The Christchurch Festival...

And now for something completely different. It's not often that I turn my lens in the direction of fellow musicians - just why that is, I'm not too sure - but today I visited the music area at the Christchurch Festival, Dorset, to photograph the Riverside Blues Band in action.

I had not given too much thought to the occasion, thinking that it would be a straightforward shoot in front of an open-air stage. I couldn't have been more wrong: it was inside a marquee. Now, this is a sensible move on behalf of the organisers, due to the vagaries of the British summer and outdoor events, but it wasn't helping me. From the outside it looked awful dark in there, and although I was equipped with several fast aperture lenses I had strong doubts about my success rate, frame wise. To aggravate matters, the stage end of the tent was covered in dark material, so as to give the stage lighting some effect during the daylight hours. I was going to need to use a higher ISO setting than I would like to - given the age of my camera - but I went into the dimness and took a number of test shots of the preceding band.

I needn't have worried. Yes, I was shooting almost wide open, but getting acceptable exposure readings. I began to feel a tad more confident from this point on. The band took the stage at 4pm for their 50 minute set and I started shooting from the off, checking and modifying camera settings depending on the lighting as I went. The band played a cracking set, and was joined onstage midway through their set by Callum; slated by Stan as the future of the local blues scene in the area (I hope that tattoo washes-off!).

He is only ten years old and is already gigging on a regular basis, and shows much promise. Although playing a supporting role today, he has no qualms about taking a lead vocal during his set at the local blues jams, organised so well by Stan and Helen (husband and wife team). Certainly a name to look out for in the future.

No doubt the fact that I had fast glass saved the day (I don't have a speedlight), and it did give me the opportunity to wheel-out my underused 85mm Nikkor - ideal under low light situations - but I was pushing the capabilities of the camera sensor. As I have mentioned elsewhere on this blog, it is an ancient model in digital terms (five years old), and newer models will leave it standing in that department, but once I get into the swing of things I find that I can drop those settings and reduce the digital noise levels to something manageable. Even so, I don't think the images used here would take any more enlargement comfortably.







Top: Stan - Guitar and vocals
Second row: (left) Syd - Drums (right) Helen - Bass guitar
Paul - Harmonica

Bottom right: Callum



Photos:

Top - 85mm f/1.4 Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/2. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 800

Second row - 85mm f/1.4 Nikkor. (left) 1/100 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 2000 (right) 1/320 second at f/2. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 800

Bottom - 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 2000


© 2012

Kestrel...

The weather has stabalised to gusty winds and large, cumulus cloud: ideal kitsurfing weather, if you ask me, so I set off for a favoured spot to get some action. Making the decision to take specific photographs makes me choose the right lens for the job, but it turns out better than I hoped.

Upon my arrival at Southbourne cliffs, Bournemouth, I immediately see a kestrel, stationary on the wind, not too far from me. I can't believe my luck. Here am I, equipped with a super-telephoto lens, with the right exposure compensation already dialed-in to the camera; continuous shooting mode already engaged - along with the correct focusing mode (that, too, continuous), and a bird I have been trying to get successful images of for some years is putting on a show. All I have to do is frame and fire the shutter...


And then it's gone! Before I can get one shot off it has disappeared. I scour the sky to see which direction it went, but I have lost it. That is, until I look directly above my head, where she hovers about ten feet above me. I fire off several frames, but know they are nothing special. Then the light changes for just a few moments and the raptor drops lower at the same time, into a pool of sunlight. I can't believe my luck (again). I get just two frames before both sunlight and bird move on, but I have the feeling I have caught something good. I attempt to check sharpness on the screen on my camera, but these things are notoriously poor for assessing that sort of thing, especially in bright light. I grin and bear it, hoping for the best.

It's not until I open the files on my computer that I can finally breathe easily, knowing I have got the shot. She did stay in the area for a while longer; I even witnessed her make a catch at close quarters, but the lighting and angles were not so good. I took more shots, but the results were disappointing. All in all, a good afternoon's shooting.


300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/1600 second at f/5.6. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Organic ornamentation...

Today, I'm back on the beach and looking for things of interest to photograph - I seem to be running out of ideas. I made a project of this type of photography during most of the early months of this year, and thought that I would give it another go as there are some interesting images to had, if only you look for them.

