I’ve updated the online store to add some great new products to the James Paul Photography website. The first new product is Digital Photo Frame Images which is a downloadable product for all those who are about to or have received a Digital Photo Frame. After creating your account you can download a special collection of images to use on your 7 or 10 inch Digital Photo Frame. Secondly, Mini Mounted Prints is a collection of inexpensive gift-wrapped mounted prints in which you can place in your own 10×8 inch frame. Finally, the Custom Calendars product where you create your own custom calendar using the photography of James Paul, features some new images and a couple of additional templates.

Look out for some updates regarding exhibitions soon!

One of my images has been published in Scottish Islands Explorer, a great magazine all about life on the Scottish Islands. The image ‘Holy Island from Lamlash, Isle of Arran’ forms part of an article exploring Holy Island, a beautiful island with a rich heritage that lies just a stones throw from the Isle of Arran.

The magazine was published on the 18th August and for more details and to download a free issue visit the Scottish Islands Explorer website.

Great Ayton is one of my very favourite locations. The village, itself steeped in history, is a great starting point for exploring the North Yorkshire Moors and in particular Roseberry Topping. The distinctive peak, dubbed the ‘Cleveland Matterhorn,’ stands at only 320 metres high yet it can be seen for many miles. Thanks to the local geology and an array of footpaths including the Cleveland Way it is not hard to find a great view point in which to view the hill.

Being only 20 minutes away from my home, Great Ayton is one of my default locations. If I’m short of time or I don’t want to travel far, i’ll goto Great Ayton. This philosophy leads to a familiarity and understanding of the local landscape which I think is essential for any photographer. On one particular evening in late September this familiarity and understanding was crucial in capturing this image.

It had been a very poor day, the rain had been pounding down and there was little hope of getting out let alone producing a great image. To be honest, I was resigned to staying in. I kept going out into the garden and looking up at the sky for any sign of the weather changing. As I capture images in the so-called ‘Magic Hour’ time was running out to make a decision whether to go anywhere. As the cut off point approached I finally noticed a little glint of light way in the distance. It offered a faint glimmer of hope but there was certainly every chance of the clouds eating the light back up. Despite this I just thought ‘go for it’ and with my car loaded up I headed off for Great Ayton.

My familiarity of the location led me to be very aware that the angle of the sun in the last hour of light would lead to its rays being cast over Cliff Ridge and onto the peak. As I got closer to Great Ayton I could see the strength of the sun growing and felt more confident that I could get a great image. Despite this it was actually still raining at the time.

It was a mad dash upto Cliff Ridge through the delightful Newton Wood. Ignoring all the lovely scenery and great views I finally managed to make it too the ridge and quickly set up. Almost immediately, the elements fell into place - the rain stopped and the sun burst into life falling below the thick bank of cloud that had brought so much gloom. It was a spectacular sight and one that I was fortunate to have just enough time to set up and capture an image that has been one of my most successful.

The proximity of the location had been crucial in capturing this image. Had Roseberry Topping been even one mile further away I would not have made it, it was literally split second. I was also fortunate to have made such a late gamble to go out, and a night in front of the TV had been quite tempting. If there is a lesson then it is one that almost anything can happen even when the outlook doesn’t look great.

I must have shot this view on many occasions and in a multitude of differing weathers. Every visit increased my understanding of the local environment and allowed me to work out what time of year I could capture this view successfully. Many visits produced poor results, but it can be said that there are positives to be taken from a shoot that has not been successful. It allows you to rule certain things out. Understanding when you can’t do something is a key characteristic and allows you to grow as a photographer.

Roseberry Topping from Cliff Ridge, Great Ayton, North Yorkshire Moors
Nikon D70, Nikkor DX 12-24mm
Aperture: F22, Shutter Speed 1/4 sec, Focal Length: 12mm

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Whilst I was getting lost in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Amateur Photographer Magazine published a selection of my images in the April 5th edition. Three images were featured; Malham Cove, Malham, Dusk, Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Castlerigg Stone Circle, Keswick. They can be found on pages 16-17.

Left: Malham Cove, Malham, Yorkshire Dales
Centre: Dusk, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland
Right: Castlerigg Stone Circle, Keswick, Lake District

The June 2008 issue of Digital SLR Photography Magazine features one of my images in a Beginners Guide on ISO Ratings. The image is of Cauldron Falls, a waterfall at West Burton in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The image can be found on page 52.

As part of a project I am working on, I shall be visiting as much of the Scottish Highlands and Islands as possible. Over the course of the year I shall be reviewing my time in each area and previewing some of the images that you will later see. The first entry in this series comes from the Isle of Arran.

