Mike's Photography and Travel Blog

Welcome to my blog, where photography is about more than cameras and travel is about more than ticking places off a list. This is a place for anyone who wants to see more, think more deeply, and tell better visual stories—whether you're exploring another country or simply walking around your own neighbourhood. This blog takes a look at some simple steps you can take to improve your smartphone photography. With the school holidays almost upon us, and the time when when you might be grabbing a well-deserved break with family or friends, and possibly heading off to new places, all of which you'll want to capture with your smartphone camera, now's the opportunity to improve your photos. It probably won't surprise you, but it's estimated that over 90% of all photographs are now captured on smartphones, making photography highly accessible for people of all ages. Here are some practical, easy-to-follow tips to help you get the best results from your smartphone...

Welcome to my blog, where photography is about more than cameras and travel is about more than ticking places off a list. This is a place for anyone who wants to see more, think more deeply, and tell better visual stories—whether you're exploring another country or simply walking around your own neighbourhood. This week's blog is not quite a confession, but it could be contrued as one, even a betrayal, well maybe not that extreme or profound, perhaps. Judge for yourself. For years, I was insufferable about smartphone photography. I was the person who insisted that 'The best camera is the one you have with you.' I dismissed bulky gear as overkill, scoffed at camera bags, and rolled my eyes at anyone who talked about gear like it was sacred. My phone was always in my pocket, always ready, and, thanks to relentless advances in computational photography, more than capable. Or so I believed. And for a long time, I was right. Smartphones democratised photography. ...

Welcome to the blog—a space where photography and travel come together to tell richer, more meaningful stories. Here, you’ll find more than just destinations and images; it’s about capturing moments, understanding places, and seeing the world with intention. From practical shooting tips to reflections on the journey behind the lens, each post is designed to help you travel deeper and photograph with purpose. Whether you’re chasing light in a new city or learning to appreciate the details closer to home, you’re in the right place. If you travel regularly, you’ll probably understand the frustration: flight confirmations buried in emails; hotel bookings hidden across different apps; reservation details scattered everywhere. Before a trip even begins, it can already feel disorganised. That is exactly why I started using TripIt. This review focuses on the free version of the app — and after using numerous travel apps over the years, I can confidently say it is one of the most us...

Welcome to my blog—a space where photography and travel come together to tell richer, more meaningful stories. Here, you’ll find more than just destinations and images; it’s about capturing moments, understanding places, and seeing the world with intention. From practical shooting tips to reflections on the journey behind the lens, each post is designed to help you travel deeper and photograph with purpose. Whether you’re chasing light in a new city or learning to appreciate the details closer to home, you’re in the right place. This blog, however, explores the advantages and potential drawbacks of joining a camera or photography club or society, helping you determine whether it’s a worthwhile investment of your time. For brevity I will use the term 'club' to cover both clubs and societies. It is claimed that the real benefits of joining a club are that it gives you a sense of community, opportunities to share with others your craft, and a place where you can critiq...

Welcome to the blog—a space where photography and travel come together to tell richer, more meaningful stories. Here, you’ll find more than just destinations and images; it’s about capturing moments, understanding places, and seeing the world with intention. From practical shooting tips to reflections on the journey behind the lens, each post is designed to help you travel deeper and photograph with purpose. Whether you’re chasing light in a new city or learning to appreciate the details closer to home, you’re in the right place. There are places in the world where history feels distant, locked behind glass cases in museums or buried in textbooks. Greece is not one of those places, in Greece, history breathes: it lingers in the warm air rising from marble ruins, echoes through ancient amphitheatres, and stretches across olive-covered hills where myths were born. My journey between Athens, Mycenae, Ancient Corinth, and Epidaurus was more than a holiday; it felt like stepping into the fo...

Welcome to another blog in my mini-series of photography walks, which this week focuses on Harrogate, a town that I visit frequently, not necessarily to photograph, but just to wander around. Harrogate is a town where elegance quietly meets atmosphere — a place of sweeping green spaces, ornate Victorian façades, and endlessly shifting Yorkshire light. This photography walk is designed to help you slow down, observe, and capture the character woven into its streets, gardens, and skylines. In just a few hours, you’ll move from architectural detail to expansive landscapes, discovering how Harrogate reveals itself not in grand gestures, but in texture, symmetry, and moments of light. Here’s a 3-hour photography walk around Harrogate that's designed to maximise variety, variety of its architecture, its street scenes, its nature, and its classic spa-town details. Start in the Montpellier Quarter with its ornate Victorian architecture and the colourful shopfronts and cafés. Lo...