip out

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 13:49:00 +0000

A quick run up in to the hills above Leek this Monday. One of the best bits of the job.

Long days

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:10:00 +0000

Two online meeting today before 10am, thats around 3 hours of work and the day has not really started yet. Thanks to zoom I did not have to travel so could attend both, and good as they were it is still not as good as meeting in person, I am missing seeing people.

The picture is from Grindon moor, Caz dragged me out of the house at sunset to capture this view for one of her projects, and I thought I might as well snap it too.

Now to sort out a presentation for tomorrows breakfast meet, all good fun.

One of those days

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 10:46:00 +0000

Not really feeling it to day, trying to get some work done but cannot focus on anything. Picture from the storm this past weekend. So now I've at least done something this morning even if it is only a blog post.

Blogging, a post from my business web blog.

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 10:58:00 +0000

I was a very good amateur photographer, by that I mean I did what the stereotype would do, I joined and then ran a camera club, I did model nights, I knew all about the latest kit and would bore people with my photos of very boring things. As an amateur I would shoot or work on photos about a 100 days a year, and would only shoot what I liked.

Then along came the idea to do a daily photo blog. What happen next was not planned, but in a little over 2 years my hobby became my full time employment and blogging was the reason.

As soon as I had committed to doing a daily photo blog I had made the decision to do an extra 265 day more photography a year, but in reality I had increased my work load by a lot more than that.

The 100 days as an amateur, would result in a small number of good images maybe around 20 that were worth exhibiting a year, I was now aiming on doing 365 good images, and at my amateur work rate of 1 good picture every 5 days I was looking a cramming in 1825 days worth of work in to 1 year. Obviously things would have to change.

Firstly I have to admit one little thing, I had no idea what I had decided to do, I thought that as a photographer it would be easy to take a picture a day, not thinking that I would only want good photos, and in reality, photos as good as or better than the day before, there would be no point in posting just any old crap. The realisation came very quickly, in fact it came on day 2 when I realised I had posted one of my best pictures on day one, thus setting the bar nearly at the top of my skill range!

So as you can see I had set myself not only the task of 1825 days of work in one year, but also of improving my work nearly every day.

Another self inflicted problem was that after a few days my habit of taking only what I liked resulted in a set of very similar and by repetition very boring photos. So now, on top of all the other demands, I had to change my style and photograph loads of different things in loads of different conditions.

I completed the year, I set out to take a photo a day for 365 days (it was a leap year and I ended up with 366 photos, I told you I had not thought it through), and had achieved that, but also I had achieved so much more.

The main thing to note is that compared to my old self I had just done the equivalent of 18 years worth of photography, its no wonder that my photography improved so much in such a short space of time. Added to that I had also gained so much confidence, my work had been seen by 1000s of people in 167 countries, and had started to sell.

Would I have started the blog if I had thought it through, no I would not, I would not have thought I could do all that work and effort, but by not knowing and taking it a day at a time I did it and it still astounds me that one little decision could totally change my life.

What a differnce a day makes.

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 16:52:00 +0000

In the week running up to the first lock down we were away with a group of friends in the Lake district, little did we know that this would be the last week of total freedom that we would have for over a year ( I can not see the world returning to normal for quite a while yet). We spent the week walking, going to the pub, sharing hot tubs and doing what we wanted, when we wanted, it was great.

On the last full day it was planned that the group would do a longish walk and stop at a pub for lunch, the only problem was me, I had picked up an injury and could not walk very far. The solution was simple, I would take the group to the start of the walk, make my own plans for the morning and meet them at the pub at the end of the walk to take them home. This picture was taken that morning, and then I headed to the pub and got my pint in while waiting for them.

This was the first point in which I got a look at what was to be the new normal, the pub had social distancing, temperature checks and no one was aloud inside except to order. All these things were totally new to me and a little scary. All the talk out side was the rumour that pubs would be shut (it would never happen!) and that people would be forced to stay at home (not in England!!!), how naive those conversations now seem. Little did I know that would be the last normal, or nearly so, pint that I would have for months.

As luck would have it I was not destined to enjoy my drink as the group had decided to stop at another pub a few miles away and I had to rush my drink to catch up with them, and as I was driving had to have a soft drink at that pub.

The following day we headed home to supermarkets with bare shelves and increasingly tougher restrictions. My business which when we left was looking to be a bumper year had dissolved to nothing, such a lot had changed in just a week.

