The images this week are the last ones from the photo shoot that I did in Birmingham city centre. These photographs are more of an abstract nature than the previous ones. The architecture in the centre of Birmingham is awesome. There are so many stunning buildings, that it would be hard not to get a good … Continue reading Architectural inspiration
Three more images from a Birmingham city centre shoot, this time in colour. The first two photographs are of the Birmingham Library the last of buildings around the canal. I do sometimes process in colour. I just have such a difficult time in liking what I have done. I see so many excellent photographers produce … Continue reading Gold, books and reflections
The seventh edition of the black and white photography photozine view is now available for free download.
For the next couple of posts or so, I will be showing photographs taken in the centre of Birmingham. There is some fantastic modern architecture in the city as well as atmospheric older buildings that come from the city's past. Let's not forget that it is said that Birmingham has more canals than Venice. There … Continue reading Architecture in monochrome
When we first pick up a camera or take a picture with a mobile phone it’s purely a way of recording that moment in time. There probably isn’t any other thought about the photograph other than that. But some of us move on from taking snapshots, take an interest and want more from the … Continue reading Mountains to climb
I love the detail in this first image that I photographed in a church graveyard. But I didn’t see the humour in the notice until I started writing this blog post. Duh! I know I can be slow sometimes. I’ll need to go back and try and catch an image of the sign with the … Continue reading Field and Fence
view is a free monthly digital zine that is published at the end of every month here on A Sensored-View and is also available via my website, clivemarshall.net. In it, I chose and show ten or so photographs from all the photographs that I have taken throughout the month. Not all of the photographs will … Continue reading view – Issues I to VI
After my last post on black and white photography, I’ve been looking at two related articles that appeared on craftandvison.com. The first by Guy Tal looks at the ability that some photographers have in being able to see in black and white when looking for and planning their shots. Tal says that in black and … Continue reading Monochrome Mutterings
Inspired by the photographer, jazz guitarist, web designer and general all-round cool dude, Ted Viera, I decided I was going to make a photo zine. What is a zine? It is usually a small circulation, self-published magazine showing original artwork , prose or in my case black and white photographs. Taking my lead from Ted, I … Continue reading View – A new Photozine
“Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.” – Elliott Erwitt As is obvious if you look through my blog, most of my photographs are monochrome. I'm often asked why this is so. The quote above by Irwin is exactly why I process the vast majority of my images as black and white. A person … Continue reading Why black and white?
When we post our images online for people to look at, for example on Flickr, do we take this action knowing that at worse we will get no comment and at best we will get a ‘fave’ and the ubiquitous “love this”, comment? This and other forms of photographic display on the internet do … Continue reading The value of critique
These three images were, like the last post, all taken at the Black Country Living Museum near Dudley in the West Midlands. The first is a found still life of a watering can and two water butts. I did not arrange these and came upon them behind one of the turn of the century cottages … Continue reading Bricks and iron
Museums can be great places to take photographs. You have the architecture of the buildings themselves, some of them are marvels of modern architecture. Then there are the people who visit the museums looking and absorbed in the exhibitions and finally but not least, you also have the exhibits themselves. The three photographs in today’s blog … Continue reading Black Country history
I have been doing photography for about forty years now. Over these years I have been an Olympus OM user (five cameras at one point), for a very brief period a Canon user, a Nikon enthusiast and now a confirmed Fujifilm fan. I bought the Fuji X-E2 whilst I still had my Nikons. I had … Continue reading My choice of Fuji x-plained
Following on from last week’s post where I showed three of my ICM (intentional camera movement) images, I thought this week I would post some multiple exposures created in camera. These are not several images put together in Photoshop etc. but where you have instructed your camera itself to overlay two or more images. Done … Continue reading Go forth and multiply
Intentional Camera Movement is a style of photography that does what is says on the tin. You move the camera whilst you take the picture. In most circumstances, blurred images are usually considered a photographic mistake. But done intentionally I find that ICM can be a useful aid to clearing a log-jam of imagination … Continue reading ICM
I go to Batsford Arboretum two or three times a year. I can usually find something to photograph whilst I’m there. In winter some of the trees are not looking their best so I try to look for details or other views to photograph. The first image is of a leaf that I noticed on … Continue reading Winter Challenges
