Beyond the back of beyond

Macro photography

2009-06-10T18:34:00.004+01:00

One lunchtime a few weeks ago I went to a local park to experiment with macro photography. I spent about 20 minutes walking around the park failing to find anything worth photographing. Then a bird flew over a crapped all over my shirt.

I was starting to think someone was trying to tell me something. Eventually I found a suitable subject and put down my tripod (which I didn't use at any point) and reached to get my camera out. As I opened the bag my camera fell out and had the choice of tarmac path, stone wall or flower bed to fall on. Fortunately it landed on the flower bed and seems unscathed but I was panicing for a few minutes. I really shouldn't have left the office that lunchtime.

After all the trials and tribulations I started to take some shots. I also tried some in my garden on another occasion and the best of both sessions are shown below.

Happy New Year by the way

2009-01-08T22:42:00.002Z

I forgot to wish everyone a happy new year.

One new year's resolution I have is to try and post more photos this year.

On Hogmannay I thought "maybe I could do a picture a day during 2009" but quickly realised this was unlikely to happen so I thought "well I could manage to choose 1 photo for each week", as sleep took hold I thought 1 photo a month was doable.

As 2009 dawned I came to the conclusion that I'll just stick to taking photos as and when I can.

All the best for 2009

First steps in night photography

2009-01-08T22:26:00.003Z

So the other night I drove 10-15 miles into the Aberdeenshire countryside at night in temperatures of -8 degrees celsius (not the best conditions for location scouting) looking for a place with little light pollution and some nice foreground interest.

I eventually found a reasonable forest and after driving along the forest track to a sign which said 'no unauthorised access beyond this point' and reversing back down the icy track in the pitch darkness trying to avoid hitting anything or getting stuck in a ditch or damaging by beamer I decided to stop looking for the perfect spot and actually take some photos.

(I recently ordered an intervalometer to do some time lapse photography but this hadn't arrived by the time I was out and about.)

I am planning on doing 3 types of night photography (a) taking some shots with minimal light pollution and maximum visible stars (b) time lapse photography of the stars rotating about the pole star and (c) star trails.

The 2 shots I have attached to this post (the best of a patchy collection) show my first attempt at method (a) and also some light painting of my car.

My trip to Reykjavik

2008-11-23T14:34:00.004Z

I had a company trip to Iceland and specifically Reykjavik last weekend.

Apart from almost falling off a cliff I had a really good time. It has been a while since I last drank until 3am so it took a few days to recover from the week. I also had to get up at 8:30am for a 12 hour bus trip the next morning.

I was in Iceland for 4 days in total including travelling days but the conditions were not great except for Saturday so I didn't take many photos.

My one and only HDR attempt during the weekend.

A view from the Blue Lagoon where hot mineral rich water is pumped up from underground into pools surrounded by lava fields.

This is the location where I nearly fell off the cliff. We travelled in 3 buses and on one bus the tour guide said no one was allowed to use the path towards the waterfall. The tour guide on my bus said it would be dependent upon weather conditions and then didn't mention it again. I walked along the path holding the top rope the entire time and I was wearing hiking boots but unfortunately my boots work well in all conditions except for compact snow where the hard soles have no contact on slippery hard surfaces. I slipped on my backside (bruising it) and my legs went underneath the rope fence. Luckily my top half stayed the right side of the fence and my camera (which was round my neck) remained intact. When I eventually got back to my feet I turned around and went back to the bus because I didn't want to push my luck anymore. I've had twinges in my neck all week but it seems to be getting much better now.

A stream full of freezing water and ice.

Another picturesque view.

More snow and steam.

Light painting - first attempt

2008-09-29T21:54:00.004+01:00

I have been reading about the technique of light painting and Charlotte & Lewis were enjoying running round the house in the dark so I thought I would combine the 2 and try some shots.

Charlotte first

And then Lewis

I'll try some more with coloured lights and outside shots this weekend.

Face painting

2008-09-29T21:52:00.001+01:00

Diane and the kids enjoyed face painting over the weekend.

And before you ask I am never getting my face painted, ever!