Arran is a magical island which lies off the Ayrshire coastline in the Firth of Clyde. Arran is often described as ‘Scotland in Miniature’ and it is hard to argue against this, so much is packed into such a small island. Arran can be split into two, the island’s north lies mostly within a National Scenic Area boundary and features a rugged landscape dominated by high peaks and erratics. The south is less rugged, has rolling hills and more forestation. The entire island is surrounded by a varied coastline with some magnificent sandy bay’s such as that found at Lamlash and rocky coves such as Pirates Cove near Corrie.

One major road, the A841 circles the entire island. It is a lovely scenic route with many stunning views across the Firth of Clyde back to the mainland or across Arran Sound to Kintyre. You can also see Ailsa Craig and numerous other islands such as Holy Island or Pladda. If you wish to explore the inner beauty of the island then you will have to use the extensive network of footpaths as very few roads penetrate the islands innards. The rewards of a long trek can be really rewarding with some spectacular scenery especially in the glens such as Glen Sannox. Unfortunately, they can also severely restricted by the weather. On one visit to the Machrie Stones I experienced thunder and lightning, hail, rain and brilliant sunshine within a 20 minute spell that saw me go back to the campsite both sunburnt and soaked. Maybe the stones were exerting some magical powers?

Glen Sannox, North Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa were just three of the glens I explored. Dominated by the high peaks of Goatfell and Caisteal Abhail, the landscape is very rugged and boulder strewn. Glacial activity shaped the glens many years ago and now nature is finally starting to reclaim the land. They are three wonderful locations you just feel compelled to explore and show a hidden beauty of the Scotland that you feel privileged to see.

I spent a good deal of time at Machrie Bay which overlooks Arran Sound to Kintyre, a later port of call on the ‘world tour’. I found Machrie Bay interesting but it was Corrie, Merkland Point and Pirates Cove which intrigued me. The coastline is dominated by granite erratics which were deposited onto exposed sandstone rocks by glacial activity almost 9000 years ago - it is a remarkable sight full of colour and mystery. It is also a great area to see seals.

Overall I enjoyed my time on Arran, it’s a great island with lots to discover. Due to time constraints I feel i’ve only scratched the surface and there is so much left for me to explore. This will have to wait for another day which will hopefully come soon.

In April 2006, I’d been enjoying a day out in Malham, one of the many picturesque villages in the Yorkshire Dales. For anyone who doesn’t know Malham, the village is surrounded by some of the England’s finest limestone scenery. I’d made quite a few images in Malham but was finished a little earlier than planned so I thought I would drive around and see some more of the local sites. Whist exploring I saw a sign for Scalebar Force so I stopped the car and went to have a look. The waterfall captivated me from the first minute I saw it. It’s quite a high waterfall around 40 feet and has 6 steps, which change the flow and direction of the water. It’s in a small wooded ravine and getting down to the lower level involved a tricky scramble down a muddy bank. Unfortunately, It was a very sunny day not really conducive to photographing a waterfall. The sun’s reflections were bouncing off the water and the surrounding rocks making it almost impossible to get a successful image. I decided to take a few shots to try an establish a great composition that I could come back and capture on another day. Once I’d felt that I’d found that view I decided to head back home thinking about the image that one day I’d make.

In 2006, I used to share my weekends between the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors. If I went to the dales on a saturday, I would be on the moors on Sunday. On this weekend I woke up early on the Sunday morning and headed to Goathland, a village more famously known as Aidensfield in the television programme Heartbeat. I parked up and got myself ready to go down to Mallyan Spout, a nice waterfall which flows over the rocks into West Beck. As I got ready I realised that there was no sign of my tripod in the car. It suddenly dawned on me that I’d left it at Scalebar Force. A landscape photographer without his tripod is almost like a footballer without his boots. Feeling rather stupid I got back in the car and drove the 120 miles or so back to Scalebar Force in the hope it was still there. Suprisingly, at the bottom of the waterfall, there was my tripod. It was a bit wet from the overnight rain but that didn’t matter.

The conditions that day in the dales were extremely overcast and a little bit wet. Fortunately, the rain was just drizzling at the time and I just felt this was a great time to capture the image I had been rehearsing in my head. The overcast conditions ensured that light on the waterfall was even and there were no bright reflections on the water or rocks to contend with. They conditions also ensured that the shutter speed would be slow enough to slightly blur the water without requiring any filters. I composed the image just as I had planned the day and captured the image. There was a huge element of danger to this shot as I was stood on the middle of the beck almost ‘welly’ deep in the water. With thousands of pounds worth of equipment hovering a few inches above the water there is a huge risk albeit an exciting one when you know that a slight slip and that could be the end. Sometimes it’s worth the risk, I call it the ‘He who dares’ approach.

