The result of a 5 minute set up during lunch, and the first time I've actually had a play using a circular polarising filter on plastic products.
There will be more to follow I'm sure, but not today.... back to the editing.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Lunchtime - 5 Minutes With A Polarising Filter
Washing up or a quick mess about with a polarising filter, no competition really.
The result of a 5 minute set up during lunch, and the first time I've actually had a play using a circular polarising filter on plastic products.
There will be more to follow I'm sure, but not today.... back to the editing.
The result of a 5 minute set up during lunch, and the first time I've actually had a play using a circular polarising filter on plastic products.
There will be more to follow I'm sure, but not today.... back to the editing.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Ikarus Flying - But Not Too Close To the Sun !!
Personally I still smile to myself every time I get into the C42, is it only me that finds it strange that an aircraft should share the name of a character from Greek mythology that fell from the sky? Well almost shares the name - the sharp eyed ones amongst you will have course spotted that the title is spelt Ikarus, unlike Icarus the son of Daedalus.
A friend of mine operates an Ikarus C42 as part of HadAir, and knowing my love of flying and enjoyment in taking the camera aloft, I very kindly get offered the occasional jolly.
With a recent offer to go flying once again, I couldn't resist grabbing the 12mm lens and flash to see if we could get a few different 'internal' shots. I had a couple of shots in mind before we set off, a steep turn with something of interest through the window, plus a shot lit by flash looking out under the wing.
With the initial shots taken out over the Shropshire countryside, they were acceptable but weren't quite what I had in mind. Likewise the shots under the wing were nicely lit, but the rolling fields of Shropshire could have been any part of rural Britain. As it was only a quick 'jolly' we started to head back to the field.
On arrival back at Halfpenny Green, there was no other traffic so Steve did one more tight turn, this time over the top of the airfield. 'Click', although I didn't realise it straight away, there was the shot I'd been after, Steve looking into the tight turn and below him Halfpenny Green.
Descending into the circuit I busily checked the back of the camera, I was sure I'd now got something I was happy with, as I looked up we were just about to turn onto finals, 'click', I now had my under the wing shot.
We had only been in the air for about 30 minutes and I'd managed to get some nice shots of the C42, but it was just one of those days where it fell in to place and I got the two shots I was really after in the final 5 minutes.
The shots were intended as a bit of fun and a thank you to Steve for the odd jolly. I thought they might also be of some use for the HadAir website, but sorry Steve, Ive used them first!
A friend of mine operates an Ikarus C42 as part of HadAir, and knowing my love of flying and enjoyment in taking the camera aloft, I very kindly get offered the occasional jolly.
With a recent offer to go flying once again, I couldn't resist grabbing the 12mm lens and flash to see if we could get a few different 'internal' shots. I had a couple of shots in mind before we set off, a steep turn with something of interest through the window, plus a shot lit by flash looking out under the wing.
Click On Any Of The Photos To Open A Larger Copy
With the initial shots taken out over the Shropshire countryside, they were acceptable but weren't quite what I had in mind. Likewise the shots under the wing were nicely lit, but the rolling fields of Shropshire could have been any part of rural Britain. As it was only a quick 'jolly' we started to head back to the field.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Thunderbirds Are Go !!
With their last two European visits being in 2001 and 2007, The Thunderbirds, the U.S.Air Force Display Team made a rare UK appearance at RAF Waddington during the first weekend of July 2011.
Based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada the team are very different to most of their European counterparts as they operate a front line fighter aircraft, the F-16, rather than a training aircraft. As a result their show is more about noise, speed and presence when compared to the likes of our own Red Arrows.
Based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada the team are very different to most of their European counterparts as they operate a front line fighter aircraft, the F-16, rather than a training aircraft. As a result their show is more about noise, speed and presence when compared to the likes of our own Red Arrows.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Thirty Photo Sandwich - British Touring Car Vectra
Whilst spectating at the recent Touring Car qualifying I decided to try something a little different. The photo below is a composite made up of thirty seperate photos and shows the line taken by Tony Gilham in his Vectra around part of Oulton Park.
To take the photos, I set the camera up on a tripod, set both the focus and exposure manually and the tried to fire off photos at fairly regular intervals using a cable release. There was some trade of between depth of field and shutter speed, but I worked on the fact that the car would be that small in the frame and it didn't matter if it wasn't sharp all the way through the image.
In photoshop I then arranged opened the first two images as layers. I then erased areas of the top layer so that you could see the car coming through from the layer below. These two layers were then flattened and the third image introduced and the process repeated.
It was quite labour intensive but the result of the thirty images combined is shown below (click on the photo to open a larger example).
To take the photos, I set the camera up on a tripod, set both the focus and exposure manually and the tried to fire off photos at fairly regular intervals using a cable release. There was some trade of between depth of field and shutter speed, but I worked on the fact that the car would be that small in the frame and it didn't matter if it wasn't sharp all the way through the image.
In photoshop I then arranged opened the first two images as layers. I then erased areas of the top layer so that you could see the car coming through from the layer below. These two layers were then flattened and the third image introduced and the process repeated.
It was quite labour intensive but the result of the thirty images combined is shown below (click on the photo to open a larger example).
Whilst the result is far from perfect, it is a starting point and has given me a few ideas for some alternative uses of the technique.
British Touring Car Championship - Oulton Park 4th June 2011
Not quite a busman's holiday or day out, but pretty close. For the first time in ages I found myself attending a race circuit simply for enjoyment rather than work.
My motorsport photography work has never included the British Touring Cars or its support packages, so for a change I took the opportunity to pop into Oulton Park as a spectator for the BTCC qualifying.
Spectating does of course have its advantages over working trackside, I was able to enjoy a picnic and pint with friends on the grass banking.
I still couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the current crop of Touring Cars.....
My motorsport photography work has never included the British Touring Cars or its support packages, so for a change I took the opportunity to pop into Oulton Park as a spectator for the BTCC qualifying.
Spectating does of course have its advantages over working trackside, I was able to enjoy a picnic and pint with friends on the grass banking.
I still couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the current crop of Touring Cars.....
The crowd were also treated to a spirited display by a pair of Spitfires from the BBMF
Monday, 6 June 2011
Halfpenny Green At War
Over the weekend of the 21st and 22nd May 2011 Northern Forties Re-enactment Group staged the first of what will hopefully become an annual event at Halfpenny Green. With over 200 re-enactors and numerous military vehicles on show, a flavour the 1940's returned to this wartime airfield.
For me, being based on the airfield, this was something of a 'home' event. But whilst I should have probably taken a large number of photos, I took very few. In the end I spent so much time simply looking at the exhibits, talking to the re-enactors and enjoying the weekend with friends, (even taking part in the evening hangar dance) that the weekend was over and the camera hardly came out of its case.
Below are a very few examples from this excellent event...
For me, being based on the airfield, this was something of a 'home' event. But whilst I should have probably taken a large number of photos, I took very few. In the end I spent so much time simply looking at the exhibits, talking to the re-enactors and enjoying the weekend with friends, (even taking part in the evening hangar dance) that the weekend was over and the camera hardly came out of its case.
Below are a very few examples from this excellent event...
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Big Boys Toys - Hitachi EX1200 High Reach
DSM's Hitachi EX1200 High reach is fitted with a 62m high reach boom making it one of the largest in the country. Whilst the final shot in the small sequence below shows the true reach of the machine, it also becomes dwarfed by its surroundings. With this in mind I tried to keep the machine as the focal point of the images whilst maintaining a presence of the clients branding.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)