Monday 31st January 2011

I would like to try to showcase some of the amazing old buildings in Stoke over the course of the year. I'm not sure the best way to take photos of buildings, but you've got to start somewhere, so here's my start. The lettering on This building says 'Free Library', 'Public Baths', 'Queen Victoria Jubilee Buildings', 'Science & Art Institute' and 'A.D.1889', and still houses the library plus a Victorian swimming pool which I hope to photograph another day.

39mm, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 100

Sunday 30th January 2011

One for the sunset lovers. Today almost passed without me thinking up a photo opportunity, but the streaky sky hinted that it might be a nice sunset so on the way out for dinner we stopped on a bridge and I pointed the camera and tripod in the direction of an angular factory. Unfortunately I just missed the big burning disc sinking into one of the triangular grooves, but got some okay colours anyway and I like the contrast to the stark black edges of the factory.

100mm, 1/125s (auto from aperture priority), f/11, ISO 400

Saturday 29th January 2011

I had high hopes for today as I was heading out for a photography day with my knowledgable friend James. We rendezvoused in the Peak District and sauntered off down a riverside footpath, enjoying having all the time in the world to stop and snap away, without having anywhere else we needed to be. I valued having the opportunity to talk non stop about various tips and tricks and pick James' brains. Towards the end of the day we crossed some stepping stones and got some lovely photos of the streaming textured water with various hues within it, and I thought that would be my photo of the day. However just as we were approaching the road to return to our cars, James alerted me to 'something interesting' over to my left and there was a whole flock of Waxwings, which aren't particularly common in this part of the world. I've never seen one before and here were dozens! Gorgeous creatures. I fired off a couple of shots then we approached them from the road instead thinking that would be less likely to spook them and it worked. Just as I was shooting photos of them in high a tree one popped up in the hedge to my right greedily eating berries, and thankfully my camera already had the correct settings (spot metering, ISO off 100 and on to automatic, as fast a shutter speed as I could get given the light) to record the moment before it flew off.

If my capture is anywhere near as good as this one I'm overjoyed!

250mm, 1/125s, f/6.5 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 400 (auto)

Friday 28th January 2011

I wasn't sure where to head for lunch today but as soon as I saw the sun was shining I remembered a nice spot nearby I know where one canal crosses over another and it's lovely and green all around. I didn't want to be cheeky and park at the pub where I normally start from (where I took this photo) as I wasn't eating there today, so I attempted to approach from the other direction. After walking up a bank I possibly wasn't supposed to walk up, picking my way down the wrong side of the upper canal, then teetering across a stone gantry above a leg-breaking drop, I found myself balancing on the right angle of a flat stone wall that connects to a footbridge over the upper canal, over another un-tempting drop, trying to get as much as possible in shot without moving around and throwing myself off balance. I wanted to take the photo of the point at which the bridges cross, but the shapes in the photo were all wrong, right angles meeting at the centre. This one, slightly to the right, although not my first choice, looks more technically appealing. It's not perfect, but I think it's the best I could have taken given my restricted shooting location and my as-yet undeveloped landscape photography skills!

As a comparison the alternative shot is underneath. For both of them I bracketed three shots (one at a chosen exposure, and another one at each 2/3 stop above and -2/3 stop below so that I got the best of the bright blue sky and the darker areas), then merged them in photoshop into one image. Another useful tool for me to learn!

18mm, 1/15s (auto from aperture priority), f/22, ISO 200

18mm, 1/13s (auto from aperture priority), f/22, ISO 200

Thursday 27th January 2011

I had another landscape lunch today, taking a wander up to a monument to John Wedgewood on Bignall Hill. Unfortunately I drew blanks again (I had suspected as much since it's on the summit of the hill so you can't look down on it, but it was a good excuse to go somewhere I've been meaning too for ages). Instead I went to capture car headlights which I've been thinking about since the 10th January and have found a better spot for. I think I still need to revisit this though (soon), as I went later in the evening than I'd planned and there aren't as many car headlights as I would have liked.