The winter months are the best times for this activity, from my point of view, as the low sun will nearly always pick out detail of a potential subject, throwing it into sharp relief and making the shot. But there are other times that it works, as with the patterns and swirls of this small outflow on the sands at Boscombe seafront, Dorset. I had almost given up after finding nothing that stirred my interest on my planned morning walk, but then I happened upon the scene shown here.

The flowing water is moving very slowly, and I stand and watch for quite some time as the patterns created by decaying organic matter slowly change and take on different shapes in the morning sun. I shoot a number of images for variety, and to select the one(s) that work the best once the files are opened in Adobe Photoshop. There are two very similar images to this one, but the landscape format worked better in this instance.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/11. ISO 320


© 2012

A bench and a bee...

A misty start to the day; and to me the opportunity to shoot something atmospheric under nature's giant soft box. I'm on the cliff top of Southbourne, near Bournemouth, looking for bold shapes, but using the heavily diffused light to give the impression of depth and something uniquely moody. I am having to work quickly as the sun its threatening to burn through the low cloud, ruining the effect, and I plump for a bench and two cliff top shelters before it is too late.

This kind of light has the habit of removing colour from a scene, so I decide upon a black and white conversion once I have chosen the best shot.
It is shortly after that I take the second shot of a bee on a flower. The mist has almost completely dissipated, but the light is still soft enough to give flat, even tones throughout the frame. Had the sun been shining directly onto the subject - it would have been at that time of day - then deep shadow and high contrast would have lessened the effect. Two very different images shot under similar light within minutes of each other; the first using atmospheric perspective and the second one in close for colour saturation and detail.


50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor.

Top: 1/1500 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation.
Left: 1/3000 second at f/2. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200 for both images


© 2012

Two fliers...

During the past few months I have taken to walking everywhere - well, not strictly true; I do use a car from time to time, and I have been on my bike (so to speak) - but cycling had fallen out of favour for photographic purposes. While I do not underestimate the value that two wheels can offer it can still be a hinderance, or I can miss so much, even at such a sedate pace.

Yesterday, I did something about it, and went for a ride for the pure pleasure of it; as I did again today. It was an overcast day, and I wasn't expecting anything remarkable, light wise, but I was treated to the appearance of five or six paragliders, taking advantage of the brisk off-shore breeze along the coast of Poole Bay, Dorset. I am ill equipped, lens wise (I had intended to photograph progress of the permanent memorial to Red Arrow pilot Jon Egging - they haven't even started it, yet), and the sky is pretty bland, but I decide to shoot a few token frames anyway. It's just as they reach the Sandbanks end of the promenade that the clouds part for long enough to reveal a blur of blue sky.

I take nine frames (two of which are out of focus) before the cloud again covers the heavens and the paragliders turn and head away from me. I include one such flier here, set adjacent to one of the prestigious Blue Flags flying - denoting top quality beaches - an accolade which Poole has maintained unbroken for the past 24 years, proudly flying also.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/1000 second at f/8. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320


© 2012

Water...

I mentioned in yesterday's post - and have elsewhere on this blog - about how photogenic water is, in any shape or form -  I'm generally talking about rivers, lakes or seascapes - but I rarely photograph it on its own. I did this afternoon.

I had a long overdue bike ride (I have not been on it for some weeks in preference to walking) and cycled to Sandbanks, mainly for the exercise. Naturally, I had a camera with me. Upon arrival I take a few uninspired shots of the yachts sailing out of the harbour to who knows where, and one or two attempts at capturing Herring Gulls squabbling over food (actually, I got at least one useable photo from that), but I was suddenly taken by the waves near the chain ferry terminal at the entrance to Poole Harbour; the way they were catching the diffused sunlight, and immediately saw photographs.

I had to take a good few images using the short end of my zoom lens, as it is all but impossible to predict when the specular highlights will form a pleasing pattern, so it is all down to chance as much as anything. I think I captured what I set out to do with today's photograph.


70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1000 second at f/5.6. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320


© 2012

Going mobile...

The weather men (and women) have made the prediction that for a short period of time next week the UK will bask in warm temperatures and sunshine... before dipping back into what is best described as the British Summer later in the week: temperatures in the mid-teens and, of course, more rain. In fact it shows some early promise as the overnight rain and miserable conditions clear by early afternoon, and I eventually get out with a camera.

I feel I am spending too much time shooting on the beach these days, but as always, there is something that draws me in for a few snaps. Besides, water is incredibly photogenic.

