Ladybird, ladybird fly away home on Flickr.Yesterday was one of the nicest days of the year so far, so we took the opportunity to get out in the garden. The number of ladybirds in the grass was surprising so I grabbed my camera and started clicking. About 100 shots later and I caught this little chap preparing to launch! Given the chance again I would have stopped down the aperture to f8 which would have got the wings in focus as well, but the best of the light had already gone so I was up against it slightly. Maybe next time.Via Flickr: Helios 44M, 58mm @ f4, 41mm macro tube.

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home on Flickr.

Yesterday was one of the nicest days of the year so far, so we took the opportunity to get out in the garden.

The number of ladybirds in the grass was surprising so I grabbed my camera and started clicking. About 100 shots later and I caught this little chap preparing to launch!

Given the chance again I would have stopped down the aperture to f8 which would have got the wings in focus as well, but the best of the light had already gone so I was up against it slightly. Maybe next time.

Via Flickr:
Helios 44M, 58mm @ f4, 41mm macro tube.

No2 Ferarri F430 GT3 on Flickr. Today I’m sharing something a little different. Before I bought my Canon DSLR I spent my years shooting car events on bridge cameras and digital compacts. This photo was taken at Brands Hatch back in September 2010 using my current go-to compact the Fuji FinePix F60fd. The event was one of the final rounds of the 2010 British GT3 championship and this photo of a Ferrari F430 GT3 was taken during one of the hour-long endurance races that day. I love the slight motion blur in this photo but even more I love the bright red glow of the brake discs. I hope to go to some more events this year but this time I’ll be packing my Canon 450D and a couple of fast zoom lenses, either the EF-S 55-250mm IS or more likely the EF-S 17-85mm IS. If all else fails if I can get close enough to the action I might see what I can get from my “nifty” f1.8 50mm Canon lens.

No2 Ferarri F430 GT3 on Flickr.

Today I’m sharing something a little different. Before I bought my Canon DSLR I spent my years shooting car events on bridge cameras and digital compacts.

This photo was taken at Brands Hatch back in September 2010 using my current go-to compact the Fuji FinePix F60fd. The event was one of the final rounds of the 2010 British GT3 championship and this photo of a Ferrari F430 GT3 was taken during one of the hour-long endurance races that day.

I love the slight motion blur in this photo but even more I love the bright red glow of the brake discs. I hope to go to some more events this year but this time I’ll be packing my Canon 450D and a couple of fast zoom lenses, either the EF-S 55-250mm IS or more likely the EF-S 17-85mm IS. If all else fails if I can get close enough to the action I might see what I can get from my “nifty” f1.8 50mm Canon lens.

1 Notes
According to Neilsen ratings, Women spend more time than Men watching television, watching online videos and visiting social networking sites! Neilsen has recently rebranded those previous referred to as “Generation Y” as “Generation C”, with the C standing for “connected”. In the same report it appears Men only outnumber Women in one digital category, the number of people who are tablet owners. On the basis that I am within the ages of 18 and 34, own a tablet and spend little time watching online videos or visiting social networks it would definitely seem that I fit the criteria of Generation C Male!

According to Neilsen ratings, Women spend more time than Men watching television, watching online videos and visiting social networking sites!

Neilsen has recently rebranded those previous referred to as “Generation Y” as “Generation C”, with the C standing for “connected”. In the same report it appears Men only outnumber Women in one digital category, the number of people who are tablet owners.

On the basis that I am within the ages of 18 and 34, own a tablet and spend little time watching online videos or visiting social networks it would definitely seem that I fit the criteria of Generation C Male!

