Just 6 sleeps to Christmas day !!

Hello Peeps

Wishing all my friends a happy and healthy Christmas!!!
Whether you are planning 
…a relaxing vacation with your family on a dream holiday
…possibly resting up alone with a book on a tropical island stay
…maybe you going over to party with your neighbour next door
…or quiet simply just having a down and out BBQ in your back garden

I hope this time of goodwill serves to delight your spirit and feed your soul.
And then let your kindness be a light to a friend over Xmas.
Best wishes Dave and family.

Christmas is almost upon us

Hey greetings peeps!!

December is here and I am enjoying the splendid weather being dished up here in my corner.

I have decided to stay home in the UK this XMAS and enjoy the sights and sounds of London.
Having touched base with many of my buddies expats and others. I know some are travelling home while others are visiting distant shores for a holiday. TRAVEL SAFE and keep an eye on the 'blind spot'.

Loads of people are on the roads and hasty, anxious to get places quickly, which means we must all take extra care over this period.

Here is an image I captured today while I enjoyed a quiet moment in my local gardens in Berkshire.
It was a short period to reflect on this last week, count my blessings and think about all the beautiful people I know and have known.

I also took the time to wish my second home South Africa and its residents, my family and friends there, well over the coming period with the sad passing of Nelson.
Nelson Mandela
Father to a beauful nation
Mentor to our world
Let us learn
RIP

And now I'm on my way to procure some Xmas gifts for my boys.
Have a great Xmas period and give loads of hugs (the return on value is enormous!!!!)
Kind regards
Dave

November nearly complete!

Greetings Peeps!!!

It's November,
Well nearly December....
That means the days are a lot shorter here in the Northern Hemisphere and the nights are longer.
It's also getting mighty colder and light for shooting is not that great unless the sun does make an appearance.
I'v been lucky to get out and take some awesome autumn images.

When the sun has come out, we've seen a rich visual display of earthy colours, an abundance of leaves and all the trimmings that go with awesome autumn.

I'll be posting many of these images over the coming days.
When you do pop in, leave a comment.
It's always neat to know who showed up and what they think.

Here's to getting ready for December and preparing ourselves for Santa's visit.
Have a great start to December!!!

All the best Dave

All images can be purchased as canvas prints, desk blocks or greeting cards.
Delivered to your door and before Xmas.

ps: you can visit further images @
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/david-valentyne.html
https://www.facebook.com/ValentynePhotography?fref=ts

Awesome Autumn

Greetings Peeps!
I hope you are having fun.
It's almost the end of October and it's been a great month for photography.
Autumn produced all the drama, vivid colours, dramatic skies and quick changing landscapes that one comes to expect at this time of the year in the Northern hemisphere. Nature always amazes. That's the great thing about being a photographer. We are continually looking harder, seeing deeper and canvasing that great image. This takes me closer to nature every time I'm out in the countryside. I believe I get to notice those subtle changes that makes all the difference to the 'same old'. I'm the lucky one to observe that first hand and then transfer that to canvas.

I invite you to look through some of the images.
Orders can be placed by contacting me (contact page) and payment will be taken through PAYPAL.

So tomorrow is the last day of October.
Make it a memorable one.
Kind regards
Dave

Autumn colours

Greetings folks,
Hoping you are well in your corner!!
It's been a month of  interesting weather here in the UK.
Windy with a fair amount of rain, yet with unseasonably higher than normal temperatures.
That said, the lighting has not been the best for great photography.
But today I got out and walked some of the local Ascot forest (much of it owned by the crown).
Hoping you like some of the new images.

And so as Xmas draws closer, why not pick out a favourite image and have it mounted on canvas.
This makes an excellent gift and can be delivered anywhere worldwide.

Think about it and drop me a note about any interesting image that takes your fancy.
Wishing you a great weekend!
Kind regards
Dave

September month end special

Greetings folks
What a great month September is turning out to be with warm sunshine in the South East corner of the UK.
To keep us in the celebration mood, I am offering a 'special' to entice all those border line decision makers as to whether to get a photo canvas print or not.
Let's make that easy!