It is my favourite type of sky happening over Poole Bay, Dorset: plenty of heavy cloud that is constantly on the move, casting large shadows over everything - interspersed with pools of sunlight that picks out detail - as with this chap, sat all alone on a pretty much empty beach.

At first I think he is fishing, since he is seated, but as I draw near I notice he has nothing to fish with: no rod or line. I make a few photographs anyway, placing him in the corner of the frame to enhance the feeling of his isolation. It's not until I open the files on my computer do I notice he is, in fact, just sitting by the sea, and playing with his mobile phone and taking in the sun.


70-200 f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1250 second at f/8. + 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 320


© 2012

See the light...

Having pleasantly surprised myself (previous post) with the performance of a budget-priced Nikkor lens - an optic that has languished unused in my collection for at least six years - I'm itching to get out and use it again.

Of course, the weather is against me for most of the day: an extended period of rain followed by more rain after that, but by mid afternoon it has stopped for long enough to encourage me back to the seafront of Poole Bay, Dorset. Calm as it seems inland, it is somewhat blowy by the time I arrive on the cliff top at Southbourne, and not only that, it looks like it might rain (again).

Deciding to commit myself for a walk along the windswept promenade that runs almost the entire length of the 8 miles of sand that make up the shoreline of the bay, I nervously eye the ever darkening sky out to sea, expecting the heavens to open once again.

But they don't. In fact, I am treated to a short break in the clouds that produces the light in the photograph. It lasts but a minute or two, but I am ready, and make a series of exposures as the gull, balanced on the wind, dances across the grey sky and into a suitable position in the frame.

Watch the birdie... click!


28-80mm f/3.5-5.6D AF Nikkor. 1/1250 second at f/8. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Solstice...

The first day of summer, here in the northern hemisphere; a day earlier than usual due to it being a leap year, and I'm out with a camera and a mind to experiment.

Although far from an exhaustive comparison by the fact that the scene is not the same, nor the lighting; camera settings; ISO number or any number of variants, but I have used two very different lenses here, in both build and cost.

Both are Nikkor lenses - and similar in focal length - but one is the professional build, fast, constant aperture 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S standard zoom; the other is a kit lens; plastic mount; variable aperture 28-80mm  f/3.5-5.6D AF standard zoom. The latter came with a film camera when I was introduced into the Nikon system 12 years ago - the former a more recent addition to my lens options.

I shot two very different scenes with the lenses during the day that I include here, but I will leave it to the viewer to decide which image was produced by which optic. As I mention above, hardly a fair test, especially as the photographs have been resized for web use - the pro-spec lens would show its class if large prints (and I do mean large) were made - but for the casual photographer/weekend snapper who never prints above A4 (or prints at all) it is a more than capable performer.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the RAW files in Photoshop to process the images, and zoomed in to 400% to check for chromatic aberration and other lens anomalies. The f/2.8 Nikkor will always have the advantage over the other because of its low light capabilities; high optical quality at maximum aperture, and ability to take punishment in harsh environments, but the kit lens is a mere fraction of the price (less than a tenth, assuming you can still find one - it was discontinued in 2001), and considerably lighter and more compact. As the saying goes: You pays your money and you takes your choice.


Lenses:

24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor
28-80mm f/3.5-5.6D AF Nikkor


© 2012

Don't do it...

It's rather odd that I start a post about photography talking about football, but as I start to write I am waiting for the kick-off of the England v Ukraine match of Euro 2012. For the first time that I can remember, has there been so little expectation about the national team's performance in a major tournament (assuming, of course, they have qualified). This is reflected in the noticeable absence of national flags adorning private vehicles; something that proliferates at other times...


I am out relatively early this morning, as the day is warm and clear, and strolling along the seafront of Poole Bay, Dorset with a camera. I make a number of photographs of this and that that catches my eye, but for some inexplicable reason I am in a decidedly black and white mood. Most of my shots have bold composition, and plenty of scope for post production dodging and burning-in, as here with a sign screwed to a wall at Southbourne.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/11. ISO 400


© 2012

My best side...

This afternoon I'm out for a bit of casual snapping with a long lens - the longer the better - as I fit a x1.4 teleconverter to my longest lens before I leave the house; I'm determined to maximise my pulling power, no matter what my subject.

Heading for the beach, I have vague notions about images with compressed perspective; so easy to achieve with a super-telephoto, but it is as I walk through a local park that I get the opportunity to photograph the members of the local grey squirrel population.