Last post I showed three colour images that I took whilst out on a walk near my home. This week, I have another three photographs from the location but processed in black and white. The first is a landscape which shows tractor tracks disappearing into the mist across the field. I got down low with the … Continue reading Countryside Studies
We British are notorious for moaning and whingeing about our weather. This is because we never know what it is going to be like from day to day. Our weather prediction services seem to be totally incapable of getting their forecasts right and you may as well hang a piece of seaweed outside your front … Continue reading One Misty Morning
It is important in monochrome images that the photographer can get his vision across to the viewer using only the attributes of that medium. The careful construction of an image should give visual weight to the components in the frame enabling the viewer to see what the photographer intended with his photograph. In the first … Continue reading Open and Shut
I do take a fair number of close-up photographs, not as many as other styles of images I take, but a few. The three here are a fair representation of the subjects I sometimes take when I get in close. I do take flowers, both in colour and monochrome, but the latter are by far … Continue reading Get In There
I have three photographs this week that were taken at the very atmospheric Magpie Mine in Derbyshire. This former lead mine is one of the most famous lead mines in the area as it is the only one that has a significant part of its buildings still standing. The mine was first recorded in 1795 … Continue reading A Light on the Past
You may have notice that I have changed the title of the post this week from the generic "Photographs #XX". This is because the titles didn't give any indication of what was in the post and didn't give a reader a mental link to the photographs featured. I hope that this new will work better in … Continue reading Kingdom of Madness
I have three colour images for you this time. All three were taken with the Nikon D800 and Nikkor 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. The first is a view across Weston Super Mare towards Brean Down which you can see on the horizon. Brean Down is a promontory extending one and a half miles into the English … Continue reading Photograph #21
You will all be pleased to know that the three images into today’s post are the last images from the Weston Super mare shoot. Two of them centre on the famous Weston Pier, which was built in 1903 and opened in 1904. The original theatre situated at the pier’s end was destroyed by fire in … Continue reading Photographs #20
All the images I am posting today are in colour. Once again taken in Weston-Super-Mare. I got so many different types of photograph whilst down there, that it was worth the drenching from the storm. All three photographs were taken with the Nikon D800 and the excellent Nikkor 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. I followed my usual … Continue reading Photographs #19
Today’s images are again from the Weston-Super-Mare shoot. Despite the weather (or should I say because of it), it was such a great day for photography. The light was that really translucent type that seemed to just emanate from everywhere. These next three images are again in the 1:1 or square format that I like … Continue reading Photographs #18
Ok, I make no apologies for showing some more photographs that I took on the trip Mrs M. and I went on down to Weston-Super-Mare. I got some great pictures on that trip. As I have said before, the weather was stormy and the first photograph below shows the magnificent display of clouds we were … Continue reading Photographs #17
Following on from my last post, these are some images taken from the visit that Mrs M. and I made to Weston-Super-Mare during September. The weather was stormy and very, very changeable. The clouds were boiling over the sea and pushed by a brisk wind were heading for a collision course with the town. These … Continue reading Photographs #16
This collection of images were taken on a short break in the west country during September. The weather as is usual in the United Kingdom was variable. Indeed, on that break, we encountered warm sun, as well as torrential rain, a hailstorm and buffeting winds. The upside to this was that the cloud formations were … Continue reading Photographs #15
The images on my blog today, were some of the first that I took with a Fuji camera back in late 2015. The reasons that I moved from Nikon to Fuji can be found elsewhere on this blog so I will not bore you by going into them again. These images and others that will … Continue reading Photographs #14
I like taking abstract photographs. The individual’s visualisation of something on which they are laying their own interpretation is both gratifying and exciting. There is always the risk of course that someone may not be able to see what it is you are trying to pull out of an object or a scene, but to … Continue reading Photographs #13
The three images in today’s post appeal to me for different reasons. One for texture and detail, one for the questions it asks and the other both for its suggestion of mysterious overtones. The first picture is in my favourite format of 1:1 or square and monochrome. The plant, is a thistle, with its seeds … Continue reading Photographs #12
Colour photographs by their very nature rely in some way on their main characteristic of colour to draw the viewer into the image. So, when you are looking to take a monochrome image, you have to discount that attribute and rely instead on other aspects of the subject to give to your viewer. There are … Continue reading Photographs #11
