Pixel In-Profile: Features Editor, Liam Loughlin

Getting Wet at Niagra

In the normal flow of things, next up in our ‘In Profile’ section would be Bob Singleton. But as Bob is away in Nepal at present, trekking around Mount Everest, you have the new kid on Pixel’s block.

           

I’ve always had a keen interest in photography, which probably grew from my Dad’s interest in the subject. My sister and I used to watch images my Dad had taken from around the world, on the slide projector which I’m pretty sure he still owns. I can still remember as a child, trying to work out how my Dad got to the moon to take photos of the earth and Neil Armstrong. Not realising, as a very young age, that you could buy slides of major events.

Setting Sun in Memphis

My first venture into taking photos, was during my time in secondary school while studying for a GCSE in Photography. Our photography teacher, Mr Fleming, was a really good photographer and regularly had work published in cycling magazines. The school had its own fully working dark room, where we were taught how to develop our own shots. The smell of photographic chemicals always takes me back to my school days.  

After leaving school, academic studies took over my spare time, along with regular trips to Old Trafford to watch United. Photography drifted away and wasn’t

Race Concentration

really in my thoughts for a number of years. At the age of 21 I purchased my first ever camera, a Canon T50, which was very quickly upgraded to a Nikon F50 with two lenses. I struggled with film photography for a while and was always disappointed with the results. But I did what most people have done, read lots of books and learned a bit more about what I was doing. Before long my images started to improve and I also started to try different aspects of photography.

Tommy Hill at Oulton Park

In 2006 I made my first steps into proper digital photography, with the purchase of my Nikon D50. The freedom to see what you had taken straight away was great, and let me experiment with my photography on a new level. This year I purchased a second hand Nikon D300, and the two bodies now travel with me most of the time. Recently, they have been Memphis, Nashville & Niagara Falls and both have done a great job. My kit bag usual consists of the D50 & D300, along with 50mm prime lens, 18-70mm zoom and a 70-300mm zoom. Along with the lenses and bodies, I have various filters and a flash gun.

shooting in

The Lowry Outlet Mall

My photography, like Lee’s, can’t be pigeon holed into a certain genre as I take shots of everything and anything. I’ve tried to include some different types of shots in this article, so you can get a feel of the sort of shots I do. I enjoy viewing shots you don’t always see, and have been inspired by people like Chris McVeigh and Carl Warner.  I do have a big love of motorsport and enjoy trying to photograph fast things as they whizz pass me. A lot of people think it’s just a case of pressing the shutter and hoping you get one shot out of a sequence, but it does take some effort and practice to get it right. There are plans for another trip to Silverstone next year for our 3rd MotoGP trip, as I need to get some shots of Valentino Rossi back on his Yamaha.

South Stacks Lighthouse

Inspired by Lee, I have been looking into projects and have made a start on a project about roads which will start to appear over the next few months.

We are constantly looking to highlight the work of Pennine Lancashire Photographers.  If you would like your work featured on our website and in our magazine why not drop us an email and someone will get back to you.