Leuchars Airshow 2008

2008-09-29T21:48:00.003+01:00

Lewis and I went to Leuchars Airshow this year and met Ken and Malcolm there.

Here is a selection of shots from a very flat grey day weather wise.

Lots of the displays were cancelled as well but we did see the red arrows.

Ephiphany moment

2008-08-26T22:20:00.002+01:00

We were all watching "Simpsons The Movie" on Sunday evening and part of the movie happened in the Springfield church.

As they zoom towards the church during Simpsons episodes they always show what is on the church message board outside. In the movie the board had a message about switching off your mobile phone.

I turned to Diane and asked "Do mobile phones ever go off in church? They must go off all the time" and it was at this point that I realised that I haven't been to church since the advent of the mobile phone.

I don't think there is a causal link between mobile phone technology and my lapse in church attendance but you must admit it is a bit of a coincidence :-)

Sunday - panoramas & people

2008-08-26T22:11:00.004+01:00

The kids and I went to the top of a local multistorey car park so I could take some panorama shots of Aberdeen and amazingly the kids enjoyed themselves by watching 2 guys skateboarding whilst I failed to get a decent shot in the bright sunshine.

I have been having problems uploading the panoramas I did take but the sky was blown out anyway. What I will attach are 2 photos of the kids taken later near Aberdeen harbour.

Summer 2008 - East Links Family Park

2008-07-27T15:50:00.002+01:00

On our way back to Aberdeen we spent some time at the East Links Family Park which quite literally had something for everyone - rides and animals for the kids, go karts for Ken, animals for Diane and photo opportunities for me.

Summer 2008 - Day two continued

2008-07-27T15:26:00.005+01:00

After Mother Shipton's cave we went to the gardens at Harlaw Carr. We spent some time in a bird hide within the grounds at Harlaw Carr and I only had my 18-55mm lens which was another instance of great situation, wrong equipment.

The first of several closeups without using my new macro lens.

More model village shots from ground level

Summer 2008 - Day two

2008-07-27T14:57:00.004+01:00

On our second day with went to Mother Shipton's cave which had some lovely views. Here is a selection of shots from the day.

The petrfying well, the two lumps near the top of the image are hats from the 1800's left by visitors.

The distinctive black and white building which we have driven past dozens of times and never visited until today.

With all of the riverside shots like this one I was trying to capture the steep gradient of the bank with the houses & church rising up from the river but I don't think any of them capture what I saw with my eyes.

Summer 2008 - Day one

2008-07-27T14:45:00.004+01:00

A few pictures from our first full day in Yorkshire. We went to the Yorvik centre in York and then went for a wander in York.

Charlotte looking as beautiful as she always does.

York Minister - this was the first of several occasions when I had the wrong lens with me. I must invest in a camera bag so I can take both my 18-55mm and my new 70-300mm.

Diane, Mum, Lewis and Charlotte outside the shop off of Mary Queen of shops.

Trying shots with my new lens, I liked the ability to combine old and new architecture in a closeup.

And finally a shot of all the cousins together

I dedicate this post to John Mitchell

2008-07-02T22:18:00.003+01:00

Legal Disclaimer : This posting is my attempt at humour and any offence caused by the content of this posting is unintentional. If you continue to read beyond this point you are agreeing to release the author from any liability should you be subsequently offended by anything herein.

I feel John Mitchell is an inspiration to all us down trodden family men who try and fail to juggle work and family life. So as a tribute to his sterling efforts over the years I thought I would try one of his tried and tested techniques. I have recently been promoted at work to office manager and thought I would try the 'now I am an office manager I need to drive around in an office manager's car'.

This ploy worked a treat and I went out and bought myself a brand new S Type Jaguar.

Obviously the previous statement is a complete lie but I have exchanged the old T reg jalopy for something a bit more executive and within a sensible budget.

I had planned to do a Top Gear style photo to show of my new car with some HDR processing to bring out the moody atmosphere but I just don't have any time these days and Diane took a really good shot with her P&S so I am going with it until I can find a window in my diary...

