Sunrises, sunsets and getting ready for colder weather

If you’ve seen a few of my photos you’ll know that I absolutely love sunrises and sunsets. In summer they can be a bit tricky, having to get up at 4am, for instance. Autumn and winter make them accessible to everyone though, even the sleep challenged. This image was taken two days ago on the 23rd October at 5.50pm and the sunset colours of peachy pink and lilac are already in the sky. Combined with purply, grey storm clouds it makes for a killer combination.

Winter, of course, makes it a little bit more difficult to leave the house, so last winter I stocked up on warm outdoor clothing, enough to make standing around for long periods bearable. This winter will be no different, I’ll be adding to my kit. There’s no point in having the best camera in the world if you have to take it back home again because you just can’t stand the cold.

Winter is also a great time for still lifes, flat lays and self/family portraits. This week I’ll be attending an online self portrait masterclass with Canon & Wex Photography. Leading it will be portraiture artist Alex Cameron. I’ve been following her on Instagram since I attended another workshop back in 2019 where she had set up one of the displays. Her work is very, very good so I’m looking forward to this as a treat. I find self portraits very hard but it’s something I’d like to get to grips with. After all, it’s another very powerful way to express yourself and should be easily accessible since most photographers always have themselves and a camera to hand. Hopefully, after the masterclass I’ll be feeling more inspired to try.

More and more in life I realise how important it is to have a strong sense of self and this is one way for an artist to generate that.

I hope that you also have an enjoyable way to develop a sense of self!