For some time, I have been aware that my home computer was reaching its storage capacity with the number of digital photographs that I stored on it. The machine was showing signs of impending problems, reacting very slow to inputs, taking a long time to start-up, and move between programs etc.
I am no computer guru, what I know about computers could be recorded on a small SD card!!
I did know what options were available to me though, upgrade the current computer, or purchase a new one. The current model has been upgraded many times over the years; additional hard drives and RAM memory have been added to it, but was it now reaching the end of the line with the upgrade option?
I did seek some guidance on this matter and was told that the processor and motherboard that was in the old computer was now restricted what type of components I could add to it, basically no modern peripherals would work on it.
So, after some deliberation, the decision was made to purchase new, with this decision brought the unenviable task of deciding what to buy, it’s a minefield out there. After several weeks of reading, watching and listening to recommendations, I decided to purchase a computer from a company called Chillblast.
I contacted them on several occasions to discuss what I wanted and whet they recommended, this ended up with me placing an order with them for a nice new PC. This arrived 9 days later, and like a kid at Christmas, I could not wait to open it and get it working. This was a straightforward process, and the machine was soon up and running.
Now, the interesting part, I needed to transfer all the images, programs and folders from the old machine to the new one, surprisingly this went well, and in a day or so this was completed. All the programs and folders even opened and worked as they should.
Then, disaster, opening lightroom and starting the process of linking the new photo locations to the photos, my whole world came crumbling down. Error message after error message displayed on the screen, OMG, what do I do. Time to find an answer, YouTube being the resource of choice, long story short, after two days of turmoil and frustration I finally got all the images into lightroom, and working again, relief.
Then another major issue, the program would not backup the catalogue when I closed it, and yet again another window appears with a warning in it. I again sought some support via the internet, but nothing seemed to work, I then did some minor edits to some photos in Lightroom and closed the programme without the backup option, I was surprised that these changes were saved. My mind was in turmoil, could I use the program without using the back-up function? I was soon advised not to go down this route as I would lose all my date if the storage drive decided to die.
This is how I was feeling during the issues that i had 😒
So, what do I do, I was stuck, then out of the blue I found a resource that spelled out a possible fix, in a step-by-step process that even I could follow.
I followed these steps, and amazingly, it worked the catalogue was backing up as it should, and I could edit the images, fan-dabby-dozie, I was well chuffed. It had only taken me 5 days to transfer my images over to the new computer and be able to edit and save these I Lightroom as you should.
The moral of the story, prepare well for any migration of information onto a new computer.
Hopefully this me sorted now for many years to come, and I don’t have to go through this turmoil again.
Oh, by the way, I found Chillblast Computers to be a great company to purchase from, they guided me through the selection process, gave very good advice, in my case, the computer was very competitively prised, it was built, tested and delivered in a very short time.
Out of the blue, I received a telephone call from Matthew explaining that he and his wife Rachel were visiting the Lake District the following week, and that they were expecting their first child, and would like some photos taken to record the event.
Over the following couple of days, a time and date were arranged and that I would collect them from Keswick as they didn’t drive.
Matthew and Rachel were comfortable for me to select a location, I wanted to visit at least two different locations to provide variation, but did not want to be driving for 20/30 minutes between locations, after all Matthew and Rachel wanted the best use of the time we had booked, so in the mean time, I sat down and selected several nearby locations which would provide variety and interest.
On the day of the shoot, the weather gods were being a little indecisive, overcast sky’s, but it was warm, I had asked Matthew and Rachel to bring some wet weather clothing just in case, but upon arrival at Keswick it was a warm dry summers afternoon, with some cloud cover, but not the rainy ones 😁
I met Matthew and Rachel at the agreed meeting place, made our introductions, and off we set to the first location.
When we arrived, there were still people roaming around and taking photographs for themselves, so while we were waiting I explained where I wanted to visit and what type of images I hoped to get from each location.
I set about taking images of Matthew and Rachel with them being placed on the edge of the viewpoint, then moved to take some more intimate shots using the wooded area that surrounded us.
From the fist location, we moved to the nearby second one, a very famous bridge! here I placed the couple smaller in the frame and captured to wider vista around them.
Once we finished here, it was off to location number 3, again a well know local setting on the edge of a lake, when we arrived people were swimming in the lake, and paddle boarding along the lakes, but they were very accommodating and kept out of shot while we were their. I placed Matthew and Rachel on the jetty, and captured close-in, and wider vista images of them.
The session was planned to last for 1 hour, but I never get fixated with this, I would rather the couple have an enjoyable and relaxed time when photographing them todays session was nearing 2 hours.
I returned Matthew and Rachel to Keswick, where they headed for a well deserved meal. I returned home, where I began editing the photographs which would be delivered to Matthew and Rachel.