... and so now the moment you have all been waiting for (well James at least):

My new 3-series BMW

The only way I can describe how it feels to drive compared with my old banger is the feeling I had the other day when I went jogging with my first ever pair of running shoes. After running for 5 months in a pair of squash shoes the difference was staggering. It felt like I was running on air with my new shoes. Driving the new car is a similar quantum leap in enjoyment.

Diane is now looking for an office manager's house so I think she has had the last laugh.

Strange but true

2008-06-06T18:55:00.003+01:00

On Wednesday 28th May Diane and I went to see Girls Aloud at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre. When we made our way to the arena I started to wonder whether I would be the oldest male in the place but there were other older dads with their daughters in the audience.

We were only 3 rows from the front so we got the full force of the pyrotechnics and speakers. You can just make out Diane in the third row with lots of empty seats next to her and a blue jumper.

Some of the girls performing.

Me looking strange, and that is Girls Aloud in the background honest!

It was a brilliant night out, really really loud, pyrotechnics that made me go blind for several seconds but a really good night.

Back on track

2008-06-06T12:48:00.003+01:00

My weight loss program is back on track. I have moved my target weight from 90kg to 85kg and have reached 92kg this week. That is 13 kg or nearly 29 lbs lost since January.

I went running outside with a colleague on Wednesday for the first time, I have always used the treadmill before. We did 5k and I stayed with him the entire time and felt comfortable which was a surprise.

If I get time tonight I'll upload a picture of me in a situation noone could predict - watch this space.

All gone quiet

2008-05-11T22:58:00.002+01:00

I haven't used my camera since the London trip and there are so many things I want to try but never seem to find the time.

I've even bought a new tripod which I haven't used yet.

I'm still trying to get to < 90 kilograms so that keeps me busy 3 lunchtimes and Tuesday evenings but I must make the effort during the weekend or Tuesday/Thursday lunchtimes.

Don't hold your breath.

John

Old image revisited

2008-05-11T22:51:00.002+01:00

I was wondering what my gothic processing would do to an old shot of St Machar cathedral's roof.

Here is the result.

Day Six - London Town at night

2008-04-10T22:30:00.011+01:00

I wanted to make the most of the opportunity to take some night shots in London even though I was exhausted after walking around the Science museum. Diane made it all possible by taking the kids back to Ickenham on her own leaving me with the evening to walk around London.

Diane and the kids left about 5pm and I spent 5 or 6 hours walking the banks of the Thames and the following shots are the pick of the bunch.

I think the gothic look in HDR has been done to death but I really liked how this shot came out in an apocalyptic, end of the world style.

A view from the South Bank.

I had spent the week looking for some graffiti and on the final day I found this wall on the South Bank. There were loads of skate boarders and bikers doing stunts in the South Bank Skate Park so I asked a couple of them if it was ok to take some pictures. They were happy so I set up my tripod and starting snapping. Whilst I was taking shots they started doing stunts around me which was a bit scary but I got out unscathed.

I walked all the way from the Houses of Parliament to London Bridge but it was worth it.

I really wanted a picture of the Gherkin as well but my tripod doesn't do portrait orientation and the hand held shots were a bit ropey.

I loved the different colours reflected in the water.

I know the focal point should obey the rule of thirds but I preferred the eye positioned centrally.

The reflection of the Houses of Parliament was like looking at liquid gold.

Day Six - The Science Museum

2008-04-10T22:24:00.005+01:00

The Science Museum was a challenging environment for taking decent pictures. It was really dark in some of the areas and using the flash meant that some of the scene was illuminated and the rest was in darkness. Here are the shots which came out ok.

Lewis and one of the impressive models.

In the Materials section they have some great hands on exhibits. I took this shot from the other side of the floor and you can just make out Diane, Lewis and Charlotte in the bottom right corner.

Lewis spotting a cool plane model.

Day Five - Bekinscot Model Village

2008-04-10T22:12:00.008+01:00

After days walking around the sights in London we decided to take it easier today. Colin lent us his 7-seater and we drove to Beaconsfield to visit the Bekinscot Model Village.

The village was constructed in the Thirties and is an great day out. It had something for everyone, Diane, Lewis, Charlotte and me which is quiet an achievement.

