On the beach at Deganwy in North Wales looking towards Anglesey, 2004.

Photograph shot using a 1950′s Balda Baldixette

A visitor at the Minack Theatre near Porthcurno in Cornwall takes in the view.

A few refinements have been made to the blog recently. A tidy up. Some you may have noticed already. For a while i was only posting iPhone photographs which was getting a bit repetitive so I’ve decided to be a bit more proactive in submitting photographs to the blog, starting with the current Cornwall photographs.

This blog will, however, be the mobile blog i’ll use to post from my iPhone when out and about. One of the things I’ve had to do is define what the blog is about. What it is for? When i started it i thought i knew. I didn’t. Originally the blog was going to be purely about my b&w landscape photography, hence the title Darker Skies that refers to my landscape skies that are often dark and broody.

The blog has become more than that though. It’s a scrapbook, a mobile blog, a photo blog and a personal journal. The b&w landscapes are just part of that mix. It’s only taken me 18 months to work that out. Better late than never i suppose.

View from a WWII pillbox looking over The Minack Theatre and clouds on the edge of the atlantic

Looking across towards St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall

Returning to harbour, Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk, UK

Holme beach, Norfolk, UK  

It’s hard to believe but the Darker Skies blog has been online for a year. My initial idea for the blog’s role turned out to be a non-starter. Originally i had planned the blog to be more like my main photo blog. I just didn’t see the point of doubling up on websites though. Each must have its own distinct role and Darker Skies certainly has developed an important role for itself over the last year.

Really the blog acts as a satellite for my other online photographic endeavours and as my own photo blog. The podcast has its own page here and there are plans to expand the site even further. The page design changed again earlier this month and… finally i’m happy with the way the blog looks. It’s been quiet here so far this month, very little in the way of photo postings, but i ‘ll be adding an image everyday this week starting tomorrow.

Here’s to another year of Darker Skies.

The harbour wall at Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK

The fun has started. I’ve started looking into getting a new computer for later this year. My old Dell is still going strong but it needs to be replaced with a  more modern machine. At the moment, i’m looking at either getting a Mac or sticking with Dell who, regardless of what Mac fans say, do build decent PCs. A computer is a tool and as long as it does what it should, is reliable and the price is right, i have no problem with using either Mac or PC. I can use both. A computer snob i ain’t. My only issue with Apple is cost. Yes their computers are superb, but the prices significantly reflect that too.  It would also mean changing Photoshop, Nikon and Capture One software over to Mac. More cost. More to think about. Sometimes i just get really fed up with the seemingly constant upgrading process that’s part of this modern technological world.

The yacht Ayesha departs Scarborough harbour

I’m going to keep my new year resolutions simple. More photography, keep running/jogging and develop more commercial ideas for selling work. There are a few other smaller resolutions but these fall into the catagory of self improvement. My only bit of advice for 2010 is enjoy your photography. It is a theraputic pastime and good for the soul. It doesn’t matter what you take your photographs on, whether a box brownie, a phone or a state of the art digital SLR. Just go forth and snap!

Meeting all the criteria for the Darker Skies blog, this image was taken at Burnham Overy Staithe on the north Norfolk coast during a wonderfully peaceful sunset. The photograph was taken on a Bronica SQAi camera using Ilford FP4 film.

Stormy seas at Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK – Winter 1995