So last week I bit the bullet and purchased a Fujifilm X-Pro2. It was always a toss-up between that and the X-T2 but the ergonomics of the XP2 won me over in the end. As I have said on this blog before, I am left eye dominant and wear glasses and as a result, I … Continue reading Fuji X-Pro2 Arrival
In Photograph #7 I said that I enjoy taking photographs of flowers in monochrome but of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t also process flower photographs in colour. The following two images show two different approaches to flower photography. The first is a single bloom with the lens opened to an aperture of f/1.8. … Continue reading Photographs #10
These two images are part of a series I have been working on for a couple of years now. The series is called Senescence, which is a biological term meaning “the condition or process of deterioration with age.” The subjects I am photographing are not biological. The images are studies on the effects of age … Continue reading Photographs #9
The following three pictures were all taken at St Mary the Virgin church at Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire. I was using a Nikon D800 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens which really came into their own inside the church and to take pictures of the tomb inside of Sir Thomas Wykeham and his wife. The … Continue reading Photographs #8
Flowers and plants have to be one of the most popular subjects for photography. For the most part they are easily accessed, they are usually colourful and striking and can be taken indoors or outdoors. Probably the first thing we notice about flowers are their colours and as you walk about the many gardens that … Continue reading Photographs #7
Most of the images that I take, and have taken, over the years are monochrome. That’s not to say I don’t like colour images, I do, very much, it’s just that l like to produce black and white photographs. I find it easy to visualise the monochromatic values of a scene when I look at … Continue reading Photographs #6
These three images were taken at Stowe gardens like those in 2015 Photographs #4. Once again they were taken with the Nikon D800 and the 24-120 f/4.0 lens. I do like taking statues, as they are not usually prone to moving and with some creative positioning, exposure techniques and post processing a decent image can sometimes … Continue reading Photographs #5
I always try to inject some atmosphere into my black and white photographs and the following images taken at Stowe gardens are indicative of how I try to make my photographs more interesting. When I’m out on a shoot I tend to see most of the pictures I take as monochrome. I look for … Continue reading Photographs #4
The following photographs were all taken at Buscot park in Oxfordshire. Once again they were all taken with a Nikon D800 and a 24-120mm f/4.0 lens. The first image taken of the copies held at Buscot of some of the terracotta army is in my more usual format of 1:1 or square. I opened … Continue reading Photographs #3
Hoping to shake off some of the Christmas holiday period cobwebs Mrs M and I went on a morning visit to Charlecote Park. There had been a heavy frost the night before, the car was thoroughly iced up before we started and there was a thick, cold, fog laying low over the houses. The sun … Continue reading Out and About: Charlecote Park
These two images were again taken with one of my Nikons that I had in 2015. This time it was the superb D800 and the lens was the very good Nikkor 24-120mm f/4.0 zoom. Both images were, as I normally do, shot in RAW, imported into Lightroom CC as DNGs and then processed mainly in … Continue reading Photographs #2
As we come to the end of 2016 I am reminded that although I have tried to maintain this blog as much as I can, I have gone for some periods of time this year without posting. I would like to do something about that. So, starting today, I am going to post photographs I … Continue reading Photographs #1
I have always been a huge fan of Michael Kenna’s photography. I think I have been inspired to do many of my black and white photographs in square mode because of him and his use of Hasselblad cameras. I have however never aspired to taking long exposures like him but his minimalist, beautifully visualized photographs … Continue reading Michael Kenna – Forms of Japan
This image was taken on a glorious November day in Exmouth, Devon. The temperature was unbelievably warm at 18 degrees. I was walking along the beach in a tee-shirt and I was still very warm. Being November, the area did not have the summer quota of holiday-makers and the beach was virtually empty apart from … Continue reading Out and About: Exmouth
A trip to Cosford RAF museum bought the opportunity not only to look at the fantastic collection of aircraft they have from the First World War to the Cold War but also to get some great close up and abstract images. The image below is one I took of a safety ribbon which was attached to … Continue reading Out and About: Cosford RAF Museum
I'm in the middle of a monthly project for my photography club at the moment and although I think I have one image which I believe would fulfill the criteria, I wanted to see if I could get any more. Any image submitted to the club for the monthly assignments has to be taken in … Continue reading Out and About: Kenilworth
It was a visit to the Black Country Living Museum for today’s photo-meet. It really is such a good place to take photographs. You have historic housing, canals, industrial buildings from the late Victorian and early 20th centuries and people dressed in the period costumes wandering around – currently First World War - and all … Continue reading Out and About: Black Country Living Museum.