The package included one print, which Matthew and Rachel would select, and all the edited photos would be sent to them as hi-resolution images on a memory device.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of photographing Matthew and Rachels Maternity shoot, to which they contributed immensely, they were easy to get on with, were open to suggestions on compositions, and all-in-all they were two very nice people.
They sent me a very nice review, for which I am very thankful.
As I have mentioned previously, I always find the summer months a difficult time of year, photography wise.
So, what have I been up to during the months of June and July, you could be thinking, not much, but here is a brief record of my summer exploits.
11 June 2025
Early June saw me heading to Tewet Tarn to attempt to capture some lovely golden sunrise images, at this time we were still in the exceptionally sunny spell, so the conditions were a bit of a given.
Unfortunately, the ridiculous early sunrise time meant a 3am alarm call. Once on location I set up for a slightly different composition, trying to judge where the arriving light would be best viewed.
It didn’t take long for the rising sun to begin to light up the eastern sky, it was looking promising, but shock, horror, the golden glow from the sun arrived, and was over in about 20 minutes, this was a surprise to me as I was expecting (rightly or wrongly) that the sunrise glow would last longer than this.
The plus side of the morning was that I met a fellow photographer, Mike Childs from Penrith, we chatted about all thing’s photography, and local locations in between us taking the few images that were available.
Once the sun was up, the light soon vanished and became quite hard and direct, so it was time to head into Keswick to find a hot cup of coffee and a sandwich to ease my hunger.
The rising sun behand Blencathra
18 June 2025
During the middle of the month, we were tasked with baby-sitting duties for our grandson, so I made the provisional plan to try and use this time to shoot some images of Cody in order to record how his development.
So the kitchen was swiftly converted to a small photo studio where we could capture a selection of various shots of Cody, the plan being that we would present his parents with a surprise set of photos for them to use as they saw fit.
I would be using the Godox A200 pro speedlight flash units of the first time, the benefit of these were that they were battery operated, so no trailing cables, and they can be used outdoors if required.
Carole, my wife supervised the positioning of Cody, and the props and accessories we would be using during the shoot.
The outcome of an hour’s work was a variation of images of Cody in a selection of poses and using a number of props.
When we presented the photos to Cody’s parents they were vey pleased with the results.
Baby Cody
21 June 2025
The Summer Solstice, and I headed for Wasdale as the forecast was vey promising, I have recorded this visit in a specific news article on my website, this can be found here, so I won’t repeat all the details here.
I have never seen so may tents and campervans along the shores of Wast Water before, whether the Summer Solstice was the reason, or the exceptionally hot weather we were encountering I do not know.
The view of Wasdale
29 June 2025
Here I found myself in seventh heaven (photography wise), I headed for Buttermere on a whim (instant decision) where I encountered the most amazing conditions that I had seen here.
It did not start off like this, upon arrival, it was warm and windless, but the light was flat with little notification of what was to follow.
No wind, and warm temperatures resulted in mirror like reflections in the lake with high cloud cover, all this was then intermingled with the developing glorious light from the sun has it rose over the neighboring fells (some 20 minutes after sunrise) to create these unique and beautiful conditions.
I had the place to myself, with the exception of a sole photographer who walked past me not long after I arrived at pre-sunrise.
I left Buttermere on this morning, a very content and satisfied person.
Beautiful Buttermere
3 July 2025
I had been booked to take photographs of a student’s prom evening, concentrating of the celebrations within the home. This was a new event for me, but I planned it along the lines of a family photos session.
I had the option of taking photos inside, or outside the premises, but I had no prior knowledge of the layout or size of the home and garden.
On the afternoon of the event the weather was undecided, it being overcast and heavy cloud present.
I was met by the student’s mother, who made me very welcome, and left me to it. I began with a talk to Megan, then it was straight in to getting some images. The house was quite full of family members and friends, but I commandeered the conservatory.
I was using an on-camera flash using TTL as this was the easiest and quickest method to use, the results were very favorable throughout.
I was booked for a two-hour slot, and would only photograph at the house, my final few shots were of Megan getting into the “special” taxi that was taking her to the Prom itself.
Megan
8 July 2025
This morning, I was heading for Rydal Water, with plans to photograph a specific image, but the conditions had to be right. Another 3am alarm call was the order of the morning, followed by a 50-minute drive to get to the location 30 minutes before sunrise.
I was surprised to find that there were a group of people camping next to the place where I wanted to shoot, and that they were up and about, and rather loud. I suspect that they had been up for some time, but it was only an assumption on my part.
I was at the Rydal Water lone tree and wanted to get a photo of it reflected in the water, but without any interference of the shore.
Sadly, the water was rippled, and the water levels prevented my getting the shot that I was looking for. I hung around for the sun to rise above the surrounding hills, but things didn’t improve, so I set off for a leisurely stroll around the lake to see if I would find anything.
