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.