Until 5th October I am offering as follows:

Buy 1 Canvas 24"x16" Photo canvas print and Get 1 Desk bloc 6"x4" free

Back to reality

Well hello folk,
In the UK summer doesn't officially end until 22nd Sept. However the reality is it feels quite the opposite after having returned from summer holiday's, schools are back and work starts again.

I have had the good furtune to visit the beautiful island of Tenerife in the Canaries with my family. It's a photographers paradise with excellent lighting from early morning to late light at around 9pm. The contrast of the island's offering make it a haven to be explored.
I post a handful of new images in the HDR section of this page and hope you like those.

Here are 2 images of the 3rd largest volcano on the planet, before you turn to the HDR section.
I was lucky to walk around the top of Mount Teide. It was quite eery to walk where only a few people venture and then take in the sights from a place where the air is thin and it is always so quiet.

Robert my son on Mount Teide

On another note, it's welcoming to see the volume of new visits from such varied places across the world and I thank you for that. And again it''s very encouraging to gain the comments that a few have left.

Well, while I come to terms with the start of 'back to reality' after two glorious weeks away in paradise I hope you enjoy viewing some of the images.
I have now posted the prices for images to canvas or mounted bloc's on the 'pricing page'. If you like any image and would like it mounted on canvas or bloc, just send me a note. Postage to any UK destination is quite inexpensive and I can also confirm overseas postage.
For now enjoy the rest of the summer before Autumn arrives.
Warm wishes
Dave

An unexpected new buddy crashed landed on Wednesday

Hi buddies
It's been a while.
Afterall it's summer in the UK and for a short while we are out busy, things to do, places to be, people to see.
It's summer break and that means the kids are out of school.
Indeed it's been a time of country side travels, loads of cycling and more importantly many hours with the camera in search of that elusive image!!
Well I trust you are having fun wherever you maybe.

Don't foreget to send in an image that depicts beauty to you. I would relish the opportunity to see that.
I leave you today with an image of a buddie I befriended today.

Here's the short story.
I was returning from the grocer when I noticed this little creature in distress on the pavement. Picked him up and settled him into my garden after taking a few choice images of this incredible chap.
In summary he/she a dragon fly, about 5 inches long with distinct yellow and brown colouring and hasn't moved in almost 5 hours.
So I lay him down and thinking I can't give him mouth to mouth, Perhaps some sugar water or a leaf or two?
I'm like " hey buddie lift your face off the surface".
He's probably thinking, "just leave me be for a few minutes".
I'm again, " it can't be that bad, time to shake a leg".
Anyway, hopefully he'll be himself in the morning.

To my returning readers, wishing you all a great day!
And welcoming new visitors from China, Korea and Latin America.
Ni hao, Anjoung haseyo and my favorite HOLA!

You are welcome to visit my FaceBook page @ https://www.facebook.com/ValentynePhotography
In the next couple of weeks I hope to have my 'images for sale on canvas' available up and running.
So here is that image of my new buddie.

Happy Wednesday
Dave

Photography services offered in Berkshire and surround

Informal and dedicated Photography services on location to capture your life event and experience. Shared on CD as well as transferred to canvas.

I am an investigative,curious and passionate photographer. This means I will take the time and do whatever it takes to create the image that brings to life your dream. I am pragmatic and informal in my approach to making my clients feel comfortable no matter the setting.

I speciliase in covering occasions such as

* family experiences

* personal portraits

* adventure settings

* commercial images

* party events

* modelling stills and artistic depictions

I also love taking scenic landscapes and am very happy to share those images with customers on canvas.

You can find me on https://www.facebook.com/ValentynePhotography

Wishing you a great day!

Dave

Moving through midweek

Greetings, its midweek

I sincerely hope you are having a great week?!

If communication is about sending out a message and someone receiving it...

...then surely a photograph is a great way to communicate. I find that I spend more time immersed in photographs than my other family members and that’s understandable as photography is my passion. When I ask them about this image or that one I don’t see as much interest as I hope for. So I have taken to dabbling in ‘High Dynamic Range’ (HDR), which demonstrates the dynamic range of light between light and dark. The finished photograph definitely then takes on a more dynamic and vibrant feel at times which seems to garner a little more attention.

Adding a description or comment to an image often provides greater context to the photographic message. On many occasions it’s also fine to simply put the picture out there and let folk observe the image, let them construct their own story and derive their own personal message from it.

