John Gravett has been running a photographic company based in the Lake District since 1999. His photographic workshops are for people of all abilities and are mainly held in the Lake District but he also runs occasional trips abroad. His main interest now is in landscape photography but he started out as a sports photographer in the 1980’s. He has contributed to a number of photographic magazines and last year he published a book entitled “Photoshop for Landscape Photographers”.
John treated us to a selection of lovely images taken in the Lake District over the last year. These were divided in to the four seasons and examples were shown from each. The majority of John’s images were landscapes but in the spring he had photographed daffodils at close quarters with a macro lens and bluebells from an unusual perspective by placing his camera on the ground. Summer had provided the opportunity to take images of rain drops bouncing off the bonnet of his car although he assured us that there really had been some good weather during July and August. He also demonstrated his versatility by showing images of wildlife taken during the summer months. In the autumn John had taken images of toadstools as well as landscapes. However the winter is clearly his favourite season when he is able to walk the fells suitably equipped with crampons. We enjoyed many beautiful images of snow covered slopes.
At the end of the evening John also showed us some images of his 2017 trip to the USA taken in the National Parks including Yellowstone, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon.
John offered some very useful advice which included “always have a camera with you” and made the point that even images taken with a mobile phone can be printed up to a reasonable size. He is a strong advocate of using a tripod saying that this helps him compose an image. His focus on detail was clearly demonstrated in his images, he pays particular attention to how different elements balance each other and fit together. Another piece of advice offered was that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only different types of lighting”. John clearly goes out in all weathers, a great example to those of us, including myself, who prefer to remain indoors when it is pouring with rain. Many of his images illustrated that very atmospheric images can be taken in poor weather.