After 5 or 6 months of almost non-stop rain, we’ve finally started to see some breaks in the clouds the last couple of weeks and had one or two days of rather lovely sunshine.

That means it’s time to get out of the studio and back on location!

Throughout the year, even when I’m not actively shooting on location, I’m always looking for new places to photograph clients, models and other subjects.  It’s just something I tend to naturally do when I’m out travelling somewhere.

I see somewhere potentially cool looking out of the corner of my eye while we’re driving, we pull over to go check it out, and I’ll grab some shots using whatever I happen to have with me.  If that ends up just being an iPhone, then so be it.

That’s how I found this place…

And here…

Wherever possible, I’ll go back and revisit locations several times to see how they look at different times of the day, under different weather conditions, and at different times of the year.  That way, when the time comes that I need to find a location for a shoot, I can make a more informed choice based on the weather conditions at the time.

I also go back and visit certain locations after a shift in weather conditions that lasts more than a day or two.

The image on the right explains the main reason why.  Many of the locations around here and in the Lake District can change very drastically in the space of just a couple of days.

If I can’t ensure the safety of my subject, crew, equipment and myself, the shoot will simply not happen there.  No image is worth the risk, and having a list of potential locations offers alternate options if the session can’t be rescheduled.

Last year, as well as shooting at some fantastic locations, I managed to add a few more to my list – some of which you might’ve seen me post on here before.

Hopefully, we get some good weather while the bluebells are out this year.  Unfortunately, by the time I managed to arrange a shoot for this location last year, the bluebells had already gone.

This is an interesting location.  A couple of man made… pits I suppose would be the best term to use.  Once the leaves all come back, it’s a beautiful spot, with a couple of big woods right next to it.

As well as the woods, there’s also another pit right next to it.  This one’s a bit more exposed than the one above, due to it being on a main walking trail.  Most people walking past here don’t even know that the one above exists.

And you can’t beat a bit of early morning Derwent Water.  Scenes like this are fairly common in the lake district early in the day, but that does usually mean a Stupid O’Clock start (or camping out overnight if possible, so we can get started fresh without having to travel a long way with a lot of equipment the morning of the session).

For me there’s nothing like shooting on location.  Studio sets just don’t compare, and the challenges faced on location are half the fun of it.

The first of my location sessions for this year have been booked, and I can’t wait to post some of the results.