Here is one that depicts life and dynamic movement for me.

I hope you like some of my new stills on the HDR page and trust you are constructing great mental stories for the rest of your week.

Cheers Dave

Saturday salutations!

I’d like to say THANK YOU to all those visitors who have stopped in at my site.

In 2 short weeks the site has passed 1000 views.

I name some of the countries from where you have visited from:

UK, USA, China, Russia, France, Austria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan,  Australia, Netherlands, Serbia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Japan, Germany, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Kenya, Poland, Argentina, Switzerland and sunny South Africa...

...and so to mark the 1000 visitor milestone, I set a challenge and dare you to send me a picture of someone or something you consider to be beautiful and explain why (email on contact page). I’ll post the top image or image with your words.

To start off, I took this picture of a dear friend of mine’s (Stacey) pets.  It reminds me that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. These two feel and look beautiful. I for one found them both adorable.

Happy Saturday

Dave

Making hay while the sun shines!

Greetings from sunny Berkshire in the UK,
Today has been a wonderfully warm and generous day.
Hell... there's a saying as we all know, 'make hay while the sunshines'.
That's precisely what I did and combined all of my passions, cycling, outdoors, photography and time with my boys.
We set off for a late afternoon cycle and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the countryside.

I trust you are taking advantage of opportunities as they arise?!
Here's to making hay while the sun shines.
Best regards
Dave

Summer arrived with a bang!

Greetings readers

Firstly I like to thank those following my blog and especially those that have taken the time out to leave a comment. And then I am delighted to know that folk from as far as the US, SA, Russia, Australia, Thailand, UAE, Canada, Paraguay and various Europe countries are visiting the site to view my images.  

Well the last few weeks have been exceptionally hot in the UK. They say be careful what you wish for. After a dreadfully cold winter we were looking to the heavens for some warmth. That arrived with some record breaking temperatures. I didn’t have to look further than my own street to witness the rising temperatures melting the tar on the road surface. On another day I saw a dog give up chase on his feline bounty to lie down and take some respite. In my garden I had cracks appearing in the clay earth which were almost wide enough to hide unwanted birthday gifts.  But mostly the searing heat brought a complete stillness at times. I begin to appreciate why the Spanish enjoy their ‘siesta’ in the summer afternoons.

On a Spanish mid-afternoon walkabout I took this picture. 

People and dogs aside I couldn’t even detect a fly moving in the August heat.  Not far off from what we were experiencing back in UK.

Well needless to say we have been enjoying some home cooked BBQ’s in the garden. I can also add the most popular and used consumable in our household has been good old fashioned ice lollies. My family has been devouring these refreshing beauties right up to bedtime to choke out the unbearable heat.

And then like all good things, they have to end soon enough. That’s when the unusual lightening arrived followed by spectacular thunderstorms bringing torrential rain and flooding in places.

In two weeks we have experienced extreme weather from all of the continents arriving simultaneously, which makes the UK an interesting and definitely unpredictable place to enjoy summer.

Wishing you a great day and lots of sunshine ahead!

Dave

Passionate Tuesday

Hey it’s Tuesday and life is great!

So I came across a great reading piece on LinkedIn and wanted to share it with you.

Finding your passion in work

It’s all about passion in the work place & living your dream, since life is no dress rehearsal.

Well, what does that have to do with photography you may ask?

To which I reply, “It has everything to do with photography”.

As photographers we are always looking for new angles, new ways of seeing the world around us.

it's about identifying messages through visual cues or linking natures beauty to our every working day.

And so I have a great picture I took a year or so ago.

Mushrooms grow quickly, almost appearing like a fever over –night, not unlike passion unleashed, with focus and immense power to burst forth, hence the common expression ‘to mushroom’.

Today’s message: “Review your place in the business environment, adapt your position if need be and then unleash your passion like a mushroom bursting out of the ground”.

By the way, when something grows so quickly from almost nothing, surely there is wonder at work?

Share my blog with your pals and then please leave a message.

Big hugs and welcoming Wednesday!

Dave

Broken the back of Monday

Well Monday is dead in the water and we all survived.

