Shot of the Week 2019/13 – Goldfinch
I will not describe it as a mistake, rather a miscalculation when I started my shot of the week project at the beginning of the year. After four months, it remains on track, despite appearances to the contrary. Where I erred was in underestimating the time required to produce a blog article to accompany every […]
Shot of the Week 2019/11 – Red Queen
Options When going through the week’s images looking for “the one”, I had a number of options. I could have shown the latest in the series of flower images I have been making in the past few weeks. They are good, to my eye at least, but would repeat what I have done previously during […]
Shot of the Week 2019/09 – Millennium Bridge
If one word sums up my photography for this week, it is “barriers”. With a lot going on, there was just one opportunity for a photographic outing. Naturally, I went where there might be some good prospects. First stop was the BBC’s new headquarters at the end of London’s Regent Street. Frustratingly, part of the […]
Shot of the Week 2019/08 – Salute
There are many positives to undertaking a challenge which requires the regular production of images. Not least is the incentive to use the camera. Life has plenty of other distractions and it is all too easy not to take a photograph for a while. Another benefit such a project is the opportunity to try different […]
Shot of the Week 2019/05 – Setting Sun
Someone remarked that so far this year I have been doing a lot of travelling to obtain my shot of the week. That has been purely coincidental since I was visiting those areas for reasons other than photography. On this occasion, though, I have stayed closer to home, the woods behind my house to be […]
Shot of the Week 2019/04 – Best View in the World
A spectacular claim indeed. One for which I make no apology, even though our planet has no shortage of scenic landscapes at which to marvel. But this location is both distinct and unique and I am far from the first to have thought this to be an impressive view. On the hill behind where I […]
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2018
The first Sunday in November always brings the renowned London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. It is the world’s oldest motoring event which has run continuously. A widely held belief is that the event celebrates the abolition of the legal requirement for someone with a red flag to walk in front of a motorised […]
Sigma Resurrection
A New Era With Canon’s and Nikon’s recent announcements of their new full frame mirrorless camera systems, complete with new mounts, adapted lenses are in vogue. It is the only solution which the two companies can offer in an attempt to retain existing DSLR customers as they transition over the next few years. It […]
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 […]
How Sharp Can a £23 Lens Be?
Is it really possible to get good results from a lens based on a design dating from 1928 and produced by the Russians at the height of the Cold War? There has long been the suggestion that Soviet production standards were not particularly high during that period. Supposedly, there was significant sample variation and defective […]