I tried the boathouse, but nothing grabbed my attention, but has I was following the shoreline, a view through the trees towards the far hills got my interest. It turned out to be an interesting snap, but nothing else.
I continued around the far side of the Lake, but I couldn’t find that composition, I continued around to Grasmere, but again I was devoid of any inspiration.
At the end of my efforts, I had walked a few miles on a pleasant morning, got a bit of exercise in the can, and taken a few snaps of the area. Once back at the car, time for a coffee and sandwich, only to find that the car park was full of contractors vehicles, one of the chaps came to inform me that they were about to close the road for resurfacing, so if I wanted to miss the long detour, I should set off and get to Grasmere village where I could partake in my sarnie and coffee, his advice was very welcome, so I was soon on my way.
The view along Rydal Water
24 July 2025
Northumberland, we had booked a four-night stay in Blyth, this was primarily a holiday break for me and Carole, but I would be able to fit in some photography work at sometime during our stay.
The first morning was the opportunity, St Mary’s Lighthouse was 20 minutes down the coast, so it was high on the agenda. A footnote being that last year when we were here, it was covered in scaffolding.
So a 4am alarm, and a very quiet exit from the hotel got me to the lighthouse before sunrise, There were a few other photographers there when I arrived, but I wanted some specific shots from the causeway with waves breaking over the road in the foreground, and some form the shore, using rocks or similar as foreground interest.
As the sun rose over the North Sea, the light was so, so lovely, but as it rose the cloud formed what I can only describe as a fog-like filter which the sun was shining through, this created a defused sun, with a more orange like shade to the light, all contributing to a set of good photographs.
Once back at the hotel, it was off for an hearty breakfast, followed by a bit of relaxation before we went for a drive down the coast to sample the fresh air and beautiful coastal scenery of this part of the world.
St Marys lighthouse
Unfortunately from here the break went downhill, Carole became unwell which necessitated a hospital visit to be prescribed medication to control her symptoms, and I came down with a viral infection which knocked the stuffing out of me.
We ended up spending the next two days trying to recover, only improving in tome to make the return journey home.
Upon reflection, quite a busy period for me photography wise, but being of a wide selection of photo events.
Landscape Photography wise, it was quiet, but has I have eluded too previously, this is normal for me during the summer months.
The variety of the photo opportunities during the two summer months have helped keep my interest high and further developed my photography skills.
We have been experiencing exceptionally warm weather in Cumbria over the last couple of days, I decided to head to Wasdale for a sunrise session, not realising that the day was the summer solstice.
Upon approaching Wast Water, I could not believe my eyes, every parking place was taken with cars of campervans, I drove some considerable distance along the lake, but nothing changed, car, after car, so I turned round and retraced my route to find a parking spot.
I was soon pulled up on a grass verge, well off the road so that traffic could pass safely., I then headed down towards the lakes edge to look for a decent composition to capture the impending sunrise, not a chance, there were tents at all the locations which I could use.
So, plan “B”, I headed up from the shore to try and use the road as a leading line into the scene. As I was heading up for the lake shore, I bumped into a group of wild swimmers who were coming out of the water, a very friendly bunch of people they were, fancy going for a swim at 5.45 am !!
I found a reasonable place on a small mound to set up, and began the waiting for the sun to rise above Great Gable and Kirk Fell to the east.
The sunrise was short, not much time for pre-sunrise colours, which soon became hard light. It can be frustrating having to get up a daft o clock in the night to get to a location, then what seems like a blink of an eye, its over.
The view of Wasdale
Whilst I was waiting for the sun to rise, I got to thinking, was the fact that it was the Summer Solstice that there were so many people camping or visiting Wasdale on this morning, or was t the fact that we were having a exceptionally warm spell of weather which had enticed all these people to be out at such a time?
Golden Sunrise
By the way, I am not grumbling about people being out in the countryside, they have as much right as anyone else (including me) to be enjoying the experience, I found it a little confusing to understand that’s all.
I took the scenic route home, heading south before turning north on the A595, as I was pottering along the road, I seen four Roe Dear in a field, managing to catch a photo on one, they certainly do not hang around once a human is close by.
A Roe Dear
I also came across a Buzzard perched on a farmers gate post, no doubt eyeing up its breakfast. I didn’t have chance to grab the camera, but it was pleasing to watch such a beautiful bird out in the wild, it was soon off looking for a meal though.
I stopped off at Egremont to grab a coffee, surprised to note that it was still only 6.15am.
One home, time to edit the photos an plan where too tomorrow!!
I have photographed families and children before, but never recorded how I approached this. Admittedly, the previous family shoots have caused me a degree of stress and anxiety, why is this, people ask, well it’s the responsibility of this being a one-off situation that needs to be right, and acceptable photographs need to be produced.