I almost pass up today's subject (left) as I am lacking in the necessary bribe/payment (food) to entice them into suitable positions on the ground, but a fellow appreciator of all things wild happens along at the same moment and proceeds to feed them biscuits. I'm not so sure that this type of food is particularly good for squirrels, but they seem to lap it all up whilst I shoot a number of animal portraits from the sidelines - a win/win situation.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor (VR on) with TC-14EII converter. 1/80 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400 Monopod


© 2012

Picture of lilly...

Never one to advocate shooting around the middle of the day in summer when the sun shines - the light can be harsh and very contrasty - there are times when nature delivers the goods and produces idea conditions.

The sun came out today (hooray!), and I set out for a walk. However, it was not all clear blue skies, and there was thin, high cloud that diffused the sun's rays of the early afternoon to perfection for some in-close photographs. One such subject was the water lilies on the ornamental pond that can currently be found at the end of Fisherman's Walk, Southbourne, Bournemouth. The translucent petals are illuminated by the soft backlighting, producing a pleasing glow to the flowers, whilst contrast is lowered, avoiding deep, featureless shadows.


70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1250 second at f/5.6.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Nothing...

Back in December of last year I was having a discussion with friend and fellow photographer, Nic, about what to shoot on a particular day, and she came up with the idea to "take a photograph of nothing". Easier said than done, I assure you (I came home with images of storm clouds).

Although the notion had come to mind now and again whilst out shooting - just what would a shot of nothing entail? - I never saw an opportunity to fulfil that brief until this afternoon.

The recent rain (again) had finally moved off to some other part of Europe, leaving calm and warm weather over the south of the country at least, and it is a stroll along the beach of Poole Bay, Dorset, that I look out towards France (not visible here, as it is below the horizon), and see "nothing". Well, it is grey cloud and a flat sea, but there is no focal point to the photograph - just a study of grey tones. Whether I succeeded in my objective is up to the viewer, but it is a close as I think I will ever get without posting just a blank frame.


70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1250 second at f/5.6. ISO 400.


© 2012

Bright and breezy...

The atrocious weather that has plagued much of the UK this week has dissipated - at least for the southern counties - and been replaced by bright and breezy conditions. It has even got a bit warmer, the weathermen tell me, although the stiff breeze certainly adds an edge to things, especially so along the beaches of Poole Bay, Dorset.

There are several kite surfers in action, and I single out one who shows a bit of promise for some action shots. However, he has other ideas, and tends to spend more time further from the shore than I would like for the lens I am using. He does make the occasional swoop close to the shore, but the broken cloud always seemed to cast its unwanted shadow on my subject at the critical moment, and I resign myself to not getting something worthwhile. I take two further frames and move along the beach.  It is not until I get the images up on my computer screen that I see I got a useable image without realising it at the time.

It is not often that I am able to use a shot without some degree of cropping to tidy up an image - but in this case it is full frame.


70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/4000 second at f/5.6. + 0 33 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

The surfers three...

Summer: The day started off murky enough, and quickly deteriorated until it started to rain. After dealing with some business on the phone during the morning I set out, suitably attired, for a walk along the seafront of Poole Bay, Dorset, where I was also buffeted by winds of up to 30mph (48km/h). Ideal shooting conditions.

Predictably, there are very few people about, enjoying the vagaries of a British summer, but they always make good subjects under such trying conditions. As I approach Boscombe I notice the heads of several surfers dotted among the waves, but they won't be of any help to me unless they come out of the sea. Nothing doing, it seems, as they are quite content to bob up and down with each successive wave that rolls in. Strange that none of them make any attempt to ride a wave, though.

I consider moving on just as three intrepid participants stroll along the beach and enter the water exactly where I wanted them to. I raise the camera, make two exposures, and the shoot is over. I had already planned a mono conversion when out shooting, and added some noise to the finished image in Photoshop, to accentuate the gritty feel of the scene.


24-70mm f/2.8D EX-DG Sigma lens.1/125 second at f/11. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400

© 2012

Ancient camera; ancient sign...

I'm out early with a camera, this morning - not so early as to catch the dawn light; there isn't any, as such, as it is overcast - but early enough to avoid any rush-hour crowds. Not there will be any of those, either, as it is the second Bank Holiday of the Diamond Jubilee weekend celebrations in the UK, and most people have the day off.

