Bournemouth Air Festival - Day 2

Having given myself a good talking to about poor photographic technique, I am determined to up my game and get it right.

Day 2 of the air festival, and once again we are blessed with perfect flying weather. However, despite the warm weather and sunshine the crowds attending are noticeably thinner that previous years. I put this solely down to the RAF Aerobatic Display Team - aka The Red Arrows - not putting in single appearance all weekend. Crowd pullers all day long, they have been missed this year.

Nonetheless, there is still plenty to entertain the crowds, whether it is in the air, or static displays on the clifftops and beaches.



Navy Black Cat

Battle of Britain Memorial Flypast - Lancaster and Spitfire

Avro Lancaster, with the Isle of Purbeck in the background

US Navy Poseidon Surveillance Aircraft

Ultimate Warbirds Flights: from top left and clockwise - 

Supermarine Spitfire, Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, Messerschmitt Me109, TF-51D Mustang

Eurofighter Typhoon

Eurofighter Typhoon going vertical

Super Pitts Muscle Plane, flown by Rich Goodwin

Eurofighter Typhoon, dusk display

Eurofighter Typhoon by the light of the setting sun

All images - 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. Tripod and gimbal head



© 2019

Bournemouth Air Festival - Day 1

Day one of the annual Bournemouth Air Festival, and I make something of a hash with a good few of the subjects. Since I photograph very few air displays I put that down to lack of match fitness: I need a bit of time to sharpen my long lens technique and to get my eye "in".

It's the prop driven planes that caused the problem, and many images just weren't sharp as I juggle shutter speeds: fast enough to freeze subject movement; slow enough to produce prop blur. That, and poor panning. I admit it - I didn't get it right.

The good thing about this particular air show is that it is over four days, and I get more than one bite of the cherry.

Tomorrow will be better.

Royal Navy Black Cat 

Battle of Britain Memorial Flypast

Supermarine Spitfire

Avro Lancaster

Tigers Freefall Parachute Display Team

Super Pitts Muscle Plane

All images: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikor with TC-14EII converter. Tripod and gimbal head

© 2019

Whichever way you look at it

I'm not the biggest fan of using the Dutch Tilt* in photography - particularly in architectural work -  but if the subject is right it adds a strong dynamic to what would otherwise be a dull image.

Incidentally, the style has nothing to do with the Netherlands; it derives from the German word for 'German': Deutsch.


* Also known as the Dutch Angle



Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 12-24mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Pancake lens. 1/320 second at f/11. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2019

Rustic pleasures

                                                                                             
                                                                                      Tree swing, West Parley


Olympus OM-D EM-10 MkIII with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Pancake lens. 1/250 second at f/8. ISO 200. Mono conversion and toning in Silver Efex Pro 2



© 2019

Twin sails

The British summer appears to have abandoned us over the past week, with wind and rain dominating the weather. Not that such conditions deter me when I feel the need to shoot - I just have to choose the right subject.

The Twin Sails lifting bridge that spans the Backwater Channel in Poole harbour, Dorset, is currently out of comission due to a mechanical fault. As a result the bridge is closed to traffic and the two bascules are set in the "up" position to allow the free movement of boats. Until repairs are effected I exploit the opportunity to explore various angles, without the risk of being knocked down by impatient motorists.




Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Pancake lens. 1/60 second at f/16.  -⅓ EV compensation. ISO 200. Mono conversion and toning in Silver Efex Pro 2



© 2019

Charity at sea

The freedom of choice to reinterpret images is what the black and white darkroom was all about. Many a photographer - this one included - would occasionally labour once again under the red glow of the safe light in an attempt to draw that last bit of information from a favourite negative.

In this case, I decided to reshoot entirely to get nearer to what I envisaged when I first chose this subject, some ten years ago.

Honouring the courage of all those lost at sea when trying to save the lives of others, this memorial stands outside the RNLI headquarters, Poole. Originally containing the names of the 778 who had died as a volunteer since 1855, a further 28 were discovered through research, and added three years after the memorial was unveiled in 2009.



Olympus OM-D EM-10 MkIII with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Pancake lens. 1/125 second at f/11. ISO 200. Mono conversion in Silver Effex Pro 2



© 2019

Monochrome Monday

                                    Houns-tout and Chapman's Poole from Emmetts Hill, Jurassic Coast, Dorset



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. 0.9 grey grad filter. ISO 100. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2.