Lewis and Charlotte near the start.

A view across the whole village.

Lewis next to his favourite exhibit, the airport.

Towards the end of the visit I started to take shots close to the ground as if I was in the village itself and I think it works well. Shame I didn't think of it earlier in the visit.

Charlotte next to her favourite exhibit, the mine with rocks on a conveyor belt.

You can't have too many pictures of railway lines and trains.

Day Four - London Zoo

2008-04-10T22:00:00.014+01:00

Wembley Stadium from the tube train.

Charlotte enjoying the tube and Diane along for the ride.

Lewis enjoying the tube.

The giraffe house.

One of the many monkeys.

Big lizard say no more.

Cute Lemur eating lunch.

This heron was sliding down the slope into the water and nicking the penguin's fish. I missed it the first time but the heron was very obliging and did it again for me.

I took numerous shots of this butterfly holding my camera at arms length. Fortunately this shot came out reasonably clear and central because the rest didn't.

Another butterfly shot.

I liked the colours of this shot, the blue background and the green foliage. Although it makes it difficult to spot the green snake.

If Charlotte grows up to be a shop keeper I'd put money on it looking something like this.

Day Three - London Eye

2008-04-10T21:55:00.004+01:00

The crew on the London Eye

All of us in front of the London Eye. I took loads of shots of London from up high but I seem to have missed them in my post processing procedure. I'll have a look through them again when I get time.

Buckingham Palace (obviously)

Day Two - Natural History Museum

2008-04-10T21:50:00.006+01:00

It is a legal requirement to take a picture of your party standing by the dinosaur in the entrance hall so here we are.

Lewis mourning the passing of the dodo.

An attempt at the gothic HDR look.

My favourite gothic HDR view.

Day One - Ruislip Lido

2008-04-10T21:41:00.009+01:00

Despite the best that Terminal 5 & BA could throw at us we arrived. It is Sunday and Priya wasn't at school so we took the kids out for some fresh air.

Feeding the swans

Heavy construction and water works.

All you need is a puddle and a stick.

Lewis and Priya and the big yellow thing.

Heading to London

2008-04-10T20:45:00.002+01:00

I have finally processed the images and created versions for the web.

Sorry for the deluge of postings that follow but if I don't upload the photos now...

London Trip photos coming soon

2008-04-08T12:44:00.002+01:00

I have finished processing the 600+ photos I took during our trip to London and will post a selection very soon. I am flying to Stavanger tonight and coming back on Wednesday night so it won't be until Thursday night at the earliest. In my defence I took lots of 3 shot HDR pictures so the real number is no where near 600.

In my last post before we left for London I mentioned about all the programmes set up on the Sky+ planner. Unfortunately several programmes didn't record because we had a series link to MI High which ended up having 2 episodes every day and filling the disk before the other recordings had occurred.

I set up remote record to allow me to set up to record Doctor Who online whilst I was in London but it failed due to lack of disk space. Luckily I found a repeat on Sunday night so we have a recording of it.

I am a great believer in technology making our lives better and I don't have a problem watching TV and films on my PC but I wish the BBC/ITV/CH4 would show more repeats of their programmes across their channels for when I am trying to find a missed programme to watch with someone else. Watching a computer monitor with more than 1 person just doesn't work. In saying that I did manage to find the Doctor Who episode but some programmes don't have any repeats.

I have purchased an annual subscription to the DigiGuide service on the PC which makes looking for particular programmes much easier but for Desperate Housewives S4E2 for example (not recorded whilst we were away) I found the repeat 20 minutes after the repeat had been shown.

When talking about our TV habits with Harini and Colin they laughed at our addiction to the goggle box. I was interested though to see that their non-V1 Sky+ box had four and a half pages of recordings. I wish Sky had a self install option so I could just buy the latest box with greater capacity, swap it with our existing one and give us more scope.

My name is John and I am a TV addict ...

Preparing for our London trip

2008-03-29T12:00:00.007Z

We are off to London this evening (British Airways permitting) for a week of sightseeing. I've taken a few pictures which sum up our preparations for the trip.