I’m really enjoying the electronic viewfinder in my Fuji cameras. Being able to adjust the image to approximate how you see the final version after processing is such a time-saver. My colour processing (albeit the smaller portion of my processing – I do far more monochrome images) has speeded up because I now have to … Continue reading Using exposure metering effectively.
Mrs M and I have just come back from a week in the lovely town of Cefalu in Sicily which we enjoyed immensely. The sun, the food, and the wine were all excellent and although we did have a couple of thunderstorms they didn’t dent the enjoyment, they served to relieve the heat for … Continue reading Out and About: Sicily
For once the sun is shining and its nice and warm. Time to catch those rays and get rid of the ubiquitous British pallor. So, it's the sunbed out in the garden. Hold on, I've forgot the cold drink. Back inside and then cold coke poured, its back into the garden. The problem is Lily the cat … Continue reading Knowing ones place.
Today I took a trip to the Midland Air Museum and was very impressed with the aircraft they had there. I’m not an aeroplane fan-boy, what I know about military aircraft comes from Airfix modelling in the days of my youth, but I did recognize some of the aircraft on show. A couple of English … Continue reading Out and About: Midland Air Museum
Well, I have tried the last weeks to use my right eye for photography (Eye, Eye!) but I have to give up on it. I thought for a couple of days it was going to be OK but I just couldn't get used to it over-time. My right eye started to ache after a short … Continue reading The Right Eye? No!
I am right-handed, but a lefty eye person who also wears glasses. By that I mean that when I use a camera I look through the viewfinder with my left eye. As a result I have always had trouble with my nose being squidged against the rear LCD as I use the viewfinder. The other and … Continue reading Eye, Eye!
I was looking through some of my photographs the other day in particular the ones that had been in galleries and had sold quite well. What come to mind as I looked at them was that it didn’t matter what camera they were taken with, it was the picture that counted. The image below is … Continue reading The best camera…
I took a trip out to Calke Abbey with two other members of the Viewfinder Club and I think we all went there with the hope of finding some images that we could use for the club’s assignment for this month, “Found still-Life”. I think by the end of the afternoon shooting that we all … Continue reading Out and About: Calke Abbey
When we are out and about photographing, there are times when the light, or lack of it, can be challenging. You may find that really nice shot, probably indoors or under cover, that is just too dark to take without a tripod or flash, and you don’t have either. So, you walk on and leave … Continue reading Take the shot
The Viewfinder club phototrip was to Twycross Zoo this time. I hadn’t been there for a few years since my daughter was a lot younger and in some ways it has changed quite a lot and in other ways, by not much. I always have some moral trauma at zoos, because on one hand I … Continue reading Out and About: Twycross Zoo
A trip down to the Cotswolds today and to the Batsford Arboretum. Mrs M and I haven’t been down there for a few months so it was time to re-acquaint ourselves with the fabulous arboreal shapes and colours at the arboretum. The first surprise was that it wasn’t busy. Perhaps the appalling weather of … Continue reading Out and About: Batsford Arboretum
Back in March I posted that my photographs were ready to be sent to the Royal Photographic Society in order to be assessed for the award of Licentiate. I’ve been a little tardy in getting back on this, but on 15 April I was informed that subject to authorisation by the Council of the … Continue reading Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society
So you have taken your picture, you’ve downloaded it to your computer and you have processed it. Once you are happy with it, you’re going to upload it to social media, or even get it printed and exhibited. Your work of art is now available for the world to look at, they admire it, they … Continue reading Naming Your Photographs
As you can guess from the interval between my last post and this one, I’m a little bit behind at the moment with processing images. However I do have another here from my time in Northumbria a few weeks ago. This was taken in the harbour of the town of Seahouses where we were staying. … Continue reading Out and About: Seahouses
This is another shot from Northumberland, taken on the second day of my trip to the coast there. The shot is of the castle ruin, Dunstanburgh, from the beach at Embleton. Once again the weather was very windy and very cold. Most of the time on the beach was spent trying to hold the camera … Continue reading Out and About: Embleton, Northumbria