© 2019

Honesty

British landscape photographer Fay Godwin (1931 - 2005), was once criticised in her later work for including such things as telegraph poles and electricity pylons in some of her more rural images. She defended this by saying that if that is what is there, then why not?

I agree. Although it's sometimes possible to find a viewpoint to hide such peculiarities to create a more pleasing rustic scene, there are times when honesty is the best policy. With the photo above I made no attempt to disguise what isn't nature, nor considered the use of the clone tool in post processing.



Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 pancake lens. 1/500 second at f/8. ISO 200



© 2019

Through the square window

                                                                  Farm building window #2 - Throop, Dorset.
 


Olympus OM-D EM-10 MkIII. 40-150mm f/4 - 5.6 R Zuiko. 1/160 second at f/8. - ⅓ EV compensation. ISO 200. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2



© 2019

Replacement window

I must have passed this farm building dozens of time, yet never saw the potential for a photograph until today.

Olympus OM-D EM-10 MkIII with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Pancake lens. 1/125 second at f/10. ESP metering. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 250

© 2019

Treading water

I've got to the point in the year where I'm impatiently tapping my fingers, waiting for autumn. The recent record breaking temperatures have done me no favours, and more than one day's plans were scotched because it was just too uncomfortable to be out in the landscape.

However, now that my location searches are complete for the coming winter months, I'm whiling away the time photographing the local countryside just to keep active.



Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Pancake lens. 1/160 second at f/8. ESP metering. - ⅔ EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2019

Not seeing (infra)red

The sudden thought that my Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera may be sensitive to infrared light had me jumping out of my chair, looking for the TV remote control. Modern controllers change TV channels using that wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the camera has no anti-aliasing filter in front of the sensor. A swift test - shining the remote control "torch" into the lens during a long exposure - quickly established that I was barking up the correct tree.

I've shot mono infrared film in the past, and the way to get the best results was to use the right filter for the job. I still have a screw-in R72 filter, but the thread size didn't match the lens I intended to use for some tests. A couple of blobs of Blu Tack solved that problem, and I set off out to see what I could achieve.

Metering for a subject is virtually impossible since ordinary camera light meters are not calibrated for wavelengths invisible to the naked eye, so some bracketing of exposures is involved. However, the electronic viewfinder proved its worth by getting me in the ballpark straight away.

Results are disappointing when compared to infrared film, and the above image needed a fair bit of work in two software programmes to get anywhere near what I had in mind. But it has started me thinking, once again, that having a spare digital camera converted for infrared photography is the only way I'm going to get the look I want.




Olympus OM-D EM-10 MkIII with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Pancake lens. 1.6 seconds at f/8. ESP metering. Hoya Infrared (R72) filter. Monopod. ISO 640. File processed in Affinity Photo and Silver Efex Pro 2.



© 2019

Nymphaea

For roaming the streets and making a nuisance of myself as a photographer, I'm finding it increasingly hard to leave the Micro Four Thirds system camera behind. Apart from being very light in weight the camera modes are fun to use, and the lenses more than adequate for the job in hand.

Today's image was shot with a budget Zuiko lens: available new for £195, or around £70 used, yet the quality is outstanding for its price. The in-camera image stabilisation and digital tele-converter allowed me to take the photograph hand held to get pin sharp results, without falling in the water.




Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 40-150mm f/4.5-5.6 R Zuiko lens. 1/640 second at f/8. ESP metering. -⅔ EV compensation. Digital Tele-converter on. ISO 400



© 2019

Still at it

Each time I visit Salisbury - and in particular the Water Meadows - my thoughts are inextricably linked with John Constable, and his paintings of the cathedral. I feel the need to emulate his work, which is some challenge. Either the views he chose have been built on over the centuries, or they are prohibited to the public in general.

Nonetheless, I keep trying.



Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Pancake lens. 1/200 second at f/11. ESP metering.
ISO 200



© 2019

Parliamentary, or just wise?