First my packing list with an emphasis on camera related stuff:

Then Diane's packing list which has everything else for the entire family:

And then our Sky+ planner:

I have also set up remote recording so I can record Doctor Who which starts next Saturday but isn't visible on our Sky EPG yet.

Then there are 2 things which have happened just before we leave which are frustrating.

(1) Diane and I watched the penultimate episode of Ashes to Ashes last night but didn't have time to watch the last one so we have to wait a week.

(2) I ordered Project Gotham Racing 4 for my Xbox and it arrived this morning, typical. Just when you want something to arrive whilst you are away it comes by super fast delivery. Lewis is playing it just now but we only have a few hours before we really have to leave for the flight.

Watch this space for daily updates of our London trip or as is more likely a load of pictures days after we get back.

John

Harbour Pictures

2008-03-15T13:04:00.006Z

After dropping Mum at the station on Sunday I went to the other side of Aberdeen harbour and managed to get some real close up shots of some ships. I have included my favourites here.

Wednesday's weigh in was 0.5 kg down on the previous week. On friday I ran for 10 minutes at 6.5mph and 10 minutes at 7mph which is a step up in speed for me and I really felt it. One day soon I'll have to try 20 minutes at 7mph to see if I can manage it.

Halfway, only 7 weeks to go

2008-03-08T21:14:00.003Z

I have reached 97.5 kg which is exactly halfway between 105 kg and my target of 90 kg. Based on my average progress I have about 7 more weeks to go although I will be on holiday for 2 weeks during that period and won't have access to the gym.

I tried to take some photos on Tuesday but the powers that be here in Aberdeen make it really difficult to take photos of the harbour without a telephoto lens so I didn't take a single shot.

It was Lewis' 9th birthday today so I have some shots from his laser tag party to upload, if anything interesting comes up I'll upload it.

The Joy of Fatherhood

2008-03-03T22:09:00.002Z

Having got out of bed at 7:30am last Saturday morning and dragged Lewis to his P4 football match the best thing happened.

I really enjoy watching Lewis play for his team (once we have got there!) - the effort he puts, the crunching tackles and blocking crosses with his body. Lewis plays left back which is a unglamourous position made harder by the fact that Lewis is right footed. Lewis' positive spin on the situation is he wants to improve his left foot skills which is a great way of approaching the situation.

Anyway last weekend we managed to get to Aberdeen in time for the match and Lewis' team came from 1-0 down at half time to win 2-1 with a really determined display during the second half. That wasn't the good bit.

In their second match his team was losing 2-0 at half time and Lewis' coach put him up front. Lewis plays almost all his football at left back which is a very different position from up front. Normally his job is to stay with people and stop them getting the ball - in attack you have to look for the spaces and shout for the ball.

Anyway to cut a long rambling post short - Lewis scored to get the score back to 2-1 and although his eventually team lost 3-1 I put it down as one of my favourite matches ever. Seeing him running back to the halfway line so happy with himself was just brilliant.

I love this job :-)

Week 6 - closing in on half way

2008-02-29T21:25:00.002Z

As the graph above shows my weight is down again this week. According to my spreadsheet I am 43% of the way there. Based on progress to date it should take another 7-8 weeks to reach my target.

Monday this week I was offered Danish Pastries first thing, there was a box of Roses on my desk when I got back from lunch and someone brought cakes back from a meeting. I was starting to think that it was "tempt John until he breaks" day but I managed to resist and Diane got the chocolates.

Back on topic - I am planning to take some shots next Tuesday/Thursday lunchtime as I try to make more use of my free lunchtimes (i.e. not Monday/Wednesday/Friday when I'm at the gym). If something decent comes out of the trips I'll post them here.

I had to laugh

2008-02-26T21:48:00.002Z

During the weekend I took Charlotte to a birthday party at a local science centre. I had 2 hours to kill and decided to take Lewis swimming.

Every time I take the kids swimming both Charlotte and Lewis come along and we are limited to things we can do without abandoning Charlotte. This weekend was different, Lewis and I could let rip and not worry about Charlotte drowning.

