Sunday 27 May 2012

Black and white California


Black and white California, Image from San Francisco 

Black and white California
California for me holds a strong sense of inspiration and belonging every time I have visited there. It could be the light or it could be people but I always have been very inspired by the place. From the street markets of Venice beach, L.A. to the stunning vistas in Yosemite National Park North California, all of it is just truly amazing.

Even though the colours of the sunsets and sunrises are stunning in California I always prefer shooting Black and White images of California. My black and white California images always have stunning whites and rich grey tones through-out, California has to be one of my most favourite places to be shooting images...

To see more of my work please visit:
www.naturalscene.co.uk
www.facebook.com/thenaturalscene

Saturday 26 May 2012

Just Discovered Lightroom, Why Have I been Using Aperture | Landscape Photography Blog

Just Discovered Lightroom, Why Have I been Using Aperture | Landscape Photography Blog

China beach pictures


China beach pictures, on Highway 50 California
China beach pictures
On my last trip to San Francisco we travelled down from Lake Tahoe to head to our first stop China Beach to try to get a sunset shot. We were totally amazed by the sites we saw traveling down Highway 50. This picture of an old Californian truck took my attention so much so by the time we arrived at China beach we had missed the sunset, but seeing China Beach and hearing the waves crash against the rocks and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge glow in the background was all worth it. Moments like this make me feel so lucky to be blessed to be able to travel like this...

To see more China Beach Pictures please click here and also here... Thanks for reading...

Friday 25 May 2012

Golden Gate Bridge Black and White


Golden Gate Bridge Black and White, San Francisco, from China Beach
Golden Gate Bridge Black and White
The celebration weekend is here, I want to wish the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco a very happy 75th Birthday. To celebrate I wanted to share one of my favourite images of the Golden gate Bridge, obviously for me it has to be Black and white. This image shows the dramatic weather that can occur on China Beach in San Francisco, big waves, stormy skies and almost unreal feel to the Golden Gate Bridge in Black and White, featured in the background.

To see more of my work and China Beach pictures please click here.

There are many events taking place this weekend to mark this great celebration, please check out this Facebook page for more info
http://www.facebook.com/onlyinSF

Thanks for reading my blog and for those of you luckily enough to be in San Francisco I hope you have an awesome weekend.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Golden Gate Bridge Ansel Adams


Taken While Traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles,
Title: Black and white california 

Golden Gate Bridge Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams as many of you who read my blog will know has been a great inspiration to my work and one of the reasons for my fascination with California and San Francisco. His image taken in 1953 of the golden Gate bridge from Baker Beach which is just around the corner from my favourite beach “China Beach” is a stunning photograph.

The weather on this occasion looks like a much calmer day than when I visited the similar spot.

To Ansel Adams image please visit:
http://www.anseladams.org/the-golden-gate-bridge-from-baker-beach--a084.html

To see more of my fine art landscape photography please visit: http://www.facebook.com/thenaturalscene

Monday 21 May 2012

China Beach Pictures


China beach pictures, San Francisco

China Beach Pictures
I have many China Beach pictures from my visits to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. But often its the old californian cars that catch my attention, this Karmann Ghia was one of these occasions. A beautiful image not far from China beach, that I found on one of many walks of this fantastic Californian City...

The weather was perfect glorious sunshine and a deep blue sky, the type of deep colour that always migrates well into black and white.

To see more of my fine art landscape and black and white photography please visit:

facebook.com/thenaturalscene
naturalscene.co.uk

Thanks for read this...

Sunday 20 May 2012

San Francisco China Beach


San Francisco China Beach, By Craig Howarth
San Francisco China Beach, this is the beach I have visited every time I have been to San Francisco. China Beach is steeped in history and is situated in between Baker Beach and Lands End. China Beach gains its name from Chinese Fishermen who used to camp at this beach. 

