I had a bit of time off last weekend and decided to use a couple of days to get some self portraits with the mountain bike. Matt Hardy ( http://www.matthardyphotography.co.uk/) and I went down to the New Forest and found a spot where we thought we could get some good images. We came back with some images that we were happy with and we plan to do a few more shoots in the New Forest. It's not as easy as it seems, we have a huge forest right on our doorstep but most of it is off limits to mountain bikes. The trail network that they do have in place are all gravel tracks, it's not really mountain biking at all but aimed at families to be able to ride in the forest. We should be able to find a few spots that are okay to ride in and will yield some interesting shots, it's just a case of looking.

In the evening we went to Christchurch Harbour to catch the sunset, although we got there a bit late and only managed a few shots before the sun sunk below the horizon. I tried a few different things for this sunset and came away with this image.

The day after I went down to Watchmoor Wood in Verwood. There is a skills area in Watchmoor Wood, which includes some North Shore sections and a pump track. The lighting was good and I ended up with some shots that I am very pleased with. I shall definitely be revisiting this location for some different shots. 

To see all of the images from the two days riding please go to the shoots' album.

I have avoided writing a blog lately for a few reasons. The first being that I have been very busy over the Christmas period, meaning that I haven't had the opportunity to do much photography. Secondly, the images I have managed to shoot have generally been for Christmas presents, and I didn't want to risk an intended recipient stumbling across my site and seeing their presents in advance.

First off, I photographed a pair of whippets for a local school. All the teachers chipped in to buy this as a present for a teacher who was retiring after a number of years at the school. So I met up with the wife of the teacher at a local park and spent an hour or so with the dogs. Trying to get the pair of them running together was next to impossible so we ended up opting for two individual shots.

Next up was a shoot for my sister of my niece. Little Lilly was actually very cooperative and we ended up with some lovely images of her, which look even better printed out and framed (I will not post the images here as my sister does not wish to have images of her daugh

So that's what I've been up to over the Christmas period. I hope you all had a good Christmas and that 2012 brings you all that you hope for.

I have a slackline photo shoot planned for tonight, and I'm hoping that should yield some good images, I will keep you posted.

Last but not least, I have finished putting together a slide show of my favourite Sport shots from 2011.
Head over to the Video page to view it. If you want to see it in HD (which I wholeheartedly recommend) then click the link below the video to go to my Vimeo account where you can watch the show in HD.

Until next time.......

Last Sunday, the 27th, I was down at Longmoor Military Camp with R and R Photos shooting the Hellrunner Down South event. This event is a running event with a difference. The 10km course is not just a simple run, but also sees competitors running over sand dunes, wading through a bog and a muddy pool before crossing the finish line, often with a muddy tidemark halfway up their torso.
I was stationed on the finish line for this event, and below are a few of the photos I shot.

I have also just accepted a commission for Friday 9th December to photograph a pair of whippets. I am very much looking forward to this shoot and just hope I can do these magnificent dogs justice. Images should be up shortly after the shoot.

Today I shot the Salisbury Saxon CX on behalf of RandR Photos. Shooting conditions were tricky because of a thick morning mist. As images are uploaded to the RandR site unedited I feel they look a bit 'washy', but edited they actually came out alright.

The location that I chose to shoot at looked quite good when I first got there, so whilst I set up my gear I took the opportunity to get a couple of shots at full resolution (the images shot for RandR are shot lower than full).

This evening I drove down to Mudeford Quay and spent an hour or so down there with Danni. Played a bit on the longboard, and also took the opportunity to shoot the fantastic sunset we had this evening.

Well I finally got the chance to try out my Prolimit wetsuit, and it works lovely. British winter (although still not really that cold) and I was in the water for about an hour and didn't feel cold in the slightest.
No really good shots to speak of. We went late, hoping for some nice late light, and got cloud instead. That's the way these things go I guess. We'll hopefully be back out a week on Sunday for a reshoot, fingers crossed for some nice early side lighting.