The beach leisure centre in Aberdeen has the small flume next to the pool and then 3 larger flumes in a separate area. There are 3 flumes : The Tube, The Pipeline and Wipeout. Lewis and I went down The Tube separately in the inflatable rings and both had fun as we leisurely slid down.

Next we tried the Pipeline with Lewis and I going down together. The flume is much longer and faster than the small flume and I could feel Lewis' heart pounding as we plummeted down the tube.

I took it easy the first time and sat up a few times to slow us down. The second time however I stayed horizantal for longer and Lewis started saying "Dad sit up! Seriously Dad sit up!." when we got to the bottom Lewis said "didn't you hear me saying sit up?" to which I replied "oh I thought you said lie down :-)". We went on the flume several more times (we had a book of 10 tickets and going down together counted as 1 trip) and we had a great time with me upping the speed each time. Later Lewis and I went down the small flume which now seems like a little kids ride.

I got a small glimpse into how Lewis was feeling when I foolishly went down the Wipeout. There is a sign at the top saying "Only to be used under supervision and stuff about keeping your chin on your chest and arms folded". At the start I felt myself falling forwards towards the top of the flume as I plunged vertically downwards. The water sprayed up and I felt myself turning over on to my front, then before I knew it I was coming to the end and created a huge splash as I hit the run off channel - it lasted for what seemed like 5 seconds and certainly got my heart racing. On the up side I soaked a pool attendant who was standing at the bottom near the run off channel - I assume she wasn't expecting anyone to be stupid enough to try the Wipeout.

Ever decreasing me

2008-02-19T20:35:00.003Z

I realise that I billed this blog as being a photography blog but I thought I would share my current weight loss experiences with everyone.

I started at 105 kg and have chosen 90 kg as my target weight. At 90 kg my BMI would still be above 25 but I would be lighter than I have been for decades so it is a realistic target. As I am a numbers and goal orientated person I then created a spreadsheet with 105 kg at week zero and 90 kg at the end of week 30 (the plan line in the image above). That plan would involve losing 0.5 kg each week which is achievable. My aim was to stay ahead of the 'easy' 30 week schedule and on current progress it should take me 12-15 weeks.

I weigh myself each Wednesday at the gym in the office where I work and so far have managed to lose 5 kg (a third of the way to my target). I am going to the gym 3 times a week doing a 500 calorie workout each time and combining that with a manageable diet of cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, an evening meal and only fruit in between. Oh and breathing deeply when Diane eats Doritos and sour cream dip.

I have a couple of rules of thumb to keep me on the straight and narrow. If I ever see anything really delicious which is going to set me back I always remind myself that each treat will add days to the whole process and if I just stay focused the ordeal will end sooner. The other rule of thumb is whatever I manage to do once at the gym (say 20 minutes on the hill program at 11kph) is a line in the sand and I never go backwards. Every so often I increase the duration, incline or speed but never reduce it. During the hard moments I remind myself that I have done it once so I can do it again.

Not sure if the above has made me look like some kind of exercise/diet nut but it works for me. I had a bit of a wobble 2 weeks ago when my weight had remained the same but I was still ahead of schedule and so I just carried on.

Tomorrow is weigh day again so fingers crossed.

I went to church today!

2008-01-31T20:42:00.001Z

Before my mum has a heart attack I should explain the title of this post.

At lunchtime I visited a local cathedral for photographic purposes. I had seen some gorgeous interior hdr shots recently so thought I would try my hand. I am not really happy with any of the shots but it is the start of a learning process and the best of a bad bunch is below:

Later today I was about to leave work and the sun was setting - having my camera with me I popped out for a few quick shots. The shot below is my favourite although I would need to work on removing the smudge. I also hadn't planned on brake light trails in the photo but it was leaving time and the road was quite busy.

The photo is hdr again which meant trying to take 3 shots including a longish one without any cars passing. I didn't manage any car free shots but the trails was a pleasant side effect.

Zooming in on the windows might also have improved the shots as the reflected sunset was the main reason for taking the picture.

My first Flickr group invite

2008-01-08T23:08:00.000Z

Today I received my first Flickr group invite for this photograph which was nice.

