A hoverfly in flight, not quite as sharp as I'd like but I think the bokeh from the leaves in the background makes the shot.
Some summer colour...
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Turning cold
Since it's turned cold, I thought I'd post a couple of shots taken in the summer to remind me that at some point it will warm up again.
A hoverfly in flight, not quite as sharp as I'd like but I think the bokeh from the leaves in the background makes the shot.
Some summer colour...
A hoverfly in flight, not quite as sharp as I'd like but I think the bokeh from the leaves in the background makes the shot.
Some summer colour...
Sidetracked
I usually get sidetracked by flowers, weeds or grass no matter what my photographic intentions for the day are. The trip to Ashton Court for the bike race was no exception. The dandelions back lit by a low sun caught my eye, and produce what I think is a nice image. 300mm
Monday, 14 October 2013
Bikes...
It's October, so time for Ashton Court in Bristol to host the Octoberfest bike race. Embarrassingly for me, last years photos are on the same 'blogger' page as this post - which shows more about the lack of photography I have been doing over the last 12 months than anything.
I'd brought along my flashgun, precisely for this type of shot. I took a lot of these shots with and without flash - most looked good on the camera, not many looked good on the PC. I was happiest with this one, taken with flash at 50mm.
Pretty much lying on the ground half way up this steep hill, I wanted to capture the riders tackling a particularly harsh gradient. I like the composition with the grass in the foreground (hence the low position I found myself in). Many riders pushed their bikes up this hill, being toward the end of 30-ish minute lap this must have been torture! 300mm
An attempt at something arty... focusing on the grass in the foreground with the rider in the background creating a reasonable bokeh. 300mm
Some just find hills easier than others... 300mm predictably
The day seemed to lack the atmosphere of the 2012 event, possibly due to the (assumed) lack of Steve Peat, maybe also the weather was a bit better. Last years rain promoted some good photo opportunities. This year capturing riders' facial expressions and practicing with my flashgun was the objective.
I'd brought along my flashgun, precisely for this type of shot. I took a lot of these shots with and without flash - most looked good on the camera, not many looked good on the PC. I was happiest with this one, taken with flash at 50mm.
Pretty much lying on the ground half way up this steep hill, I wanted to capture the riders tackling a particularly harsh gradient. I like the composition with the grass in the foreground (hence the low position I found myself in). Many riders pushed their bikes up this hill, being toward the end of 30-ish minute lap this must have been torture! 300mm
An attempt at something arty... focusing on the grass in the foreground with the rider in the background creating a reasonable bokeh. 300mm
Some just find hills easier than others... 300mm predictably
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
British Grand Prix 2013
My Mother turning 60 seemed as good a reason as any to push the boat out and buy grandstand tickets for this years British Grand Prix. I'd not been to a Grand Prix since 2006 in Spain, prior to that we last saw the Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2000. A lot has changed in that time: the drivers; tyres; cars; engine rules; ticket prices...
We spent the weekend in various grand stands (thanks to the roving tickets for the Friday and Saturday) allowing me the chance to resurrect my passion for F1 photography, but also to watch the cars in a good variety of speeds and corners.
The main talk after the race was of tyres - four delaminations over the weekend resulting in the tyre supplier Pirelli being forced to change its construction and the teams being permitted to run some in season testing to test out the new tyres.
Sergio Perez suffered the first delamination of the weekend in Saturday practice, at the time I was confused as to why this resulted in the session being red-flagged - I guess there was a considerable amount of debris on the track.
Practice is usually a good time to watch the drivers going over the limit to explore the maximum pace of their machinery. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) applying opposite lock during a slide, Max Chilton (Marussia) spinning at Becketts.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) showed incredible pace throughout the weekend, resulting in a pole position nearly half a second quicker than his team mate in second.
Jenson Button (McLaren) didn't enjoy a particularly vintage weekend, while Sebastian Vettel looked like being a fortuitous victor until about ten laps to go when his transmission failed. I was surprised by the amount of booing he received during the weekend, he's a great driver but hardly endearing at times. The crowd erupted when his car failed in the race (my girlfriend commenting that she'd never heard me shouting and cheering so loudly!). Some writers have suggested that it was perhaps due to his nationality, I think it's more to do with what had happened to the driver who in my opinion was the man of the race...
Lewis Hamilton led from pole until he also suffered a puncture. Two safety car periods assisted in his climbing back to fourth by the end of the race in a stunning drive. I've never been his biggest fan, but few can doubt his ability as a racer. Along with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) driving through the field, the fans were treated to some vintage overtaking.
The highlight of the Sunday for me at least was the fantastic display by the Red Arrows - the skill far out-shadowing that of the drivers who took to the stage after them.
We spent the weekend in various grand stands (thanks to the roving tickets for the Friday and Saturday) allowing me the chance to resurrect my passion for F1 photography, but also to watch the cars in a good variety of speeds and corners.
The main talk after the race was of tyres - four delaminations over the weekend resulting in the tyre supplier Pirelli being forced to change its construction and the teams being permitted to run some in season testing to test out the new tyres.
