BIO
A POTTED HISTORY
I grew up in Wiltshire in a small village and soon learnt to appreciate the beauty of the landscape around me especially from horse back as I was fortunate to be able to ride in my early teens.
Since moving to Devon in 1987 I have grown to love the area and believe it offers some of the best and varied of landscapes.
My interest in photographing the beautiful and diverse scenery around me came from regular walks across Dartmoor in the mid to late nineties with a 35mm SLR film camera. My memories of visiting Dartmoor as a child encouraged me to explore and this developed into a passion with the camera especially when I progressed to digital as the cameras became more affordable.
I have great dedication to my art form as I do believe photography has great artistic elements.
I can regularly be found around Devon and on Dartmoor at silly o'clock with camera primed for that fleeting moment when the light is 'just right'
(Silly o'clock is is just before sunrise in mid Summer) and galloping across the moor to reach the car before the black cloud reaches me.
Over the last four years the photography has become a thriving business with companies such as The National Trust and the National Park Authority exhibiting and selling my work.
I have been widely published and many of my images have found happy homes on walls throughout the world including New Zealand, Australia and the USA.
In May 2008 I was thrilled to have a book published called 'Perfect Dartmoor' in hardback by Halsgrove . 2009 brought 'Dartmoor A Winters Tale' and a third is due in 2010 and now a fourth (not Dartmoor this time) in 2011.
I consider myself fortunate in that I can continue to fulfill my desire to spend time around Devon and on Dartmoor continually searching for more striking and satisfying images that others can enjoy.
I feel that through people from all over the world visiting my site, I am making a small contribution towards promoting one of the most wonderful areas of the British Isles.
MY CURRENT EQUIPMENT LIST
My original plan was to upgrade to a Canon 5DmkII but I am going to venture down the Nikon Full frame route eventually so I will be keeping the 5D for the time being.
So my current line up is as follows....
Canon EOS 5D. My trusty hard working Full frame DSLR. It is my current choice due to having a full frame sensor thus being very capable in low light.
It is three years old and has a few marks and scratches but works hard having been exposed to just about every kind of weather.
I have also recently purchased a Nikon D90 with three lenses.
Nikon 16-85mm f/4-5.6 VRII. This is an absolutely superb, imaged stabilised, sharp lens.
Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VRII zoom.
Great for the D90 as it becomes a 105-450mm with the APS-C sensor size. Its also DX so will work on a full frame Nikon.
And a little jewel of a lens.
The Nikon AF NIKKOR 50mm f1.8.
This is the one of sharpest lenses I have yet used. Great for portraits.
My Canon lenses are;
'L' series 17-40mm f4L. This one is excellent for wide angle with the 5D.
'L' series 24-105 f4L. Excellent for weddings/portraits due to having image stabilisation.
I currently use a Manfrotto 055 XPROB with 488RCO ball head. Very sturdy and rigid.
Filters I occasionally use.
I am in both camps with balancing exposures using grads when possible as I think this gives more realistic images and exposure blending in CS4 when I need to.
I use UV and Polarising filters that also help to protect the lens elements.
I use the Lee foundation system with .3, .06 and .9 soft and hard grads.
I also have useful ND filters. One is a 3 stop ND8 and the other a 10 stop B+W which is simply superb for long exposures when used with a .6 or .9 grad.
Good waterproof camera bags
Canon RS-80N3 remote release. (essential with long exposures)
Canon 430EX Flash gun
Nikon SB600 flash gun
Thanks for reading.
Adrian Oakes 2010