42mm, 4s, f/22, ISO 200

Wednesday 26th January 2011

At lunchtime today I headed to a park that I know has various features such as a lake and a bandstand, along with a whole load of different angles and curves and mounds, as I wanted to practise my landscape photography since my skills there are somewhat lacking. I learnt a few things from my efforts, but didn't come up with anything presentable from this trip. So fortunately I had a back-up plan - photographing a church that I drive past fairly regularly that's always very nicely lit. This wasn't the photo I envisaged, but it appealed once I started exploring possibilities, and I took the shot on fully manual which I pleased about.

18mm, 30s, f/22, ISO 400

Tuesday 25th January 2011

I took my camera to a Burns Night supper I was attending that evening, which was held in an 18th century coaching inn. The pub had various interesting features, including some fascinatingly ornate radiators, and these stained glass windows.

18mm, 1/10s (auto from aperture priority), f/11, ISO 1600 (auto)

Monday 24th January 2011

Today I went back to Bathpool park for the third time, this time on a mission to make it to the lake, circumnavigate it and get back to work without exceeding my lunch-hour. I managed it, but it didn't leave me much time for photos, although there were a few opportunities that I paused for. This one came up trumps, I like the way the clumps of lichen look like furry creatures. If I get back with more time I'll take a walk over the bridge and see where it leads.

18mm, 1/25s (auto from aperture priority), f/7.1, ISO 400

Sunday 23rd January 2011

I have Gasman (my first follower!) to thank for this idea. He told me about 'multiple exposure', where you take two photos on one piece of film (or the digital equivalent). Unfortunately my camera doesn't let me do this, Canon dropped the feature on their DSLRs as it's easier to do it in post-processing. However post-processing, barring enhancements that make the photograph closer to how it was in reality, seems like cheating to me, so I decided to have a play with a trick I read about to achieve a similar effect. You need dim light and a long-ish exposure, and move part of the subject half way through. The moving subject here was myself.

The mood is my mood this time. I've been feeling a little odd this weekend, spent most of it on my own doing useful stuff around the house, but I really wanted to be with company, and anywhere else, so I felt a little detached from reality. Ghost-like.

21mm, 10s, f/11.0 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 200

Saturday 22nd January 2011

"Walking on water"

I walked down to a nature reserve near my house today and arrived just at the same time as a chap who had leftover chips from the fish shop to feed the ducks. This bunch was waiting eagerly for some to be thrown their way, then waddled eagerly towards it, skidding all over the shop on the ice.

129mm, 1/60s (auto from aperture priority), f/11.0, ISO 160

Friday 21st January 2011

Today I wanted to re-visit the park where I took this. I still didn't make it to the lake as I got waylaid by a shower of frost continuously falling from trees (which was stunning given that there wasn't any wind), and while wandering up to them I saw this ice studded weed glinting in the light. With the 20 minutes I had left before I had to return to work, I snapping it from as many angles as I could without getting my feet too wet, hoping that at least one of them would turn out okay. I was experimenting with specular highlights by trying to turn the background sun into a out-of-focus perfect circle, although it didn't seem to be working so I quickly gave up and carried on just snapping. However when I viewed the photos on my computer I saw that I *had* got specular highlights on various of the photos where the sun was reflecting off the chunks of ice and frost all around - see the colourful circles across the top of the photo.

77mm, 1/800s (auto from aperture priority), f/5.0, ISO 100

Thursday 20th January 2011

I took a drive to my favourite pub at lunchtime hoping to capture a misty canal, but I obviously need more practise before I can record the atmosphere. I did find a little weir though, of which I got a passable photo, although really need a tripod for things like this. I took a couple of photos on a slower shutter speed to create a cotton-like effect with the water. Following it is a faster capture for comparison, which gives a somewhat different effect that I also like.

27mm, 0.5, f/22 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 100 (auto)

50mm, 1/320, f/5.02 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 320 (auto)

Wednesday 19th January 2011

Some friends came over for dinner yesterday evening and bought me some lovely flowers, so once they'd gone I couldn't resist snapping dozens of photos of them, and more this morning!

250mm, 0.5 (auto from aperture priority), f/6.3, ISO 1600 (auto)

Tuesday 18th January 2011

I snapped this in a locals pub in town where I sometimes go for lunch. The pub does a surprisingly good curry, although I wish they'd turn the music down so I can read my camera book in peace! :-) It's not something I'd choose for my house, but I like how it's quietly ornate and probably never noticed.