I must have passed this painted wall sign many times (right), but never seen it before. The chemist it advertises has long gone, and the business replaced (currently) by an Italian restaurant. The sign itself has had the name of the original proprietor painted-over, although from what I can't decipher, and the paint has peeled and faded from a bygone age. Presumably an age where unqualified chemists were allowed to freely ply their trade. The mind boggles.

As ancient as the sign is the camera I used to photograph it (a Nikon D200) - in digital terms a dinosaur - it having been released in November 2005. I didn't take the digital plunge until June of the following year. Although successive models have been introduced since (and yes, I have one of those, as well), I find that in spite of this the camera still produces a good image, and didn't suddenly stop doing so the moment its successor came onto the market. Something worth bearing in mind, perhaps.


24-70mm f/2.8D EX DG Sigma lens. 1/250 second at f/5.6. ISO 400


© 2012

Different light and the Royal Albert Hall...

The warm conditions currently sitting across the British Isles, whilst very welcome - it has been a poor spring up until now - can have its drawbacks for the landscape photographer. The high pressure has brought with it a good deal of atmospheric haze - at least along the coast of Dorset - and visibility is somewhat reduced.

But as us photographers say: there is no such thing as bad light; just different light - and it's true. I'm shooting this evening at Sandbanks, Poole harbour, and the setting sun is being diffused nicely, with warm hues reflecting off the surface of the water as the tide comes in. I make the obligatory series of images of boats against the evening light (photos I already know will not get used - ever), but it's the appearance of the Oystercatcher that makes the difference, and I manage just five frames before it flies off - presumably to catch oysters elsewhere.

As I write, my best friend Nic, (photographer, artist and musician), has contacted me and told me she has just been onstage with Elvis Costello at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Wonderful!


300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/1000 second at f/5.6. + 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 400


© 2012

Busking swan...

I have spent a lot of time walking and shooting over the past few weeks, so this afternoon's session results at the end of a bike ride. The glorious weather continues and I cycle to Poole Park, Dorset, with a super-telephoto lens. I was last at the location two weeks ago, photographing Greylag goslings, and I am amazed to see how much they have grown in that time.

But it is the Mute Swans that I have come to see and photograph on this occasion, and in particular, their young. Of the three nests that I am aware of, two have produced young, whilst the third still has five unhatched eggs. I spend a while photographing the recently hatched cygnets, but photogenic as they are I instinctively know that none of the shots are working. Instead, I turn my lens to one of the proud parents, seen here displaying with wings half raised - known as busking - to mark its territory and warn off any would-be threats.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/2500 second at f/5.6. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 200


© 2012

The smaller picture...

The sun has come out! Not only that, but the thermometer touched 25ºC today, so the wind was nice and warm, and the trend is to continue for the rest of the week. Let's hope it doesn't get any hotter, though, as 25º is about my upper limit of tolerance when working. Above that and I start to visibly lose interest.

I have acquired the taste of travelling very light of late - no macho camera bodies or arm-wrenching lenses - and it makes a significant difference to the way I approach shooting for the pleasure of it. I'm out looking for the smaller picture (as opposed to the bigger one), and it's the diagonal sunlight cutting across the painted door of a beach hut that draws me in. A simple composition, but effective - made stronger by the shadow; the contrast of the red and white paint -  whilst the door hinge becomes the focal point.


50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor. 1/2500 second at f/8. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISI 400.


© 2012

A matter of survival...

I'll say one thing: the weather has improved somewhat over recent weeks here, in Dorset, but temperatures haven't followed suit. It is still remarkably cool for the time of year, and I do wish summer - or something at least resembling it - would hurry up and get here.

Having said that, it is quite warm once I get moving, as I find when I go for a morning walk along the cliff tops and beaches of Poole Bay. Of course, I have a camera with me, and stop occasionally to shoot things that fascinate, or simply cry out to be photographed, as with the Sea Thrift (Armeria) at Southbourne this morning (right). I have made several attempts over recent visits to produce a satisfying image of the pink and white flowers that adorn the local coastline, but I felt there was alway something lacking. I think I was lacking the right light. Maybe I still am.

The other thing that caught my interest on my casual stroll was the whelk egg case (left), that had been washed up along the shore - a common sight at the best of times - but in this instance set against a pleasing background of marbled sand. Often referred to as Mermaid's Purse, there can be up to a hundred eggs in the clump, and the little rascals that hatch out before the rest are cannibalistic; eating the remaining unhatched siblings as a means to survival.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor.
Top: 1/400 second at f/5.6. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200
Below: 1/320 second at f/8. ISO 400


© 2012