Last Tuesday we set out for a day in the charming company of professional photographer Ian Badley and avid DP reader Dave Johnson.

Starting out at a very windswept Milford on Sea, we travelled on to take in the sights at Keyhaven, before venturing into the New Forest for the afternoon. During our mini treks across the Hampshire countryside, Ian worked on Dave’s ability to ’see’ a shot, concentrating mainly on his compositional skills.

By then end of the day - when we paused to photograph the sun dipping below the tree-lined horizon - Dave’s shots showed a marked improvement, and we were all able to reflect upon a successful and enjoyable day.

Many thanks to Ian Badley, who was a fantastic teacher and wonderful company, and to Dave Johnson for his whole-hearted enthusiasm.

Read more about Dave’s experience and see some of his fantastic photos in issue 78 of Digital Photographer, on sale 2nd January.

Find out more about pro photographer Ian Badley and his fantastic photo workshops - at home and abroad - including his upcoming days run in partnership with David Noton at: www.ianbadley.com

It seems that the weekend just passed was chosen as THE weekend to celebrate the miracle of nature, and the joy that bringing new lives into the world brings.

Granted, babies, pups, kittens, chicks and all manner of human, furry or feathered offspring are brought into the world every day, but on a personal note, a friend and a family member each became parents over the weekend (second time around for the former). In addition, my other half’s sister and her fiancee invited us to meet their two latest additions to their family: two adorable tabby/white kittens, called Merry and Pippin.

Naturally, this called for a photography session (once we managed to unhook the little furry bundles from our clothes - they stick like velcro!). It’s been nearly a year since I did similar shoots with my own (now grown up) kitten Apollo, and I’d forgotten how much fun (and hard work) photographing them could be.

It took a lot of perserverence, and some excellent entertainment skills from their human ‘mother’ (feathers on sticks are a godsend in these situations) but we eventually got some great shots of the kitten’s adorable little faces, among the ones of the backs of their heads.

If you or a friend / family member have recently extended your respective families, I urge you to record as much of the early stages of the bouncing babe/kit/pup’s new life as you can. Take inspiration from the way that they see the world - things look very different when seen through a newborn’s eyes - and try and integrate that into your photography to give your images a unique perspective.

Above all, enjoy the challenge of documenting their development and make the most of their youth while you can - it never seems to last as long as we’d like.

DP-featured pro photographer Jackie King is running the New York Marathon in aid of “Refuge” - her first ever attempt at such a feat! She’s been training hard nd would really appreciate your support. Sponsor Jackie at:  http://jackieking.net/index.php/newsandevents/

Last week saw the latest installment of ‘Improve My Photography Skills’, which proved to be yet another resounding success.

This month’s lucky reader, Bob Graham, hails from sunny Dorset, and was delighted to be chosen to accompany myself and multi-award-winning professional photographer, Jackie King (www.jackieking.net) to the beautiful Beaulieu (www.beaulieu.co.uk) in Hampshire.

This location is excellent for photographers with a diverse range of interests, as there’s something for everyone: the renowned National Motor Museum and James Bond Experience, set the beautiful grounds, complete with Victorian flower and kitchen gardens, Beaulieu Abbey and Palace House, to name a few. If you’re into firework photography, be sure to visit Beaulieu for its annual Fireworks Spectacular on 25th October.

For our visit, we were blessed with beautiful (if a little chilly) weather with fantastic light that was perfect for a day’s photography, and the company was excellent. Bob really summed it up when he said: “It’s the first time in months that I’ve laughed all day. Best moment of the day — all of it. Worst moment — ending it.”

Check out issue 76 - out on 6th November - for the full article and some of Bob’s fantastic images taken on the day.

Well I’ve just returned from sunny Edinburgh (no sarcasm intended - it really was!) where I was introduced to the shiny new Alpha 900 and had a chance to take a pre-production model for a spin.

Following a seemingly interminable build-up to the launch, it was exciting to be invited to this event - having recently reviewed the Nikon D700, I was particularly keen to see how Sony’s latest offering would stack up to the competition.

On paper, the A900 looks very interesting indeed, with a colossal 24.6mp full frame ‘Exmor’ sensor, Dual BIONZ processors and in-body Sony Super SteadyShot. In the hand, its ergonomic grip fits like a glove and the philosophy: ‘one button = one function’ makes it easy to use too.

