Unforced absence

It's been a fair while since I last blogged anything - no excuses, I just haven't used my camera.


My girlfriend and I took a trip out with my mum, sister, niece and nephew at the weekend - the perfect opportunity to dust off the 5D2 and re-familiarise myself with my gear! I only took my 50mm prime with me, sadly while there were plenty of nice light bokeh opportunities, the kids weren't so keen on it when my chances came. Still, I think I got some nice family snaps.

And finally, say cheese...

All at f/1.6

Devon

Still not really using my proper camera, but finding the Hispstamatic app for the iPhone quite enjoyable. I've recently taken delivery of a new mountain bike (a Trek 6500) - so I'm sure that will re-ignite the photography bug as I go exploring. A friend and I found a potentially great spot for macro and scenery on Saturday that I'm definitely going to go back to.





Taken at Saunton beach, Devon. Unbelievable weather for October!

Hipstamatic

Haven't used my 'proper' camera for a little while, and to get some inspiration I thought I'd make use of the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone. I guess it's a bit of a gimmick, but I quite like how you can change 'lenses' and 'film'.







All with John S 'lens' and Ina's 1969 'film'.

An update, finally

I've been busy recently, we spent last week decorating so not had much of a chance to post much.

Here are a few shots from the weekend before last, taken in Castle Combe and Calne, Wiltshire.

100mm 1/200 at f/13

100mm 1/200 at f/13

100mm 1/400 at f/2.8

Finally, a shot I particularly like - Steve surrounded by a herd of cows in Castle Combe!

100mm 1/320 at f/2.8

Hot-tub

At four years old, my Niece Sophie has one objective in life - at least while she is at my Mum's house anyway.... "Granny, can I go in the hot-tub?!". It seems to happen within minutes of my arrival anyway, maybe a sign... or coincidence? In any case, she absolutely loves it in there.

This shot alone made the investment in my 50mm lens worthwhile - I am so pleased with the quality of this lens.


50mm 1/4000 at f/1.6

Bubbles!

My two-year-old Nephew James having some great fun in my Mum's garden blowing bubbles. He played with this for ages, even after the bubbles solution had run out. Even that didn't deter him from trying anyway, to the sound of him continually shouting "bubbles" :)


50mm 1/1250 at f/1.6

Flash testing resumed...

Finally took a trip out with my new flash setup this weekend, got some good practice with the off-camera flash and how certain settings affect lighting etc.

My favorite of the bunch was typically taken when I got home, in my garden... but very happy with the results.


1/200 at f/13 ISO400 and FEV -4/3

I definitely feel like I'm understanding better how flash exposure compensation affects certain situations, and also thinking more about the position of the flash respective to the lens and subject.

Keeping it simple

I've not been out to shoot much of late, but this is one a of a small number of recent shots taken in my garden. I just like the simplicity of this shot, and the colour. Purposely shot wide open to make the most of the background. This bug (which I believe is some kind of weevil) was so small that even the small depth of field doesn't leave much of it out of focus.


100mm 1/1000 at f/2.8

Something for the weekend

Thought I'd post something with a little colour, to remind myself that this is actually summer... not that I would know considering all the rain and low temperatures we've had.

Taken with my 50mm lens, these are some crocosmia's which are about to bloom in my garden. I like the shot, the shallow depth of field allows for a nice arty style. I purposely shot partly away from the green leaves to get a bit more depth to the background.


1/4000 at f/1.4

Testing f/1.4...

Ok, so I gave up on Sigma (a shame, because I really wanted a good copy of that lens) and after weeks of pondering I have replaced it with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM... cannot justify the f/1.2 L, that is silly money!

My main reasoning for wanting a 50mm prime is that I really want to try and both broaden my horizons (less macro maybe?) and to force me to think more about composition (no zoom to help!).

Just playing around with it this evening, but already I am mightily impressed at the sharpness as f/1.4. The AF is also ok, though I generally manually focus - some habits die hard!

All at f/1.4 on the EOS 5D Mark II

John

Garden lighting

Having not been out on a 'proper' photo trip for a couple of weeks, I'm still relying on what I can find in the garden after work. Slim pickings to be perfectly honest!

The naturally lit...

1/125 at f/4.0

The Crocosmia's in my garden are about ready to bloom now, but I think this bud which is just starting to turn the familiar orange colour, makes for a nice arty, naturally lit shot.

The flash lit...

1/200 at f/13 (-1 FEV)

Yet another hoverfly, this time feeding on a fern. They seem to photograph very nicely with a flash, though I am still very much on a learning curve with regards to flash exposure compensation and such things.

Distant Planet

300mm (heavily cropped) 1/20 at f/8.0

After watching some episodes of the Discovery Channel's bluray "NASA's Greatest Missions" I have regained interest in the Moon and space in general. A very clear night Saturday gave me the opportunity to take some shots. Getting a combination of setting that worked proved rather more difficult. I will certainly be trying this again during full moon, when it's clear!

