bear martin photography

After three landscape photos in a row, I thought it was about time for a portrait shot so you don’t have to swipe left and right.

Aucklands Sky Tower stands 328 metres (1,076 ft) tall, making it the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

I love the way it can be seen, and photographed from so many places around the city. I especially love the way it changes colour for so often for so many reasons.

Here it is in a lovely blue on a very pink morning.

This is Mt Taranaki. It used to be called Mt Egmont. It sits in the middle of the Taranaki region of the North Island of New Zealand.

Many people mistake photos of it to Mt Fuji.

I was born in the shadow of this mountain so it’s always held a special place in my heart.

Anyone else have a favourite mountain?

Yosemite is somewhere I had wanted to visit for a very long time. So when I finally managed to visit I made the most of it but arriving at sunrise and leaving at sunset. It’s one of those places I could spend a week there and still not see half of the beauty is has to offer.

I can’t wait to return as soon as I can.

Who else has been and what was your favourite view?

Patience is a virtue.

The sky was overcast when I arrived to take this photo. I even packed up once and was about to walk away when I noticed the clouds where moving very fast so I sat and waited and was rewarded with a bit colour. Not loads but enough to make a interesting photograph.

“It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.” – Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes

What’s your favourite London landmark?

Mine is definitely this bridge.

Waterfalls. Who else loves them?

I could sit and watch them for hours and usually do when photographing them.

It was actually raining when I arrived at this spot and I was trying to set the camera up under the umbrella when the rain eased allowing me to spend more time as this beautiful spot. I was hoping to get a shot from the other side of the river but the water was so cold coming directly from the mountain.

Waterfall Wednesday. I set myself a little challenge during this New Zealand trip to photograph all the Auckland waterfalls.

So far I’m failing miserably as I discover there are so many waterfalls in this beautiful city. I found this little beauty and I’m claiming it as Auckland’s most southern waterfall, and probably the smallest.

Hopefully I’ll get a few more in soon.

What’s your favourite Auckland waterfall?

So this is me trying one of those fancy multi image panorama posts.

I finished work early one day last week so I managed to race out to my favourite spot as the conditions looked promising for a sunset photo.

While there wasn’t the cloud cover I was hoping for there was just enough to provide a lovely bit of colour and it reminded me of how much I love shooting sunsets and sunrises and that I should get out and shoot some more of them.

So I noticed after my last post that my grid was looking very green. Now I love green and it’s hard to escape here in New Zealand but I do try and keep my grid colourful as possible so here’s something pink and fluffy.

I woke up last Sunday with thick fog everywhere and I raced out the door hoping it wasn’t just low cloud.

I’ve had this shot in my mind since I arrived here so to actually finally capture it was pretty incredible.

Don’t worry though, there is plenty more green to come.

If you’ve been here a while you’ll know I have a thing for lighthouses. But who doesn’t right?

This particular lighthouse I often used to sail past with my Dad and I used to wonder how exciting it would be to live there and spend all day watching the boats go past.

Anyone else want to live in a lighthouse?

I’ve not posted a waterfall for a while so I thought I better get out and shoot one. I’m incredibly lucky to be in New Zealand at the moment as there are so many great waterfalls that are so easy to access.

This particular waterfall is one I know well and have spent many hours in the cold water on hot summer days as a kid.

I’m hoping to get out and take a lot more waterfall photos while I’m here.

Anyone have any requests of waterfalls they’d like to see? Let me know your favourite and I’ll attempt to photograph it.

Just the tip. No not like that! I got up early a few weekends ago and headed to this popular Auckland west coast spot for an astro shot but I was a bit late. I did manage to capture the first rays of sun peaking over the horizon and I love the way that morning light has just kissed the top of this giant rock.

At some point I’ll get there on time to take a good astro shot. If I wake up early enough that is.

My first proper attempt at astro photography.

After studying the PhotoPills app and checking the weather every 10mins I decided to head out.

I arrived a few, ok 5, hours before I set up for this shot so tried a few other compositions was wasn’t feeling any of them. So I sat on the beach and watched the Milky Way slowly make its way across the sky until it was where I wanted it.

I’m very happy how this turned out and I’m definitely going to try a few more.

So here we are. The first two months of 2021, done. I think we all hope this is going to be a better year. While it hasn’t been a great start for many, hang in there good things are coming. But if you can’t wait, change something yourself. A tiny change can make a huge difference. Wake up for sunrise. Stay up for moon rise. Change your routine and see where it goes. Or don’t. That’s ok too.

I took this three shot panorama blue hour shot back after a nightshift.

