Sunday, May 29, 2011

A little fishing

I've been itching for a little time off to do some recreational photography lately, but just haven't had the time, despite the awesome late autumn we've been having. Today though, I took a little time out today for a fishing expedition with Mrs C and Miss C(7).

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Thought I'd play around with my new UW housing for the Canon G12 but the water was a little murky - not to mention cold - to get in and do a lot more than just a couple of shallow test shots. I'll just have to book a shark dive or something to give it a real shakedown.

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But then I saw this.

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A discarded carcass. I hate it when other anglers leave their mess around. Yes, I suppose it's just biomass being returned to the natural environment, but I'm sure it's better to bury your waste or at least fling it into the bush where it's not going to spoil anyone else's enjoyment. The clown who did this had to know that the place is also a drinking water reservoir for the city! Not a good look. So I decided to grab my other camera and work it into something with a bit more power. It could make a good bit of eco-ganda if you didn't know the real story.

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In the end, I let Mrs C and Miss C(7) do all the fishing. I was happy enough with the pictures I'd caught.

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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Time

It'll be another month or two before I'm clear of writing my book and can devote all my time to photography again, but I can't wait (of course I'm still for hire 24/7).  Meanwhile, I've been out doing some shooting for the book, getting shots of some historic business premises about town.

East of the Octagon


I've been going out at various times of day to experiment with different looks.

Greggs

As winter approaches and the sun gets lower in the sky, sometimes it's harder to get good light on some buildings.  If some of the building is in direct sun, the disparity between highlights and shadows is often just too great for a good image.  Rather than boost the fill light slider in post or make a high dynamic range picture, I'll shoot the structure in low light early or late in the day.   The architecture isn't so defined, but its a natural look and the whole building is evenly lit by the low ambient without hard shadows and highlights. It does mean using a tripod, since sometimes the shutter speed is around 1/15th, but I tend to use the tripod for landscapes anyway, and I'm liking the results.

Crown Mill

The Bell Tea Co.>

I'm also liking my assistant/model Miss C(7).  Not only does she watch my gear when I'm working, she also acts as a useful model when I'm shooting playground equipment.

Market Reserve Play equipment>

And the best part is, she still works for milk shakes.