Sea Shells

I'm not getting much time to myself these days, certainly not enough to go out and photograph landscapes, added to which I've been having difficulty getting about, but I am determined to keep snapping away when I can! We have a collection of sea shells on display in the dining room so I pilfered them and set up a mini studio in the conservatory. Once again I have desaturated somewhat and added vignetting.
These were some of the results

More Flowers!

Still not being very mobile, I decided to carry on with the subject of flowers indoors, only treating things a little differently this time. I had envisioned creating black and white studies of tulips inspired by such greats as John Blakemore, but as I experimented I found a rather pleasing effect instead - that of low saturation, something I tried before on some of my Coast scenes.
The photos were taken in the conservatory with a large piece of white paper for background using available light.
Hope you like

BBC iPlayer - Diet or My Husband Dies

BBC iPlayer - Diet or My Husband Dies
Not about photography I know but something else close to my heart - or kidney I should say.
A truly inspiring story about Sam who underwent a rigorous training scheme to lose weight in order to donate a kidney to her husband. Her total commitment and strength of will has given her husband the precious gift of life and the chance to see their child grow up.
Simply unmissable and utterly inspiring

Flowers

Saturday the 13th March saw me experimenting with my macro lens, trying to get a suitable photograph for a friend as a house warming present. Time constraints meant I only had a few minutes to get the photos, so I took some flowers which were on display in the hall and set them up a well lit room.
I'm not sure what the first flower is I think its a
chrysanthemum but it was taken with a EF50mmf2.5 Compact Macro set to 70mm with ISO 320 at 1/8sec @ f4

The second is a close up of a rose on the same settings on 1/10sec @ f2.8

My fathers cousin is very keen on his family tree and I have been asked to repair and enlarge some family photos from years gone by. The whole experience for me is so far very enjoyable - the heal brush on photoshop used to get rid of scratches and other blemishes. In all I'm working on 9 pictures during spare evenings. This image is of my great grandfather who I'm told was one of the last sailors to train on a rigged ship and went on to be the captain of the Leviathan - what was at the time the worlds largest dredger

It was with bitter disappointment that I was unable to get out and about with the camera during our big freeze due to health reasons, I missed many opportunities for great photographs, but once I was better I decided to try out my 150-500 lens that I have had for over a year but not really had a chance to put through its paces. On the 26th Jan I went for a day trip to Pensthorpe Wildfowl Park (www.pensthorpe.com) - host to BBC Springwatch. The park is beautiful even at this time of year and I look forward to returning in the Spring and Summer.


This image of a stork was taken near the main complex on 1/320 at f16 with the lens set to 300mm. I used the camera without a tripod which is a fatal error particularly with someone with as shaky hands as I have! You cant tell at this magnification but slight blurring is apparent when blown up - An excuse to get back to the park as soon as possible!


The bird feeder was taken from inside one of the hides on the walk, I could have stayed there in the relative warm for hours burning up battery and Compact Flash Space - the volume of birds using the feeder was huge a reminder that natural food for birds is scarce this time of year so keeping feeders continually filled is a must. The image was taken at 1/640 at f6.3 with the lens set to 500mm ( ISO 500). The last two images were taken at 1/320 at f5.6 - 300mm and 1/400 at f5.6 - 205mm -all three images using a monopod I hasten to add....

Brancaster

5am is an ungodly hour but I awoke this morning, put my gear together and set off for the north Norfolk coast. I had in mind the beach at Brancaster where I had photographed before. I had been meaning to get back there and catch a dawn scene for over a year now and today was that day. As I approached the coast I thought I had mistimed it and would arrive too late, as it was though I need not have worried as the day turned into one of those where it all just pans out nicely.
The tide was low and the horizon was just starting to lighten up. This first shot was a 2 second exposure at f16, I hadn't realised and didn't until after the shot that I must have accidently dialled in an ISO of 320. Still overall I am happy with the image.



I had thought that the light wasn't going to get anymore obliging so I had packed up and walked the short distance to the car when the sky started to show signs that all was not over and that there was going to be a decent sunrise, so I turned around and raced back to the beach where I captured this shot at 1/10 of a sec at f18 (this time making sure the ISO was set to 100!).

It was a result in the end and I have a few more images from the mornings work so I am happy.
On the way home there was a beautiful mist over the woods and farmland as I cut across country, unfortunately I had no energy left to pull up and take a picture or two - but the area is logged for future trips out that way