And here it is :
Was it worth it....well, I enjoyed the walk :0)
Thursday, 29 September 2011
RETURN TO THE GLOOMY TREE
Yesterday the sun was shining brightly, clear blue skies, something of an unseasonal heatwave this week and so I decided to try again to photograph the tree that had eluded me the last time out.
And here it is :
Was it worth it....well, I enjoyed the walk :0)
And here it is :
Was it worth it....well, I enjoyed the walk :0)
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
THE RULES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
There are lots of rules involved with the taking of good photographs, camera settings, composition, light sources, all that sort of stuff but three more came to mind today.
A few days back I had been on a hill near the town centre where there is a nice view of the Parish Church looking over our municipal golf course.
The morning was sunny and the skies clear.
Great I thought . I have just bought an old 70-300mm lens to go on my new camera it should be worth the walk.
I put the usual lens on and taking the telephoto in my bag set of for the town on a beautiful sunny morning.
In town I walked past the church and took the time to take a favourite shot of mine…yet again.
I walked on along the canal towpath and noticed the seed heads of what I think is a teazel but I’m no expert.
Leaving the towpath I needed to cross the railway to get to my vantage point. Whilst there I thought I would try something that owes a lot to a photographic friend on Facebook called Anthony Greco.
The basic concept being the static warning sign contrasting against a moving train.
Nothing like Anthony’s nightime shot and nowhere near as good .
Finally I reached my vantage point and finding a convenient bench changed the lenses and placed the camera on my tripod. Sadly the tripod is quite lightweight and more suited to my bridge or compact cameras than a DSLR.
It was then that RULE #1 came into force.
THE LARGER THE LENS THE HARDER THE WIND WILL BLOW.
A gusty wind came from seemingly nowhere and setting the camera up whilst watching it jiggling in the wind became quite frustrating.
I managed a few shots though and hoped that when I came to look at them they might be reasonable.
Moving on I walked through a small wood and in there I noticed a tree with a beautifully sharp shadow of a large leaf being cast onto its textured trunk.
Wonderful. Just need to set the camera up.
RULE #2
THE SUN NEVER SHINES WHEN YOU WANT IT TO.
No sooner had a set up and found the thing in my viewfinder than the sun faded away. I waited, watched the sky, waited, the blue skies of earlier were rapidly filling in with steely grey clouds.
I waited…………nope, picking up the camera on the tripod I moved on to my last location, some parkland with a view to the north only a few hundred yards away.
I set my camera up, switched on and………….the AA batterys were flat.
RULE #3 ?
No, no, no. I always try and carry spare batteries and today was no exception. Trouble was they were rechargeable and also flat.
So I decided enough is enough and started to pack everything away. Put the original lens back on the camera, the camera in the bag, collapse the tripod, put it in its bag……..bag…….bag?…….where’s the blinking bag?
RULE #3
IF IT ISN’T TIED TO YOU THEN YOU’RE LIKELY TO LOSE IT.
I retraced my steps across the park, through the woods, by the golf course, and there it was. Sat on the floor by the seat I had used when putting the telephoto lens on.
I walked back into the town centre and caught the bus home. As I was riding along gazing out of the window the clouds disappeared like the parting of the waters of the Red Sea and the sun shone brilliantly once more.
PLEASE REFER TO RULE #2.
A few days back I had been on a hill near the town centre where there is a nice view of the Parish Church looking over our municipal golf course.
The morning was sunny and the skies clear.
Great I thought . I have just bought an old 70-300mm lens to go on my new camera it should be worth the walk.
I put the usual lens on and taking the telephoto in my bag set of for the town on a beautiful sunny morning.
In town I walked past the church and took the time to take a favourite shot of mine…yet again.
I walked on along the canal towpath and noticed the seed heads of what I think is a teazel but I’m no expert.
 |
| LOVE IS - - PRICKLY AT TIMES |
Leaving the towpath I needed to cross the railway to get to my vantage point. Whilst there I thought I would try something that owes a lot to a photographic friend on Facebook called Anthony Greco.
