Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.4, 1/500s, ISO80, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/4, 1/45s, ISO400, handheld.
Archive » January 2013
Friday, 25 January 2013
Photo Friday - Week 45
A couple of shots from Monday afternoon, taken at Hutton Country Park. The first is a hogweed seed head, the second a snowy oak tree with mist in the background, taken after sunset.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.4, 1/500s, ISO80, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/4, 1/45s, ISO400, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.4, 1/500s, ISO80, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/4, 1/45s, ISO400, handheld.
Tropical Wings Zoo Photography Workshop
I am running a new workshop for 2013 at Tropical Wings Zoo in South Woodham Ferrers, near Chelmsford, Essex, on Saturday 27th April from 10.00am to 5.00pm. We'll be exploring the subjects there, from butterflies to birds, mammals to reptiles, and working on the best techniques to improve your photography.
Full details can be found here.
Here are a few photos I've taken there in the past, just so you can get a feel for some of the subjects. Take a look at the Tropical Wings website to see what's there.
Pentax K10D, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/9.5, 1/90s, ISO200, handheld, diffused flashgun.
Pentax K10D, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/8, 1/60s, ISO200, handheld, diffused flashgun.
Pentax K10D, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/4, 1/90s, +0.5EV, ISO200, handheld.
Pentax K10D, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/6.7, 1/500s, +1.0EV, ISO100, handheld.
Pentax K10D, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/3.5, 1/125s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Photo Friday - Week 44
I went to Weald Country Park in Brentwood today, with the intention of giving some 1-2-1 tuition, but after half an hour of bitterly cold wind and snow, my client (who had a bit of a chest infection too) wisely decided we should call it a day and postpone the session until the weather warmed up a bit.
I, however, thought it would be lovely to have a walk about...
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/500s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/500s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/1500s, ISO800, handheld.
Ten years ago I had a wander in the snow at Weald Park, and compared to then, today's snow was fairly feeble. At one point I was reminded of a shot I'd taken on January 8th 2003, looking down 'Chestnut Avenue', when it was covered in thick snow, having been snowing pretty much constantly for nearly 24 hours.
I took this snap today, from (I thought) roughly the same spot, just as a comparison. Below this is the original shot, which was actually taken from two trees forward (on the right hand side), the nearest tree having lost a limb in the intervening time. This picture was the first of mine to sell as a limited edition print, back when I used to have exhibitions.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA 16-45mm f/4 lens @ 16mm, f/9.5, 1/8s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Chinon CE5, Sigma 24mm f/2.8 lens, Velvia 50, tripod, exposure details unrecorded.
Although it would have been great to have actually carried out the tuition today, it was lovely to have a walk about on my own for a change, something I need to do more this year.
I, however, thought it would be lovely to have a walk about...
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/500s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/500s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/1500s, ISO800, handheld.
Ten years ago I had a wander in the snow at Weald Park, and compared to then, today's snow was fairly feeble. At one point I was reminded of a shot I'd taken on January 8th 2003, looking down 'Chestnut Avenue', when it was covered in thick snow, having been snowing pretty much constantly for nearly 24 hours.
I took this snap today, from (I thought) roughly the same spot, just as a comparison. Below this is the original shot, which was actually taken from two trees forward (on the right hand side), the nearest tree having lost a limb in the intervening time. This picture was the first of mine to sell as a limited edition print, back when I used to have exhibitions.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA 16-45mm f/4 lens @ 16mm, f/9.5, 1/8s, +1.0EV, ISO400, handheld.
Chinon CE5, Sigma 24mm f/2.8 lens, Velvia 50, tripod, exposure details unrecorded.
Although it would have been great to have actually carried out the tuition today, it was lovely to have a walk about on my own for a change, something I need to do more this year.
Friday, 11 January 2013
Photo Friday - Week 43
Snow's forecast in Essex for this weekend, so make the most of it and get out with your camera!
Here's one from last year, taken from a hide overlooking the reservoir at Hanningfield.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/8, 1/750s, +0.5EV, ISO200, handheld.