There were those this morning who probably thought they wouldn’t emerge from Blue Monday. Well as luck has it, Monday is almost closed and we are here to tell the tail.

As the kids school break beckons I was getting my camera ready for our mid-year summer vacation.

That normally includes intrepid climbs up to obscure places or clambering onto precarious ledges again in search of the elusive image.

The family and self will be journeying to one of my favourite places the Canary Islands.

It is such a beautiful group of small islands, but packs way above its size in beautiful coast line, breath-taking scenery and excellent light and colours for photographers.

I include 2 images taken from one of the islands:

My family are just off centre under the green awning

And then a view across Playa Blanca from the crater lip of the local volcano

Here's to seeing you on Tuesday in good health!
Dave

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Weekend complete!

I don’t know about you, but I experienced a stunning weekend.

It produced the UK’s warmest and fine day this year.

I saw my hero Chris win the most hellish stage of the ‘Tour de France’, just after the Aussies went down in the Ashes 1st test. My one twin son created and brought to market his first phone application. The other tested out some new thrill rides at the local theme park with his mates. My wife redesigned some novel book covers.

The point being, it was excellent weather, superb sport for the British and a flourish of small achievements for my family, all while I cooked up 2 BBQ’s and tendered to my small garden.

Isn’t that what life is meant to be?

About doing what’s important to you and then enjoying that to its fullest. 

Even my garden came up 'smelling roses', serving up the first strawberries.

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Dave

Woop woop it's Friday!

The great British Author H.G. Wells once said, “While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. If at the end, your cheerfulness is not justified, at any rate you will have been cheerful”.

Looking around your local region there may be much to be worried about. But let’s remember that the way we view and perceive our surroundings can alter our reality.

And so like the British dude said, let’s be cheerful & behave that it will all turn out fine!

The fact that it’s Friday today also helps.

Let’s behave this way today and then again tomorrow and each day after.

I enclose an image I recorded in Spain along the side of the road which elaborates the point.

Feel free to leave a comment and then where in the world your at.
TGIF & best wishes for a great weekend!

Dave

Crush the doubt!

Greetings on Thursday!

Life’s journey can be described in many ways. One example can be to define it by aspirations and accomplishments over self-doubt. 

And so I relate a little personal story on one of my visits to Tenerife.

There I was driving up a steep and windy narrow road to the top of this mountain, wanting to get a perch at the top to take that elusive photo on a day where the light was slightly mysterious. I quickly found out as I nervously edged our way up the gorge in first gear that my vertigo was worse that day. It got so bad that I nearly got out the car and asked the wife to drive the rest of the way while I walked up. 

The end result was I made it to the top with a little coaching from my family and much self-affirmation.

The moral of the story is to make sure our self-doubts are smaller than our goals so that we can still live and enjoy our reality.

Here’s the picture I took, still shaking but not yet paralysed!

Hey it's Midweek

Hello on Wednesday (mid-week) as the working day draws to an end.

That’s got to be a good thing, meaning the weekend is almost around the corner!

Well for some of us, it can be difficult at times.

I recently chatted with two friends who are both having a testing period as we all do from time to time.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Like this little critter who seeems permanently on the ground working through daily obstacles.

We just have to frame in our minds that any current challenges will be short lived and that this is a journey and not our final destination. Like this little critter we will experience up’s and down’s along the way. Finally we will arrive at our destination and we will be stronger for our experiences.

Let’s keep it in our minds that we will emerge the other side!!

Enjoy your day and have fun.

Dave

Greetings...

8/7/2013 
It's a sweltering day here in the SW corner of the UK (approx 25 miles due west of the capital London).
To be precise it's 28c today and it feels a whole lot warmer after exiting a mighty cold winter.

Today my first kiwi fruit flower burst into bloom. That is always a welcome sign that summer is here.
Hope you like the image and are enjoying the weather where you are?
Warm regards
Dave

Introduction

Welcome to my site.
It's still very infantile, very unlike the depth of my photographic image ability.

The aim of this space is to showcase my work and introduce you to my services.
Hopefully I will share my passion for photography through the images you view.
It would also be great if you happen to share your observations of my work and your views on photography in general.

Possibly you may refer my services and contact details to your friends and colleagues who are seeking a photographer to capture their personal experience or event moment.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards
Dave