I always feel very spiritual when I have visited China Beach, the power of the waves, the dramatic back drop of San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge and the packs of surfers heading out into the Ocean... Stunning truly stunning...

To see more of my Fine Art Landscape Photography please visit:

www.naturalscene.co.uk
www.facebook.com/thenaturalscene

Thanks for visiting my blog...

Fine Art Landscape Photographer & black and white California images

Fine Art Landscape Photographer - Ansel Adams LandscapeGreat clip to watch on a Sunday afternoon, inspiring people...

The Ansel Adams landscape is such a stunning place to photograph, hoping to get to California later this year to shoot more black and white California images.

Saturday 19 May 2012

San Francisco images & the Golden Gate Bridge


San Francisco images, City Lights Bookstore

San Francisco images
To spread the word about the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge being 75 years old, I will be uploading and writing about some of my old San Francisco images this week. The first San Fran image is of my favourite bookshop in the world - “City Lights Bookstore” based not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. The bookstore was made famous by many ‘Beatniks‘ of that generation, and still today many people come from around the
world to browse, read, and just soak in the ambiance of alternative culture's only "Literary Landmark." And obviously while there you can’t help but visit the Vesuvio Cafe, where Jack Kerouac spent many an evening... Two places that needs to be on your visit lists along with the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge...

To see more of my work please visit:
www.naturalscene.co.uk or www.facebook.com/thenaturalscene

Vesuvio Cafe Bar:
http://www.vesuvio.com/


City Lights Bookstore
http://www.citylights.com

Friday 18 May 2012

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge

Taken in San Francisco China Beach


























San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge


It looks like it is going to be an amazing celebration next week at San Francisco’s most iconic land marks the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. My creative attention was first shown the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge when I saw the images that the great Ansel Adams shot of the area even before the Golden Gate bridge was built...

I visited there some 15 years after seeing Ansel Adams images and I think I captured a truly stunning image of the Golden Gate Bridge from China beach. It was a very stormy New Years day with waves crashing all around and we could only just see glimpses of the Golden Gate Bride through the fog, it was truly stunning. A moment captured in time, and we got such an inspired feeling being in San Francisco on China Beach taking the scene that Ansel Adams took so many years before us...

Good luck with the celebrations, would love to be there...

More Ansel Adams work - http://shop.anseladams.com/Golden_Gate_Bridge_from_Baker_Beach_p/1502084.htm

To see more Fine Art Landscape photographs please visit -
www.naturalscene.co.uk

For information on Golden Gate Celebrations please visit:
http://goldengatebridge75.org/celebrate/golden-gate-festival.html

  

Fine Art Landscape Photographer - Ansel Adams Landscape

Avalanche, by Fine Art Landscape Photographer
 Craig Howarth of Natural Scene
The most influential Fine Art Landscape Photographer for many and definitely myself was the Californian photographer Ansel Adam. He was passionate about the Ansel Adams Landscape the same as many of us are today...

With beautiful quotes like this one:

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

A quote that is very true in all of my work, I try to portray in each of my fine art landscape photographs the feelings I felt on taking the particular image. Often your moods can be seen through your images, I often spend time looking over old images and trying to work out my moods on taking and making particular pieces. As sometimes it maybe 6 months or so before I get onto editing and printing a new set of images, so often my mood is different when I come to this process, which makes for very interesting images...

To see more of my Fine Art Landscape Photographs please visit:
www.naturalscene.co.uk
or like my Natural Scene facebook page on:
http://www.facebook.com/thenaturalscene

Thanks again for reading my blog...

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Spiritual Path through fine art landscape photography


Spiritual Path, Chasing Dramatic Light in
Devon


Spiritual Path through fine art landscape photography
Since I was young I have always been fascinated with nature and once I had my first camera I would set about capturing images of my fascinations to share with other people. At an early age I knew this was my gift and have chosen to perfect it every chance I have been given. 