So, when asked to photograph baby Cody, I approached this in a slightly different manner, like all things, planning is key, so we discussed what kind of photographs Mam and Dad would like, and did they have any specific poses, or set-ups they would like. On my part I discussed and looked at typical family compositions, and lighting methods used for this genre of photography.
After a couple of conversations, we developed a plan for the session, with Mrs. Tomlinson adding a significant input to these plans.
On the day of the shoot, I arrived in plenty of time to set up the equipment, and to get a feel for how Cody and Sophia were, there was no problem on this front, Cody had been fed and was asleep, with Sophia eagerly awaiting for the photos to begin, she even had a photo in her mind that she would like taken of her and Cody.
Once the lights were set up, checked and tested, the backdrop was fine-tuned with as many creases and folds removed as possible. So, we began at first I shot a few informal photos of Sophia just to double check that everything was working fine, and the photos were as they should be.
Mrs. Tomlinson began setting up compositions, with me checking that the photo would include gaps in the backdrop, light stands, areas of wall etc.
As I began taking the photographs, I found that although there was an element of stress, this was nowhere as severe as it had been on previous family photo shoots.
The two Children were fantastic throughout, the parents were great with helping to place the Children and suggesting slight changes in compositions as they saw fit.
I concentrated on ensuring that the shots were in focus, and that the lighting was producing adequate results, on a couple of occasions I had to change the position of the stands to keep the lighting acceptable.
As I worked through the session, people were changed to create a variety of compositions and trying to capture those unique and special moments that inevitably arise during the shoot.
After about 2.5 hours Cody was becoming restless, so we called it a day, only to be reminded that Sophia would like “her” photographs took, so we quickly set up a scene in front of the Christmas tree to capture these photos.
Sophia’s Photo
Al that remained was to dismantle the equipment and pack this away and have a well-deserved cup of tea.
We had a quick de-brief with Mam and Dad to make sure nothing had been missed, and after this, off I set to begin the editing session of the photos.
Once I uploaded the photos on the computer at home, I began selecting the ones that I thought were the better ones, from a photography point of view, with Mrs. Tomlinson then second viewing the photos to add/remove any as required.
This final selection was then edited to produce the finished images, these photos being at a reduced image size so that they can be sent over electronically for Mam and Dad to view, they also include a watermark at this stage.
As always, once the number of digital images is known, the quantity, size and number of prints (if required) are agreed, the full suite of images will be handed over to Mam and Dad on a memory stick for their keeping.
The feedback upon Mam and Dad viewing the images was fantastic, it really means a lot when you receive such positive feed back from a photo shoot.
The use of the photos used in this news article have kindly agreed with Mam and Dad.
The proof is in the eating, so they say, so after waiting for several weeks to trade my old photography system and receiving my new, Its finally time to try the camera and lenses out.
The light as been pants for the last two weekends, but I had to bite the bullet and get out, so on a overcast, grey and damp day, I’m off to try out my new camera.
I headed for Grange, in the Borrowdale valley with the aim of looking for some compositions of the River Derwent as the water is crystal clear, along with a trek through the woodlands to capture some autumnal colours.
Once you have used one camera, you can use any, (so they say) and to a point this is true, but I soon ran in to muscle memory issues as I was instinctively going for buttons that I have been using for 20 years or more.
It will take time to become accustomed to the new layout, but the issues are not insurmountable, presently these minor issues are just slow me down a little.
Photography wise, I was struggling, the light was pants, and I have missed the best of the autumnal colours, however I found a little beck with moss coloured rocks and brown autumnal coloured leaves scattered around the scene so I took a little time to compose a image. Not the best in the world, but a reasonably interesting one.
The river levels were low, a reflection of the reduced rainfalls recently, the lovely turquoise coloured pools drew my attention, but compositions were hard to come by.
I found one large pool called “Wilkinson’s Dub” which was a lovely colour, with a shrub on the far bank being reflected in the water, so I used a K&F polarizing filter to remove some of the glare to try and get a different type of image, this image is below, do you think it works?
I then came across a disused quarry which provided some contrast to the remaining autumnal colours of the woods.
As I trekked through Low and High Hows Woods I took a couple of snaps, one of a tree which, to me had a branch that looked like a birds face, can you see it?
OM-1 Conclusion:
Of course it will take some time to become fully accustomed to the OM-1 camera and its controls, I still need to customise some functions, but this will be done in time.
My main concern was one the quality of the images, as the four thirds sensor is substantially smaller than the full frame variant that I have been using for many years. I wont know the full answer to this question until I print a A2 sized print to make this assessment.
One big positive is that after two and a half hours lugging all all my new kit around in my backpack, I managed this with no issues, the weight saving was very obvious, long may this last.
