August of Fresh Air: Photography Tips, Inspiration & Ideas for August

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A month where summer enters full swing and turns on the charm. The evenings linger with warmth, and nature starts slowly preparing for the next act. For photographers, it’s a beautiful time to be out — with a little planning, maybe find their own purple patch. So let’s get stuck into August’s photographic inspiration…

Focus of the month: Purple 

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Lavender, loosestrife, thistles, and heather — August is a royal banquet for lovers of purple. Moorlands become carpets of magenta, roadside verges offer flashes of mauve, and gardens practically hum with the colour.

Look for contrasts: try pairing those purples with the soft yellows of dried grasses or vibrant yellow flowers. 

For anyone scouring the streets for new shots, look for purple in unexpected places — a painted door, a vintage car, a cardigan caught in the wind. 

Creature of the month: Common Lizards

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August is a prime time for spotting one our only stunning and elusive reptiles — the Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara). These sunbathers love basking on warm stones, wooden boardwalks, or even fence posts. They’re quick and shy, but if you sit quietly and patiently, they’ll often return to their favourite spot.

Photographing them requires a little stealth and a long lens if possible. Keep an eye on movement in the undergrowth and listen for that dry rustle. Early morning or late afternoon is best — they’re more sluggish and the light’s nicer too.

Remember: be respectful, and don't disturb their sunbathing rituals. We all need our vitamin D!

Photography tip of the month: Blurred Foregrounds

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Foreground blur isn’t just for fancy portrait lenses — it’s a great trick for adding depth, mood, and softness to your shots or even masking unwanted elements in the frame. 

Try shooting through something — grass, flowers, a gate, or even your own fingers. Position these close to the lens and focus beyond them to create dreamy colour washes or natural vignettes. It’s perfect for turning a chaotic scene into something more painterly and intentional.

Want to get really artsy? Combine blurred foregrounds with your purple palette — shoot through lavender or heather and let the colour haze wash across your frame.

Inspiration of the month: Edward Weston

This month, take a closer look at Edward Weston — one of the 20th century’s masters of light, shadow, and form. Best known for his beautifully lit studies of vegetables, Weston’s genius was in elevating the ordinary. Using light to carve out textures, especially in his close-ups of peppers, shells, and nudes, isolating a subject and letting the light do the talking. With most of his celebrated work being created in the 1930s nearly all his work is black and white. That doesn’t mean you can’t take inspiration and bring it into the world of colour. Purple cabbage? - Discover more of Edward Weston's Photography here. 

Walk of the month: The Secret Moor

Review of the Month

Had a very enjoyable and extremely beneficial day with Richard this week.
I got a new R7 and we set it up, practised and ran through menu's.
My confidence has increased greatly after the day.
We also looked at Lightroom software.

Would highly recommend a one to one session - John

Photo Walker of the Month: Alan Pearce

A cracking photo from Alan taken during the July Macro Photography beginners workshop.