For the last few days I have been in the north of England with my new Fuji’s. I have been to Northumberland a few times before and it is truly a beautiful rugged county. It so happens that the trip coincided with one of the coldest snaps that the UK has seen for a few … Continue reading Out and About – Seahouses
At the end of next week I’m off on a photo-trip to Northumberland and it will be the first major outing for all my new Fuji equipment. When I go on these trips, I tend to put all my equipment into a rucksack, currently the excellent Lowepro Flipside 400 AW, and then if neccessary deport … Continue reading Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 backpack
Our phototrip this time was to Worcester where the main part of the walk was along the east bank of the river and then inside the cathedral. The weather was warm and sunny and it bought many people out along the riverside to enjoy the spring sun and temperature. After a short walk along the … Continue reading Out and About: Worcester
Today Mrs M. and I took advantage of the sunny weather and drove to Bradgate Park in Leicestershire. I took the Fuji X-T1 and the 18-135 lens with me to give it a first try out. I had set the camera up pretty much the same as the X-E2 and as with that camera even … Continue reading Out and About – Bradgate Park
My parcel from Wex arrived today (brilliant service as usual) and in it was my brand-spanking new Fujifilm X-T1 camera and two new lenses. The image below shows the X-T1 with my new XF55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS zoom lens attached, and behind it my X-E2 with the new XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR … Continue reading New Arrivals
So that's it then, all my Nikon gear has gone. Everything! Nothing left. I have ordered my new Fuji equipment and there's no going back. I really can't wait. I'll end up with the X-E2, an X-T1, 27mm f/2.8mm, 35mm f/2.0. 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0, 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 and 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 lenses. It wasn't an easy choice to … Continue reading Well I’ve only gone and done it!
I have been a little tardy of late in updating A Sensored View but here's a picture I took at Croome Park of the Marshall ladies. It was taken in a small stone shelter with the ambient light coming from just over my left shoulder. I took the image as ever in RAW, so the … Continue reading Out and About: Croome Park
As someone who is leaving Nikon to move to Fuji, I came across an interesting and gratifying comment made by Fuji managers Toshihisa Iida and Makoto Oishi when they met imaging-resource.com. At one point they were discussing the principal of Kaizen,which is the Japanese practice of continuous development of a project. The Fuji representatives said: Toshihisa Iida: Of … Continue reading Fuji and Kaizen
Now that I have finally got back up to date with my processing after falling nearly two years behind because of the course with the Open College of the Arts, printing for the gallery and preparing for the RPS distinction, I thought I would sort out any anomalies in my Lightroom catalog. It was whilst … Continue reading Delving into the past.
We were at Hanbury Hall today on a beautiful spring-like day. It really was nice to be out in the sunshine and the warmth was really beginning to be felt. It was still chilly in the shade but I suppose that is only to be expected. An unexpected pleasure at the Hall was the … Continue reading Out and About – Hanbury Hall
For those of you who have used and appreciated the brilliant Lightbox Photography cards by Paul Michael Kane, then the news is that he is starting a new Kickstarter campaign on 16 March called Lightbox Photography Cards: Mobile Edition will be most welcome. This set of cards will have 52 different mobile phone assignments which … Continue reading New Photographic Cards Kickstarter campaign
Today we decided to give the Warwick walk we abandoned last week another go. The intention was to walk along the Great Union Canal as far as the viaduct over the river Avon and then down to the river and follow that back past the castle and thence to the racecourse where we had parked. … Continue reading Out and About – Warwick
Today was meant to be a day for being out and about photographing in and around Warwick. But the great British weather had other ideas and the photo walk had to be abandoned in the face of high winds, stinging ice rain and snow. We knew when we were beaten. the photograph was taken … Continue reading Abandon ship
Well the i’s have been dotted and the t’s crossed and my 10 photograph distinction submission is ready to go to the Royal Photographic Society. All I have to do now is print out two panel hanging plans, place the pictures in the box and take them down to RPS HQ in Bath, ready for … Continue reading RPS submission ready to go
