News/Blog

A Happy Christmas to all my website visitors and to all those who have supported me over the past year, through my website, workshops and at Craft Fairs & Exhibitions. It's been great meeting you all & hearing from you throughout the year.

Many thanks and a very Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year to you all!

Ian

I'm pleased to say the website of Discover Yorkshire Coast has used been using two of my images on its new tourism website! It's been up & running since earlier in the year at the start of the holiday season.

One of Scarborough Harbour and the other of the North Bay & Castle. Click on the link to view the home page and images.

DiscoverYorkshireCoast

The website & the images have been a real success with many pleasing & encouraging comments!

It's 32 months since the start of my website & over 400,000 hits to date, these last 2 years in particular have been a resounding success for my website & photography. The rise in visitor numbers viewing my photographs, not just from the UK but from all corners of the world, is incredible and reaffirms my belief in my photography & how I see things and put simply...I must be doing something right!

Many thanks to everyone who has enjoyed viewing my galleries and for all the messages of support I receive.

Keep watching and tell your friends...spread the word!

My 2011 Red Bus Gallery Exhibition, at Burton Agnes Hall, kicks off this Friday 22nd July for 2 weeks until the 4th August! This is my second year on The Red Bus and is turning into an annual event. This year I'm sharing the event with good friend & colleague - Wildlife photographer Steve Race who will add an extra dimension to the Exhibition and promises to be a great 2 weeks. Please lend your support & come and visit us both on the Red Bus....you will be very welcome!

I will be exhibiting my work at The Odonata Gallery in Otley from the 26th May 2011 through until mid-July. There will be a variety of framed prints, mounted prints and hopefully a few canvasses of new work on view & for sale. This is an exciting new showcase for my work, reaching a new audience and I'm really pleased that I've been asked to exhibit there. Hope you can get along to the Gallery to browse through my images.

I'm pleased to announce my latest exhibition has just got under way at Scarborough Hospital, 1st Floor, North Entrance. The Gallery is run by the Hospital Arts for North East Yorkshire, HAFNEY for short, and the display of my work runs from today the 29th March through until the 16th May 2011.




All the framed prints are for sale & can be purchased via my website or contact me by email at ian.meek@virgin.net.

If you are visiting the Hospital pop along and have a look at the exhibition and remember 50% of all sales will go to the new Childrens Ward Redevelopment!

Hope you can view the exhibition.

Ian

I've been invited to exhibit some of my work in a new local gallery at Picturesque in Scarborough. The new upstairs gallery is called 'Exhibit A' and for it's first exhibition my work, alongside other local photographers, will be on view throughout February. I'm really excited about this new gallery as it promises to be a fantastic showcase not just for photographers but for all budding, local artists and is a welcome addition to other exhibiting galleries.

The Open Evening is Monday 31st January 2011 from 6-8pm and the exhibition will run throughout February.

Hope to see you there!

I submitted a panel of 10 photographs that was up for assessment with the RPS at The Public, West Bromwich yesterday for a distinctions Licentateship.........and passed!

They commented I'd shown a very high degree of technical competency; bold & good use of colour; and what shone through was I obviously loved taking photographs!

As all the RPS council & President were there, which was very unusual, it was ratified the same day and I was presented with my certificate & badge by the President herself, which was really cool.

Many thanks to all those who have supported me over the past 2 years; it's been an amazing journey so far since I started in April 2008, and hopefully there is a lot more to come!



Now for my ARPS...and more exhibition work!

Ian Meek LRPS :)

Hi to everyone or should I say 'Howdy, Are you guys having a good day?'...friendliest people I've come across, really laid back but when you live there I can understand it!

Canada blew me away for so many different reasons, Vancouver is a real cool city; the National Parks have just the most amazing scenery; and Orcas have to be one of the cooooolest animals to see in the wild..awesome!

Over the next few weeks I'll be going through all my shots and putting them on my website, don't just expect the obvious I've gone for a more first impression and memories feel to some shots...hope you like them and keep watching the website, you can also follow me on Facebook now so keep dropping in.

View Canada Portfolio

Watching You, Watching Me, Watching You.


Pink'n'Blue in Downtown Vancouver

I will be visiting the Blue Canadian Rockies in the very near future on a photographic trip, though it's been heavily disguised as a celebration of our 25th Wedding Anniversary! (don't tell the missus).