The basic concept being the static warning sign contrasting against a moving train.
Nothing like Anthony’s nightime shot and nowhere near as good .
Finally I reached my vantage point and finding a convenient bench changed the lenses and placed the camera on my tripod. Sadly the tripod is quite lightweight and more suited to my bridge or compact cameras than a DSLR.
It was then that RULE #1 came into force.
THE LARGER THE LENS THE HARDER THE WIND WILL BLOW.
A gusty wind came from seemingly nowhere and setting the camera up whilst watching it jiggling in the wind became quite frustrating.
I managed a few shots though and hoped that when I came to look at them they might be reasonable.
Moving on I walked through a small wood and in there I noticed a tree with a beautifully sharp shadow of a large leaf being cast onto its textured trunk.
Wonderful. Just need to set the camera up.
RULE #2
THE SUN NEVER SHINES WHEN YOU WANT IT TO.
No sooner had a set up and found the thing in my viewfinder than the sun faded away. I waited, watched the sky, waited, the blue skies of earlier were rapidly filling in with steely grey clouds.
I waited…………nope, picking up the camera on the tripod I moved on to my last location, some parkland with a view to the north only a few hundred yards away.
I set my camera up, switched on and………….the AA batterys were flat.
RULE #3 ?
No, no, no. I always try and carry spare batteries and today was no exception. Trouble was they were rechargeable and also flat.
So I decided enough is enough and started to pack everything away. Put the original lens back on the camera, the camera in the bag, collapse the tripod, put it in its bag……..bag…….bag?…….where’s the blinking bag?
RULE #3
IF IT ISN’T TIED TO YOU THEN YOU’RE LIKELY TO LOSE IT.
I retraced my steps across the park, through the woods, by the golf course, and there it was. Sat on the floor by the seat I had used when putting the telephoto lens on.
I walked back into the town centre and caught the bus home. As I was riding along gazing out of the window the clouds disappeared like the parting of the waters of the Red Sea and the sun shone brilliantly once more.
PLEASE REFER TO RULE #2.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Brightening our lives.
I went out today to get my haircut. I don’t have much left but I like it short.
Near the Hairdressers some men were painting a large mural on the front and side of a shop jointly occupied by an aquarium suppliers and a local pottery called JMJ Pottery.
JMJ Pottery make and sell hand made pots
I am enormously impressed by the skill of the people who do this. Whilst watching a man climbed the ladders and made some adjustments to the artwork with apparently only an A4 sized representation to work from.
Maybe not to everyone’s taste and there was a time when the planning authorities took a really dim view of such proposals.
I well remember the uproar when the Beatles did a similar, if rather more psychedelic treatment to the outside of their Apple Boutique in 1967.
A little further along is a Florists shop, formerly a small post office, that has had a similar treatment in keeping with the shop.
I really like it. There may be a downside of course when the British winter gets at it and it may fade and start to look tatty. Hopefully they will be properly maintained.
Time will tell but we all need a little something to brighten our day and these buildings certainly cheer me as I pass by.
Near the Hairdressers some men were painting a large mural on the front and side of a shop jointly occupied by an aquarium suppliers and a local pottery called JMJ Pottery.
JMJ Pottery make and sell hand made pots
I am enormously impressed by the skill of the people who do this. Whilst watching a man climbed the ladders and made some adjustments to the artwork with apparently only an A4 sized representation to work from.
Maybe not to everyone’s taste and there was a time when the planning authorities took a really dim view of such proposals.
I well remember the uproar when the Beatles did a similar, if rather more psychedelic treatment to the outside of their Apple Boutique in 1967.
A little further along is a Florists shop, formerly a small post office, that has had a similar treatment in keeping with the shop.
I really like it. There may be a downside of course when the British winter gets at it and it may fade and start to look tatty. Hopefully they will be properly maintained.
Time will tell but we all need a little something to brighten our day and these buildings certainly cheer me as I pass by.
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