31 Dec Adventure photography: 2018’s top 5 moments
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18 Dec Sumo photography at Japan’s national stadium
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20 Nov Wildlife photography from Japan
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06 Nov South Downs: landscape photography on a whim
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30 Oct Head shots for new colleagues
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12 Sep Hurricane Irma news photography – a year on
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05 Sep Pennine Way landscape photographs
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14 Feb A South Downs rehearsal for the Pennine Way
[caption id="attachment_4400" align="alignright" width="300"]
The sun rises above Clayton Holt.[/caption]
When planning a travel photography job, preparation is important - especially for something as challenging as the Pennine Way, which I'll be tackling in April. I've spent more than enough time in mountains and on long-distance trails like the Annapurna Circuit and West Highland Way to know that nothing can be left to chance. That's especially the case where kit is concerned, and no less so for cameras than for boots, bivvy shelters and backpacks.
I've not had much of a chance to get hands-on with my camera - an Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II - so far this year, so I took the opportunity of a frosty Saturday morning to take it on a traipse through the South Downs National Park. My aim was as much to escape London as it was to re-engage my creativity.
07 Feb Preparing to tackle the Pennine Way
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National Trails sign on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path[/caption]
Life can be tough for a freelance photographer. There are plenty of challenges to overcome, day-to-day - from keeping records of expenses (huge) and income (tiny, for the time being) to finding potential clients, pitching and waiting, seemingly endlessly, for responses. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love it. But one thing seems to be missing for me: making new travel photography.
The issue is simple: without income I can't travel; and unless I travel, I can't make income - at least not while concentrating on doing what I really love. I'm a freelance photographer, so I can't afford to be too picky: event photography, stock and headshots will help tide me over (and in truth I love getting behind the camera, whatever the subject), but unless I get into the great outdoors and explore the world I still feel I'm just biding time.
Lately I've been reviewing my travel photography from the last few years: Nepal, Rioja, the West Highland Way, Ardnamurchan, Dunnet Head, Cornwall, Guatemala… and it feels rather like I'm looking in through a shop window, unable to get hold of what I really want. The solution is simple: a new adventure, making new landscape photography along the way.