This is Moo, the unloved kitty who found a new home on Flickr.Via Flickr: This is my cat. I’ve deliberately not posted too many photos of her on Flickr, partly because she’s so cute that I fear someone may steal her, but mainly because on the Internet if you continually post pictures of your cat some people may think you are weird. We call her many names but at the moment she is Nana Moo. We rescued Moo from the RSPCA centre local to where we live, her previous owners had recently divorced and neither one wanted to keep her, so she was abandoned. She was 16 months old at the time and had already had a litter of kittens. We were told that she would find it hard to settle in a new home and that we shouldn’t expect too much physical attention as she was not used to human contact. That was 4 years ago last month. Now Moo is the most caring and inquisitive cat you could ask for, in her new home she has everything she could want and more, including her new baby brother, our son Tom.

This is Moo, the unloved kitty who found a new home on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
This is my cat. I’ve deliberately not posted too many photos of her on Flickr, partly because she’s so cute that I fear someone may steal her, but mainly because on the Internet if you continually post pictures of your cat some people may think you are weird.
We call her many names but at the moment she is Nana Moo. We rescued Moo from the RSPCA centre local to where we live, her previous owners had recently divorced and neither one wanted to keep her, so she was abandoned. She was 16 months old at the time and had already had a litter of kittens. We were told that she would find it hard to settle in a new home and that we shouldn’t expect too much physical attention as she was not used to human contact.
That was 4 years ago last month. Now Moo is the most caring and inquisitive cat you could ask for, in her new home she has everything she could want and more, including her new baby brother, our son Tom.

1 Notes
Sunburst through the trees on Flickr.Out on a walk recently I noticed the sun had dropped well under the tree line. I had read recently that you could acheive a “sunburst” type effect by stopping the aperture right down so I decided to give it a try. The end result was a little diffcult to guage at first, as reviewing the shot on camera it looked very underexposed. When I got back home though I managed to recover some of the detail in iPhoto and the end result seems to work out. Definitely not one of my best, but it’s all a learning curve and trying something new definitely seems to be the way forward.

Sunburst through the trees on Flickr.

Out on a walk recently I noticed the sun had dropped well under the tree line. I had read recently that you could acheive a “sunburst” type effect by stopping the aperture right down so I decided to give it a try.
The end result was a little diffcult to guage at first, as reviewing the shot on camera it looked very underexposed. When I got back home though I managed to recover some of the detail in iPhoto and the end result seems to work out.
Definitely not one of my best, but it’s all a learning curve and trying something new definitely seems to be the way forward.

It’s been a while since I shared one of my photos so today we have one I took recently at the Christening of my first niece. The day was unusually bright for a cold January afternoon and the light felt extremely harsh at the time. The original straight off the camera looked incredibly flat and the quality of the lens (18-55mm IS kit lens) was very apparent with very harsh edges of the building against the sky beyond. Luckily iPhoto stepped in to save the day and I managed to recover a lot more detail than I expected, bringing back some of the shadows and highlighting the detail in the stonework. It’s been a couple months now since I’ve had my SLR and I’m still finding my feet. I’ve yet to work out where my photography niche will be, and so recently I’ve been franticly trying everything I can think of including long exposure, macro, landscapes and portraits. I’ve still got a lot to try and I’m looking forward to trying out high-speed when the weather warms a little and I can get hold of some water bombs! Combe Martin Parish Church on Flickr.

It’s been a while since I shared one of my photos so today we have one I took recently at the Christening of my first niece.

The day was unusually bright for a cold January afternoon and the light felt extremely harsh at the time. The original straight off the camera looked incredibly flat and the quality of the lens (18-55mm IS kit lens) was very apparent with very harsh edges of the building against the sky beyond.

Luckily iPhoto stepped in to save the day and I managed to recover a lot more detail than I expected, bringing back some of the shadows and highlighting the detail in the stonework.

It’s been a couple months now since I’ve had my SLR and I’m still finding my feet. I’ve yet to work out where my photography niche will be, and so recently I’ve been franticly trying everything I can think of including long exposure, macro, landscapes and portraits. I’ve still got a lot to try and I’m looking forward to trying out high-speed when the weather warms a little and I can get hold of some water bombs!

Combe Martin Parish Church on Flickr.

