SOME HALF DECENT PICS
Over the years I have taken some half decent shots on my camera & occasionally on my phone. The swimming tiger shot below was on my phone when I had run out of juice on my camera. I was well pleased with this one & could bluetooth the pic to my laptop. I will upload some more shots in the coming month for you to view. I plan to use some for artistic reference in the coming period.
‘I always take a camera with me on a walk as you never know what you might see to capture!’
I was at Chellington over the summer & one evening I was refereeing a game of volleyball & there was the most striking sunset in the background. I regret now that I didn’t halt the game & run & get my camera! Other times of course I will have my sketchbook with me.
‘I love pursuing big cat shots, they are very rewarding.’
I take my shots with an artist’s eye for composition. I love colours, look at textures, contrasts & lighting. People & big cats fascinate me & I love trees & colours in nature. Skies can be fantastic & cloud formations can be scenes to capture in oils or watercolours.
Just after the sun descends is an ideal time to photograph a series of stunning shots, capturing wonderful colours.
Capturing pinks & purples or orange/red & blacks are my favourite combinations of sunset shots. There is a place I go locally to capture sunsets when I am at home.
Sometimes, I shoot my photographs from The Art Studio in Thetford & below I have added a Bible verse as appropriate.
‘You have to ‘see’ the shot to be able to take a shot.’
Dramatic lighting shots are powerful, I saw this was to happen over my back garden and ran upstairs for my camera. To be a good photographer you have to be an opportunist for the shot before you can be gone in a few seconds. The cobweb was a good example of ‘seeing the shot’ with light blasting through it one early morning whilst leading a residential for young people.
‘Great shots can be seen early morning as the mist rises along with the rays of the sun. Light rays if you can catch them are very exciting, this one was gone within 10 seconds.
‘I entered a pub & instinctively caught the scene.’
If you have eyes to see and are patient to wait for the moment they often come. The shot below was my reward…’
‘Worth getting a window seat for a panoramic view.’
Even from 30000 feet up in the sky you can capture some amazing textures, colours & shapes from a completely different perspective. The Himalayan mountains were magnificent to the side of the plane.
I was sketching on the street in Katmandu when I had a collection of people come up to me in a short time. I was able to capture a few shots on my camera in addition to a sketch.
I did an artistic teaching time with this lively group of children on Moses & the plagues in Egypt. I won the taller lad over by getting him to do the best scream to animate the story of the final plague & awarded him a prize afterwards.
People are fascinating, the expressions of life, the personalities & characters. Children with their spontaneity are great fun to photograph. Look at the different moods captured in these photos.
‘Older people are amazing to feature with their wisdom & experience.’
‘I love capturing the turbulent moods of the sea & the atmosphere.’
‘Waiting for the moment is so rewarding.’
Creatures are difficult as they move so fast but you can be selective & look for the moment, in this case I positioned myself carefully as I did not want people in the shot.
Sometimes you can play around with photographs & get a double image for added effect. This is very useful if you are working to a design theme.
I love capturing the moods of nature, colours in foliage, the effects of light & the contrasts in landscape. These shots were taken near my home on a walk in Thetford forest. The shot above has been used as reference for an oil painting & an art class.
Being prepared for the shot is so important. Below I was at a crossroads on a bus in Tenerife & the traffic police were directing the traffic.
‘People are the number one subject for me, they are all different, reflecting personality, character, culture, faith, education & lifestyle. I love the expression of the little girl.’
‘Shots capture lasting memories, they can be important reference points in life.’
These shots capture poverty amongst the poorest people in Nepal in the Himalayan mountains near China & in Katmandu, a sprawling city of need.
Photography helps keep a visual diary on one’s travels in life. In the shots above my camera helped me capture real poverty in one of the world’s poorest 20 countries. The one below captures the toughest camp I ever worked in with underprivileged children in Sebago Camp, North America with the Salvation Army. We had to search them for knives when they arrived as they were used to defending their turf! Great experience though and taught me I was a natural with children & loved teaching.
Instead of getting the cabin ready for cabin inspection they were having lizard races or jumping competitions from the sandbank!
Impressionist painters like Claude Monet or Paul Cezanne or British landscape artists like John Constable would have been inspired by this lake scene in Bedfordshire.
What do you do when you come face to face with a yak? When climbing in the Himalayas this was my experience. We also spent some days visiting a Leprosy Mission Hospital & I had an afternoon meeting & drawing some of the male patients. As a chess player this poster had a profound affect on me.
Leopards moving are a rare sight & after an hour or so, I got my reward. The hour before feeding time is particularly good time to get some great shots of big cats.
Big cats are a real joy to capture. You may have to wait patiently for them to stir from their slumbers though! This white tiger came down into the water & swam up & down & then stood the other side of the glass. It was amazing & was worth over a hundred pounds admission to me that day! I took over 500 shots of big cats & had an inspirational day.
Below one of the fastest fish in the sea, I took this on a deep fishing trip some miles out. It was the best catch of the day, although I did enjoy seeing Pilot whales & dolphins & a shark. Underneath, there is a rare bird, a Blue Heron & the oldest silver back gorilla in England who kindly left his TV set and came over to the bank to enable me to get the shot.
‘They that wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run & not be weary, walk & not faint.’
There are many opportunities to capture shots in life, often when you are not expecting them. The one above was when our car broke down in Battar & as we explored the area on foot, I noticed eagles flying around the cliff edge. I reckon this was my best in 20 shots.
When climbing up to 3500 metres we passed some fascinating scenes, including monkeys & dramatic landscapes. We didn’t see Bigfoot but one of the team did see a leopard close by!
Fireworks can be tricky to capture because of the speed of the fireworks & the smoke & weather conditions. I was delighted with some shots in the past year, here’s one.
Natural humour is good to communicate. This was at Daytona beach in the USA in 1980, I had to wade out a bit in the sea to get the shot with my Olympus OM1.
‘I created this shot making a giant chess piece out of compacted snow & painting it! I like designing in the snow, here’s another made a year ago. My next project is the chess knight!’
I hope you have enjoyed this article, do let me know, it is always good to hear your feedback.
Kevin Moore
All photographs in this article are taken by Kevin apart from the last one! If you would like to use a photograph please kindly ask for permission beforehand.