The Photographer:       George R Hopkins

Born and educated in the North West of England, now retired after a long career as an Engineering Designer for many different industries, spent some time working  around mainland Europe which probably gave me the opportunity to do some  travel photography.  

My passion was always walking or climbing over mountain terrain and its rewards of solitude , fantastic scenery and being one with nature for a short time. Photography for me came into existence from 3 different time periods 1960's, 1980's and 2000 onwards. From about 1968, the late Swinging Sixties was being transformed and I started taking images  of the "SuperGroups,", the 80's was the adventurous/travelling period and then from 2000 onwards photography took a firm hold with the digital age.

Most of my images have the minimum amount of manipulation,  landscapes are  usually 2 exposed images combined into one, wildlife images are usually cropped to see better detail. Its always better to get most of it right "in camera".

 

The Photography Tools:

Currently using Canon equipment by way of a Canon 5D mk111

for landscapes and a Canon 7D mk11 for wildlife.

Attached to them could be :

17-40L f4

24-105L f4

100L macro.

70-200L f4

100-400L

300L f4.

ll ably supported by Gitzo or my 3 legged  thing "Eddie".

My wife managed to keep the camera still.

I think I'm cracking up - Isle of Mull

The Philosophy.....The 3 P's        Preparation, Patience, Practice.

We live in a hectic world these days  saturated with forced opinions, correctness and intolerance to distort simple reality.

What better way to express yourself through Photography,  we can become part of nature for a short time and step back to see  real life values. My Quote "An Image in Time is a Stepping Stone to Eternity", what you have captured is unique for that instance never to be repeated.

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 So when I've been asked for photographic advice I also quote the 3 P's in Preperation, Patience and Practice.

Preparation..........................Think about what you want to achieve, how do I plan it, have I got the right time of day, pre set your equipment so that you can think more about composition, condition and technique.

Patience.................................Slow down, think about what you are doing, try and not be a "snap shotter", if its going to take a bit longer for that lighting on Landscape or Wildlife to appear or approach, then wait, if nothing happens then so be it for another day.

Practice..................................Know your equipment, practice your technique, don't blame your camera/lens, quite often its the person behind it causing user error. Practice will be very rewarding when you start to get more and more "keeper images"

Lastly we do need some element of luck but preparation, patience and practice will help it on its way

Resting up on Curbar Edge

HA Snowdonia Tsunami from the Llanddwyn Coast

Copyright - George Hopkins