Here's one from last year, taken from a hide overlooking the reservoir at Hanningfield.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/8, 1/750s, +0.5EV, ISO200, handheld.
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Portfolio 2 Ebook for iPad
I updated the photos I have on display in Cameraworld in Chelmsford a few months ago, and finally produced a book to go with them, which is in the shop to see (but not buy, it's just there to accompany the TV display). It's come out really nicely in hardback, and you can buy it through Blurb in this format, but it doesn't come cheap, unfortunately.
Luckily, Blurb make it very easy to make books into the eBook format, for iPads, iPhones etc, and they look great, with nice, vivid colours. Even better, they cost a lot less, so I can sell these at a much reduced price. The preview below allows you to look through the whole book, and there are links below that to take you to the relevant formats, when you decide you can't live without it!
Luckily, Blurb make it very easy to make books into the eBook format, for iPads, iPhones etc, and they look great, with nice, vivid colours. Even better, they cost a lot less, so I can sell these at a much reduced price. The preview below allows you to look through the whole book, and there are links below that to take you to the relevant formats, when you decide you can't live without it!
Friday, 4 January 2013
2012 Favourites
Seeing other photographers' blog posts with their best shots of 2012 prompted me to consider the same, and in some ways it was a bit disappointing, as it wasn't as difficult a choice as I'd hoped - this year I need to get out more on my own! Of the ten photos here, five were taken when I was out for a walk on my own, just two when I was giving tuition, another was at the Essex Wildlife Trust AGM, and two were on family walks.
This first shot was taken at Thorndon Park in mid-January, whilst out with my wife and daughter. The dead Beech leaves were nicely back-lit by the sun, and I used a wide aperture to blur the background as much as possible. It's the only photo here taken with my 50mm lens, the one I will usually pop on the camera if I'm out for a family walk, as it saves me spending too much time on photos...
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.4, 1/1000s, ISO400, handheld.
Taken in my local park (Hutton Country Park), during the snows of February, I was drawn to the abstract nature of this composition. I tried others, with the background tree trunk shown in its entirety for instance, but I preferred the more abstract version with the three black stripes. Converting it to monochrome enhanced this, I feel.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/9.5, 1/20s, ISO80, tripod.
Taken from a hide overlooking the reservoir at Hanningfield, I was originally taking shots of the shadow patterns on the snow on the shore, when this crow arrived. This is a fairly heavy crop of the original frame, a consequence of only having a 300mm lens as my longest focal length.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/6.7, 1/750s, +0.5EV, ISO200, handheld.
Taken again at Hutton Country Park, with my old K10D when my K-5 was away to have its pop-up flash repaired. Unfortunately, I didn't realise I was shooting in jpeg format until after I'd taken this, as a RAW file would have given me more control over the black and white conversion, and the sharpening and noise reduction applied.
Pentax K10D, Pentax DA16-45mm f/4 lens @ 24mm, f/8, 1/15s, +1.0EV, ISO100, handheld.
Taken at Swan Wood in Stock, I found three bees (presumably honey bees, but I've not checked) wandering around on a mossy tree stump. I don't know what they were after, maybe a drink, but it gave me a shot that was a little different from the normal bee picture. Shooting into the sun, with a little fill-flash, helped to pick out the hairs.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/8, 1/10s, -1.0EV, ISO80, handheld, fill flash.
At the Essex Wildlife Trust AGM in June, Michaela Strachan was the guest speaker, and she did a great job. My job was to take photos of the day for the Trust, and it was a pleasure as always. This one was taken just after Michaela had sat down to await her turn at the lectern, and it was the first photo I took of her on the day, but she still immediately flashed her wonderful smile, which was evident all afternoon. She really was a joy to work with.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/4.5, 1/250s, +0.5EV, ISO800, handheld
On holiday in Wales in July, we were blessed with great weather for waterfalls. The cottage we stayed in had Spotted Flycatchers nesting on the outside wall, and they would regularly sit on this post near the lounge window, so I positioned the camera outside on the tripod, pre-focusing on the post, then used the remote release from the comfort of the lounge to get lots of photos. This is a crop of a landscape format image.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/6.7, 1/350s, -0.5EV, ISO800, tripod, remote release.