White faced owl

Tawny owl - Percy

Vermiculated - or greyish eagle - owl

Tawny Frogmouth owl - Kermit

A young Ural owl - Solenya

A birthday present from Nic, we spent a couple of hours this afternoon handling some of the birds at the Kent Owl Academy. All the owls here are captive and used to being handled, and it presents the perfect opportunity to get close up and personal to these beautiful birds.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor lens



© 2019

Poppy appeal

The social media photographic pages are currently awash with pictures of poppy fields, all vying for attention. However, instead of photographing vistas of red carpeted meadows sweeping off into the distance (I don't know the whereabouts of such locations, anyway), I have to make do with a single flower by the roadside.


Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Pancake lens. 1/1000 second at f/5.6. ESP metering. - 1⅔ EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2019

Pastoral bliss

Although I am becoming more relaxed about shooting around mid-day in the summer, I still have it in the back of my mind that all I'm doing is photographing picture postcard material. However, if conditions - and the subject - are just right, then I can come up with something pleasing.

I arrive at this bucolic scene whilst on my location-finding travels, and to my mind it is the quintessential image of the English countryside.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 80



© 2019

Weather window

Perfect timing between bouts of heavy rain results in the image of Chapman's Pool and Houns-tout on the Dorset coast. It's mid afternoon and high summer - not ideal for landscape photography - but the cloud makes all the difference as far as lighting of the landscape goes. Having found the composition it's just a case of waiting until it produces the right shadows.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/80 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - ⅓ EV compensation. 0.9 Lee grey grad on the sky. ISO 50



© 2019

Risky, but all in fun

The old photographic adage: 'never use new gear when the chips are down' applies today when I venture into the field armed solely with a camera I'm not entirely familiar with. I've had the Olympus M4/3 camera for a week, yet the sheer scope of what it is capable of still eludes me.

On more than one occasion I'm struggling to figure out how I've changed or moved the auto focus point(s) in the viewfinder from where I want them, and when it comes down to wanting to auto bracket a number of frames for an interior shot, I'm at a total loss. Just as well I wasn't shooting something important.

On the bright side I do get some decent images, as with this view of Dorset's Jurassic Coast, looking west from St Aldehelm's Head.



Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5 - 5.6 Zuiko Pancake lens. 1/125 second at f/11. ESP metering. ISO 100



© 2019

Idle snapping

Still in the process of familiarising myself with the Olympus Four Thirds camera, I'm spending part of the afternoon running through the camera menus. During this electronic ramble I look up and am immediately attracted by the sun's oblique rays raking across my resonator guitar on the other side of the room, and instinctively fire off a few shots.

What strikes me most is the ability to add exposure compensation and see - in real time - the precise effect that it is having on the subject in the viewfinder. Sweet.

At a stroke this eliminates "chimping" the rear screen to check the histogram to see if I'm getting what I'm after since I already know before the shot is taken. I think I'm going to like this.




Olympus OM-D EM-10Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Pancake lens. 1/200 second at f/5.6. ESP metering.    - 2⅔ Stop EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2019

The Old Eight Bells Shop sign

Using big, professional camera equipment for everything is fine and dandy, but for a good number of years now I have been considering having a smaller kit for those times when I want to travel (very) light. There are also the times when I want to shoot for the fun of it and not be constrained by the sheer weight of it all.

Enter the Olympus 4/3 (Four Thirds) system. This week I picked up a body and three lenses for an offer I couldn't refuse, and today put it to use by wandering around a nearby town, shooting at will. Neither the camera body or lenses are pro spec, but the fact that it weighs nothing at all, and is really tiny, made it a joy to use.

Whether or not I get taken with the format remains to be seen - and an electronic viewfinder takes some getting used to - but I have an idea this camera will go with me to places other systems cannot reach.




Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mk III with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Pancake lens. 1/200 second at f/11. ESP metering. ISO 200



© 2019

Pushy

Everything that is going to turn green has turned green in the Dorset landscape, whilst The Church of St James - known locally as The Cathedral of Purbeck - appears to push its way through the foliage at Kingston.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2019

It's all about the sky

Shooting around mid-day during the summer months isn't my idea of good landscape photography, but as long as I've got a good sky to deal with I'm beginning to warm to it.