Further to my last post about the purchase of a new camera bag to house my Fuji X-E2, the new bag duly arrived courtesy of Amazon. As with all Domke bags it looks as though it’s built to last and the quality is just as it should be. As I stated yesterday, the bag … Continue reading Domke F-5XB camera bag and modifications
There is one thing on this blog that I haven’t talked about in a long while and that’s camera bags. I always use a bag to carry my gear, although I never carry an excessive amount around. I tailor the gear I carry to the days shoot. As a result I don’t need to carry … Continue reading New Camera Bag
With the wet weather we’ve been having lately, it’s been very difficult to get out and about without having to get into scuba gear. Today though, the clouds cleared and we actually had sunshine, so I took a trip over to Stratford. I thought that though the water level of the river Avon may be … Continue reading Out and About: Stratford
Well, I've downloaded and installed the update on to my X-E2 and I have to say I am so impressed that Fuji should present such an update to users of a camera that is now over two years old. It is virtually a completely new camera now. Not only that but Fuji also announced that … Continue reading Fujifilm X-E2 Firmware Update 4.00
There will probably be a few 'Out and Abouts' in Berkswell this year, as I am taking part if a project by the viewfinder.club called 'The Walk'. The challenge is to do the same shortish walk - two miles or so - many times a year, recording the changes that you see, and trying to … Continue reading Out and About: Berkswell
It has been about a year since the last time I went to Birmingham and one ov the viewfinder.club chose the city for his photomeet. It's nice to know that with all the (good) changes that have gone in New Street Station, the actual train service itself is still pretty poor. Catching the train from … Continue reading Out and About: Birmingham City Centre
Fujifilm have now announced the firmware update for the X-E2, and with them installed it’s almost like having a new camera. Here’s a list of the new enhancements. There’s a new autofocus system using the cameras hybrid AF system. A new algorithm gives enhanced performance in low light and low contrast conditions. Continuous shooting … Continue reading Fujifilm X-E2 Firmware update 4.00
Not long after I bought my Fujifilm X-E2, I decided that due to a pair of large hands, I would feel more comfortable if I fixed a grip to it. Although the premise of buying this camera was to take advantage of its smaller size compared to my Nikon’s, comfort is everything and I … Continue reading Fujifilm X-E2 and third-party grip
A visit to Stowe gardens on Monday proved to be on one of the few decent days of weather in between all of the terrible rain storms we have been having in the UK and which have caused so many terrible problems in the north of England. In Buckinghamshire the sun was shining and for … Continue reading Out and About: Stow Gardens
Today was a visit to the Black Country Living Museum. The last time I was there nearly a year ago, it had snowed and I got some very nice images. Today however there wasn't any of the white stuff although it was very cold and as the day went on it got even colder. The BCLM … Continue reading Out and About: Black Country Living Museum
After attending the talk by Nicki Gwynn-Jones I decided to have a bash myself at multiple images at Baddesley Clinton. The last time I did multiple exposures in-camera was when I was using film with Olympus OM-1 and OM-2 cameras many years ago. I wasn’t expecting any great shakes at the first … Continue reading Out and About: Multiple Exposures
Have just spent a great day at the Rollright Visual Art group. There was a great turn-out with about 50 photographers comprising of RPS and non-RPS members. We had three displays of associate submissions for the Royal Photographic Society, one which is entered for the distinction in March next year and the other two which … Continue reading Rollright Visual Arts Group
Today I was at Earlswood Lakes, Solihull with the Fuji X-E2 and the Fujinon 18-55 zoom lens. Although in the very early morning, the weather looked quite promising, by the time I got to the lakes, there was a chill wind and a sometimes moody sky that promised but did not give rain. There were … Continue reading Out and About: Earlswood Lakes
I was at the very nice Batsford Arboretum today with a couple of members of the photo club. It started off pretty dark and overcast with some fog still sticking around the base of the trees. Knowing that light was going to be scarce, I took my monopod on the shoot, and I’m glad I … Continue reading Out and About: Batsford Arboretum
I was out and about in Stratford today, expressly for the purpose of testing the new 18-55 lens I had just got for my Fujifilm X-E2. It was a dreadfully dark monotone day. The kind of grey, lifeless and chilly day that Britain seems to do very well at times. As a result, camera shutter … Continue reading Out and About: Stratford on Avon
