This year I have decided not to let the negativity that has embraced the media world affect my plans. As recently as last week I was entertaining thoughts of taking on a part-time or full-time job to help "recession proof" my lifestyle. I have decided that photography is my lifestyle now and anything that takes me away from that will not sit well with me. I am planning a number of different projects that will diversify my business and one of them is sharing the joy of photography with people new to it. I have partnered with another photographer and the local Camerahouse store to offer a range of photography courses designed for amateaur and noobie photographers.

Today I had the pleasure of taking some lovely ladies through the very basics of SLR camera operation and I had a ball doing it. The course we have developed involves a sit down session where we take students through the various buttons etc on their cameras and then a few days later (after they have had some time to practice) we take them on a location shoot and do some practical photography activities.

The courses are very popular so far and we are working hard to make the next courses available soon. If you'd like to learn more or sign up for the next class click here.

Other than a few portrait jobs here and there photography has been pretty slow. This time last year was virtually dead so I went on Holidays into the deserts of WA and the coastline of South Western Australia. This year I have been using the down time to re-develop my website, right my Ebook and develop some courses in photography for beginners. I am in essence, diversifying my business and what it offers. I have also had the chance to practice some new techniques in photography and digital compositing. In amongst all that, my search for "darkscapes" continues. I've learned that a very important part of my darkscapes is my mood.

I've learned that, while I can employ the techniques and processes involved in creating a darkscape to any image I take...it doesn't always "feel" or "look" like a genuine darkscape. I've found that I need to feel completely alone (no tourists wandering around in the distance). I need to be a little bit bored (because it makes me look harder for something interesting) and most importantly, I need to be a little bit sad and reminiscent...not just when I take the picture but when processing as well.

The image above is worth mentioning. There were none of the normal indications that the sunset was going to be spectacular so I was very surprised when the last rays of the day did this. This image is a two image stitch HDR.