To see my full Flickr photostream go here.

I'll post my favourites to this blog very soon.

Like buses

2008-01-07T12:51:00.000Z

No posts for weeks and then 3 come along at the same time.

I mentioned in a previous post about a mistake I made whilst photographing. Just for the record here are some others I have made:

(a) selected an ISO setting for a particular scene and then forgetting to change it back

(b) selected Automatic Exposure Bracketing to experiment with HDR photography and assumed that taking 1 picture would create the 3 different exposures, walking to another location to take another shot whilst the camera was ready to take picture 2/3 and 3/3 of the original bracketed shot. You end up with a very overexposed and under exposed version of the new scenes

(c) manually focusing on 0m when wanting to focus on infinity

(d) taking handheld shots of anything with an ISO of 100 and the minimum aperture setting (because that was what I was using for tripod mounted landscape shots) without noticing that the exposure time was ridiculously long and the result was a blurry mess

(e) doing step 1 of a 2 stage HDR process and thinking the results were 'a bit crap'

(f) losing my lens cap in near darkness, eventually finding it after spotting the Canon letters in the gloom, replacing the cap and then taking more photos with moisture on the lens

(g) to be continued ...

I don't mind making these mistakes because I feel my shots are improving all the time and I am learning and developing (pun intended) as a photographer. If I keep making them then it will probably get on my nerves.

More star trails and sunrise photos

2008-01-07T12:43:00.001Z

I woke at 6am the other morning and couldn't get back to sleep. When I looked out of the bathroom window I saw a lot more stars than normal. It was at this point that I decided to get dressed and go to a dark place to try my hand at star trails photos again. The results were again disappointing so I have vowed to systematically (my mum likes that word) go through each ISO and aperture combination taking a 30 second exposure to determine what is the best one for getting bright points of light with the minimum amount of light pollution.

When I finished the latest star trail photography attempt I thought "I am up and awake why don't I go to the beach and photograph the sunrise?" this was closely followed by "I wonder how many hours it is until sunrise?".

Anyway I went to a 24 hour supermarket and bought some breakfast, drove to the beach and took a host of pictures both before and during sunrise. I am processing these images just now so will post a selection once I have finished them. They fall into 2 categories (a) eerie early morning views and (b) golden sunrise shots. Watch this space!

Mistakes, I've made a few, but then again...

2008-01-07T12:31:00.000Z

The latest photographical mistake I've made was during a chilly dark winter's night as I attempted to take some star trail photographs. I spent time at home working out how to set my camera up correctly and decided on using manual focus because at night the auto-focus is unable to focus on anything. I read numerous articles on the process and was glad to find this article which explains how you can take lots of 30 second exposures and then combine them rather than waiting an hour and then realising your (my) mistake.

And so to the mistake. I set up my tripod and camera pointing to the piece of sky with the most stars. Took numerous 30 second exposures and reviewed several of the images on the camera LCD although you can see bugger all at night even with my kinetic torch (christmas present from the family). When I got home I eagerly loaded my photos onto my PC and wondered what all the fuzzy blobs were.

Focusing manually to infinity requires you to turn the focusing ring all the way to one extreme - unfortunately I picked the wrong extreme and therefore everything was out of focus.

Time for some photos

2007-12-13T12:45:00.000Z

Last weekend I managed to get out and take some photos with my new digital SLR (Canon 350D).

I went to a loch near home as the sun was setting with the intention to get some sunset shots reflected in the water. The water was lovely and still but the sunset was rubbish due to a large bank of cloud on the horizon.

I did get some tranquil/moody shots which also allowed me to experiment with HDR techniques. I did no editing in Photoshop and used all the default settings in Photomatix pro and I am really pleased with the results although I need to work on my focusing technique as the foreground interest is 'a bit soft'.

I have been reading up on hyperfocal distance (http://www.dofmaster.com/ )
and will print off one of the sample charts to aid me in making the foreground sharper.

The beginning

2007-11-02T12:31:00.000Z

Welcome to my first ever blog.

I'll post some pictures here once I have worked out how to free up some time.

Cheers,

John