Still in Wales, a walk along the canal near Llanymynech resulted in this shot of some reeds reflected in the water. I'd originally intended taking a photo of the red clover on the nearside bank, but the camera missed focus on this, and focused instead on the reflections, and I realised I much preferred that!
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/500s, ISO400, handheld.
During a workshop at Bedfords Park, I noticed these flowers down by the lake, and saw that they were very popular with hoverflies, so pre-focused my lens on the flower, and took shots when anything arrived. Getting down low and shooting across the flower meant that the background was thrown well out of focus, allowing the subject to stand out well.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/8, 1/350s, ISO400, tripod.
My only trip out alone to shoot toadstools last year, I went to Hanningfield Reservoir to see what I could find. This was one of the last photos I took that day, and I used my diffused flashgun to light the fungi from behind, simulating sunlight, which helped to pick out the gills of the cap.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/6.7, 10s, ISO80, tripod, contre-jour flash.
I'll finish off with a video from the autumn, the Red Deer rut at Bedfords Park. I don't often shoot video, but it seemed like the obvious thing to do here, and I was very pleased with the result.
Well I hope you enjoyed at least some of those (I realise many of them had appeared on my blog before, but I suppose that's the way of favourite photos). I definitely need to get out more on my own this year, as it's the only way to spend the necessary time in getting the photos right, and exploring new subjects. Having said that, my two favourites from 2011 were both taken whilst carrying out some 1-2-1 tuition, so it does just depend on what presents itself when you're out and about.
For another photographer's 'best of' list, see Neil Phillip's blog post here. If you know of any others, please do let me know. There was a landscape photographer's one that I looked at last week, following a twitter link, but I can't remember whose it was now.
Have a great 2013!
This first shot was taken at Thorndon Park in mid-January, whilst out with my wife and daughter. The dead Beech leaves were nicely back-lit by the sun, and I used a wide aperture to blur the background as much as possible. It's the only photo here taken with my 50mm lens, the one I will usually pop on the camera if I'm out for a family walk, as it saves me spending too much time on photos...
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.4, 1/1000s, ISO400, handheld.
Taken in my local park (Hutton Country Park), during the snows of February, I was drawn to the abstract nature of this composition. I tried others, with the background tree trunk shown in its entirety for instance, but I preferred the more abstract version with the three black stripes. Converting it to monochrome enhanced this, I feel.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/9.5, 1/20s, ISO80, tripod.
Taken from a hide overlooking the reservoir at Hanningfield, I was originally taking shots of the shadow patterns on the snow on the shore, when this crow arrived. This is a fairly heavy crop of the original frame, a consequence of only having a 300mm lens as my longest focal length.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/6.7, 1/750s, +0.5EV, ISO200, handheld.
Taken again at Hutton Country Park, with my old K10D when my K-5 was away to have its pop-up flash repaired. Unfortunately, I didn't realise I was shooting in jpeg format until after I'd taken this, as a RAW file would have given me more control over the black and white conversion, and the sharpening and noise reduction applied.
Pentax K10D, Pentax DA16-45mm f/4 lens @ 24mm, f/8, 1/15s, +1.0EV, ISO100, handheld.
Taken at Swan Wood in Stock, I found three bees (presumably honey bees, but I've not checked) wandering around on a mossy tree stump. I don't know what they were after, maybe a drink, but it gave me a shot that was a little different from the normal bee picture. Shooting into the sun, with a little fill-flash, helped to pick out the hairs.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/8, 1/10s, -1.0EV, ISO80, handheld, fill flash.
