Reader Portfolio Daniel Sands, Portland
Spotlight on readers’ excellent images and how they captured them
Daniel works as a senior programmer. See more of his work at danielsandsphotography. co.uk
I shoot a range of genres. I like to keep learning and challenging myself to try new things and see things in new ways. I think my style can be encompassed as ‘fine art’.
I took Photography A Level alongside Fine Art in the early 2000s and bought my first DSLR in 2008. It wasn’t until Bournemouth Air Festival in 2016 that my interest developed into a hobby – I was captivated by photos of the Red Arrows and was determined to capture something similar. My photos formed the basis of a social media following which continues to surprise me.
Historically, my hobby has been a solo pursuit. Sitting in a landscape, waiting for the world to wake up and hearing nature bustle to life is quite alluring. Recently I’ve taken my eldest son and daughter (10 and 9) with me on occasion; a great opportunity to spend time with them outside everyday life. I love how photography can work around your life – you don’t need to travel the world or leave your family behind.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-105mm f/4 IS. Also Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS III and 5D Mark II, mainly for weddings. I’ve recently acquired a DJI Mini 3 Pro.
The Canon 24-105 f/4 IS L – it’s an absolute workhorse.
Local photographer Martin Dolan – his humble approach to sharing incredible images was aspirational. Secondly, Neil Burnell [former APOY winner] – I love his approach to processing and presenting images emotively.
Current ones are TO:KY:OO by Liam Wong, and the Landscape POTY books.
The ones here have a ‘shooting locally’ theme, and were shot within a 4-mile radius of home on the Isle of Portland.
Get out and take photos. Don’t let yourself be limited by how others say you should shoot, don’t think you need to visit ‘X’ location; just explore the area on your doorstep, see beyond the obvious and see how light and weather conditions change the ordinary into the extraordinary. Push boundaries with kit, technology and processing, and don’t try to please anyone but yourself.