Could you tell us about your new award?
 | | Denise's award winning photograph |
"The award was for Photographer of the Year 2005 in the Illustrative/Pictorial category. I was encouraged to enter some images into these Awards when I presented my panel of 20 photographs before the Licentiateship Qualifications panel at the MPA (Master Photographers Association) in May this year. The standards are extremely high so I was over the moon to hear that I had passed 'with flying colours' and that they were nominating the panel for "Best Licentiate of 2005' and encouraged me to enter some of the pictures into the awards. I received my qualification certificate for Licentiateship at a luncheon held earlier in the day at the Awards weekend and also heard that my panel was Runner Up for Best Licentiate. In just a few months I have achieved a great deal and I am really excited. My plans for the future are to concentrate on producing more pictorial/illustrative images and to develop more of a fine art range of nature images." How did you get interested in photography? "Through my father who was an artist. He taught me the basics of composition and how to use colour and perspective at an early age, but being far too impatient for painting I became more interested in photography which he used to get inspiration for his paintings and then later in computer-based graphic design. It was the immediacy of digital photography that really made the difference for me however and I embraced the technology without reservation." What is it about wildlife that interests you? What else do you like to photograph?
 | | Denise's garden provides inspiration too |
"For me, spending time 'with nature' is an important part of my life and helps me to relax and to appreciate the world around me. I also love animals of all shapes and sizes and am keen on conservation. My love of photography and the outdoors and the thrill of capturing a small part of nature in an image as a piece of art is something from which I get great enjoyment and the combination is perfect. I enjoy photographing anything outdoors from landscapes to wild flowers, from seascapes to old mills - even the most mundane object can look stunning in the right light." Have you travelled anywhere exciting for your photography? "Probably the most exotic place I have travelled was the length of the Mississippi River and parts of America's Deep South. Most of my photography however is from within the UK and in particular the Northwest of England. There are some amazing landscapes in this area and the nature reserves are home to all sorts of wildlife. My ambition however is to travel to India to photograph tigers as they are my favourite animals." Best place in Lancashire for wildlife? "Martin Mere is a regular haunt as I love swans and geese. My local reserve is Cuerden Valley where you can find dragonflies, deer, water voles, newts and plenty of rabbits." You must be pretty patient, what's the longest you've waited for a perfect picture?
"I have sat in my back garden hidden amongst the washing on the line for over an hour trying to get the right shot of some garden birds at one of my feeders. A hedgehog appeared and I 'broke cover' to try and get in position to take a picture of him - I got the hedgehog but had to start all over again with the birds! I have also waited over an hour for a black swan to swim over to my side of the lake for a close-up." Tell me about your favourite photos... "My personal favourites are those which have an 'art' feel to them. Whilst I greatly admire photographers who capture insects and animals in perfect detail and precise positioning I actually prefer those images which are more abstract in their nature and that is what I try to achieve with my own pictures." Anything ever gone wrong? "Frequently! Due to medical treatment I received a few years ago my short term memory now is hopeless. I have gone out and forgotten to take my camera before now. On another occasion I forgot to put a memory card in the camera. Recently I forgot change the ISO setting back from a high setting used on a previous occasion and every one of the images I took that day were too noisy. I now have a painstaking routine to try and ensure that those things don't happen." Any exhibitions coming up? "I will be showing a number of images as prints at the upcoming North West Bird Fair at Martin Mere between 19-20 November 2005, including limited editions of the image which won the award."
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