What do you think, Tom, Dick & Harry perhaps ?

I spotted this at an auto jumble back in the summer

For those that don't know an auto jumble is like a jumble sale for car bits. You can find people selling all sorts of stuff from piles of rusty rubbish through to precious parts that are just what someone needs to complete the restoration of their 4-wheeled pride & joy.

I started my photographic career as a media accredited motorsports photographer and cars still form a major subject for me and my work hence my love of events like auto jumbles and the strange sights you can sometimes find.

If you or your other-half love a piece of machinery that you would like photographed so it can be proudly displayed on the wall or on the desk at work please do get in touch with me via my website Paul Davis Photography or on 07866 719730

So what do people think, do spanners always have boys names ?

Do Smiley's People live here

Every photograph can tell a story, it is the job of the photographer to see that story in their minds-eye and to set about capturing it. The story could be about a 1st day at school, it could be the start of a happy married life through to being a story about why the consumer should buy your product be it a tin of delicious baked beans through to a tower crane.

Sometimes the story in the picture isn't complete and leaves the viewer wondering what is just out of shot or perhaps what they would look like if they lived in that luxury home.

Just what goes into that bottom letter box ? Maybe it is a dead letter drop for a spy, letters containing the details of the next assassination victim on the other side of the world who will be bumped off using some ingenious weapon dreamed up by Q and his team or could be it be as simple as a brass letter G not being available and it's just the usual junk mail & gas bills ?

Will we ever know ? probably not

Photography can tell your story, it can help you sell your product or help to capture precious memories - the story is up to you 

Memories la la la

Memories,
Light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were

Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were

Much of photography is about memories, we can look at dusty pictures of our great grandparents and spot how our children really have inherited the "family" nose. But we can often look at these pictures and wonder who the person in the background is or perhaps what the special occasion was that made them go out and spend their hard earned cash to get a photographer to capture the moment.


Yes photography can bring the past to life but it can also leave questions unanswered, questions that would have been answered if more photographs were available to complete the story.


The image above was taken this year in Great Yarmouth and is a relic of the days 20 years ago when Yarmouth harbour provided a car ferry service to Europe , the sign remains, unloved but still a living museum piece.


A new outer harbour was completed at Yarmouth this year and was furnished with 2 £7 million container cranes and some hinted promise of a new Ro-Ro (roll on, roll off) car ferry service to the Netherlands. But now less than a year later the cranes are going and the ferry service idea has been put on hold as the Great Yarmouth outer harbour concentrates on servicing the renewable energy sectors with the older parts of Yarmouth harbour providing extensive support for the southern North Sea oil & gas industry.


Photography can be used to capture the story but of course the story changes especially in business as the economic climate changes. If you are in business you should always ensure that you are recording your history and also presenting your future to your customers & stakeholders


If you would like to discuss your photography requirements with Paul Davis Photography please call me on 07866 719730 or email on contact@pauldavisphotography.co.uk

Song Credits: Bergman, Alan (Songwriter); Bergman, Marilyn (Songwriter); Hamlisch, Marvin (Songwriter); COLGEMS-EMI MUSIC INC (Publisher)

So photography is like loitering & sketching ?

There have been plenty of news reports over the last couple of years of photographers being hassled by security guards or even being arrested by the police just for attempting to take pictures in a public place

Generally it is perfectly legal to take pictures of anyone or anything in a public place and recently the police in many areas have had additional guidance issued to them about how they should operate when they come across a photographer at work out on the streets. Several photography trade bodies & publications also issued copies of the guidelines for journalistic photographers to carry with them

But there are some places where photography is banned these include locations that are subject to the Official Secrets Acts 1911-1939 as Ministry of Defence Prohibited Places, they have signs on them with the rather quaint wording

"Prohibited place within the meaning of the Official Secrets Act. Loitering, photography, sketching forbidden."

and in fact Google Streetview fell foul of these restrictions and had to remove images of many MOD and MI5 locations from its service but I'm not aware of anyone being pounced on for getting out a sketch pad

I do hope I don't get a knock on the door (or worse) for publishing this image from a now defunct military establishment somewhere in England

Christmas WiRE

My partner Antonella is a member of the WiRE (Women in Rural Enterprise) networking organisation. WiRE is the only organisation offering support to businesswomen in rural areas although the term rural does seem to include towns

On Tuesday this week the West Suffolk WiRE network held its Christmas Bazaar at the lovely The Grange Hotel in Thurston near Bury St Edmunds and Antonella was exhibiting to showcase her boudoir and portraiture services. As the weather wasn't looking too promising we left loads of time to travel to the hotel but it turned out to be an easy journey and we arrived rather early. This did offer us the time for a nice relaxed lunch, the menu was one of those that made it very difficult to make a choice as it all sounded so wonderful, in the end we both went for a club sandwich which was a great choice as it turned out to be the best club sandwich either of us had ever had.

After lunch we set up Antonella's stand and had a good look around at the stands of the other exhibitors which included every variety of craft from jewellery to handbags & from painting to artisan soft drinks. Everything you could want to get your Christmas shopping off to a flying start including a boudoir photo shoot for your loved one by Antonella

Antonella together with another local business woman, Maureen Chadwick of Painted Tree bespoke furniture has set-up an East of Norfolk WiRE network which will be holding its 1st meeting in February 2010 in the Great Yarmouth area. So I'm sure you'll be reading more about that over at Antonella's blog in the coming weeks

Warmth in the winter

Well finally my heating is working properly again (after 3 visits from the heating engineer and many cups of tea)

So finally I can start my photo a day blogging

The 1st image I bring to you is of the Platform Supply Vessel MV Sophie Siem at work in Great Yarmouth harbour in Norfolk UK

The vessel belongs to the Norwegian company, Siem Offshore and was built in 2006. Interestingly Siem Offshore is based in Kristiansand in Norway which is twinned with Letchworth which is the town next to my home town of Hitchin in Herts UK


The vessel is a Platform Supply Vessel designed to carry out regular supply functions and cargo transport for
the oil industry as well as Standby functions. The vessel is designed with a well deck for maximum protection
for cargo and crew.

If your business needs images to promote its activities especially in the marine sector please do get in touch to discuss your requirements

The best laid plans of mice

Well I really had planned to blog about an image every week day but ......

Then the weather dropped below 0 and then my central heating broke down so rather than spending too much time shivering next to my little fan heater I decided to spend a few days warming up at Antonella's place. I was already due to be helping her at a WiRE (women in rural enterprise) networking Christmas bizarre where she is showcasing her boudoir and portrait photography.

More blogging tomorrow and this time there will be pictures and I will be waiting in for the heating engineer - burr