A Very English Bank Holiday Monday

Anyone who has been in the UK for the last 6 months or so, will appreciate the long dull cold harsh winter we have endured. So, when suddenly presented with a Bank Holiday Weekend with sunshine, it is understandable the nation comes to life, almost like animals coming out of hibernation. What is typically a 30 minute drive from Bristol to Weston-Super-Mare, became a 2.5 hour journey. Madness, everyone all thinking the same thing, get to the nearest beach. Lemmings sprung to mind. The traffic was crazy, and the destination was exactly as expected, mayhem! But hey, sometimes you just have to embrace these things, go with it, and see the funny side of it

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Walks with Old Lenses – Episode 1

This is the first of a series of ‘test walks’, the aim being to try out some old FD mount lenses that I have, attached to my Canon 600D DSLR, using an adaptor which I purchased on eBay for about £28. I have had these lenses for a while now, some since I was a teenager, but have been wondering whether to sell some of them on. I thought I should give them a bit more of a chance though, before deciding.

The images on this post are all taken with a Canon 35-105mm FD f3.5 Macro lens. If I remember correctly, I bought it a year or so ago, from a local camera store, and paid no more than about £20 for it. For that kind of price, I thought it was worth the risk.

I’m pleasantly surprised by some of the results for a quick test run. All handheld, and of course full manual mode is compulsory with this approach of mixing old with new. I quite like that though, as it makes me ‘think’ more about what I want to shoot.

I like to think there is a touch of retro to the results. Focusing is quite ‘soft’, but not too much so. Nothing that can’t be enhanced slightly afterwards. All of the above have, I admit, had a bit of post-processing applied, but generally nothing too drastic. All are originally from RAW files.

Looking forward to the next chance I get, to take another lucky old lens for a wander…Episode 2 coming soon!

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West Country Snow

It’s been a pretty uninspiring winter visually so far, here in the West Country of England. The camera has been gathering dust which is frustrating! Today, however, the scenery was transformed by a big dumping of snow which occurred through the night. It took me most of the day to actually get my boots on, and the camera around my neck, so the light wasn’t great & I didn’t feel like going too far, tip-toeing over the already icy pavements! It always amazes me how beautiful the first coating of snow can be, and also how it transforms grown-up adults into small, playful children! Hopefully tomorrow there will be another chance to get some more shots

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Experiments in White & Black – Architecture

Digging around a mixture of photo folders, randomly trying them out on Silver Efex Pro 2….locations included are Dublin, Bristol & Sydney.

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Experiments in White & Black

Recently I’ve been trying to work on my skills at B&W conversions, mostly with a trial of Silver Efex Pro 2. I think I’m getting the hang of it, and enjoying it, but still nowhere near perfect results. I do love the drama that can be added to skies, in particular, and the selective editing using control points on different areas of the images.

It’s forced me dig through some older images, in search of suitable B&W shots. These are just a few of my first efforts with Silver Efex, taken in SW Victoria, Australia. The location was a slightly eery one to me, an abandoned family home in the countryside, near Cape Bridgewater. I hope to revisit this spot at some point, at different times of the day, as the landscapes can be so striking, in such a minimalist kind of way.

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Autumn Colour

A recent day out with a friend, and our cameras, to Westonbirt Arboretum (Gloucestershire), wasn’t exactly what we imagined, but the colours of Autumn were worth it in the end.

It was one brief day of sunshine, on a Saturday of the school holidays, an enormous queue of traffic waiting to enter through the gates, which we later found out was due to an accident. Then a queue on foot to pay our £9 entrance fees, a queue for the toilets, and a quick bite to eat (thankfully a very small queue!), we were starving by this stage!

So at last, off we marched (trying not to slip on the muddy ground!) to take some shots of the display of Autumn at this well known and loved spot. Unfortunately, as one passer-by commented to us, there was also a ‘beautiful display of photographers’! This summed up the scene perfectly, and we couldn’t help but laugh. There we were surrounded by so many amazing trees, leaves, and colour….but the landscape was littered with people, all with the same idea as us. People were literally waiting to take turns in taking their photos in front of this tree and that tree! To add a little more pressure, by this stage of the day some clouds were starting to roll over our heads, but luckily the sun persevered enough for us to catch at least some brightly lit, and beautiful leaves.

It’s mostly for this reason, that I am happiest with my close-ups from the day! We plan on a return visit, AFTER the school holidays, and on a week day!!

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Galway, Ireland

After four weeks working in Dublin, I had one weekend left to escape and see a bit more of Ireland. Indecision grasped me, but at the last minute I decided I wouldn’t be happy unless I at least reached the west coast of the country, however brief.

It was a whirlwind trip. One day to get from Dublin to Galway and back. Five hours on the coach. Five hours in Galway. My feet were complaining, but my camera wasn’t. The sun was shining, which I was very relieved about.

In a perfect world, I would have had time to also get to the beautiful Aran Islands, but with the limited time available, I decided I would have to save these for a dedicated ‘West Coast of Ireland’ photography trip in the future. So this is just a snapshot of Galway, for now

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