Is Swirly Bokeh Possible From a £23 Lens?
In my previous article, I looked at the performance of my Russian made Helios 44M lens when used for distant subjects. In this follow-up post, I will look at how well the lens does in rendering out of focus backgrounds. That might not have been a primary consideration for either the designers or the original […]
Blessing of the River Thames – 14 January 2018
I came across this religous ceremony, the Blessing of the River Thames, by chance. The story is that I had travelled to London Bridge for an organised photo walk around the Borough Market area. Unfortunately, having mixed up my dates, I discovered it had taken place the previous day. Oops. The organiser is a friend […]
It Wasn’t The Lens
Let me tell you about the competition judge who came to my camera club recently. The toughest, baddest, meanest judge I have encountered. You might possibly have seen someone harder; this guy was exceptional in my experience. He set the bar high and few of us fallible, flawed mortals managed to reach it. Even the […]
Swan
There are some places which I visit regularly, not because of their photographic potential but simply because I enjoy being there. One such place is the Swannery at Abbotsbury. It is situated at the end of the Fleet, a lagoon which lies behind Chesil Beach. Usually swans are very territorial and do not nest in […]
Flower Shot With an Old Pentax Lens
Yes, the blog has been a bit quiet recently. There have been plenty of good intentions to write something. Ideas mulled, even articles started, yet never coming to fruition. Maybe inspiration was not quite there or, as has more often been the case, life intervenes.* Luckily my livelihood does not depend on posting regular updates […]
Photo of the Day – 7 July 2016: Bottles
The phone rang. It was a friend who is also a keen photographer. “What are you doing?”, she asked. As it happens, I was in the middle of editing this image. I had just completed the adjustments in Lightroom and was about to convert it to monochrome using Silver Efex Pro 2. When I said […]
Photo of the Day – 28 June 2017: Lily
Thus was not a photo which I expected to take. I had seen this lily a number of times as I walked past it each day to buy my newspaper. An attractive flower, certainly, but that was all. It was growing in someone’s front garden right by the pavement, but I had not thought anything […]
Brooklands Double Twelve Motorsport Festival – 17 June 2017
Brooklands Museum is somewhere I have wanted to visit for a while, so I took the opportunity when a fellow member of my camera club suggested a trip there. The occasion was its annual Double Twelve Motorsport Festival on 17 June. If I am honest, I was not entirely sure what that involved, but it […]
Photo of the Day – 13 June 2017: Foxgloves
Not so much as Photo of the Day on this occasion, more like Experiment of the Day. Ever since I got my Fuji X-E2, I have developed an interest in using adapted lenses. Mirrorless cameras with features such as focus peaking have made it easier to use lenses from other cameras. All it requires […]
Photo of the Day – 10 June 2017: The Best Show In Town?
Warning: NSFW. This post contains nudity It is usually my custom to place the main image of my “Photo of the Day” articles at the head of the post, with any supporting images following. For this post, I have instead put it at the end. The reason is simple. It shows people who are naked […]