Photography Course Work: Week 6 - Make a decision on a theme

Ok so the first thing I learnt this week was that the homework last week was not "Moorlands" and the post on Dave's blog was just an example of a theme!!! Doh!!!

Anyhow I managed to get some great shots and also decided that I would definately choose Nature as one of my theme's.

I have decided that I will spend the next few weekends visiting different parts of the Peak District in the hope of being able to get a really good collection of shots that will show the different landscapes that make up the Peak District.
I've been looking at the a collection of photographs taken by profesional photographer and award winner Stephen Elliot and found the following information about him.

"Based in the heart of the Hope Valley, Stephen has always admired the beautiful scenery that the Peak District has to offer and has had a passion for photography since buying his first SLR camera at 16.
Stephen has a love for a great sky with dramatic clouds and will take any opportunity to be on a hillside with his camera.
Having enjoyed working with film, Stephen has since embraced the change to the digital age and the inclusion of computer technology with great enthusiasm.
Stephen also works close to his home at the Lafarge cement works and appreciates not being subjected to the daily grind of commuting into one of the nearby urbanizations. Thinking about his next walk and the chance for photography whilst driving to Hope is inspired by the surrounding hills.
Stephen supplies a range of prints and greetings cards to several outlets in and around the Peak District and holds one to one photography tuition for photographers of all abilities"

Facebook album:http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.172353576141139.48258.141174685925695
Looking through Stephen's pictures it clear that a variety of settings have been used in regards to Aperature and Shutter with some showing movement in the water and others showing a detailed landscape.
Using a close up focal point to enhance the landscape in the background has also worked really well in some of his shots, giving more depth oppose to a flat look which can sometimes happen with landscapes.
The enhanced colours in his shots give them a dramatic feel and compliment the great sky that he manages to capture.
These pictures below I have taken from his website where you can purchase his images in a number of formats.

The Peak District also proves to be a really interesting place in the winter so lucky for me its winter and hopefully we will soon have some snow. Here is a couple more shots taken from Stephen Elliots gallery during the winter on the Peaks.

Panoramic views and dramatic black & white shots are also other methods used by Stephen which fits in well with last weeks session where we were looking at taking lots of individual images and then stitching these together using Photoshop.