Contrast

Another photo from Barton-On-Sea this past weekend. I quite like the contrast of the bright sunlight on the sea against the dark rocks.

I'd really wanted to get some cloud movement, but with the sky almost completely clear (for once) I had to do without!

At 17mm the lens provides an incredibly wide view which is not given justice in this shot. I really look forward to using this lens and trying some other new things, like light trails.

Something new (for me)

So I thought I would try something different photography wise. For some time I've liked the idea of trying long exposures, something I attempted while on holiday in Wales a couple of years ago (and failing due to the amount of light). The first thing I needed was an ND filter to reduce light in to the camera (and therefore reduce the shutter speed). Second I wanted a higher quality lens capable of wide angles since the 24-105 f/4 L is weak in this area (to me at least).

I toyed with the idea of the Canon 16-35 f/2.8 L, but in the end decided to go for the 17-40 f/4 L since it was almost half the price, and at the apertures I intend to use very similar in performance, and better in some areas.

A trip to Milford-On-Sea and Barton-On-Sea this weekend provided the opportunity for me to try them both out. It's something quite new to me, but I'm pretty happy with my initial results.

Sadly Milford was a no go due to recent storm damage, they'd closed most of the beach. But with Barton just down the road I had some other options.

Winter Leaves

Some backlit leaves shot on a walk back in February. Really need to get out with the camera a bit more, my output of late has been pretty low.

I like this shot, using a lightroom filter to bring out the coldness of the day (it was very cold, albeit bright) .

Shot at f/1.4 to minimise depth of field, I think it creates a nice bokeh.

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...

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

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.

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

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.