Sergio Perez suffered the first delamination of the weekend in Saturday practice, at the time I was confused as to why this resulted in the session being red-flagged - I guess there was a considerable amount of debris on the track.
Practice is usually a good time to watch the drivers going over the limit to explore the maximum pace of their machinery. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) applying opposite lock during a slide, Max Chilton (Marussia) spinning at Becketts.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) showed incredible pace throughout the weekend, resulting in a pole position nearly half a second quicker than his team mate in second.
Jenson Button (McLaren) didn't enjoy a particularly vintage weekend, while Sebastian Vettel looked like being a fortuitous victor until about ten laps to go when his transmission failed. I was surprised by the amount of booing he received during the weekend, he's a great driver but hardly endearing at times. The crowd erupted when his car failed in the race (my girlfriend commenting that she'd never heard me shouting and cheering so loudly!). Some writers have suggested that it was perhaps due to his nationality, I think it's more to do with what had happened to the driver who in my opinion was the man of the race...
Lewis Hamilton led from pole until he also suffered a puncture. Two safety car periods assisted in his climbing back to fourth by the end of the race in a stunning drive. I've never been his biggest fan, but few can doubt his ability as a racer. Along with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) driving through the field, the fans were treated to some vintage overtaking.
The highlight of the Sunday for me at least was the fantastic display by the Red Arrows - the skill far out-shadowing that of the drivers who took to the stage after them.
Monday, 10 June 2013
Milford
Milford on Sea is a town I've visited many times in my life, my Grandparents moved there when I was around four and lived there until I was about 16. In that time I spent many school holidays staying with them in their house which was situated just opposite the beach, with a wonderful view of The Isle of Wight and The Needles from every window to the front of the property. Sadly they had no choice but to move when a property developer made an offer to buy the house (which was very large and on a big piece of land, separated in to three large homes) which the other two owners could not afford to refuse. The house I remember is now gone, replaced by modern homes and barely any of the fantastic garden I played in as a child, but the memories remain. We recently visited on my Mum's 60th Birthday and I have to say I can't remember a time there with better weather.
A view of some buildings on the beach front. As a child I'd walk with my Grandad and the dogs along the top of the wall - these days there is a safety barrier to stop anyone getting close to the edge. Just underneath the window to the top right of the frame there is a closed off (and I suspect filled in) view point used in WW2 to spot enemy vessels approaching the south coast of England.
A familiar view for me, I spent many hours looking out at this view of the English channel from my Grandparents' house (often through Grandad's binoculars which I never could quite get the hang of). It brings back instant memories of my childhood and spending time with them. I can almost taste the fish cakes from the local fishmonger as I write this!
My Niece Sophie and Nephew James never got to meet my Grandparents, but it's great to see them enjoying the same rocks and beach that my sister and I did as children. In this case Sophie sat on some rocks with The Isle of Wight in the background.
A view of some buildings on the beach front. As a child I'd walk with my Grandad and the dogs along the top of the wall - these days there is a safety barrier to stop anyone getting close to the edge. Just underneath the window to the top right of the frame there is a closed off (and I suspect filled in) view point used in WW2 to spot enemy vessels approaching the south coast of England.
A familiar view for me, I spent many hours looking out at this view of the English channel from my Grandparents' house (often through Grandad's binoculars which I never could quite get the hang of). It brings back instant memories of my childhood and spending time with them. I can almost taste the fish cakes from the local fishmonger as I write this!
My Niece Sophie and Nephew James never got to meet my Grandparents, but it's great to see them enjoying the same rocks and beach that my sister and I did as children. In this case Sophie sat on some rocks with The Isle of Wight in the background.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Bulldog
On the way back from a quick wander around with a friend looking for some photogenic urban subject matter we bumped into this bulldog waiting for its owner outside of a Tesco store.
Probably the best shot of the day for me, so a rare stroke of photographic luck but one I was more than happy to take advantage of!! Glad to get the focus too as it started to move toward me as I composed the shot, and there isn't much room for that when shooting at f/1.4 at close range.
Probably the best shot of the day for me, so a rare stroke of photographic luck but one I was more than happy to take advantage of!! Glad to get the focus too as it started to move toward me as I composed the shot, and there isn't much room for that when shooting at f/1.4 at close range.
Summer... finally!
The sun finally came out! Hopefully this will motivate me to get out with the camera a bit more in the coming months.
To start, a simple shot of some buttercups - shot upward to give a different perspective and to add some nice blue sky to contrast with the bright yellow petals.
Some more shots to follow shortly.
To start, a simple shot of some buttercups - shot upward to give a different perspective and to add some nice blue sky to contrast with the bright yellow petals.
Some more shots to follow shortly.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Chrysanthemum
A macro shot of some flowers bought for my girlfriend (by me!).
Purposely shot with the smallest DoF I could achieve (f/2.8) and from the side, I think the white petals on a dark background have resulted in the 'dreamy' image I'd wanted.
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