On reflection I like this image a lot. I didn’t try to capture the entire waterfall as many others do but tried to focus in on a smaller but attractive part of the waterfall. It is easy to turn up and feel compelled to fit everything in the frame, I still do it but you don’t need to. I like the flow of the water which is an essential element to capturing waterfall images but what I like more is the colours and texture to the rock. It really compliments the smooth flow of the water. I guess there is a lesson to be to this story somewhere about always looking after your equipment. If this is a rule then sometimes things don’t turn out so bad if you break them!!

Scalebar Force, Settle, Ribblesdale, Yorkshire Dales
Nikon D70, Nikkor DX 12-24mm
Aperture: F22, Shutter Speed 1 sec, Focal Length: 14mm

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Visitors or anyone unlucky enough to be admitted to the NHS Oncology Unit at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, East Yorkshire  will be able to view one of my images. The level 2 reception area will feature an image captured from the bluebell woods at Sowerby-under-Cotcliffe near Northallerton which has been printed onto a formica screen. The development will open shortly and I will get an image as soon as possible.

I’m often asked how particular features of this website were developed and deployed so I thought I would write a little article which gave a little more information. Work started on the site probably 15 months ago (October 2006). I had worked on a few website projects before so I was pretty familiar with website design and promotion and felt that I could do this myself. Unlike other projects I’ve been involved with, financial constraints would not be an issue during development, the major constraint was going to be time. I realised this was going to involve a major trade off between shooting new images and sitting on the computer creating code.

Initially, I sat down with a blank piece of paper and brainstormed what I would like to see on the site. I wanted to make the site both functional and fun. The next step was to decide exactly how I wanted to implement these features and what resources I would need to implement them. This involved a lot of scouring the internet trying various pieces of software and scripts to see if they could operate the way I want. I wanted to make the site easy to use but also to do what it is supposed to do. I use Apple Macs and one of the easiest ways of creating a web site is to use iWeb. Most of the time, constructing a site in iWeb is simply drag, drop and publish. I wanted the site to look consistently great throughout, and because graphic design is not a strong point i felt an iWeb template from 11 Mystics produced a great look at a low cost. Using iWeb was a great time saver particularly when trying different things. You can only imagine how many times I looked at a page and just thought ‘I think I need to start again here!’ because it either looked awful or didn’t work the way I wanted it to. One of the major drawbacks to using iWeb is implementing features that iWeb can not handle, this was particularly a problem in version 1 (which i used). After creating and publishing the pages in iWeb, I used iWebmore. This handy utility allowed me to insert my own code on my pages. I used Bare Bones‘ Textwrangler to edit all of my html/css pages. I added a lot of code such as meta-data, scripts and multimedia objects. Another utility I made good use of is A Better Finder Rename, this has been and will continue to be a huge time saver when renaming files.

You may have noticed this website uses a number of scripts to enhance it’s functionality. That is the key, only use a script where it actually adds value, saying that some of the scripts have been specially selected because not only to do they add functionality but they also have a great look. A couple of scripts i’ll list here have done just that, Highslide JS has been added to allow users to view images at a larger size without leaving the page. It is also great for displaying Ajax/HTML content, for example I use it extensively in the Store pages for frame options and previews. The major benefit to this script is it saves having to create more pages for the user to navigate. Slideshow Pro is a flash plug-in which delivers great slideshows. I have used this in the Portfolio pages and hopefully you will find this an attractive but easy to use feature. There are many other scripts used but the list is so extensive I haven’t the time to mention them all. To quickly summarise, this site includes XHTML, DHTML, PHP/Javascript/Ajax Scripting, uses a heap of MySQL databases. It has over 2000 pages, weighs in at 9.5 GB in size.

I have just updated the blogging software to Wordpress so the blog will be easier to update regularly and I look forward to posting more. The site is not quite finished just yet, I will be adding a few exciting new features/products by the end of March(ish) and will continue refining the site on an ongoing basis. There are also a few features that will get some serious reconstructive surgery over the course of the year. In the mean time the work goes on, images need capturing, the site needs promoting and I need a bit of sleep!!!

Firstly, a very ‘Happy New Year’ to everyone.

Secondly, the ‘Beautiful Yorkshire’ exhibition run by North Yorkshire County Council begins on January 14th and will last until May 31st. The picture below, Roseberry Topping from Cliff Ridge, Great Ayton, will be on display at the following North Yorkshire County Council libraries on the respective dates:-

Malton, Northallerton and Whitby: 14 Jan - 2 Feb


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