Blog

A page showing a link to my other gallery that may be of interest where you can browse photos and order gifts:http://www.galleryprintsuk.net/susan-tinsley/photo/110213.html.

A simple guide to transferring photo prints onto wooden blocks.

Six simple tips to think about when taking sunrise or sunset photographs.

Basic landscape photography tips for those who are starting out on this genre of photography.

My Liverpool home is about my return to Liverpool and taking the ferry across the Mersey with photos of the architecture and Liverpool skyline.

Another Liverpool visit where beautiful architecture can be found in the city, both old and modern,indoors and outside.

The postman has just delivered the cards, and they are FABULOUS! Half will be set aside as a birthday present for my daughter next month, who likes writing letters, and the rest will be for myself to use as birthday cards. Thank you so much for the prompt despatch."

J.D Milton Keynes


Thanks for the card that arrived today, loved the font you used.

P.C Luton


Love the photo!

W.S London


Just to say another mega thanks for the gorgeous cards that arrived today.

L.A West Midlands


My photo arrived, thank you Sue. It is absolutely gorgeous.

J.T-B Nottinghamshire

Sue, came down yesterday and took some pics of Ed and Me.
Fantastic, what you have done Sue,
So guys, if you want a photo doing, a bit special, Sue Tinsley is the girl!!
Thanks Sue, made up.

G.B -Southport,Merseyside


Postie has just been and I LOVE the photo!!! Its really good...Thanks very much.

D.C Thirsk,Yorkshire

Many thanks for what you have done, I am so made up.Its all on the wall now, looks great.

G.B -Merseyside

I'm just home from work and the Christmas cards have arrived. They're absolutely beautiful and I'm delighted with them! Thank you so much.

J.M - County Down

People often ask me if I have photos of certain types of animals but unless they roam the landscape I often shoot the answer is no. So I decided to take a trip to Chester Zoo.

Now the last time I visited this zoo, my son was about 2 years old and it was raining heavily and all the animals went indoors so we saw next to nothing! This time the weather was dry with occasional sunny spells and perfect for photo shooting.

Arriving at the zoo it cost me £18 to enter and armed with a map of the area I headed to see the elephants knowing that there will be some babies and I can't resist that!

Although there were signposts and I had a map,I have a habit of wandering off track if something catches my eye which I did with regularity here which meant I must have walked round the zoo at least six times often passing places I had already visited!

Many animals seemed a bit sleepy on the day, must have been the warm sunshine. When nothing seemed to be happening I decided to be brave and ventured into the butterfly house and the bat house.People that know me, know I hate things flying round me.

I was also impressed that the zoo was beautifully landscaped and wasn't just about animals. A day isn't really long enough to wander round and capture everything you want to see so a return visit will be on the cards. You will find some of the animal portraits for sale on my website.....

Spent the weekend hosting a photography and art exhibition at Fit for Life on Lord Street Southport where they sell Herbalife products but have a room that can be hired for exhibitions and meetings on a small scale.

As it was an unexpected opportunity I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for the exhibition and fortunately I had some stock to display.I was told about the opportunity on Wednesday so that gave me 2 days to get everything ready as well as doing a pet photography shoot and having a promised afternoon out with family for my son's 21st birthday! Talk about stress!!

Normally when preparing for an exhibition, it is advisable to send out invitations to local businesses and people that you think may be interested. People do like to receive a personal invitation especially if a few nibbles and drinks are thrown in.

You should also have a "theme" so that all the photographs or artwork tie in together. You can do this by either naming a theme and finding artwork to match or seeing what artwork you have in your archives and naming a theme to suit the images.

Finding a place to hold an exhibition can be difficult and pricey. You need to think about how much light is in the room where you want to showcase your work. White walls probably works best and lighting reflects off these walls. You need a room that is a decent size for people to wander and browse.

Approaching businesses who have not held an exhibition before can be of benefit to both yourself and the establishment as you both gain exposure especially if the establishment is a cafe/restaurant and you invite friends to view your gallery. The cafe makes money from selling food and drinks to your friends and many prospective clients could be gained from people who drop in over the week to eat at that cafe.

I'm afraid that for this exhibition my artist friend and I broke all the rules so getting people into the shop was more difficult! However, inroads were made and numerous business cards were given out.

Our next exhibition we are planning for nearer Christmas so with that in mind we can be more prepared.

Last year I entered a photo competition on Facebook to try and win a 3 night stay at a National Trust cottage. The theme was Autumn and after a visit to the Lake District I had a few autumnal photos to choose from.

In the end I entered this photo and asked friends and family to vote for it to give me a chance of being considered by the judges who had the final say in the winning photograph.

I was delighted to get an email declaring my entry as a winning one and booked a cottage in the Lake District called Tanner Brow which is on the other side of Windermere by Far Sawrey near Hawkshead.

Having never stayed in a National Trust cottage before, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable and how they were like a home from home with all the amenities that you needed.

To get to the cottage we drove to Bowness on Windermere where we caught the ferry to take us across the lake. The ferry trip only takes about 5 to 10 minutes and costs £4.30 for a car and passengers. Much cheaper and quicker than driving all round the lake to get to your destination.

Tanner Brow was one of a few cottages tucked away from the shoreline of Windermere and the views were fantastic. When we arrived there had been recent snowfall and it looked magical.

It was a photographer's paradise but unfortunately 3 days soon flew by.I did manage to get out and about despite the blocking of some roads due to heavy snow and overturned cars.

Tarn Hows was a place I wanted to visit but had to change plans so I continued to Coniston on the mountain roads with hairpin bends. Thankfully the roads were clear even if the sides were piled high with snow.

Coniston is the place where Donald Campbell died attempting to break the speed record on water on Coniston Lake. Such a beautiful place that has known tragedy.

As it was so cold, we had a hot drink at the Bluebird cafe (named after Donald Campbell's boat)before leaving to return to the cottage via Hawkshead where we saw the grammar school that William Wordsworth attended. If you like architecture then you will like all the features of this building.

The Lake District is full of character with it's beautiful stone buildings, fantastic scenery and stories of people who have made it famous. It's no wonder that I return time and time again....