Online blogs on sport, business, law, farming, photography, from the Westmorland Gazette

Pam is an experienced graphic designer with a track record of over twenty years work.
She is an illustrator and creative designer and worked for the Lake District National Park for sixteen years.
Pam takes lots of digital images which she uses in design work, and which have been published in print and online.
She regularly runs digital training courses at a variety of community education centres.
The rapid take up of digital cameras has enabled her to develop a friendly, informal and popular approach to the subject of digital imaging.

On Course for Better Images

At this time of year the colour brochures arrive with their exhortations to sign up for the latest autumn courses. Apparently, “Cumbria is full of exciting arts and cultural experiences if you know where to look...”. Certainly the 48 pages of Your Cumbria testify to that! So we should all be making sure we get our three (or more) artistic and cultural experiences per year. Just like the fruit-and-veg thing, it’s good for our health.

Up Close and Personal

Isn’t it amazing how the weeks fly by? It seems no time at all since I was sitting in the garden marking student assignments and wondering how to occupy myself over the summer.

Say Cheese!

“So what’s the first thing you thought about when I said I was going on a flying visit?“ I asked. ”Cheese“ said my colleague. ”Cheese ...and clogs“. Which is what the road sign said, picked out in white tiles: Cheese & Clogs. ”Tourist trap“, said my friend.

Glowing For Gold

The Australian deer farmer and his wife were deep in conversation over a little compact camera when I approached. Now I don’t normally make a habit of offering to take tourists’ photos for them, because what usually happens is this.

Big Smoke & Mirrors

Of course the Lake District is beautiful at this time of year - mountain views, spring growth, blossom everywhere - and if you’re lucky, blue skies and sunshine too. It is a photographer’s paradise and we all try to outdo each other to record the perfect image. This usually excludes anything human - such things as buildings (unless historic), car parks, traffic, pylons, wind farms, telegraph wires, litter - and sometimes the people too.

On The Beaches

We had a lovely Easter break. Having never been to the east coast of Scotland before, I was thrilled to discover the beautiful golden beaches and attractive fishing villages that fringe the ‘Kingdom’ of Fife. We visited the famous fish-and-chip restaurant in Anstruther - as patronised by HRH Prince Charles, and Tom Cruise (though not together apparently). It is well-known for its wonderful fresh fish, crisp chips and slick, friendly service. However I don’t suppose the aforementioned celebs experienced the notorious queues which are all part of the fun and are expertly managed by the friendly staff.

Size Matters

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying to explain the concepts of compression and resolution to my students, and it’s not easy. Three things can be varied. The width-and-height of the image is the easiest to understand. Then there is also the amount of electronic memory needed to store the digital image. I call this ‘memory space’ to distinguish it from the picture dimensions.

Picture This!

Our handsome hero, pursued by a couple of crooks runs down the street, dodging the market traders and cyclists. The camera closes in to show the beads of sweat on his broad forehead, the sun in his eyes, as he desperately tries to escape his evil pursuers. Suddenly our man dodges through a doorway and into a shadowy alley lit by a single yellow bulb. He flattens himself against a pillar, as the baddies race by in the street outside. The noise of the pursuit fades. He has escaped! We see the relief on his face.

For the L of it...

Walking past the local camera shop on Valentine’s Day, I saw they had decorated their wares with little hearts. Romance was in the air and I was trying to remember when I first fell in love. I vividly remember taking my first photo with my mother’s Box Brownie. It shows two boys posed wonkily against a wooden fence, the horizon tipped at an angle, the whole thing fuzzy from camera shake. I was hooked. The seductive click of the mechanical shutter confirmed I was in control of the technology. Also as photographer I was (briefly) in control of my two older siblings.

The White Stuff

The recent heavy snow may not be totally welcome because of the disruption it caused, but it does represent a fantastic photographic opportunity. The snowman the kids built in the front garden is a precious memory. Close-ups of frosty grasses and icicles hung over streams are evocative of winter days. Cloudless blue skies and white fells are perfect for a weekend photographic expedition to the hills.

Digital Daze

I am about to buy a new digital camera and I’m feeling a little confused. If I was buying my first digital it would of course be simpler. I’d be aiming at finding one with the minimum number of whistles and bells, the digital equivalent of the old Instamatic. Compact cameras are just what they say, compact. Sorted? Not quite. These days even the slim jims of the digital world pack a such bewildering array of features, that beginners very often leave the camera set to Auto, and hope for the best.