This also gave me the opportunity to learn another post processing tool, as I had to remove the barrel distortion that the lens introduces at wide angle, so that the picture frame and architrave are horizontal just like they are in real life. My first attempt wasn't particularly accurate, then I found a much better tutorial, using the 'lens distortion' tool that the first had missed.

18mm, 0.4 (auto from aperture priority), f/9.0, ISO 1600 (auto)

Monday 17th January 2011

I don't find it very easy to look at the world in terms of light and shade in order to capture the contrast on film (yet), but since I have my camera glued to my side of late, some things just happen accidentally. I took a picture of a church and then was drawn by the reflection of the gate on the steps, offset against the shadow of the pillars painted against the beautifully ornate door.

129mm, 1/60 (auto from aperture priority), f/11, ISO 100

Sunday 16th January 2011

Whilst walking in the Cairngorms today we were gifted with a sight of a pair of Ptarmigan, peacefully pecking about in the snow just close enough to grab a photo of. I'm glad I didn't settle with my first few photos as the computer revealed them to be blurred, thankfully I thought to creep a bit closer.

250mm, 1/500, f/6.3 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 200 (auto)

Saturday 15th January 2011

This little chap is a real cutie, and seemed happier upside-down than the right way up! He hasn't had the easiest start in life (Findlay's story) but it doesn't seem to have bothered him in the slightest.

27mm, 1/200, f/3.5 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 400 (auto)

Friday 14th January 2011

Driving up to Scotland this evening I was a little thin on the ground on photos, and my partner suggested I throw a long exposure at the car lights and streetlights. I couldn't picture the result, expecting it to be blurred and washed out, but the first photo surprised me, then I got this one. I love the way the vibration of the car combined with the slow shutter speed turns the road sign into a streak reminscent of pixellated smoke from a fire in a a computer game, and the car that was passing us at the time becomes an indistinct smudge in the lower left corner.

35mm, 10s, f/4.5 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 250 (auto)

Thursday 13th January 2011

Loved up pigeon and disinterested pigeon.

"What do you mean you don't want to be my lady pigeon? I put a lot of effort into puffing my neck feathers up for you!"

When I took this I accidentally had the white balance still set to fluorescent or tungsten leaving the whole image in various shades of blue, and they flew off before I could take on on the correct setting, but thankfully I managed to recover it in Photoshop.

70mm, 1/80s (auto from aperture priority), f/11, ISO 1600 (auto)

Wednesday 12th January 2011

A quick stroll at lunchtime found a placid, lone, photogenic, pony left by the travellers, being looked at by a RSPCA chap, but I actually preferred this shot of a dishevelled hut at the back of a cricket ground by common land.

32mm, 1/40s (auto from aperture priority), f/5.6, ISO 125 (auto)

Tuesday 11th January 2011

I had some friends over for dinner today and intended to take a picture of the food, both courses, in an arty way with a blurred all-white or all-black background. But I was so hungry and eager to chow down that I completely forgot, and instead had to settle with a snap of the half eaten cake, representing the mood "no longer quite so hungry" ;-)

18mm, 1/25s, f/3.5, ISO 400 (auto)

Monday 10th January 2011

I tried a little experimenting with a slow shutter speed and car headlights, but it requires more time to find a good location and a day where it isn't raining and I can get more than 2 snaps before the lens is covered in raindrops. So instead I'm treating you to a photo of my gorgeous babies Coriander and Peppper. For those of you not versed in chicken speak, the mood here is one of 'let me out of the coop you mean mummy, if you're going to abandon us for 3 days we want some attention when you get back!'

18mm, 1/50s (auto from aperture priority), f/3.5, ISO 100

Sunday 9th January 2011

This is actually an art installation by Antony Gormely on Crosby Beach just north of Liverpool. One of the figures is one of 100 cast iron larger than life figures installed on the beach, that watches the tide day in day out, becomming submerged at high water. Can you tell which it is?

109mm, 1/125s (auto from aperture priority), f/11.0, ISO 100

Saturday 8th January 2011

There were moods and expressions a plenty at a ballroom and latin dance competition I watched today. I love this shot of a young couple (who I think won their category), they look like they're enjoying every minute of it and taking joy in reaping the satisfaction from all the hard work they put in to get where they did.

