I've still got quite a few shots to post from my recent trip to Jura, but thought I'd post this one today as I'm about to add it as my latest Mini-PSD.

As you'll see, if you've already taken a look at the original, I made a significant change to the way in which this appears to be lit, i.e. it now looks as though the sun immediately above the structure. My reason for doing this is that the original, despite being structurally interesting, just looked dark and flat.

Let me know if you think it works.

And if you're wondering what it is, it's a straight-up view of one of the spires on St. Annes pier.

This is one of those shots that almost didn't get taken, simply because it wasn't what I was intent on shooting at the time. Let me explain. Ian Mylam and I had spent a good couple of hours photographing from the end of the jetty near the Jura hotel, and we'd got some good shots and had just about decided to wrap it up for the night. At that point a fishing boat pulled up at the end of the jetty so I started taking a few shots of the boat in profile against the increasingly dark sky. The shots weren't working out - mostly because the boat was rocking in the water and I couldn't get a decent shutter speed without cranking the ISO up to at least 12800 so I gave up.

As I started packing away my gear I wandered to the rear of the boat, which I hadn't even looked at at this point, and noticed that a) it was well lit ... well, relatively well lit, and b) it was a whole lot more interesting than trying to photograph the boat as a whole.

So I grabbed a few frames and we headed back to the Jura Lodge for a nightcap or two. And I'm glad I did as I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Bones on the Isle of Jura. And beyond that I'm not sure what to tell you about this one other than to say that I processed it to create a slightly darker mood than the original. And I also thought about toning this one, with maybe a weak sepia-like tone, but each tone I tried seemed to soften the mood. In the end I just left it in black and white.

As always, let me know what you think.

A splash of colour from the edge of the pier at Lagg on the Isle of Jura.

Here's another shot from Jura, taken during my first evening on the island, from the jetty just across the way from the Jura Lodge.

While I was on the train to Glasgow last Tuesday I got a text message from Libby telling me to make sure I photographed the house on Jura where George Orwell wrote 1984. He was there in 1946 (to 1947), and stayed at Barnhill, a house owned by David Astor, the editor of the Observer. Orwell was in ill health - he died just a few years later - was recently bereaved, and struggled through one of the harshest winters of the century: but he finished a first draft of the book while he was there.

If you're interested, there's a good article here with a lot more detail.

When I looked into it didn't seem likely that we'd be able to get there. The house is at the end of an eight mile track, close to the northernmost end of the island, and we didn't have a 4x4, nor did I fancy a 16 mile walk. As luck would have it we had a boat trip planned for Wednesday morning: from the jetty across the way from the Jura Lodge up to the Corryvreckan whirlpool, and we passed Barnhill on the way.

Next time I go I'll hire a 4x4.

The first car we owned when I was very young was an old Austin A40, and while I'm not sure I can remember this, my father tells me that there was a hole in the floor through which you could watch the road rush by :)

After that we had a Morris 1100, which I definitely remember, and in 1967 (or possibly 68) we got a six month old Ford Cortina Mark II 1600 GT for £700.

The Mark II Cortinas were produced from 1966 to 1970, and while the GT (Grand Tourer) was the top of the range during 1966 it was topped by the 1600E in 1967. This model had the same high-tune GT 1600 Kent engine, but also had lowered Lotus Cortina suspension and, according to Wikipedia, "luxury trim featuring a burr walnut woodgrain-trimmed dashboard and door cappings, bucket seating, sports steering wheel, and full instrumentation inside, while a black grille, tail panel, front fog lights and plated Rostyle wheels featured outside."

Anyway, my reason for mentioning all that is that we came across a 1600E this morning, one of the first ones I've seen for quite a number of years now, so I thought I'd take a quick shot and post it here.

More shots from Jura to follow.

I'm heading up to the Isle of Jura later today, to run a two day landscape photography workshop for the winners of the Spirited Community competition I judged last July, and my fingers are firmly crossed for some good weather. That said, even if it pours down I'm determined to get some good shots, but may not be able to post any till I get back at the weekend. I'm assuming that we'll have an internet connection, but you never know.

In the meanwhile though, here's another one from my recent wander around the Fylde coast with Simon Jenkins: and, as this is probably one of my favourites of the year so far, I hope you like it.

Oh, and my apologies for the watermark that now appears on all the images, but following the introduction of this legislation it seemed like a good idea.

No trip to the beach would be complete without a beachcombing shot :)

I spent quite a bit of time working on a colour version of this one, but the more I looked at it the more bleak the scene seemed. In the end, after trying a variety of ways of desaturating it I ended up with a toned black and white. It's not perfect – I would have preferred a bit more detail in the sky – but I'm reasonably happy with how it turned out.

I've photographed this structure before, but it never fails to inspire me: taken while out shooting with Simon Jenkins yesterday morning.

I've spent a couple of great days wandering around Fleetwood, Lytham and St. Annes with Simon Jenkins. I've known Simon for quite a few years now – through Facebook, my tutorials, and so on – but we didn't meet face-to-face until yesterday.

And to cut a long story short: he's a great guy, it was a thoroughly pleasant two days, and we got some great shots.

As for this one: it's by no means my favourite, but I do like how it turned out.

While I was taking this I caught myself thinking "Why on earth would anyone want to stand there on a freezing cold February day, just waiting for a fish to bite?" ... and then I realised that I was laying on the ground, with my face in a puddle, doing much the same sort of thing :)

When you first looked at this image I would guess that quite a few of you attributed the 1970s like retro look to the processing. If you've taken a look at the original though, most of the effect is down to the lens: the Flare Factory 58, produced by the oddly named company, Dog Schidt Optiks.

I'll write more about this lens in a separate blog post at some point soon but, in the meanwhile, the Flare Factory 58 is a modified and re-engineered Helios 44-M 58mm f/2.0. The lenses are reconditioned, the coatings from the lens elements are removed, and a unique tint is added to one of the elements. For my lens this is a red/amber tint.

It's an odd and difficult lens to shoot with, but I have a feeling that I'm going to be able to produce some truly unique images once I get the hang of using it.

As always, let me know what you think.

From what I can remember these two dummies have been in the textile souq in Dubai since my first visit in 2007, and while I've photographed them before I haven't come up with anything worth posting until this shot.

I spotted this 'clock' during our recent trip to Venice, in the glass blowing factory we visited on Murano, and while I messed up the exposure – it's almost two stops underexposed – I am pleased with the final result.

Here's another RX1 shot from Dubai: a portrait of one of the drivers who took us out into the desert for my Landscape Photography workshop.

This is the second shot I've posted of this guy, one of my students from my Art of Black and White Photography workshop in Dubai and, while this one isn't nearly as dramatic, I do think it does a better job of capturing his personality: he wasn't quite as serious as my first shot would suggest :)

I spent about twenty minutes photographing this guy, switching between being fascinated one minute and cringing the next. And I guess the cringing must have been obvious because about ten minutes in he stopped, leaned over, and, in a slightly puzzled way asked me "Do they not do this to meat in your country?" And I guess they do, though maybe not quite on the same scale, but it's not something I'd normally watch.

And I do appreciate that it's a rather gruesome shot – it still makes me cringe – so my apologies to anyone who now wishes they hadn't seen it.

This is a shot of my good friend Issa AlKindy, posing on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. It's a shame we didn't have better weather – it was a very hazy day – but it was a great location to shoot from.