Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Mayfly

A Mayfly in some grass along the River Avon between Chippenham and Lacock in Wiltshire.

I can't even recall seeing a Mayfly before, but there were hundreds out yesterday. Pretty pleased I'd decided to take the macro lens out for the day, it also reminded me just how much I enjoy macro photography.

Mayfly - River Avon - Wiltshire

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Bluebells

I always seem to struggle with white balance on bluebells, managed to rein it in a bit on this without making the image dull - but still a bit saturated.


Bluebells

Niece and Nephew

Sophie and James both happy to pose a bit for the camera this past weekend.


James


Sophie


Eyes!

Monday, 11 May 2015

Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4

I recently invested in a 35mm lens, something I'd been looking at for some time. I like the idea of being restricted to that focal length due to the natural need to think more about compositions. We're hoping to visit New York in the not too distant future, and I wanted to be armed with a decent 'urban' lens for that trip too.

After a lot of reading and consideration I settled on the Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4. The first one went back, care of Sigma's usual poor quality control (focus issues as with a number of its lenses) but the second one is a lot better. Not perfect, but I'm willing to accept some inadequacies (minor focus issues, purple fringing at f/1.4 to name a couple) for its strengths.

It's quite a big lens, on camera it feels almost like a telephoto - but with such a wide aperture I guess that's what you'd expect.

Still learning how to use this lens properly, but here are a few recent captures.


Lines

I've always liked pylons, not sure why - this particular one taken at Lydiard Park in Swindon. The mono-conversion helps bring out the details and make for a more contrasted photo in my opinion.



Dandelion 'macro'


Always a fan of macro work, though I've not done much of late - really impressed by the short minimum focus length on this lens.


Bluebells at West Woods


Some bluebells at West Woods near Marlborough, Wiltshire.



Bluebells at West Woods


Some more bluebells at West Woods - pretty annoyed I shot this wide open instead of using a smaller aperture to get more of the scene in focus - you live and learn.



Smile


My girlfriend Alex isn't the most willing model, so it was nice to get a pretty candid shot of her doing her make-up. The Sigma makes for a pretty good portrait lens too.