At the Essex Wildlife Trust AGM in June, Michaela Strachan was the guest speaker, and she did a great job. My job was to take photos of the day for the Trust, and it was a pleasure as always. This one was taken just after Michaela had sat down to await her turn at the lectern, and it was the first photo I took of her on the day, but she still immediately flashed her wonderful smile, which was evident all afternoon. She really was a joy to work with.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/4.5, 1/250s, +0.5EV, ISO800, handheld
On holiday in Wales in July, we were blessed with great weather for waterfalls. The cottage we stayed in had Spotted Flycatchers nesting on the outside wall, and they would regularly sit on this post near the lounge window, so I positioned the camera outside on the tripod, pre-focusing on the post, then used the remote release from the comfort of the lounge to get lots of photos. This is a crop of a landscape format image.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/6.7, 1/350s, -0.5EV, ISO800, tripod, remote release.
Still in Wales, a walk along the canal near Llanymynech resulted in this shot of some reeds reflected in the water. I'd originally intended taking a photo of the red clover on the nearside bank, but the camera missed focus on this, and focused instead on the reflections, and I realised I much preferred that!
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/500s, ISO400, handheld.
During a workshop at Bedfords Park, I noticed these flowers down by the lake, and saw that they were very popular with hoverflies, so pre-focused my lens on the flower, and took shots when anything arrived. Getting down low and shooting across the flower meant that the background was thrown well out of focus, allowing the subject to stand out well.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/8, 1/350s, ISO400, tripod.
My only trip out alone to shoot toadstools last year, I went to Hanningfield Reservoir to see what I could find. This was one of the last photos I took that day, and I used my diffused flashgun to light the fungi from behind, simulating sunlight, which helped to pick out the gills of the cap.
Pentax K-5, Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/6.7, 10s, ISO80, tripod, contre-jour flash.
I'll finish off with a video from the autumn, the Red Deer rut at Bedfords Park. I don't often shoot video, but it seemed like the obvious thing to do here, and I was very pleased with the result.
Bedfords Park Red Deer Rut from Daniel Bridge on Vimeo.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/3.5, handheld.
Well I hope you enjoyed at least some of those (I realise many of them had appeared on my blog before, but I suppose that's the way of favourite photos). I definitely need to get out more on my own this year, as it's the only way to spend the necessary time in getting the photos right, and exploring new subjects. Having said that, my two favourites from 2011 were both taken whilst carrying out some 1-2-1 tuition, so it does just depend on what presents itself when you're out and about.
For another photographer's 'best of' list, see Neil Phillip's blog post here. If you know of any others, please do let me know. There was a landscape photographer's one that I looked at last week, following a twitter link, but I can't remember whose it was now.
Have a great 2013!
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Welcome to 2013
Just a quick one to welcome in 2013, I hope it proves to be a great year for you. It certainly started out nicely in Essex today, with clear blue skies and crisp winter sunshine, albeit a little on the chilly side, but what should we expect from January?
So we went for a little wander over at Essex Wildlife Trust's Hanningfield Reservoir reserve, and it was good to get out for a gentle stroll. Most of the photos I took were of my family, but I kept getting drawn to reflections in ponds, ditches and puddles.
This one caught my eye as the sunlight was shining across the water, giving it the unusual horizontal stripes. I did consider turning then pic upside down, so that the trees were the correct way up, but decided to keep it as a straight reflection.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/90s, -1.0EV, ISO800, handheld.
Not the best shot in the world, but a half-decent start to the year. I'm hoping to get out more with my camera in 2013...
So we went for a little wander over at Essex Wildlife Trust's Hanningfield Reservoir reserve, and it was good to get out for a gentle stroll. Most of the photos I took were of my family, but I kept getting drawn to reflections in ponds, ditches and puddles.
This one caught my eye as the sunlight was shining across the water, giving it the unusual horizontal stripes. I did consider turning then pic upside down, so that the trees were the correct way up, but decided to keep it as a straight reflection.
Pentax K-5, Pentax FA50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/4.5, 1/90s, -1.0EV, ISO800, handheld.
Not the best shot in the world, but a half-decent start to the year. I'm hoping to get out more with my camera in 2013...