It's that time of year where some reflect on the year gone by and make some sort of soon to be broken resolution for the year ahead. I'm not keen on making promises I know I will probably never keep but I am pleased with the way 2023 went, especially in regards to my night time shenanigans with a camera!
This is a quick selection from this year for which I considered producing a calendar for charity. If I were to create a calendar, these 12 images would be on the shortlist! Edit: It was harder than I thought to shortlist 12 images so here's 13!!
There can be only one!
I had this shot in mind for ages using a laser level and a camera rotation tool. It's the kind of shot which needs some assistance and @inksurgeon was the willing participant aka victim! Thanks mate!
The Hands That Rock the Cradle
I had another year obsessed with fractal filters over the lens and this was one such example!
Kicking the Habit
Standing in a field along next to an ancient and apparently haunted monastery is not recommended for the faint of heart when a fox suddenly makes a murderous cry! I nearly jumped out of my skin when the fox turned up!
Magpie Mine under the stars
Standing in the cold for 90 minutes waiting for a star trail sequence isn't highly recommended. On this occassion I was able to bring my car right up to the mine here and sit in the warm vehicle with the heating on!
Fractalised
I've had one of those years where I think my images have gone largely under-appreciated leaving me to wonder why I bother! I always try to innovate with new ideas and at the time I shot this I thought I'd created something new and fresh. Social media thought otherwise!
Magpie Mine and subtlety
Through hay fever affected eyes I managed to bag this image lit with @inksurgeon's drone lights overhead. I made another version of this with lighting from inside the mine but this version, a more subtle one without lighting inside somehow looked better.
Kinetically engineered nights
I spend so much time worrying about the technical stuff, I sometimes end up making mistakes. Though not obvious here, I somehow managed to switch my camera in to crop sensor mode leading to a lower quality image. I was surprised to see the result didn't suffer too much as a result!
Gorilla in the Mist
I'm not one making selfies but when you get mist like this it would have been rude not to volunteer myself to pose in the frame.
Though it looks simple, there is quite a bit of tehcnical stuff in this image. Two gelled flashguns taped together with an A4 sized sheet of MDF seperating the flashguns so the light pollution from each flash don't interfere with the different light sources. I shot the red flashgun on full power and the blue gelled flash on 1/8th power. The process here was pose, fire both flashguns at once then let the headtorch expose for the rest of the 10 second exposure.
North Leverton Aurora
This year was the first time and hopefully not the last time I got to see the Northern Lights with the naked eye. I had heard the sun is moving in to a phase where Auroras are more likely to happen for the next 12 months or so and I had been keeping eye out for such events. I almost got booked for speeding on the way to the windmill but was rewarded with about 45 minutes of Aurora. It took me ages to come down from the high seeing this!
Missing a trick
I shot this with my newly acquired Sony 14mm G Master lens and was so impressed I must have sounded like a jabbering wreck at the time I shot this! I missed a trick with this shot and next time I will set up a flashgun in the field and pose for a selfie under the Aurora sky!
The Beast of Bellmount Tower
I'm always on the lookout for new locations to shoot in the dark and I was pleased as punch to realise this folly wasn't too far away to get to. What I hadn't factored in was the steep climb up a slippy and muddy hill from the car park. This is me posing in the dark still knackered after the climb!
Bellmount Tower under the stars
I was so impressed by Bellmount Tower I revisited with less gear to carry up the hill with the intention of shooting star trails! I was quite pleased with myself at how well I had aligned Polaris with the tower!
Danielle
I've shot models quite a bit in previous years but for reasons unknown to me, in 2023, I only managed the one model shoot! This was Danielle in the dark with a bunch of mannequins for company!
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex, landscape and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; the social side of photography is always good!
Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/fastchrisuk
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastchris/
Great stuff mate, still jealous of the aurora shots though lmao
Haha, thanks @darrenflinders I'm on constant standby. Maybe not so much just now looking outside at the miserable weather!! Have a good New Year pal!
You too mate, all the best for 2024 matey 👍🏻
Great shots mate.
This is a collection to be proud of! Cheers and Happy New Year!