Blog

First Published 20th September 2020

Dartmoor’s red telephone boxes are slowly disappearing from our towns and villages. The style icon dating back over 80 years is a casualty of the advance of the mobile phone. The UK once had a network of 73,000 telephone boxes. By 2017 this had been reduced to around 40,000 with a further 20,000 due to be removed by 2022. With these stark facts in mind that I decided embark on a personal project to record for posterity the remaining red telephone boxes within the Dartmoor National Park.

Read the Full article at:
https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/dartmoors-red-telephone-box/

First Published 16th August 2020

Dartmoor has a rich pre-historic past with hundreds of sites of interest including many stone circles. Other monuments include stone rows, standing stones, cairns, cists, hut circles and burial mounds. It is believed that most of the sites on Dartmoor date from the late neolithic (about 2500 BC) to mid-bronze age (about 1000 BC).

Read the Full article at:
https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/dartmoor-stone-circles/

First Published 1st August 2020

Merrivale on the western slopes of Dartmoor is said to be one of the best-preserved ancient landscapes on the moor. It is also one of the most easily accessible, ideal for those uncomfortable with hiking into the wilds or with small children. The Merrivale standing stones on Dartmoor are quite fascinating to explore.

Read the Full article at:
https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/guest-blogs/exploring-merrivale-standing-stones-dartmoor-photographer/

First Published 14th June 2020

Our pets are a big part of our families, no matter how big or small they are. In this post I will give you a few simple tips to how to take better photos of your pets.

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/how-to-take-better-photos-of-your-pets/

First Published 3rd May 2020

Who reads social media small print in detail when they sign up? Not many people that’s for sure. When faced with the pages of waffle most of us skip to the bottom and press agree. Blindly believing that organisations only have our interests at heart wanting to connect us with our nearest and dearest. For this post I delve into the murky depths of social media small print to show you what you agreed to when you signed up.

Read the Full article at:
https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/dartmoor-photographer-social-media-small-print/

First Published 17th April 2020

When you move to a new home it can seem a daunting task to make the place feel like home, before you’ve had a chance to re-decorate in your own style. This is where the humble photograph comes in, you can easily personalise your home using your photography.

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/personalise-your-home-using-your-photography/

First Published 28th February 2020

A professional headshot used to only be necessary if you were a model or actor. Professional headshots would be passed round between casting directors to find a person with the right look for the role. In these digital days with many more business people making their connections online it has become much more important for people in other businesses to have professional headshots.

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/professional-headshot-importance/

First Published 24th January 2020

In this post I will show you how to build a mini home photo studio suitable for photographing small pets or creating still life product shots.

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/how-to-build-a-mini-photo-studio/

First Published 31st December 2019

Copyright photographs are everywhere. Online image search functions makes finding pictures so quick and simple it is easy to forget that those images are probably protected by copyright. Most photographs found online belong to someone and you will need their permission before you use them.

In this post I will briefly explain what copyright is and how you can avoid falling foul of the law when selecting photographs for your blog or website.

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/copyright-of-photographs/

First Published 27th December 2019

In the autumn of 2019 I was approached by the Visit Dartmoor website team to write a guest blog post for their site. The resulting post all about how the iconic red telephone box is being re-used and re-purposed on Dartmoor

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/guest-blog-for-visit-dartmoor/

First Published 2nd November 2019

I was recently approached from one of my posts on Instagram by the owner of the Glaszart website to be the subject of one of their interviews. It’s nice to get recognition from unexpected places so was happy to answer their questions.

Read the Full article at:

https://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/guest-blogs/interview-by-glaszart-a-photo-journal/

First Published 14th October 2019

With over 365 square miles within the Dartmoor National Park it is not difficult to find places to visit. If you are short on time it can be difficult to decide where to go. In this post I will give you a brief introduction to 10 great places to visit on Dartmoor.

Read the Full article at:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/places-to-visit-on-dartmoor/

First Published 19th September 2019

With so many photographs being taken year (1.2 Trillion in 2017 according to Infotrends) you would expect every topic to be covered in detail, including women in business. This however is not the case as I and several other women in business I know can attest to.

Read the full article at:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/women-in-business-photography-taking-stock/

First Published 23rd August 2019

Probably every weekend from May to September there will be a summer show or festival happening nearby. In this article I will give you a few ideas on what to photograph at summer shows and festivals.

Read the full article at:
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/photographing-summer-shows-and-festivals/

First Published 22nd March 2019

Taking great holiday photos isn’t all about having the best camera or going to the most exotic locations. You too can take great holiday photos with your phone or compact camera with a few simple tricks.

Read the full article at:
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/how-to-take-great-holiday-photos/

First Published 1st March 2019

Since the advent of the smart phone everyone has become a photographer. We should all strive to take better pictures because no one wants to see out of focus, blurry photos. Even if you only ever take selfies on your phone you might learn a few things from this guide to composition and what better way to showcase yourself than when you take better pictures.