Wonderful capture of some kind of dog howling at a street lamp in the snow. Found via StumbleUpon

Wonderful capture of some kind of dog howling at a street lamp in the snow. Found via StumbleUpon

10 Notes
Cherry Tree Bud on Flickr.Another of my recent photos today, this is the frozen bud of a cherry blossom tree in my front garden. It was taken two weeks ago after a particularly cold night, so cold that the spiders web attached to the tree had frozen over with ice crystals. This is the first time I’d been out in the garden with a macro lens, this particular shot was taken with my Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens with a +10 close up filter screwed on the front. Focussing was particularly difficult so I ended up setting the lens to manual then adjusted to the distance from the camera to the bud to get it nice and sharp. Since I took this shot I’ve now acquired some macro tubes for my m42 lenses so next time I’ll be trying these shots with one of my Helios lenses.

Cherry Tree Bud on Flickr.

Another of my recent photos today, this is the frozen bud of a cherry blossom tree in my front garden.

It was taken two weeks ago after a particularly cold night, so cold that the spiders web attached to the tree had frozen over with ice crystals.

This is the first time I’d been out in the garden with a macro lens, this particular shot was taken with my Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens with a +10 close up filter screwed on the front.

Focussing was particularly difficult so I ended up setting the lens to manual then adjusted to the distance from the camera to the bud to get it nice and sharp.

Since I took this shot I’ve now acquired some macro tubes for my m42 lenses so next time I’ll be trying these shots with one of my Helios lenses.

8 Notes
M5 J25 (Taunton) Northbound on Flickr. Today I’m sharing a much more recent photo, which at the time I wasn’t that fussed about but looking back I think it’s actually not bad. This is the first time I was out with a “proper” camera, my Canon 450D that I recently purchased. Taken from a small bridge over the South-bound carriageway I was here for about 20 minutes snapping on the way home from work. A good combination of low ISO and long shutter speed has left me with the motorway just lit enough to see the road markings and barriers, with a nice set of light trails over the top.

M5 J25 (Taunton) Northbound on Flickr.

Today I’m sharing a much more recent photo, which at the time I wasn’t that fussed about but looking back I think it’s actually not bad.

This is the first time I was out with a “proper” camera, my Canon 450D that I recently purchased. Taken from a small bridge over the South-bound carriageway I was here for about 20 minutes snapping on the way home from work.

A good combination of low ISO and long shutter speed has left me with the motorway just lit enough to see the road markings and barriers, with a nice set of light trails over the top.

9 Notes
Frozen Spider’s Web on Flickr. This weekend we had our first hard frost of the year, which made a perfect reason for me to get outside and test out some of the news lenses I’ve acquired over the last week. This photo was taken with a Jupiter-37A which is a 135mm f3.5 on an M42 screw mount. This particular lens dates from around 1991 so it’s over 20 years old and yet to look at you could mistake it for brand new. I’m having great fun with my collection of vintage lenses and the Jupiter-37A is quickly becoming one of my favourite, with a beautifully engineered 12 blade aperture that closes down in a near perfect circle. Using these old lens with their manual focus and apertures has taught me much more in a few weeks about taking photos than years of digital AF point and shoot. I’m planning to share some of what I’ve learned later this week when I finish writing up my beginners guide to shooting with vintage lenses.

Frozen Spider’s Web on Flickr.

This weekend we had our first hard frost of the year, which made a perfect reason for me to get outside and test out some of the news lenses I’ve acquired over the last week.

This photo was taken with a Jupiter-37A which is a 135mm f3.5 on an M42 screw mount. This particular lens dates from around 1991 so it’s over 20 years old and yet to look at you could mistake it for brand new.

I’m having great fun with my collection of vintage lenses and the Jupiter-37A is quickly becoming one of my favourite, with a beautifully engineered 12 blade aperture that closes down in a near perfect circle.

Using these old lens with their manual focus and apertures has taught me much more in a few weeks about taking photos than years of digital AF point and shoot. I’m planning to share some of what I’ve learned later this week when I finish writing up my beginners guide to shooting with vintage lenses.

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