Incidentally, the series is excellent and I would certainly recommend it to anyone with any sort of interest in space exploration.

Damon Hill

On the weekend of the British Formula 1 Grand Prix I thought I would post another old film scan of one of Britain's favorite F1 drivers, 1996 World Champion - Damon Hill.

Here he chats to an engineer on the pitwall during pre-race testing in 1999.

22 times a Grand Prix winner, Damon is President of the BRDC and has helped secure a deal which will see Silverstone host the British Grand Prix for 17 years.

Canon EOS 1N

EF 300mm f/4 L

Kodak TMX 5052

More flash...

I'm hopeful that I didn't blind this poor snail last night, but he seemed to be a rather willing subject.

Still flash testing, I think I need better diffusing, and certainly need a better understanding of flash exposure, but I'm happy with the results so far.


100mm 1/200 at f/11

Light source

I decided that in order to take my macro photography to the next level I would need to learn how to utilise a flash for additional light.

I've never really sued a flash before, other than the pop-up flash on my old 40D and EOS 500N in my film days. Most of my photography has been done with a 5D Mark II on EOS 1N - neither of which has a built in flash.

To rememdy this, I bought a 430EX II, an off camera lead, bracket, ball head and diffuser. I know enough to understand that the flash needs to be moved to the front of the lens (with lens hood attached), and that it needs diffusing.

Now for A LOT of practice.

These are a couple of my first shots. The lighting is far from perfect, but I am pleased with the initial results. I look forward to learning how to better use my new stuff, and hopefully taking much better macro photographs.

Both 100mm - 1/125 at f/11

John

Filler

Thought I'd post an old-ish shot for filler since I haven't done much in the past few days.

I've bought a flash, off camera lead, bracket and some other bits which I hope will allow me to take the next step on my macro stuff. I'm starting to want the Sigma 50mm back again too... I would like to broaden my horizons a bit and a prime at this length should force me to think more about composition and depth of field.

Here is an old-ish shot taken during my first ownership of said lens...


50mm 1/8000 at f/2.0

Gatekeeper

I didn't get much of a chance this weekend to photograph anything, apart from a quick walk around Lydiard Park on Sunday. Plenty of butterflies about, though it was rather windy and most of them flew away as soon as they heard the camera shutter.

This is my favorite of the bunch, and while heavily cropped shows excellent detail. I'm definitely very pleased with the Canon 100mm f/2.8 L lens I recently bought!


1/320 at f/7.1

Mixed seeds

While out looking for poppies this weekend, we spotted a load growing in a wheat field just outside Lacock, Wiltshire.


100mm 1/2000 at f/3.2

The weather was quite clear but really windy, the kind of conditions that cry out for some kind of blurred attempts. Sat in the wheat to try and get a view through the wheat to the poppies, the sun came out just at the right time and lit this one up. The part cloudy sky also helps the background (in my opinion, anyway) plus the a larger patch of poppies in the background help warm up the image.

Nostalgia...

As mentioned in my 'bio', my first passion for photography began when I was in my teens and I had ambitions to become a professional Formula 1 photographer.

When I was 17 I managed to get access to F1 test sessions at Silverstone, access that I could only dream about these days. So between 1998 and 2000 I got plenty of chances to get closer to the action than the normal fan. Sat by the side of the track with a V10 F1 car roaring past you at 160mph and maybe only six feet away from you is something that stays with you, and leaves you temporarily deafened!

These two photo's, of seven times F1 Champion Michael Schumacher, were both taken in 1999. Using my old Canon EOS-1N film SLR and trusty 300mm f/4L on Fuji Reala film.



On the approach to Bridge corner, scene of my temporary deafness!



Waiting to be released from the pit garage.

Having finally set up my film scanner, and hoping to learn photoshop to clear some of the many scratches and dust particles on these old negatives and slides, I am hopeful to post a few more in the coming weeks and months.


Those were the days!

Venezia, Italia

Back in 1998 as a much, much younger boy, I was lucky enough to visit Venice with my Aunt and Grandmother.

We stayed in the Europa & Regina hotel on the Grand Canal, well situated for most of the major tourist attractions. We reached the hotel by boat, an experience I wont forget. A place I'd love to re-visit now that I'm older, it holds special memories for me of two people that are sadly no longer here.

The picture below was taken at a gondola 'rank' with San Giorgio Maggiore island in the back ground.


Kodak TMY 5053. Shot on an EOS 500N at approximately 28mm.