The 3in LCD is very clear and capable of displaying incredible detail. The anti-reflective coating is very effective and enabled me to check my images without any trouble at all, even in full sunlight. The viewfinder is equally as impressive, offering 100% frame coverage.

We were a little surprised at Sony’s decision not to include Live View, being told that they didn’t see it as being ‘as important’ as other features. The Live Preview feature - which allows you to take a test shot and preview the effect of altering the WB or applying different settings using the Dynamic Range Optimiser for example, before taking the final shot - to be innovative, if a little time-consuming to use.

As we weren’t able to use full production models during the conference, we can’t pass judgement on the image quality produced by the A900, however I’ve uploaded a few test shots taken while out and about in Edinburgh to whet your appetite (see below). Hopefully we’ll get our hands on a full-fat version very soon for an in-depth review.

So what do you all make of Sony’s latest offering? IMO, it’s great that Sony users now have something to aim for above the A700, and there’s no doubt that the A900 is a formidable camera with some fantastic features - however I’m not sure that it’s going to be able to hog the limelight for long, with the Nikon D700 going from strength to strength and the long-anticipated new model from Canon lurking around the corner…

Pro photographer and past DP contributor Glyn Davies (www.glyndavies.com) will be appearing in an ITV Wales programme tomorrow night at 8pm. ‘Tidal Wales’ takes a look at the people whose lives are governed by the tides that shape the coast of Wales. Look out for Glyn in the section filmed at the barren Dulas Estuary.

Unfortunately, pro portrait photographer Jim Herrington’s email address was misprinted in the portrait feature in issue 72. It should read: jim@jimherrington.com. Apologies for the error.

Check out Jim Herrington’s stunning portfolio of work at: www.jimherrington.com

For those of you that were intrigued by our review of the gorgeous book, ‘Cold’ by Thijs Heslenfeld in issue 73, check out sample photos and purchase your copy at www.cold-the-book.com and prepare to be inspired!

The DP designer - Jordan Travers - and I headed over to Wimborne Model Town in Wimborne Minster (suprisingly enough) in the rain yesterday afternoon, armed with no less than 6 tripods, for bizarre reasons that I can’t divulge as yet. It’s part of a creative project that - hopefully - you’ll see the fruits of in issue 74…

For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of visiting the model town, we can highly recommend it. As you’ll see if you visit www.wimborne-modeltown.com it’s a 1/10th scale model of Wimborne Minster, as it was in the 1950’s. The attention to detail is stunning, with tiny pots pans, books and other merchandise adorning the shop windows, a wedding taking place in the Minster Church and all sorts of other exciting finds. There are activity sheets for children too, along with a play area, putting lawn, model railway and tea rooms overlooking the gardens.

The place is run by volunteers, who do an amazing job of maintaining the model town and putting on special events, like the upcoming Candlelight Evenings (20th & 27th August, 6.30pm-10pm - see website for more details).

Thank you to Pauline Stevens, who kindly allowed us to invade the streets of the model town, for the purposes of a crazy creative vision!

Natalie posed this question on the forum, which got me thinking…

Photography is a powerful medium.

Advertisers have long exploited photography’s ability to communicate how we should look, what we should buy and how we should behave, among other things. It’s touted as being more ‘truthful’ than an oil painting or pencil drawing for example, so we’re likely to take a photograph on face value more readily than we would an artist’s sketch. As such, a photograph can have great influence over those who view it, as anyone who’s seen powerful images of war-torn areas, animal cruelty or other atrocities will testify.

Aside from showing us the truth about the plight of our world, photography has the power to educate: how else would a child who’s never left the UK know what Mount Everest looks like for example? Photographs play a huge part in our education: I’m pretty sure it would have been ten times more difficult for my teachers to communicate the concepts they were talking about in Biology, Geography and Psychology for example, without the pictures to reinforce them.

Photographs tell us more about the world and the people that inhabit it than most of us could ever hope to learn through direct experience, and this can only be a good thing. Ignorance breeds misunderstanding, which in turn can lead to fear and often destruction. The more we learn about our  planet, the more likely we are to want to protect it, and, in my opinion, photography will continue to play a huge part in this.

Photography can change the world, so long as we use it responsibly.