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Landscape

Sweating The Details- The Art Of Great Photographic Prints

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“It all ends with the click of a button…” was a comment I heard about photography, at the Private View of my recent exhibition. This is a common misconception, so I thought I would walk through the various stages of how I go about creating art prints for the print gallery.

Black and white photo of a waterfall
©Douglas Kurn

I’m going to use this photo, which I took recently when I was out on a recce, as an example image. I should start by saying that there are plenty of things that I would do differently in this photo, if my original aim was to go and create a fantastic photograph of this waterfall. I made this photo purely because I had climbed down the cliffs to get there, and I may return someday at a better time and with a more structured approach.

This above is the final, print ready, image, so let’s take a look at how I got there…

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All Eyes On Me At The Private View

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It was great to get a chance to talk and answer questions about my work, at the Private View for my exhibition at the Guildford Institute last week. 

I spend a lot of time on my own creating the photographs with certain ideas in mind, so being able to explain the thought process and the actions I had to take as a result of changes to the subject, as well as reliving how I felt at the time of capturing the atmosphere, felt quite liberating.

Photo: Hazel Watters
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Join Us for an Exclusive Art Exhibition Event

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The Private View for my exhibition with Stephen Kinder, landscape painter, is on this Thursday (February 13th) at the Guildford Institute in Surrey. Here’s why… Read More »Join Us for an Exclusive Art Exhibition Event

The Day Of The Dastardly Ducks

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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
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Wildfires at home and abroad

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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.

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Capturing The Beauty of Sunrise on Clean Air Day 2023

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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!

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Sunset Or Light Pollution over Brooklands?

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As we enter 2023, I realised that it was 15 years ago that I took the first photo that formed the basis of my Spirit Of Brooklands project. 

At the time, I had just bought a new camera which was meant to be good at long exposures, and I wanted to test it out. The darkest place I could think of was a banked section of the former Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit, where there was no artificial lighting, so would be pitch black after dark.

The Brooklands Byfleet Banking at night. with trees on either side, and what looks like a lovely orange sunset against a pink sky, but it is in fact light pollution from a nearby residential area.
The Byfleet Banking, Brooklands Race Track, by Douglas Kurn.
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The Calm Of The Morning Sun

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There’s something wonderfully calming about being up and about as the sun rises over the horizon first thing in the morning, especially after the shock of the 4am alarm call! Sunrise is when nature wakes up and the sounds of the birds let you know that day is beginning and there is work to be done.

Sunrise over a coastal nature reserve. Photo by Douglas Kurn
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It’s Earth Day And That’s Worth Celebrating

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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
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Trans-Atlantic Art Dealer

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As well as commissioned photography I also sell limited edition prints. I’ve attended various art fairs over the years with mixed success, but the Internet has proved extremely useful for making sales without having to shell out for an expensive stand, pack everything up, hire a van, drive to the fair, unpack everything, hang it up, spend a number of days trying to hawk my wares, and at the end reversing the whole procedure!

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