The patience of a saint, or wield the clone tool?

Wide-angle lenses - apart from their obvious benefits - also have their drawbacks: fisheyes, even more so. I'm shooting with the latter exclusively inside Salisbury Cathedral, just for the fun of it. But apart from capturing the magnificence of the interior (distortion and all), I'm also trying to exclude human presence. Visitors to such places are rarely dressed in keeping with surroundings, and in my view it spoils the mood.

I could shoot merrily away and remove any unwanted elements of the photograph later using the clone tool or similar, but instead I patently wait until the scene clears and is the way I want it...

And some waiting it takes, believe me, but in each of the images above I've not used any digital shenanigans. 

Lens - 10.5mm f/2.8 Nikkor fisheye. Auto ISO.

Top: 1/20 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 1000

Middle: 1/100 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 1⅓ stop EV compensation. ISO 1400

Bottom: 1/6 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 1000

© 2019

Salisbury Cathedral at 720nm

My second attempt at infrared photography using a digital camera has had a degree of success, but it's still not what I'm looking for. The wet prints I was making in my darkroom days with Kodak HIR film produced more drama - albeit somewhat hit or miss in producing a printable negative.

The filter I am currently using - one that (mostly) allows wavelengths of 720nm to pass through it - is just not cutting it: I want white whites and deep blacks! However, if my subject is in bright sunshine I'm coming close(er) to the effect I'm after.

Of course, a near opaque filter blocks a lot of light reaching the sensor, but Olympus' 5 axis image stabilisation (IBIS) allows me to handhold, even at ridiculously slow shutter speeds.



Olympus OMD-EM10 MkIII with 14-42mm 3.5/5.6 Pancake lens. ⅓ second at f/11. - ⅔ EV compensation. ISO 2000. R72 Infrared filter



© 2019

Bournemouth Air Festival Day 4

Photographing the local air show - whatever location it was being held at - was always the last hurrah of summer for me. This year it truly is that, as the final day of the Bournemouth Air Festival falls on the first day of autumn.

Not that the weather belies that fact, and apart from yesterday's blip with a brief period of rain, it has been warm, perfect flying weather all the way.

Supermarine Spitfire

Avro Lancaster - bomb doors open

Super Pitts Muscle Plane - flown by Rich Goodwin

Saab Draken

Strikemaster Pair

Royal Navy Black Cat

Mig 15 and a Canadair T-33 Silver Star

An unexpected rarity: The Ultimate Warbirds Flight, joined by The Blades Aerobatic Team

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

© 2019

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