I trudged across the fields of Berkswell today in an effort to get some foggy, autumn pictures. The fog was quite dense and the only noises piercing its sound dampening properties were the cries of the crows in the trees, the seagulls on the lake and the drip, drip of the water on the leaves of … Continue reading Out and About: Berkswell
This was just a quick visit to the property today to get one of their sausage batches and to accompany a club member who was trying out a new standard lens on their Olympus OM-D E-M1 (can Olympus camera names get any longer or more complicated)? The weather was overcast and there was a spot … Continue reading Out and About: Baddesley Clinton
Mrs M, Miss M and myself went for a walk this afternoon in Charlecote Park. There were quite a few people around as the deer herd was pretty much in evidence due to the rutting season. However I wasn’t well-equiped for wildlife photography as once again I went out with the X-E2 and the Nikon … Continue reading Out and About: Charlecote Park
Today I wanted to test out the Nikon AI-S lens with the Fujifilm X-E2. Mrs M and I went to Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire and had a wander around the lovely house and gardens. As I said yesterday, the Nikon lens through the adaptor on the X-E2 would have no electrical connections whatsoever, so everything … Continue reading Out and About – Hanbury Hall
I have an old Nikon AI-S 50mm f/1.8 lens that must be twenty years old that I sometimes use with a reversing ring with my Nikon DSLR’s for close-up work. One of the good things about the Fujifilm X-E2 that I recently bought is that with the aid of a convertor you can use various … Continue reading Fujifilm to Nikon lens convertor
Today some members of S13 and I headed for Derbyshire in search of some of Britain's industrial past. We started at the Magpie mine a disused lead mine dating from the 1700's. To say shooting the mine on this particular day was challenging is an understatement. When we left the Midlands the temperature was about 13 … Continue reading Out and About – Magpie Mine
For our last day in Somerset, Mrs M and I decided to go to one of our favourite National Trust locations, Stourhead. The gardens are fantastic and the house is an interesting trip back to the turn of the 20th century. The weather for the visit was quite nice. - nowhere near an Indian Summer … Continue reading Out and About – Stourhead House and Gardens
On our second day in Somerset Mrs M and I decided to go to Weston-Super-Mare. The weather to start with seemed promising, but then spectacular clouds closed in and hovered menacingly over the town, until we were pummelled with rain, then hail and finally a cold wind. But the cloud structures were exciting and powerful with … Continue reading Out and About – Weston-Super-Mare
Last week Mrs M and I headed down to Somerset for a few days and called into the National Trust property Dyrham Park on the way. The whole roof was under renovation, 46 tonnes of lead and 8000 slate tiles have been removed, the roof structure is being repaired and then re-cast lead and new … Continue reading Out and About – Dyrham Park
I have just added a Fujifilm X-E2 and 27mm pancake lens to my Nikon cameras. I wanted a smaller camera that I could just slip into my shoulder bag when my wife and I were out and about. I originally thought I would get the X-T1 but after looking at it realised that it was a little too … Continue reading New Camera Aquired
This is a great article highlighting the skills of the technicians who worked on some of the most famous photographs ever taken. You can see the annotations made on the test prints of the images telling the technician how long to burn-in or dodge certain parts of the image so that the photographer can get … Continue reading Darkroom Printing
I have now updated my main photographic work system to Windows 10 and it’s working OK. There was a heart-stopping moment where we had a power-cut whilst I was in the middle of the installation, but when the machine restarted after the power came back on three and a half hours later (thanks Western Digital) it … Continue reading Windows 10 installation #2
I have just updated my laptop from Windows 7 to Windows 10. It took a long time to complete but was pretty painless. There was a slight hiccough after installation and after I logged in when I had the (quite common apparently) 'black screen and cursor of nothing is happening'. To remedy this, I basically … Continue reading Windows 10 Installed
One of my favourite photographer/writers is Canadian David DuChemin and his company Craft and Vision. He has started a YouTube channel showing a “mostly weekly show about the craft and art of photography” called 'Vision is Better'. In this he discusses some of his techniques and thoughts about all aspects of photography. He really is … Continue reading Craft and Vision YouTube channel