The meteorologists refer to it as "fair weather cloud", and the shadows it creates gives shape and texture to the undulating hills that lead down to the Jurassic Coast of Dorset.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320second at f/8. Matrix metering. Polarising filter. ISO 200



© 2019

Green and blue

The 12th century twin towers at Reculver: It's a place Nic and I have visited on numerous occasions, but this is the first time we've had access to the beach at low tide. The last few steps leading down to it are severely worn away by wave action but notably growth free, which is more than I can say for the rocks piled up as a sea defence. I use a polarising filter to take the shine off the seaweed, and to saturate the colours.




24-70mm AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. Matrix metering. Polariser. ISO 200



© 2019

Outside the Boilerhouse

The Boilerhouse Gallery - adjacent to Corfe Castle railway station - is a place I have been aware of for a while but yet to venture into. Formerly the old milk depot, the building now houses the work of 8 local artists. Art work on sale inside and out ranges from cards, driftwood and photography, to jewellery, textiles and pottery (and many points in between).

The photograph is a detail of a sculpture outside the gallery, but an online search failed to identify the artist.



85mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor. 1/2000 second at f/1.4. Matrix metering. ISO 50



© 2019

Underhill: off the beaten track

The bridleway along the top of Nine Barrow Down, Purbeck, provides stunning views of the surrounding countryside up to 27 miles distant, as well as a good many subjects on the path itself.

It's also good exercise to climb 500 feet above sea level to reach the top, but the Underhill path is equally interesting for a photographer. An alternative route running parallel to the Down (but without the climb involved), this little-used path runs almost the full 3¾ miles from Ulwell to Corfe Castle.



85mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/1.8. Matrix metering. + ⅔ EV compensation. Mono conversion and toning in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 50



© 2019

A question of taste

I am becoming something of a fan of black and white photography, come rain or shine, and no matter what the subject. It is giving me an extended run for shooting around mid-day, now that the sun is too high in the sky for my taste.



85mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/3.5. Matrix metering.  - ⅓ EV compensation. Mono conversion in Lightroom. ISO 50



© 2019

Cow and tree

Part of my editing policy is never to delete an image in editing software on the day of the shoot. The reasoning behind it is that I am too emotionally attached to the subject; it's all too fresh in my mind of what I was trying to achieve when I fired the shutter. I may also not have made the right decision as to what worked best at the time.

The above photograph is one such example. Having given it a couple of days for things to settle, I open Lightroom to start the deletion process for the last shoot and immediately see the composition staring me in the face.

A bit of distance can pay dividends.

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/1000 second at f/4. Matrix metering. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 100



© 2019

Tree on Nine Barrow Down

What I like the most about black and white photography is the ability to transform the mood of a scene. It's a fine Spring day, but the dense early morning mistiness that covers the Purbeck Hills in Dorset refuses to lift. I try to pierce the strong haze with the use of a polarising filter, but to no real effect.

Instead, I create a quality that wasn't there at the time by converting the picture to mono; boosting contrast; adding some brutal burning-in, and finally a large dollop of film grain.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 50



© 2019

Major Repair Area 3

The restoration programme of Salisbury Cathedral, commenced in 1986, is in its final phase. Major Repair Area 3 - under  the scaffolding adorning the east end - is scheduled to be completed next year, meaning the work will have taken 4 years less than it took to build the church in the thirteenth century.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 50



© 2019

Going up

"It's getting more like New York every day..." quips a passer-by, as I stand waiting for the light to change. He is referring to the plethora of construction work currently going on, with the expansion of Bournemouth University.

A tad exaggerated, I feel, but tall buildings appear to be going up at an alarming rate in the town. Most of it appears to be student accommodation, but whatever its use, it's too good an opportunity to miss with a camera. 

Top: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Middle: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Bottom: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100

© 2019

No joke

Monday morning, and I decide to have a day out at Corfe Castle station, photographing the Heritage Railway. It's a clear blue sky over Dorset, and by the time I arrive at mid-day the light is horrible; not good for landscapes, at least in full colour.

As I shoot I'm already thinking about converting the final images to black and white, but end up sepia toning and adding various ageing effects, in the hope of producing something interesting.



All images converted to mono in Silver Efex Pro 2, but 'aged' and toned in Analogue Efex Pro 2.

Top: 12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/8.  Matrix metering. - ⅓ EV compensation. ISO 50
Middle: 12 -24 mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8 Matrix metering. - ⅔ EV compensation. ISO 1600
Bottom. 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 200



© 2019