I'm hoping to get some really good sunrise or sunset shots of the jaw-dropping scenery in and around the National Parks with emphasis on the Lakes Louise, Agnes, Moraine, Vermilion, and Maligne & Spirit Island. Not forgetting the City of Vancouver which will also throw up some great photo opprtunities.

Ever since I heard The Byrds singing "In the Blue Canadian Rockies...... on the banks of Lake Louise" from the album Sweetheart of the Rodeo back in 1968, I've always wondered and wanted to know what it would be like to stand there, take in the views & soak up the feeling of the place; I now have the chance to do just that, to be there and record my impressions & images of the banks of Lake Louise and the other lakes through the lens of my camera. Wow!

Just need to avoid the bears, especially BIG bears!

My first ever exhibition kicked off on 22nd July to a rather slow start but once the first weekend arrived it really got going! The sales and comments exceeded everything I had hoped for and I met so many new & friendly people and they have all been very kind & generous in the praise of my photographs and exhibition, as well as putting their hands in their pockets, it's been simply...mind blowing!

Any self-doubts about what I was doing and all those hours standing in my wellies in the North Sea in freezing conditions waiting for sunrises with people saying 'You must be mad', and 'Why are you taking that?' have gone with all the positive comments, a number of sales and reaching well over 166,000 hits to my website today!

I would just like to thank everybody who came to the Red Bus Gallery and who took the time to look at the photographs and the exhibition and gave me so many positive comments...........but a special thanks must go to a lovely girl called Sophie (part of the battle re-enactment group) who kept sitting & chatting to my wife & I on & off over the Battle Re-enactment weekend... she really made our weekend. Thanks Sophie...hope you like your surprise B&W photograph, I know you liked it....Happy 13th Birthday!

If you didn't make it I hope I'll see you at the next exhibition......... you don't know what you missed!

A couple of 'snapshots' of the exhibition on the Red Bus :)





...& a few comments from my visitors book :)






Thanks again to everyone who made it a great success!

Great news.. I've been accepted to exhibit work at the Red Bus Gallery at Burton Agnes Hall. I will be there for 2 weeks from 22nd July - 4th August 2010. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of my work and hopefully sell some as well!

The Red Bus Gallery is an old converted London double-decker bus...which I think is great, quite quirky...not the usual space you expect from a gallery and it will be demanding to get the hanging and display of the prints & canvases right. In the background I will be playing the lovely, hooky, mellow music of Tinderbox which sits well with moody B&W and serene scenes and impressionistic work.

This is my first exhibition and 'squeaky-bum time' so it would be brilliant if you are in the area to call in and view the exhibition and lend your support. The Gallery & parking at Burton Agnes Hall are free and for all other details about the Hall, gardens & opening times of the Red Bus Gallery log on to the link below.


Hope to see you there!

www.burtonagnes.com
www.tinderboxacoustic.com

I've recently been experimenting with a more dynamic, gritty, impressionistic style of photography mainly in monochrome or black & white. This is in total opposite to what I normally do...long exposures on a tripod, and care taken in setting up the shot...this is much more immediate, a gut feeling rather than reflective.

It feels good to throw the 'shackles' of rules, filters & tripods away, for a short while, and take a walk on the wild side!

I've had a few favourable comments and quite a few 'umms' so I would be really interested in your comments through the Guestbook.

All the new impressionism work were taken using the Panasonic DMC-LX3 compact camera

With the recent bad weather I've been looking through my back catalogue of images deep in the archives of one of my hard drives and uncovered, what I feel, are hidden gems!

For what ever reason they have been sadly overlooked; so with a quick dust down in Lightroom they can come out of the basement and into the light.

I've called this gallery 'Basement Tapes' and anyone with any knowledge of Bob Dylan will recognise the reference and if not....google it!

I will add to this as and when I unearth anymore unsung heroes.

view Basement Tapes

I spent the day learning & shooting reportage photography at Crich Tramway Museum with the Going Digital team under the watchful eye of professional & master photographer David Muscroft.

I'm usually happiest with my wellies on with waves lapping around my feet with no-one else around, so to be out among the madding crowd and to react at a moments notice and nail the shot meant I was well and truly out of my comfort zone..... but I didn't just enjoy it....I really loved it...brilliant!


View portfolio

Images from a photographic 'holiday' in Jersey, where mornings began at 4.00am & sunset or night shoots went on until after 10.30pm, you would be forgiven for thinking it wasn't much of a holiday..
but I enjoyed every minute of it!

View Jersey portfolio


I would really like to hear your thoughts & comments on them via my Guestbook.

Please keep watching the sight and enjoy the views!