Just walking the dog

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 11:27:00 +0000

With the days slowly getting longer the evening dog walk will soon be done in day light, which means I will miss out on the sunsets, but also if I want to walk the dogs in the light, I have to finish work early so later nights leads to long working days.

This was shot on a dog walk a few weeks ago, life has changed during lock down, I now do longer dog walks in the evening which has kept me fitter and mentally fitter as well.

Not as they seem.

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 14:43:00 +0000

A daughter of a close friend is studying at uni, and ask if I would model for her, so being bored out of my mind I said yes. She then went on to issue detailed instructions on what to do and asked if I could send her the photos!

So, not only model but photographer and stylist as well. I don't really mind as it gave me a chance to used my light gear, work with green screen and background replacement, all of which skills get rusty if you don't keep using them. I'm not sure if this is what she had in mind but I quite like it and the jacket still fits after 30 years.

Technical stuff, shot in our living room with one large flash and a 120cm softbox and a green screen. Background picture from the big mill in Leek a couple of years ago. Clothing and guitar models own.

Happy pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 11:05:00 +0000

It feels strange to be back writing on my blog after so long, just like the first time I am not really publishing that I am doing it, just seeing what happens.

So I'm not putting any pressure on myself to post with any set pattern, I can post old photos, new photos or even with no photos, this is for the time being just my space to do with as I please. Many years ago I had a note book that I would write in every now and then, little letters to the future me to remind me who I was then and where I would like to be. I would like this blog to be a little like that, a window on the now so I don't forget.

Today's picture is of Tunnel pool near Leek, in fact it is almost the view from my bedroom window, it was taken in the resent snowstorm we had and sums up what I like in photography. Its a panoramic image made up of a number of shots, something I do a lot and really like. Its a shot of a place I love, like a lot of my images are and it is taken in conditions that most photographers would avoid, it was a very rough day.

When I started this blog I used to take pictures just to make me happy, now it is my job/life it is harder to find that same enjoyment so perhaps here I can start to post those shots that won't make my fortune but do make me happy.

Back again

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 08:49:00 +0000

I had a comment to my last post, from one of the very first blogs I started to follow all those years ago, and one of the blogs that I had visited yesterday that lead me to post in the first place. Its a very small world at times.

Today I had my first breakfast meeting of 2021, via Zoom of course, when I started off full time I had no idea that they were even a thing and today I have just delivered my 25th 10 minute presentation, these come up about 3 or 4 times a year normally. It feels strange that at 8.45am I have done nearly 2 hours work and met with 16 people and have yet to leave the house.

I feel that I should post on here more often, I had 12K visitors last year but had not posted anything for 6 years!

Still here!

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 18:07:00 +0000

Well 7 years on and I'm still here, I'm a full time professional photographer, working very hard to keep going during a third lock down.

I've arrived here by accident, just passing through and thought I would check up on all the old blogs I used to follow back in the day, to find just like mine they have for the most part vanished and just post once in a few years.

Having read all those old blogs I wanted to know if they made it this far, and thought that some of them may pass by here and think the same. So I'm still here and hope you are too.

A quite return to blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 17:35:00 +0000

Well it's been some time since I did this and even longer since I did this for the first time, so I thought I would start quietly and not advertise the fact that I'm back.

Lots have happened over the last year and with all that going on I've never had the time to post, much as I wanted too. Now that the business is going well and I'm a bit more organised I thought it was time to restart this blog.

The problem for me is that now I'm a business owner, I feel I need to be a bit more careful over what I write and the opinions I share, I really was not that bothered upsetting my employer, but now I'm the boss it's a bit different. So I won't be dealing with subjects like sex, religion and politics, well not too often.

The Roaches, Wild and Free

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:18:00 +0000

The exhibition is now on I would love your feed back.

Crafted by professional photographer Brett Trafford and wonderfully displayed in the Foxlowe,The Market Place, Leek from the 1st May to the 31st May 2012.

This free exhibition, " The Roaches, Wild and Free" is a celebration of this great wild space right on our door step. The images show not only the blue skies and purple heather of a summer's day familiar to most visitors but also the stormy winter views and spectacular sunrises seen by hardened walkers.