I stayed up to watch the sunrise and was treated with the most wonderful colours. I’m glad I did.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope tomorrow brings you time with people you love, even if that’s via video or phone calls.

I don’t have a Christmas photo to post this year as I’ve not been out taking photos as I’m still recovering from a dose of covid back in November.

But I’ve been sitting on this photo a while as it’s one of my favourite shots from 2020. Inspired by another local photographer.

I managed to get out on a spring low tide during my allotted lockdown exercise time to get this shot, although it was the most dangerous shot of the year. I had to wade out to crouch deep into the sea lifting my tripod out of the water to dodge the small waves coming in. As the sun was in its final moments and dipped behind the pier it lit the sky a beautiful orange that made it even more special.

So I wanted to end this disastrous year with big thank you to everyone that follows and likes and comments and enjoys my images. I know this year has been incredibly difficult for everyone in some way.

I know that 2021 will be better for all of us and I’ll be back with loads more images and some exciting announcements on projects I’ve been working on for a while.

Big love and happy holidays to you all. 🎄❤️

I’ve not posed a light house in a while. To be honest I haven’t shot one in a while so I guess it’s time to go lighthouse hunting. But where to go? Any suggestions? Where’s your favourite lighthouse. This is Beachy Head Lighthouse and is my favourite. Mainly because it’s close to my house but also because it’s at the base of the chalk cliffs.

I know a lot of you might be feeling broken today for a hundred different reasons and that’s ok. You’re not alone. My DMs are always open if you need to chat. I don’t have the answers but I can listen and we can talk.

Broken things are just as beautiful.

Yes I’ve posted this shot before. But that was a while ago and it’s was a early evening image.

This is from my autumn collection. There is something magical about this spot. The way the roads intersect and are entwined and the amount of colour that nature has packed in between the concrete and asphalt just makes it even more beautiful.

Who else loves it when nature takes back the spaces that we have left unused?

This is another shot I didn’t intend on taking. I had planned a foggy morning shot with the Tor sticking out above the fog.

But on arriving it was obvious there was not going to be any fog.

So I dragged myself up the hill as the sun rose thinking it was to light for a halo shot but I tried it anyway and this is the result. I’m going to try sunrise halo shots more often.

Who wants to see more halo shots?

This is as close as I get to a portrait shot. I had taken a shot moments before this without the person in it but I like the sense of movement she brings. Sometimes there is perfection in the imperfect.

Oh and who else is sick of this winter already?

Yesterday I spent a few hours at sunrise wandering around in the fog. My plan was to get a couple of landscape photos and if I saw a deer or two I’d try and take a photo.

Well that plan went out the window after stumbling across a group of deer just hanging out and not bothered by us at all. From then on it was a deer hunt.

I managed to photograph this big guy who I could just see through the fog but his bark could be heard from across the park. I’m definitely going to go back and try again.

I was hoping for some beautiful morning mist to get one of those amazing atmospheric lake images but as the sunlight rose over the hill and hit the tops of the trees then lit the island I’m glad the mist hadn’t arrived. Although there was a tiny amount skating above the surface that the sun caught so I’m definitely calling this a moody misty lake shot.

You don’t need an exotic location to capture a great photo. You don’t a beautiful subject.

You just need the right light.

This smashed up old boat is in the harbour at Barrow-in-Furness. Hardly a glamorous subject or location, but just look at the light, those colours.

Who else loves an old shipwreck, or a new shipwreck for that matter?

Birds making bird shapes.

It’s nearly that time of the year. Where we talk about it being nearly winter and how it’s nearly Christmas and it’s nearly the end of the year, but I don’t feel like we’ve had nearly enough summer yet.

Still, I love watching the starlings over the pier.

Sunrise is my favourite time of day. The calm. The colours.

Even in the center of built up London you can find moments of real beauty.

This three shot pano is a shot I’ve wanted to take for a long time.

For once the weather apps predicted the conditions exactly right and I was incredibly lucky to get this blue hour shot.

What’s your favourite time of day?

This was taken on one of those mornings where I dragged myself out of bed at stupid o’clock and was disappointed that there where none of the predicted clouds needed for a good red sunrise. But just when I thought all was lost, the blue hour light turned a beautiful pink hue for just a few moments before the sun arrived.

As the sun starts to rise a little later each day it’s not so hard getting up. I guess I should be on the lookout for some more sunrises then.

Stonehenge.

One of the most mysterious places you can visit in the UK I think.

This week they discovered exactly where the stones came from. Only 20 miles away apparently.

I spent the night there this week chasing sunsets, comets and sunrises with @hugohealy and @jamescooleyfilm. As usual with a photography mission I only managed to capture one of the three, but the sunrise I did capture was magical. I need to visit more places like this.

