Simplicity...

Canon 400D,70-200mm,f4,1/125,ISO100

This is one of the first images I took with the 70-200mm. It's the first L range lens that I've bought, and I'd have to say for the build and sharpness, it's worth the money. This image was taken just after a short shower, hand held at f4 and racked out to 200mm. The compression of the 200mm along with the bland back ground and large f stop gave this wonderful soft background which makes the daisy really pop.

Such a simple image but works well.

The Inlet...

Canon 400D,10-20mm,f22,225',ISO100

Well it's taken a while for me to decide on buying a 10 stop filter. But after the first use I was happy with parting with the money (plus I found step up filter adapters so this will fit all my lenses). After setting up the shot and calculating the exposure time of 3min 45sec (not an exact science as the light changes quite a bit in 3 min) you pretty much sit and wait and pray. As this was my first try I wasn't expecting to much, but I do like the effect and am hoping to apply it to a more urban scene. Overall a good buy, as long as you like the effect.

Evening Harvest...

Canon 400D,10-20mm,f18,1/250,ISO100

With the long awaited summer storms finally here, I thought I'd set out and try and capture the feeling. Great sky's on their own don't really cut if for me and I was looking for a foreground subject. Luckily I found some classic bales of hay to help with the summer feeling (however I've noticed a lack of round bails recently, I'll have to look for other subjects). I was using a "still borrowed" 10-20mm lens, which at 10 is very, very wide and I usually stay away from that end due to the exaggerated elongation of the image (as in the foreground to background appears to be further away). But with large round bails the subjects stay at a reasonable size throughout the image. 

I do like the slight tilt of the left bail and with the wide angled lens I was able to include the one on the right as well. The sky turned out really well, unfortunately the sky really lit up about 30 min after this image was taken but then maybe I wouldn't have been able to capture the detail and tones in the foreground. 

Overall I'm happy with the image, the tones and subjects really work for that late evening summer feeling.

OxEye...

Canon400D,28-135mm,f5.6,1/200,ISO100

I really like the simplicity of this image, with the strong clean colours contrasting with the background of a meadow full of oxeyed daisy's. It took some time for the wind to calm down enough for the image to be nice and sharp, but with the overcast sky bringing out the colours it was worth the waiting.

It's a classic shot with the rules of third being applied (although I rarely comply to composition rules, if it looks good then it's a good image) and the nice shallow depth of field being held within the center of the flower really helps the yellow to pop out in this image.

Not really used to all this colour, must be all that time spent on mono images.

Rock Pool...

Canon 400D,10-20mm, f22,1/5',ISO100

Taken whilst on a trip to weston-super-mare at about 0500. The idea  was to capture the movement of the sea, but without a ND filter I had to resort to an early morning and hoping for the best. The lens was borrowed from a friend so I kept my distance from splashing sea water and focused on a small rock pool with  the tide running in either sides. I tried my best to capture the contrast between the sea and rocks. The longer exposure help in that respect. I also manage to retain the horizon line without it being blown out.

So over all, a ND filter would have been ideal, however I happy with the result. A blue tint was added in post processing to add a feel of the location.

Asking Hands...

Canon 400D,28-135mm,f8,1/5',ISO100

After being inspired by some low light photography images, I thought I'd try some myself. The idea was to bring out the texture in the hands (mine actually) and a begging style would work best as I actually wanted to add some grain to the image and I thought that this pose as apposed to a praying pose would benefit best.

It was taken on self timer with my hands on a dark blanket and then lit by a single light (an LED bike light with a toilet roll snout). I like the way that it's really brought out the detail in the hands and adds to the feeling of "need" to the image with a nice balance of highlighted and hidden details. It's definitely a technique I'd use again.

A River Runs...

Canon 400D,10-20mm,f22,5',ISO100

I found this stream by accident, after looking at a small pond that I saw on "Google Earth", I heard running water and followed the river down until I came across this bridge. Thinking that the bridge would make a nice frame around the running water, added to that the rocks which break up the flow nicely. I set my tripod as close to the river as possible. I used the river bank as a leading line up towards the bridge and left enough head room above the bridge to add some interest as to the destination. 

All that and I only ended up with one wet foot, when getting as close to the river as possible ended up as getting as close with one foot in the river (maybe I should buy some wellies).

Broken Jetty...

