An update, finally

I've been busy recently, we spent last week decorating so not had much of a chance to post much.

Here are a few shots from the weekend before last, taken in Castle Combe and Calne, Wiltshire.

100mm 1/200 at f/13

100mm 1/200 at f/13

100mm 1/400 at f/2.8

Finally, a shot I particularly like - Steve surrounded by a herd of cows in Castle Combe!

100mm 1/320 at f/2.8

Hot-tub

At four years old, my Niece Sophie has one objective in life - at least while she is at my Mum's house anyway.... "Granny, can I go in the hot-tub?!". It seems to happen within minutes of my arrival anyway, maybe a sign... or coincidence? In any case, she absolutely loves it in there.

This shot alone made the investment in my 50mm lens worthwhile - I am so pleased with the quality of this lens.


50mm 1/4000 at f/1.6

Bubbles!

My two-year-old Nephew James having some great fun in my Mum's garden blowing bubbles. He played with this for ages, even after the bubbles solution had run out. Even that didn't deter him from trying anyway, to the sound of him continually shouting "bubbles" :)


50mm 1/1250 at f/1.6

Flash testing resumed...

Finally took a trip out with my new flash setup this weekend, got some good practice with the off-camera flash and how certain settings affect lighting etc.

My favorite of the bunch was typically taken when I got home, in my garden... but very happy with the results.


1/200 at f/13 ISO400 and FEV -4/3

I definitely feel like I'm understanding better how flash exposure compensation affects certain situations, and also thinking more about the position of the flash respective to the lens and subject.

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