Tell me your favourite magical place to visit.

Don’t believe everything you see on the internet

I’ve had this shot in my mind for a while now. But finding the right location has been difficult.

Driving through London at 4am after a job lead me to stumble across the perfect spot by complete accident.

I’m really starting to enjoy blue hour photography.

Who else like shooting in blue hour?

I keep seeing people posting images of this location popping up on my feed so I thought I’d post one too.

This is another light painting image.

I had planned on taking two angles of the crane but after taking the first, a goose nesting on the front section started to get a bit vocal about me disturbing her so quickly packed up and left her to it. I’ll have to wait until the fall to try again.

Anyone else had a run in with an angry goose?

A stormy sky and a dead calm sea. Now that’s something you rarely get. I spent the evening huddled up in my little van watching the clouds roll past and popping out and taking a picture every now and then. Conditions like this make me happy.

My favourite sky is a dark and moody sky.

I had wanted to do a long exposure of these cliffs for a while and as it’s so close to home when the storm clouds rolled in last weekend I jumped at the chance.

It was wet and blowing a gale so of course I decided to take a 5 shot portrait orientated long exposure. Mainly due to having my zoom lens on and not wanting to swap lenses in the wind and rain.

I made a few attempts while hunched over the camera to protect it from the weather until it got the better of me.

I only wish the tide was in. But that just means I get try again.

I had 3 hours in San Francisco.

I wanted to get that classic tram shot. I of course had arrived on the one week the trams didn’t run.

Feeling a little dejected I tried to take a few photos down the street but left pretty quickly.

It wasn’t until a month later that I actually looked at this shot and realised that I had actually captured the individual window reflections from the sun reflected on to the street.

This has gone from a throwaway, annoyed, thought I missed the shot photo to one of my favourites from that trip.

There have been almost no clouds the last week. Today it’s turned grey and there is no sky. I wish I had been out to take more clear sky photos than I did. Well there’s always next week I guess.

Here’s a sunrise shot. They joy of an almost cloud less sky are the colours.

Eastbourne Pier sunrise. I got up early this morning to try and take a photo. It didn’t work so here’s another photo I got up early for. I had exactly 7 mins of sun and colour bursting through the tiny gap between horizon and cloud before it turned very grey and dark.

Just the way I like it.

I hope you’re all ok out there during this crazy time.

I had so many plans and things I wanted to do during this enforced downtime. I’ve done none of them. But I’m not beating myself up about it. I’m just taking it one day at a time and enjoying it.

Easter weekend weather was perfect. Oh the irony. I did manage a walk everyday and captured this hazy image on my wanderings. I love a day time long exposure and want to try more of them.

Madeira is a photographers dream. The wildness of it. The ocean. The mountains. I can’t wait to go back there someday. If we’re ever allowed out side again. What’s keeping you sane during this lockdown. Apart from Joe Exotic memes.

I love this spot and had planned this shot for like ever. On this evening I set out and made the difficult walk to the lighthouse to find perfect conditions and amazing light. A couple of other photographers already set up I searched for compositions. I took a couple of photos with my phone, including this one. But before I could set up my camera the coastguard arrived and moved us on due to a tragedy on the cliff. So this phone image was all I had and only makes me want to get back here even more.

Oh and have I mentioned I love a lighthouse?

Inspired by @garycphoto and his amazing light painting of derelict buildings I headed into the Sussex night to find an abandoned building. Of which there are none, so I had to improvise.

If you have a little tower like this in your garden, let me know as I’d love to photograph it.

Sometimes you just need a moment to reflect.

I took this reflection shot while on a boat, in a swamp, chasing gators and pigs and other swamp dwellers on the Mississippi River in Louisiana.

I’m pretty happy with it. I love the autumn colours. It’s been so grey and wet lately.

Roll on autumn

I took a gamble last week and parked up in Eastbourne. I was hoping I had interpreted my weather apps right and was convinced there would be a lovely sunrise. I wasn’t disappointed. It was only this colour for a coupe of minutes but it was beautiful. I need to get up earlier more often. That’s my new goal. How’s everyone’s 2020 goals coming along?

I was planning this shot as a lovely astro shot with a background of twinkling stars but a storm rolled in and it was pitch black. But I like the lack of light in the background and everywhere really. It looks a bit spooky doesn’t it?

First post of 2020. I can’t believe I’ve waited this long. It’s not like I don’t have plenty to post. I’ve just had a very lazy January and it’s been really nice.

The starlings have been out in force the last week so I headed down last night to check them out and as always they didn’t disappoint.

How’s are you finding 2020 for far now that January is out the way?

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