I believe that by me pursuing my natural gift of fine art landscape photography I am naturally on my Spiritual Path through life, as there isn’t a happier state of mind to be in when heading out at sunrise or chasing dramatic lighting conditions through the landscape.

Monday 14 May 2012

Inspire People

Inspire People, Torcross, Slapton,
Devon
Inspire People
Since becoming a fine art landscape photographer some 20 years ago I have been driven by the very fact that my depictions of nature could in fact Inspire People to enjoy the world around us. All too many occasions am I totally alone in these wonderful expanses of nature. I obviously enjoy the tranquillity of being there but also question why our landscape doesn’t Inspire People that have these vistas on their doorstep.

My biggest aim in my work would be for people to be inspired to venture that little bit farther into the world to see some of the scenes I’m privileged to see.

To see more of my work please visit:
www.naturalscene.co.uk

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Waiting for the Sunset

Waiting for the Sunset
Erme EstuaryDevon 
Waiting for the sunset is one of the most rewarding points of being a landscape photographer. Actually physically seeing the sun lowering over the horizon illuminating the landscape in its warm colours as it does so is spectacular no matter how many times I get to see it.

This particular waiting for the sunset took place on the coastline in Devon, Erme Estuary. The tide was just turning from high tide so I knew I didn’t have long to get the shot I wanted, the clouds filled the frame just as I wanted them, a couple of adjustments with the exposure and the shot was taken...
http://www.facebook.com/thenaturalscene 

Friday 4 May 2012

Enjoy the Environment


Pembrokeshire coastal path, more
images on www.naturalscene.co.uk
Enjoy the Environment

Sitting on a rock contemplating and waiting for the light to change, looking out at the English Channel on the Devon Coastline, I start to ponder about what people enjoy and why. It’s 6:30 pm on a cold May evening and I’m all alone in this cove where I’m getting to enjoy the environment, thinking about the peace, the water glistening on every rock, the sun’s glow slowly disappearing of the distant headlands and the birds feeding off the dusk insects – what more enjoyment could I get at this particular moment from nature...

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Moved by the Ansel Adams Landscape

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. Ansel Adams

Just going through old photographs of my last trip to Yosemite hope to get back there later this year, autumn would be ideal, love visiting the Ansel Adams landscape...

Taking landscape photos in Devon


Inspired by the Sea - Blackpool Sands,
images of Devon
Taking landscape photos in Devon
I'm currently working on my latest project "Inspired by the Sea" and spending more and more time at the coast. The last two evenings have been spent wading knee deep in the chilly waters of Devon or to be more exact Blackpool Sands and Compass Cove.
   
Taking landscape photos in Devon is always different every time I visit, storms, calm weather, windy weather, and plenty of driftwood after last weekend’s storm all making this coastline one of most interesting I have been gifted to be able to visit. If you are in the area I highly recommend visiting Compass Cove, Dartmouth at sunrise or sunset the tranquillity is just magnificent!!!
    
As part of the "Inspire by the Sea" project I will be running Coastal Workshops in and around Dartmouth during the summer, for more information on these or to enquire about  landscape  photography workshops please visit www.naturalscene.co.uk, "Be warned, there will early starts to get sunrise and misty shots in the summer!!!"  

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Taking Landscape photos & using the Zone System Digital

Pebble Image on Sidmouth Beach, part of images of Devon
















 
Taking Landscape photos & using the Zone System Digital    

Taking Landscape photographs is very rewarding, one to be in nature deciding which vista or detail to capture and two the very fact that I'm preserving that part of nature forever in my creative way.
 
To achieve the very best from each of my limited edition prints I always refer back 
to the Zone System digital gauge, to ensure that every tone is represented the way in which I had visualised whilst being out in nature.
   
If you would like to know more about landscape photography please contact me via, 
craig@naturalscene.co.uk to find out about my latest landscape photography workshops and landscape photography courses in Wales, Devon and Morzine France.

www.naturalscene.co.uk