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