365 to 42

“41 today and to mark the occasion I have started this blog. The idea is to post a picture a day up to my 42nd birthday. For me this is quite a commitment. I hope this will stimulate my photography and keep me off the streets.” So started this blog around 2 ½ years ago and now here I am writing the 500th post. I started the blog to mark an important year for me, a way of making the year stand out in my memory, it turned in to a life changing event, something I never envisaged when I started it. To understand what happened you need to known a bit about the old Brett pre the blog. I was always a photographer, from the moment I picked up my first camera I was hooked, it just took a few years to realise it and to learn to use my skills properly. Going to night school to do a photography course tipped the balance and set me on the road I’m on now, since then I have always thought of my self as a photographer. Other than the photography my life was pretty normal, I was (and still am) very h...

Just got back from a weeks camping in wonderful Northumberland and am trying to catch up on loads of out standing work, but thought i would post this as a starter to wet your appetite. This is the Angel of the North and was just off our road up and was well worth a visit. ---------------- Now playing: Alisha's Attic - Air & Angels via FoxyTunes

My first topless photo shoot and i'm the one topless (think i that that wrong somewhere). The shot is for my improved web site, brett trafford.com , and is one of the reasons i've not been here much lately. I've had loads of work to do and the computer has been playing up, but i will try and visit some of you and maybe even post a few more post. ---------------- Now playing: The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army via FoxyTunes

I’ve had a busy week spent mainly working on photos taken at a bus rally held last Sunday. One of the hardest things for me to do is to get a consistency when producing a set of images taken under conditions that are out of my control and these pictures are probably my best attempt yet at this. I have put the last of these pictures here; the full set can be seen on my Leek blog. The other picture is from our week in the Lake District, it is take on Fleetwith Pike over looking Buttermere and is to my mind one of the best views any where in the world. What have these 2 images have in common, well to me they just sum up England, and hopefully by the end of the day I’ll still be a proud Englishman after our national team wins its opening game in the world cup, but I won’t be holding my breath as they do seem to like making us suffer and make the job harder for themselves. Now playing: The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down via FoxyTunes ---------------- Now playing: Honley Male Voice Choir...

A quite ship, on a quiet ocean, its 4am and out of the dark come a swarm of armed men intent on boarding the vessel. The passengers and crew fight a valiant battle to resist the invasion only to leave dead and dying on the decks. But this time it is not off the coast of Somalia but a lot closer to home, in the Med and this time it is not a group of drug crazed pirates but trained commandos from a civilized democratic nation. In fact it can all be explained in one word, Israel. Yes that wonderful country that covers some of the worlds most holy sites and was born out of the most horrendous tragedy in modern times, is back up to its old tricks of flouting international law and oppressing the free will of anyone who does not agree with them, if this had been Iran, US tanks would already be on their way. Our leaders need to act now, yes we known that Israel is not totally at fault, it takes 2 to fight, but enough is enough, stop the blockade of Gaza and help the poor people whose only crim...

Well after the Scooter show i thought i would have a play with some of the images. The first set starts with the standard photo, then the HDR and finishes with the scooter cut out. This second set are in the same order with a twist at the bottom, now i like this last images but would welcome some feed back as this type of image and subject matter are both really new to me. ---------------- Now playing: The English Beat - Twist & Crawl via FoxyTunes

A very quick post to go along with the pictures i'm posting this week on the Leek blog of SCOOTER-FEST. SCOOTER-FEST is organised by The Jesters Scooter Club and is the clubs 6th annual festival for Scooters and all thing related to the scene that turns the town centre in to a riot of colour and noise with 100's of Scooters from all over the country. For me it was the chance to take loads of pictures and as i had loads to show i thought i would put some on here as well. ---------------- Now playing: The Jam - The Eton Rifles via FoxyTunes