Lavender

While desperately looking for something else in my garden to test out my new lens, I found some lavender. Most of it is dead (it never seems to grow properly?!?) but there were some purple shoots. The bug at the top isn't nearly as sharp as I'd like for a bug macro shot, but I think I'm willing to sacrafice that in this shot, as it's more about the flower. I'd tried to get a more purple background, but I think on reflection what I did get was a nice mix of colour.


100mm 1/1250 at f/2.8

Goodbye Sigma 50mm, hello Canon 100mm f/2.8 L

After much pondering, I have decided not to try and replace the second 50mm lens from Sigma. Instead deciding to make more, and frankly better, use of my excellent 24-105mm f/4 L.

To fill the void left by a lack of purchase, I have decided to trade-up my old Sigma 105mm (currently on Ebay...).

Just a few test shots in my garden, but after just a few frames I am certainly left more than happy with lens sharpness, though I'm yet to figure out how useful image stabiliser will be.

1/200 at f/4.5

Family Portraits

A couple of photo's of my niece and nephew taken this weekend at Bristol zoo. Sophie isn't that keen on the camera so many of the photo's of her were taken while trying to disguise the fact I was taking them. James on the other hand is a bit of a poser! A bit like his uncle ;-)

50mm 1/320 at f/4.0

47mm 1/640 at f/4.0

Both using my much ignored 24-105mm f/4.0 L - seems like a nice sharp lens for a zoom. Though it has re-newed my interest in a 50mm prime, despite the Sigma debacle.

Cardinal beetle

Taken in very low light, hence the high ISO, but I like how the colour of the beetle contrasts with its green surroundings.


105mm 1/200 at f/3.5 ISO 1600

Attack of the spider!

Spotted this whilst out on a walk at Savernake over the weekend, a spider on the back of a trapped fly. I had not long tried taking some snaps of a similar fly, but it flew away as I was changing some camera settings. Sadly for this one, it didn't really have the chance to get away.


105mm 1/320 at F6.3 ISO 1600

Warmer times...

A coastal lock-up just off the beach at Los Abrigos, Tenerife taken last February. With only one lens on the day I took this, it's framed a little tighter than I would have liked, but something appeals to me about this photo. Maybe the make-shift security on the door, or the nicely painted but well used fishing boat. Incidentally, Los Abrigos is a nice place to visit should you find yourself in Tenerife and sick of the usual touristy areas.


1/800 at F6.3

Eifel Tower

Looking through old photo's, I found this picture taken last year in Paris. The Eifel Tower is illuminated after dark, making it even more picturesque. I like the angle this photo was taken at, showing the incredible detail even underneath the tower.

EOS 40D 17mm 1/25 at F4, ISO 1600

Road trip....

In an attempt to find something different Saturday, a friend and I drove out from Chippenham toward Tetbury. Along the way we found a couple of good spots, notably near Westonbirt Arboretum, but ended the day back in Chippenham doing the usual macro stuff.


We stopped by the side of the road after spotting this poppy field, sadly a couple of weeks away from being totally red, but a nice image none the less.
105mm (24-105 F4 L) 1/5000 at F4.


Taken in a field belonging to Westonbirt Polo Club, for some reason we had drivers beeping their horns at us while taking these. Maybe they know something we don't...
105mm 1/5000 at F2.8



More of the same bugs as featured below, this time appearing to be getting some sleep inside of a buttercup, joined by a small caterpillar.
105mm 1/200 at F6.3

ps - the second Sigma 50mm F1.4 turned out to be a pile of junk too. Consider that lens given up on! Now to ponder what else to spend the money on...

Mating season...

Everything seemed to be mating on today's photo trip, but this one takes that a little further. Another macro, but worth a post for comedic value.

105mm 1/80 at F7.1

Old Canal

I thought I'd post something outside of my normal selection of macro flowers, macro bugs and macro flowers...


These were taken along the walk from Chippenham to Lacock where a canal restoration is underway. The work completed so far has resulted in rather a wide stream in place of what was previously more of a trickle, allowing for some nice water reflections.



24mm 1/60 and F11


24mm 1/100 at F11

Sigma 50mm F1.4... testing!

Ok, so this is my second copy of this lens and the focus still seems off. I need to test a bit more, particularly with objects less close to the lens. I need to remember this isn't for macro!


The first shot is of a leaf in my garden, I had a bit of trouble focusing this, though at F1.4 the depth of field is clearly quite small.



The second of some grass type leaves, also from my garden, I'm not totally sure what they are but they will flower in orange in the next few weeks. This one is a bit more arty! Again at F1.4

A bit of pink

A bug walks out from the cover of a pink flower in Bowood's Rhododendron garden. I like the contrast in colours, while the bug could be better focused, I think the overall image is a nice one.


1/1000 at F3.2

Do you like butter?

Taken in a fenced off field in Lacock this weekend, I particularly like how the background bokeh in this shot makes the buttercups pop out in the foreground.


1/1600 at F4