Let's talk about the name - Emmet Images
I was born in the northeast of England and first discovered Cornwall over twenty years ago. What an amazingly beautiful place it is with miles of beaches, cliffs, islands, headlands, forests, fields and more. After moving here almost a decade ago like countless others who fall in love with the place, the locals christened me an emmet, an outsider. This isn’t a derogatory term; it’s (mostly) an affectionate moniker and one which always makes me laugh when someone utters it, usually when the beaches are full of tourists or another broken-down caravan causes a long tailback. And whilst I come from a similar background of miners and fishermen, I’ll never have the blood or heritage of these proud Cornish folk. But this place is my home too and I’ll explore it, respect it and cherish it like any other.
I’ve been fascinated with landscape photography since I was a teenager and after moving here I found myself focusing on seascapes, preferring the coast to locations further inland. Over the years I've explored most of west Cornwall's coastline and I've amassed a wealth of knowledge - technical, practical and geographical - along with an impressive portfolio of images that showcase the beauty of this place.
I've shot sunsets, storms and stars from numerous locations along the north, south and west coasts, each time learning a little more about what ingredients are needed to make a memorable image.
And as I explored and learned and grew, one observation stood out. There are plenty of online resources available if you want to learn about equipment or techniques and there are plenty of skilled photographers for hire who are willing to provide tuition or workshops to help you grow. But you'll struggle to find reliable advice on awesome shooting locations and how to get the best out of them. Most people prefer to keep good locations a secret, perhaps out of a desire to prevent them from being trashed or maybe out of envy in case someone else captures a better image. I estimated only 25% of my expeditions resulted in a worthwhile image because the light wasn't right, the tide was wrong, the weather was atrocious or the location just wasn't inspiring (and there was that time I stumbled across a nudist beach - not my genre of photography).
No-one advised me of those considerations beforehand.
I wanted to address that problem, to highlight and describe excellent photography locations as a way of minimising wasted journeys or lost opportunities. But to responsibly showcase accessible spots, which is why I only recommend locations that can be reached safely via public rights of way.
And in this post COVID-19 world I wanted to enable photographers to continue exploring the Cornish coastline without fear or frustration. So these tour guides allow you to explore at your own pace when the opportunity and conditions are right for you.
This leaves you to use your imagination to capture something you'll be proud of for years to come.
So Emmet Images is an acknowledgement of who I am and what I love as well as a means to promote the awesomeness of Cornwall whilst helping others enjoy it. And whilst you could buy a book and a map or spend hours researching locations via internet forums or word of mouth, my tour guides are straight to the point, packed with helpful tips and are designed to accompany you as you make memories. Which makes them something special.
As a way of saying thank you to Cornwall for providing me with so much inspiration and subject matter 10% of profits will be donated to local charities. Hopefully this will go a little way to preserving the beauty of this place and its way of life for future generations.
Explore, Discover and Enjoy
I was born in the northeast of England and first discovered Cornwall over twenty years ago. What an amazingly beautiful place it is with miles of beaches, cliffs, islands, headlands, forests, fields and more. After moving here almost a decade ago like countless others who fall in love with the place, the locals christened me an emmet, an outsider. This isn’t a derogatory term; it’s (mostly) an affectionate moniker and one which always makes me laugh when someone utters it, usually when the beaches are full of tourists or another broken-down caravan causes a long tailback. And whilst I come from a similar background of miners and fishermen, I’ll never have the blood or heritage of these proud Cornish folk. But this place is my home too and I’ll explore it, respect it and cherish it like any other.
I’ve been fascinated with landscape photography since I was a teenager and after moving here I found myself focusing on seascapes, preferring the coast to locations further inland. Over the years I've explored most of west Cornwall's coastline and I've amassed a wealth of knowledge - technical, practical and geographical - along with an impressive portfolio of images that showcase the beauty of this place.
I've shot sunsets, storms and stars from numerous locations along the north, south and west coasts, each time learning a little more about what ingredients are needed to make a memorable image.
And as I explored and learned and grew, one observation stood out. There are plenty of online resources available if you want to learn about equipment or techniques and there are plenty of skilled photographers for hire who are willing to provide tuition or workshops to help you grow. But you'll struggle to find reliable advice on awesome shooting locations and how to get the best out of them. Most people prefer to keep good locations a secret, perhaps out of a desire to prevent them from being trashed or maybe out of envy in case someone else captures a better image. I estimated only 25% of my expeditions resulted in a worthwhile image because the light wasn't right, the tide was wrong, the weather was atrocious or the location just wasn't inspiring (and there was that time I stumbled across a nudist beach - not my genre of photography).
No-one advised me of those considerations beforehand.
I wanted to address that problem, to highlight and describe excellent photography locations as a way of minimising wasted journeys or lost opportunities. But to responsibly showcase accessible spots, which is why I only recommend locations that can be reached safely via public rights of way.
And in this post COVID-19 world I wanted to enable photographers to continue exploring the Cornish coastline without fear or frustration. So these tour guides allow you to explore at your own pace when the opportunity and conditions are right for you.
This leaves you to use your imagination to capture something you'll be proud of for years to come.
So Emmet Images is an acknowledgement of who I am and what I love as well as a means to promote the awesomeness of Cornwall whilst helping others enjoy it. And whilst you could buy a book and a map or spend hours researching locations via internet forums or word of mouth, my tour guides are straight to the point, packed with helpful tips and are designed to accompany you as you make memories. Which makes them something special.
As a way of saying thank you to Cornwall for providing me with so much inspiration and subject matter 10% of profits will be donated to local charities. Hopefully this will go a little way to preserving the beauty of this place and its way of life for future generations.
Explore, Discover and Enjoy