Busy day

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:54:00 +0000

Well it's been quite a few days since I last updated, in fact I've just looked and it's been 2 months, how time flies. Life moves on at an incredible pace, loads of work and not much time for anything else at the moment, but still when my work is mainly taking pictures it can't be all bad. A 14 hour day yesterday starting at 6.30 and finishing around 9.00 after talking to a bride and groom, in between I worked on quotes for some jobs, designed a new business card, sold a picture from my exhibition, designed a Christmas card and ordered a load of prints for the up coming shows. After all that was still only 1/2 way down my to do list. On the home front both Caz and Ziggy are well and both are loving the fact that Caz is home most of the time, Ziggy get way more attention from Caz than he does from me. Picture for today is Ziggy at Rudyard lake on a walk a few weeks ago.

My idea of keeping a blog active.

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:27:00 +0000

Well it's been nearly 6 weeks since I last had chance to update the blog so this really is not as active a blog as I would have wanted, but then I am a photographer first and not a writer. I said last time that I wanted to make this blog a bit more personal than it had become and less about work, but the trouble with that is that my work is also my passion and so very hard to separate from my personal side. I think that it will just have to be less corporate than my work blog so if you are easily upset be warned. That said I've nothing to rant about, no crisis on the horizon and my life is going great, I'm even getting time to blog! My biggest challenge is keeping ahead of my paper work and planning to move the business forward. The big job that I will have to start soon is to catalogue all my images, or at least those that my be saleable, around 6000. This task is needed so that I can sell pictures more easily on line and via outlets, at the moment I identify the pictures by titles, which I make up as the mood takes me so its difficult ordering pictures from me and hard for me to keep track of which ones sell, both of which are quite important to running a business. Still time has caught up with me and I need to go and make some Christmas cards, I will leave you with a shot of Rudyard lake that I found while looking for winter pictures.

Important update

noreply@blogger.com (Brett) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:47:00 +0000

I've been blogging for more than 4 years and in that time have posted nearly 1500 post that have been seen over 150,000 times in 174 countries. Not bad for something that was only going to last a year and I'm not done yet. It's been a few weeks or even months since I last posted, depending on which of my blogs you read and this post is an explanation as to why and a update on what I'm planning next and is being posted on all my blogs (apologies if you follow more than one as you will get this multiple times).

First a bit of history...

Turning 41 is a bit of a let down, you have had your big party for your 40th and 41 is just another year older, so with that in mind I decided to mark my 41st year by blogging a photo a day, not really knowing what a blog was or what a mammoth task it would be. That small decision made over a ten minute car journey changed my life. It changed what was a hobby, all be it quite an obsessive one, in to a full time career and when I say full time I mean nearly every waking minute and some of my sleeping ones too.

Today I'm well into my second year as a professional photographer and after the expected hard first year I am doing better than I had planned for, in fact that is the reason for this post, one I've being trying to write for over a month. Business is good, job following job inter-spaced by good print sales and on going projects, in the last few weeks a Ball, a Prom, a Fete and 4 commissions totalling 550 finished prints, that's images that are shown to the customer, not images taken, (each image is hand processed and only let out once I'm happy its as close to perfect as I can get it) and this month was a bit quieter that last.

So as you can see I've had very little time for my blogs, I have managed to keep my business facebook page updated, see it here, but feel I have neglected the blogs and all you wonderful people that follow them. I known that you may feel that it should be easy just to do a quick post, but being dyslexic writing is one of the hardest thing for me to do. For example earlier on I used the word "decision" I know what the word means and how to use it, I can read the word but not spell it, and when you start it desi or disi not even the best spell checker has a clue, then when you turn to a dictionary your looking in the wrong place, in all, that one word cost me 10 minutes.

The future...

The plan is to keep the blogs active, so they will stay on line and may even get updated, although not very often, that is the short term view. This takes off some of the pressure (and guilt) I have been feeling and gives me time to rearrange my web presents. My business blog will in time be moved over to Wordpress to link up with my new web site (that is not even started yet) and become a window on to what I'm doing week by week. My 2 daily photo blogs will have to wait for a bit, the Leek one has not been daily for a year so that won't change much, but the Buxton one will have to wait for new stuff as I really can not afford the time it needs at the moment.

365 to 42, my first and favourite blog and something that I am so proud of, will be updated as and when I can and I will try to take it back to being a more personal blog that is about me and not about work, reading back some of that first years post it feels like it was written by someone else and I would love to get that back, I may even get Blog of Note again!

Now the pictures these are 3 of the things I've been working on, pictures of Leek and a school prom.