Alcatraz

It has been an awfully long time since I updated this, normally I just post to Flickr but this series doesn't really fit on there, plus I thought I should start making an effort to post on here as it offers the ability to write something too.

We recently visited San Francisco for our first wedding anniversary. Alcatraz has always fascinated me, though I don't know why - I guess the movies and the history. Seeing it in the flesh was eye-opening, they've done a superb job maintaining the island and buildings.

Naturally Alcatraz's interior isn't particularly well lit so I relied on some pretty huge ISOs to allow for reasonable apertures and shutter speeds here, but given I knew I would perform a mono-conversion it worked pretty well.

Bulk Update

Been a bit of a while since I blogged, though I continue to post regularly to flickr.

Since I last posted we've visited New York and Tenerife in the Canary Islands which provided some much needed inspiration photography wise. Lately I've been rekindling my interest in nature photography too.

My latest target is to get a half decent kingfisher shot - managed to get my first one recently. While I think it was a good effort, I'd like to get something well lit, without motion blur and a nicer composition. Shame they're so hard to come by!

There is of course plenty of other bird life to photograph, the swans are particularly easy to get close to at the moment.




The local park is quite good for squirrels at the moment, I caught this one peaking out from behind some leaves - it sat there for a while but legged it when I tried to go for a different composition.




There seem to be a lot of butterflies and moths around this year, perhaps due to a wilder winter/spring/summer? IN any case it's made getting pictures of them a little easier.




New York was wonderful for a number of reasons, also nice to get to a good number of famous sites. Can't wait to go back again, I just love it there.








Tenerife offers a wide variety of landscapes and it's nice to appreciate the different flora and fauna of the island. No idea what this plant is, but I think it was very attractive.




Having been to Tenerife a few times, one thing I'd never done is visit Teide - we tried, but failed. Faced with the prospect of a five hour wait to go up, we decided to appreciate looking at it as opposed to from it. Given there was a calima on the island at the time that was probably the better idea anyway since visibility was poor.



Hopefully keep this updated a bit better going forward. Buying a more wildlife focused lens (providing 400mm) has spurred me on to get out more with the camera.

Northumberland Coast

Been a while since I posted on here (frankly been a while since I posted much on Flickr either).

A trip up North to visit family last weekend allowed for a day out seeing sites around the Northumberland Coast, specifically Blyth and Bambrugh.

I wanted to get back in to some long exposure work so brought my 16-35mm f/4L and ND filter, along with a tripod. Sadly the tide was out though the weather didn't disappoint (as far as clouds go!)

My ND filter seems to give a slight orange tint which I find difficult to adjust in post, but neither of these suit a mono conversion and I quite like the colours anyway.

A lovely day out, even if we did get drenched in some very heavy rain!


Blyth - 35mm f/13 at 30s


Bamburgh - 16mm f/13 at 30s

Jasper

Mum's Cocker Spaniel Jasper - he's in the habit of being put back on his lead at specific benches at the local park. Anyone would think that he also gets a treat...

The Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4 really is a lovely lens, albeit a bit heavy. I think this has impressive sharpness at such a wide aperture (f/1.6 in this case). There is a slight crop to remove some dead space on the left.

Summer 2016

A mix of recent shots over the last month or two. Some from a visit to Scotland, National Trust properties and local meadows.


A Blue Damselfly, North Meadow near Cricklade


Stourhead Lake in Wiltshire


Woolly Thistle, Hinton Parva in Wiltshire


Harebell Wildflowers, Isle of Arran Scotland


A Heron along the Chippenham/Lacock canal pathway, shooting into the sun and not much time to react but nice to get in flight!


A Black Swan, Mouldon Hill in Swindon


Ferry port on the Isle of Arran in Scotland

English Summer

I think the photo says it all really.... lots of colour and some rain!




100mm 1/80s f/2.8, slight crop

Costa Brava

Some seascapes from the Girona coast in Spain (or Catalonia might be more specific).

Spanish Church

According to the sign this was built in 1962 - looks older to me though.

Placa de L'Esglesia, Calella de Palafrugell, Catalonia.

24mm f/11

Meerkats

Ok, so they're clearly not wild but their setting works (Noah's Ark near Bristol).

135mm f/4.0

135mm f/3.2 cropped

https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnlgardiner/

F1 People in Monochrome

All taken on the Thursday at the 2016 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix in Catalunya

Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez

Daniel Ricciardo

Jenson Button

Sergio Perez

Max Verstappen

Spring Mix

It's been a long time since I posted anything. I have recently upgraded my camera body from a Canon EOS 5D Mark II to an EOS 5DS R.

The new body allows for much higher resolution images, but at a cost of a much bigger file size. I've yet to truly use it in anger, but so far I have been happy with the performance.

Some shasta daisies in a local park (which was previously an old landfill site). 135mm f/2



A common vetch - Lydiard Park, Swindon. 100mm f/6.3



I'm unsure as to what variety of wildflower this is, but it contrasts nicely with its background. 100mm f/7.1



We recently returned from a lovely holiday in the Costa Brava. Our stay included a few days in Sitges, a very photogenic coastal town. 35mm f/14



The youngest Formula One winner of all time, Max Verstappen (a record unlikley to be beaten given rule changes in the sport). Pit lane, Circuito de Catalunya, Spain. 35mm f/1.6



Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, turns 1 and 2 Circuito de Catalunya, Spain. 300mm f/7.1



Grid slot, Circuito de Catalunya, Spain. 35mm f/14

Contrast

A couple of previously un-posted shots from earlier in the summer. 

One with a lot of colour, the other a more contrasty mono affair. In any case, I think the two are a nice contrast for this time of year where the days are getting shorter and darker, but we still have a lot of autumnal colour around.