Dual dash camera fitting to a car

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At 28th April 2020
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / Personal Work / Photo Gear

Thought you might like to see this, the fitting of a Vantrue S1 dual camera dash-cam to my 2019 Octavia vRS. It’s a kind of no-nonsense mini-guide and mini-review at the same time with some tips and pitfalls along the way.

Further commitment to better quality pictures

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At 15th March 2017
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General / Photo Gear

I’ve bought the new Canon 16-35mm f2.8L mk3 lens – a significant investment but one that’s necessary to have the best image quality available. As one of my favourite and most used lenses for all types of work no other manufacturer has a lens of this quality at this focal length. It’s truly an amazing lens!

Facebook and their right to use your pictures

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At 13th August 2016
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General / Personal Work

I recently had a discussion about posting links to Facebook groups (ie. via Flickr) instead of posting directly to Facebook. Some Facebook group owners don’t like links being posted, maybe because links are traps for unsuspecting users to have their hard drive wiped, their bank accounts emptied and their children sold to slavery?

What’s actually wrong with posting a link to (for example) a Flickr.com page where a large thumbnail of the picture appears in the Facebook post anyway?

Did you know that by uploading/posting photos and videos to Facebook gives Facebook a license to use your content in any way it sees fit? And the license goes beyond that – it can transfer or sub-license its rights over a user’s content to another company or organisation if needed. More on, Facebook’s license does not end upon the deactivation or deletion of a user’s account.

As a professional photographer I’ve had images stolen and used without my permission so I tend to put watermarks on my pictures where possible (not that it’ll stop people determined to steal your image). And usually instead of uploading them directly to Facebook I link them to an external photo sharing website which is free to use and more importantly is also safe to use.

If the owners of these groups insist that pictures have to be uploaded directly then surely they must also ensure to warn their users about Facebook using your pictures as it sees fit?

A boost from new equipment!

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At 13th August 2016
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General / Photo Gear

I invested in some new top of the line equipment a little while ago now and I’m very pleased with the results I’ve been getting from the Canon 1DX mk2, 600EX II-RT flash and ST-E3-RT transmitter.

The new kit gives me greater flexibility in difficult conditions where others might struggle. This really is the best photography equipment on the market at the moment and I’m proud to be able to be using this in my work.

Hensingham awards 2016

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At 4th July 2016
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General

Hensingham Primary School held their annual Awards Evening which recognised pupils’ work and social skills at the school. The awards were presented by Jolan Gidney-Craigen (The Voice finalist) and Luke Reeson, a winner of four medals at the recent Invictus Games.

Evie Pilkington won an award for outstanding contribution to the school (in memory of Carol Brown) and Year 6 pupil Ethan Musgrave won the friendship award in memory of Joan Greggain.

I have put a YouTube video up of Jolan singing “Wishing Well” – please click here for the video.

Helping to re-brand a local school

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At 25th April 2015
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General

Aspatria’s Beacon Hill school are rebranding their material across the range, from their website to brochures to signage and they chose me to help them do it. It was a great opportunity to help a really nice school who have an emphasis on supporting the relationships between teachers and pupils. It was a privilege to be able to assist.

Sleeping Beauty comes to Egremont this Christmas

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At 21st October 2013
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General

The Whitehaven Theatre Group are running a production of Sleeping Beauty for Christmas 2013 and the promo-shoot was great fun!

Kankku trip in the Lakes

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At 21st October 2013
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General / Personal Work

Kankku is an off-road driving experience company based in Windermere.

Fawlty Towers comes to West Cumbria

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Promotional pictures for the Whitehaven Theatre Group were taken for their upcoming comedy; Fawlty Towers.

Whitehaven News link

Volunteer work for English Heritage

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At 9th July 2013
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / Personal Work

English Heritage were looking for volunteers for surveying buildings as part of in a national survey – I volunteered my skills and surveyed several buildings within the West Cumbria area.

Hensingham awards ceremony

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Another year for Hensingham’s successful students, awards being presented by Gerard Richardson.

Whitehaven Festival 2013

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Fantastic photo opportunities all around the harbour presented themselves and I lapped it up.

Troops homecoming parade

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Our troops, coming home from Afghanistan, proudly paraded the streets of Whitehaven.

Grease! Promotion photoshoot

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Whitehaven Theatre Group are promoting their latest production, Grease! They asked me to do their promotional photos.

Dance troupe 15 year celebration

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Whitehaven’s line dancers are celebrating 15 years at The Civic Hall in Whitehaven.

Commission for an Inn at night

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The White Mare at Beckermet is a repeat customer. The images Phil asked for were to cover the welcoming side of the pub during the winter months for his website.

MX5 photoshoot

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A great opportunity to shoot a moving car by hanging my camera from it!

Promotion photos for Panto

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The Whitehaven Theatre Group are doing Aladin this year so I did the promo photos!

My 10 tips for photographing fireworks

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At 28th May 2012
By Dave Wilson
In Editorial/Freelance Photography / General / Personal Work / Photography Courses

With the International Whitehaven Festival starting this week I posted in a recent thread on Flickr about some tips on taking firework photos. I hope this is useful…

10 top firework tips from me;

Use a tripod! And also use a remote shutter release so that you don’t transmit vibrations when you press the shutter button on the camera with your finger.
Make sure you have a full battery and lots and lots of memory card space (obvious but you’ll be surprised!).
If your camera struggles to focus in low light, set it up before hand while it’s light and switch your lens to Manual focus and don’t touch it.
Don’t use auto modes (including Aperture and Shutter priorities). Use manual. And turn the flash off 🙂
Shooting in raw instead of JPG will give you better pictures. But be aware that raw will use a lot more memory card space and you may need to process each shot individually depending on what software you use.
Exposure? Get the right amount of ambient light with the shutter speed, a few seconds should be enough for each shot. Adjust the aperture to get the exposure on the fireworks right and use your ISO to control the overall brightness of the scene..
Don’t use a long exposure because the results will just be a complete mess of whited-out over-exposed-ness. Instead, try to time each main burst from start to finish.
Don’t be afraid to blend two or more shot together afterwards to get the shot you need.
Don’t get in anyone’s way!
Don’t forget to enjoy the show! I’ve shot loads of fireworks where I’ve concentrated so much on the pictures I didn’t get time to enjoy it.

A unique opportinuty

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Eclipse Bowling in Workington opened their doors leading to some great photos including a view behind the scenes at the machines making the bowling alley tick. A great photoshoot under difficult conditions went beautifully!