Tag Archives: Douglas Kurn

The Day Of The Dastardly Ducks

Another early morning and another sunrise shoot. This time I headed off to one of my favourite local locations, Chobham Common, although I went to an area I had not been to before. There’s always a risk in doing this as I went with no idea of what I would find, or if there would be anything worth photographing.

There was a certain amount of mist around, which is always a favourite subject of mine, but I struggled to find a composition that worked. Eventually I came across a large pond covered in lilies and, as sunrise was fast approaching, I opted to try and create an image from them.

A lily just starting to open before sunrise. Photo by Douglas Kurn
Continue reading →

Wildfires at home and abroad

Hankley Common after the wildfire of July 2022, which was declared a major incident by the fire service. Photo by Douglas Kurn

With the news of extreme temperatures, and the fires in Greece, finally hitting the headlines in the UK, it’s pertinent to remind ourselves that, despite the current wet weather, these things are affecting us at home too.

Last year, around 50 hectares of the Hankley Common nature reserve in Surrey, were affected by a wildfire that took several days to get fully under control. After the fire had been put out I went to see the damage.

Continue reading →

On Their Uppers – Swan Upping Along The River Thames

The Royal Tradition of Swan Upping takes place every July on the River Thames, so I got my bike out again, and headed down to Shepperton Lock to meet up with the Swan Uppers, on the first day of Swan Upping of 2023.

David Barber, the Kings’ Swan Marker, Sunbury Lock, Sunbury-on-Thames, 17/07/2023. Photo by Douglas Kurn
Continue reading →

Capturing The Beauty of Sunrise on Clean Air Day 2023

The alarm went off at 3:20am, and 12 minutes later I was on my bike heading towards Bushy Park, one of the Royal Parks, to see what sunrise would bring. As it was Clean Air Day, I decided that I would use zero emissions transport, which meant it took me around 50 minutes to get there, hence the early start, to be in time for sunrise.

Photo of the River Thames with swans sleeping on the surface, as the orange glow of the sun rising relfects off the water surface. The trees at the river edge are in silhouette.
Just before sunrise, over the River Thames, Walton Marina, Walton-on-Thames. Photo by Douglas Kurn

I mostly followed the route of the River Thames, from Weybridge to Hampton Court Palace, and one of the things I noticed was there are a lot of flies and midges around at that time of the morning! With it being dark, it wasn’t easy to see them, so my breathing was in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Only one got through!

Continue reading →

The Carbon Footprint Of Selling Art Prints

Minimising my environmental impact on the planet has been something close to my heart since my early days, although the way I think about it has changed as we become increasingly aware of how much damage we are doing, and the ways in which we are doing it.

I now run my main commercial photography business in such a way as to reduce my carbon foot print, as well as reduce other damaging practices such as the amount of plastic used, and you can read more about it on my page about Running A Sustainable Photography Business.

Misty Trees by the River Thames.
Misty Trees. Photo by Douglas Kurn
Continue reading →

Working With Actors To Win New Business For Clients

I met some great characters as part of an advertising campaign for the wealth management arm of Oury Clark. They were all actors who were totally up for acting out the humorous stories that the art directors at 3Flow Creative had written for them.

A studio portrait of a man in a captains hat and striped jumper, holding a toy yacht looking despondent.
Photo by Douglas Kurn
Continue reading →

It’s Earth Day And That’s Worth Celebrating

Happy Earth Day 2022. Despite all the climate issues that we have to deal with on a day to day basis, the planet Earth is still a wonderful and beautiful place.

I love taking my camera out and exploring the world we live in and am always amazed at what the Earth and Mother Nature combine to deliver to us every day.

Although I shot this photo a few years ago I still remember the feeling of watching the sun come up on the remote island of Porto Santo in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Sunrise over Porto Santo beach. Photo by Douglas Kurn
Continue reading →

Edition 365 Awards & Exhibition

I’m super excited to announce that not one but two of my photos have been selected as part of the Edition 365 Awards, run by the British Journal Of Photography. Edition 365 is a historical award that was conceived to capture one day of every single day for a whole year starting on 11th March 2020, which was the day that the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared a global pandemic as a result of COVID-19.

The crescent of the moon above the chimney pots of a house. This image is from the project Lockdown:LookUp, a series of photographs created during the first national Coronavirus pandemic lockdown in England during 2020, which focusses on the environmental effect of living under the normally busy Heathrow flightpath. Photo by Douglas Kurn
Continue reading →

The M25 Motor Wey

Continue reading →

I’m often asked where I find my subjects for some of my personal portraits; the answer is simple – if I see someone interesting I go up and ask them! Take Chas for instance; I have regularly cycled past his long boat on the Wey Navigation just underneath the M25 motorway bridge, and often thought he would probably make a great subject, but the problem was his boat was on the other side of the canal so it was difficult to make contact with him.

Chas’ boat moored on the Wey Navigation under the M25.
Continue reading →

Dentist

In the first week of January I did my first job of 2019 – some executive portraits. One of my subjects said that she hated having her picture taken. I spent some time trying to convince her that it was going to be alright and there was nothing to be worried about. Finally I managed to convince her and she said “Well, its got to be better than going to the dentist!”

So for 2019 my new strap line is:  Douglas Kurn, photographer – better than going to the dentist!