70mm, 1/125s, f/5.0 (auto from shutter priority), ISO 400 (auto)

Friday 7th January 2011

Sadly the recent intense cold and prolonged snow cover has destroyed my Cordyline, which was previously tall, elegant and purple. Somehow though it looks beautiful now in its gold and green despite being snapped down to the ground.

50mm, 1/50s (auto from aperture priority), f/10.0, ISO 1000 (auto)

Thursday 6th January 2011

I popped down to a local park today, for half an hour (it would have been longer but time was curtailed due to a broken card machine at my fast-food lunch stop, grrr). I've never been here before, I was under the opinion that there was a lake but I didn't find it. A little googling later on and I found that there is not only a lake, but the place has some interesting history. It was the location of the murder of a Shropshire heiress in 1975 and is at one end of a railway tunnel built when the nearby tunnel at Harecastle (built in 1848) was too low to take the new rolling stock. There are some photos here, the Harecastle tunnels are also rumoured to be haunted.

Unfortunately the small section I saw of the park was rather uninspiring - a tarmac track then a muddy one, but I have visions of returning and getting some atmospheric black and white gothic shots with an aura of its grim history.

I couldn't decide between my mediocre shots, so I've gone with a first choice (a vibrant tree I rather liked) but also posted smaller version of options 2 (a ragged robin - well I've always known it as this but recently learnt it may not be, anyone know the real name?) and 3 (tree fingers).

70mm, 1/60s (auto from aperture priority), f/5.6, ISO 1600 (auto)

(left) 84mm, 1/100 (auto), f/5.6, ISO 1250 (auto)
(right) 18mm, 1/100 (auto), f/3.5, ISO 100 (auto)

Wednesday 5th January 2011

"Seeing stars!"

As usual I made it to bed around 1am last night, and since it was after mightnight I thought I'd take a couple of night shots from my bedroom experimenting with very slow shutter speeds. I sat my camera on a box on my windowsill and set it going for the maximum of 30 second, waiting with baited breathe, and got a lovely orange glow over the houses. Knowing I had a passable daily shot I left my camera at home today... then typically saw loads of cool things at lunchtime - raindrops, oil slicks etc. - but no matter, I can save those for future blank days. Back at home I noticed the sky was a little clearer and there were some stars showing, so before uploading the previous shots I was back at my window staring right at the Plough constellation! I put the camera on manual giving me access to bulb mode and sat there with my finger on the button for 1 1/4 minutes. And got this! (And a good thing too I took more too as last night's shots look a bit bland on the big screen). Oh I love my camera, I've wanted to be able to take photos of the stars for as long as I can remember! Expect more of these, including ones without the smudge on the screen - that's a reflection from the glass, I had to leave the window closed as it doesn't open wide enough. I needs to get me a tripod.

18mm, 75s, f/9.0, ISO 400 (auto)

Tuesday 4th January 2011

 Day 4. The mood - grey and drizzly. The image - raindrops on my car window, with me hiding behind them and avoiding the blurry world behind the glass... work :-)

65mm, 1/80s (auto from aperture priority), f/5.0, ISO 800 (auto)

Monday 3rd January 2011

I took this photo as I was thinking I hadn't snapped anything suitable for the 2nd Jan, then I realised it was after midnight and I could use my Stanage shot anyway, but decided to put this forwards for the 3rd. The aim was just to create a bit of intrigue, to create a mood with the plain colour and the depth of field, but also to lead people into wondering what it was of... in case you're wondering it was just my sofa, nothing exciting. Bit of vignetting visibile in the corners as the lens was at full zoom (I haven't corrected it because... I haven't yet learnt how!)

141mm, 0.6s (auto from aperture priority), f/5.6, ISO 1600 (auto)

Sunday 2nd January 2011

Day two - working off the winter excess with a trot along Stanage.

46mm, 1/60s (auto from aperture priority), f/8.0, ISO 500 (auto)

Saturday 1st January 2011

Diving right in with the first photo... the mood here is one of a happy pooch!

39mm, 1/6s (auto from aperture priority), f/4.0, ISO 1600 (auto)