Canon 400D,10-20mm,f22,1/60,ISO100

Taken earlier this evening at a local lake, I've been to this location before but only at dawn. However as this was a evening shot the light lit up the jetties with some great soft light. As you can see the jetty has seen better days, but it was the broken sign that really drew my attention and serves as a interesting foreground subject. The colour version was quite nice with some nice warm tones on the decking, however I prefer the mono version as it adds more drama (if you can call it that).

#52

Canon 400D,28-135mm,f8,1/200,ISO400

I decided to take some advice from a book and find a single subject matter of which to base you pictures around whilst out and about. Well I took an easy one and decided on "wood". After the obvious fence lines and wooden sheds were taken care of, I came across some old railway sleepers. This one had a "52" nail in it. It's amazing what you find when you take a closer look.

The Beast...

Canon 400D,28-135mm,f11,1',ISO100

Tried my luck with car photography, and I must say that working with such a reflective subject does cause quite a lot of problems. This was taken at dawn, the original idea was to use the reflection of the sunrise in the panel work as contrast betwen the black car and the dawn sky. However the sunrise never came and thus a mono version seemed the best alternative.

Now I know it's not an Aston Martin but if you can make a Twingo look half decent then the techniques must be working.

Swan Lake...

Canon 400D,28-135mm,f5.6,1/10,ISO100

It was the reflection that first drew me to take this image. Again the straight vertical lines with the contrasting smooth shape of the swan really make the image more appealing. Composition wise the water line and the swan both sit on a 3rd line, with  makes for a good image (however I don't always like to follow the rules of thirds).

Taken at a local lake just before midday, the light was good and the water was calm, couldn't really ask for more.

All the single Ladies...

Canon 400d,28-135mm,f16,1/125,ISO100

I first went to this location to try and get an elevated shot of a nearby village, but that didn't really work out. These cows seemed interested in what I was doing and followed me as I walked along there field. They lined up at the gate which just created a great image. Didn't manage to get them all to look at the camera at the same time. (can't have everything).

This is one of the few times that B&W really works for me, the pure black and white of the cows hide with all the grays in the rest of the picture. I also try and get a good contrast of straight and soft lines.  

Help...

Canon 400D,28-135mm,f5.6,1/250,ISO100

The main thing is the eye's, that's what all the books say. It's true, without the sharpness, the catchlights or the look, this photo wouldn't give the effect that it's supposed to. 

This monkey was happy enough in his cage with the others. But it was only when he came up close that for a frame or two I got a slight look of sadness (or maybe he just didn't like the camera). Which makes me realize that a photo is a fraction of a second which may not portray the whole truth. And sometimes it's that par second that only catches the truth.

Secured before the Storm...

Canon 400D,10-20mm,f8,1/30,ISO100

Taken at a local lake around midday. I didn't have my tripod, so I was shooting in bursts of 3 or 4 (the idea that one of them would be sharp enough). The aim was to get the anchor ring in the bottom right, with the chain leading up to the boat, then the sides of the boat leading to the background. The stormy looking clouds made a nice touch to the boat being secured with chains to the shore. The boat looks a bit battered but I think that adds to the charm and obviously the owner cares enough to keep it locked up. The mono conversion was made to add more drama to the overall scene. 

Down in the Gutter...

 Canon 400D,10-20mm,f22,0.5,ISO 100

After getting up early for a sunrise that never really materialized, I went in search of something else. I noticed a large open drainage system that fed into the lake I was at. The sun was just around the tree line, which made it dark enough to get the longer shutter speed.

However a word of warning, you will get some strange looks and people saying "morning" whilst trying to look over your shoulder to see what your doing at 0715 with your head near a drain.

No place like home...

Canon 400D, 28-135mm, f5.6, 1/200, ISO 100

Well first of all this is the first time I've had a blog or even the first time that I've tried to write about the photos that I take, so please bare with me. I thought I'd start with this image. It was taken to day at a local zoo, the zebra seemed not to be interested with the general public and instead favored looking towards this little hut. It came across to me (and hopefully in this image) that the zebra would rather be running free than stuck within his pen, however he seem content within his usual surroundings whilst dreaming of bigger things.

This somehow relates to my photographic style. I've been stuck for the last few years with finding my feet and area/style of photography. A few lucky shots here and there, but no real direction. So my idea was that with keeping a blog and hopefully getting feedback might just be the thing to point me in the right direction and get me out of this beginners rut.

So let the adventure start with the first click of this post.