Read More at:
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/take-better-pictures-a-guide-to-composition/

First Published 3rd February 2019

In this post I'll give you some ideas for How to Take Great Pictures of your Kids. I’m not a great portrait photographer, in fact I try to steer clear of photographing people, but being a parent has meant I've had on and off a willing or not so willing model to practice on.

Here are some ideas that will help you when you are photographing kids of your own that have worked and given me some great shots of my child without the cheesy grin or hands over her face.

Read more at
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/photographing-kids-how-to-take-great-pictures-of-your-children/

First Published 27th December 2018

Whether you are new to photography of not, photography inspiration can be difficult to come by some days. That’s why I have put together a calendar of ideas to help.

Several years ago I took part in a photo-a-day challenge to take a photograph everyday for a year. That year I took inspiration from a set of themes posted online. I cheated a bit and used my archive of photos to post a picture a day but, it did get me thinking about inspiration and writing down all those random ideas that strike. For 2019 I have used those ideas plus others gathered from various places to create a whole year of inspiration for anyone to use.

Find out More at:
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/what-to-photograph-in-2019

First Published 21st December 2018

In this post you will find inspiration for things to photograph at Christmas; whether you want to brave the weather of not. Mid-winter is a dreary time of year when inspiration can seem hard to come by. But there are a whole host of things to photograph in the run up to Christmas. Or if you prefer to stay warm inside there are things you can do as well.

Read More:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/things-to-photograph-at-christmas/

First Published 28th November 2018

As a photography I am always on the lookout for new photography gadgets to help enhance and improve my photography. There are a whole range of photography gadgets on the market, some useful and some less so. I thought it would be interesting to see what other photographers have in their photography bags and find out what photography gadgets they find most useful and why. Below are some interesting results from my network of photographers around the world.

Read the Full article at:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography-equipment/photography-gadgets/

First Published 2nd November 2018

With November 5th and Bonfire Night almost with us I will share with you my tips for how to photograph fireworks so you are ready to capture the annual festivities.

Read the full article at
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/how-to-photograph-fireworks/

First Published 27th September 2018

With summer over there are still plenty of things to photograph in autumn. If you are stuck for ideas you have come to the right place for some inspiration. Essential for photography at this time of year is a good tripod, warm clothes and a willingness to experiment.

Read More at http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/things-to-photograph-in-autumn/

First Published - 23rd May 2018

Dartmoor Photographer Helen Northcott is pleased to offer a brand new FREE digital visualisation service for all the photographs featured within our online galleries. We understand that purchasing photography and art for your home can be a worry if you are unsure how it will look in your room with the various canvas and framing formats available. Our new digital visualisation service will help you choose the right picture for your room.

Find out more by visiting:
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/try-before-you-buy-digital-visualisation/

First Published 27th April 2018

Earlier this year I was invited to be a guest blogger on the website of a backpacking organisation. The site has unfortunately closed as the owner decided to walk off into the sunset and retire. So as not to let my efforts go to waste the following is my collection of regular posts rolled into one article about nine places to visit and photograph on Dartmoor, it would have been ten but I only managed nine posts.

Find out more by visiting:
http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/9-great-places-for-photography-on-dartmoor/

First Published 18th March 2018

There are lots of articles around the internet telling you how to grow your following on Twitter and other social media, a quick Google search on the phrase "How to grow my twitter following" gave me over 7 million results.  I'm not pretending to know everything there is to know about Twitter, in fact there is still an awful lot I need to learn, this article is intended to share what has worked for me over the past year or so.

In March 2017 I had around 200 followers on Twitter, but I wanted to get my photography out to a wider audience. At the start of the year I started a photo-a-day challenge to post one picture a day. This regular posting was beginning to get me a few more followers but I wanted more so this is what I did.

First Pulished 19th January 2018

Photographs are a great way to personalise your rooms and transform a house or flat from an impersonal space into a truly unique space which reflects your tastes and moods of the moment. Unlike decoration photographs can transform your rooms in a matter of minutes and can be changed whenever you feel like a change of mood or to reflect the changing seasons.

Here are my top 10 ways to use photographs to transform your living space into a home:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/10-ways-to-bring-your-home-to-life-with-photographs/

First published 1st December 2017

I have struggled with the over-commercialisation of Christmas for a long time, I hate the idea of buying presents for the sake of buying presents. I used to struggle to come up with thoughtful, useful gifts for people that don’t really need things. That all changed when I decided to put my photographic skills to use and make a truly personal gift for close family and friends.

Read the post in full on the following site:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/photo-calendars/

First Published 8th November 2017

As the evenings draw in and dusk begins to coincide with rush hour, don’t be tempted to head indoors, why not take your trusty tripod out for an evening of long exposure photography and create some abstract traffic trail photos.

Read the post in full on the following site:

http://www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/paint-the-town-red-and-white-traffic-trail-photography/

First Published 18th October 2017

I am pleased to announce that after much deliberation and hesitation I have finally launched my new blog.

I the site will be dedicated to photography, technique, ideas, my successes and failures. This is the beginning of a journey for me so please come back and see how I get on.

www.dartmoorphotographer.co.uk/photography/got-to-start-somewhere/