Here's a quick edit Matt Hardy put together from the shoreline.
To see more of Matt's work visit his website.

With Christmas fast approaching I thought it time to offer you guys a bit of a discount on photographic prints.
From now until Christmas Eve all prints are on a 3 for 2 offer, that's right, order 3 prints and get the cheapest item ABSOLUTELY FREE!
Prints may be chosen from this site or from any of the following:

Jonathan Carre on Deviantart
Jonathan Carre on Flickr

To order just drop me an email with the references for the images you would like and I will get straight back to you with a price. To view image prices please refer to the Prices page. If you have any questions or queries then, as always, just drop me an email and I'll be happy to help.

To ensure delivery in time for Christmas I would recommend ordering by the 30th November, but the offer will run until Christmas Eve for anybody that doesn't mind receiving items after Christmas Day.

Don't forget that I also offer photo shoots, specialising in outdoor action portraits, so if you have a loved one who enjoys their outdoor pursuits why not buy them a session? Or if you fancy a fun family shoot at a location of your choice that can also be arranged, just drop me an email to discuss your individual requirements.

Or if you're looking for something different why not browse my range of novelty t-shirts or extreme sports based t-shirts. These can be purchased directly from either of the Redbubble stores that the links take you to.

I have a new extreme sports project in the pipeline. I don't want to say too much now until I have started shooting.
Watch this space.........

I've been struggling with motivation a little since moving. I've been working a lot, and the weather has been pretty miserable, but I guess these are just excuses.
That's about to change though. Sunday just gone I went down to a VW show in the New Forest, I didn't get many images, but I may well be going along to the New Forest Dub Club's monthly meetings and hopefully will get some nice shots of the beautiful vehicles some of the members own.
I am also planning on some more self portrait mountain bike photography, and I should be getting a longboard in the next month or so that I'm going to have a play with. I have a few shots already planned for when I get this.
I am shooting for RandR photos this Sunday at the New Forest Marathon and Half Marathon. I'm glad I have some more work from this company as I shot the Llandudno Sea Triathlon before we moved and they seemed very pleased with the images. It's good to be tied to a company as a photographer as it is the potential for more regular paid work.

Anyway, one shot from the weekend. Until next time.......

Well, Danni and I have completed our move to Dorset. We are settling in okay, I have started my new job, which I am enjoying.
I have added some images to the BDS Round 4 gallery, and I will hopefully updat the sports section with images from the National Champs in the next few days.

I may have a new project coming up concerning greyhound racing at the Poole Stadium, so keep your eyes open for more info on that one, I shall keep you updated here on my blog. I should also be attending a few Poole Pirate matches before the end of the season, which I am really looking forward to, it's been a few years since I've been able to watch my local speedway team.

I hope you all like the new website banner, this design will feature as my new sig on all of my upcoming photography work. I was aiming for something simple, but recognisable, Which I have hopefully achieved with the aperture symbol.

Danni and I have just come back from a week in Dorset. We will be moving at the end of July.
I have managed to sort out a job, and we have found a lovely flat, just waiting for all the paperwork and credit checks to go through (fingers crossed for no problems).

The highlight of the trip was meeting my 6 week old niece for the first time. I am looking forward to moving back to the area and spending lots of time with this new addition to the family. She is gorgeous, and no doubt there will be some images of her at some point.

I also found a lovely poppy field whilst in Dorset, and this image doesn't really do the scale and size of this thing justice, it was truly beautiful.

I met up with Laurie and Mary on Wednesday. We were hoping to go and get some surfing in, have a bit of a photo session, but the weather/swell wasn't kind to us, so instead we headed down to Wareham Forest for a slacklining session. Good fun. Hopefully there will be more sessions with some interesting locations, and the surf shoots are planned for when we move down.

Click on the link to view the slacklining album.
http://www.jonathancarre.org.uk/060711-slacklining.html