Ben Nevis and Snowdonia

Over the past few days I've ben getting this strange feeling that I was forgetting something. Then it hit me - I have a blog!

Things have been pretty crazy over the last few weeks as the training for the Mt Kilimanjaro climb ramps up, hence the lack of posts. The god news is that I've been enjoying getting the camera out as we've been hiking around the UK, and today I've posted a few shots that I took one the way up Ben Nevis or around some of the peaks in Snowdon National Park. They've all been post processed, just me playing around to see how things work out. Something to learn how to do properly when we're back from Africa.

Flowers in the back yard

OK, as I have been reminded it’s been a while since I last updated... no good excuses really (unless slipping down stairs and almost breaking a toe and a metatarsal bone counts?)

Good news - I have a new toy! After much persuasion ("why don't you...OK!" - time elapsed = 0.2 seconds), I've lashed out and upgraded the old faithful 300D to a shiny new 40D. So far, all I can say is wow! I can see we'll have a lot of fun together.

Thankfully the 300D isn't hitting the scrap heap just yet - Michelle has decided to give photography a try to, so it has gone to a good home. I'm really glad, because as much as everyone with new shiny dSLRs looks down on it, it really was a groundbreaking camera. 4 good years service :)

Anyway, because of the above mentioned incident involving stairs and sensitive and fragile bones in my foot I haven't ventured too far with the camera recently - hence these shots are of flowers in the back yard.

This first one I took this shot during a light rain shower. The light was pretty poor, but I wanted to get the shot while the water was still on the buds. I was at full zoom, and bumped up the ISO to 800 to get enough light - possibly too much looking at it on screen, but print size it looks ok. This shot is cropped - an uneven colour in the background of the shot was distracting, so given my limited photoshop skills I decided to crop... one day I'll get around to learning how to photoshop properly!



The next few are nothing technical, nothing special, just a few shots of the Cammelia in my yard - a good reminder of the beauty of Spring.

Kew Gardens - Spring

Ok... so I think I lost a week there somewhere... Anyway, the good news is that I've actually been out with the camera for 2 weekends running now!

A couple of weeks ago I made it down to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew with Tony F (the man with the new 40D - I'm so so jealous!). In the last few years they've planted a few hundred thousand bulbs there, and we were lucky enough to catch the last weekend of them. Some of the trees were flowering too, just to top it off. The light made things pretty tricky - but I think I managed to get some good shots.




My own idea of time delay photograohy :] About 2 days I think. I had loads of fun playing with the Depth of Field along the branch in the first shot...

Just me playing around with Picasa... one day I really need to learn a little more about Photoshop.

And finally those bulbs I mentioned before...

Country walk

We were out in the English countryside again this weekend - we're training for our trip to Mt Kilimanjaro, so we're out hiking whenever we can. Our walk this weekend took us through loads of fields and past this amazing old churchyard. Daffodils were out too :) We weren't really there to take photos, so I had to be quick - another place I could have spent hours in with the camera! The day got more overcast as it went on, washing out the colours, hence me playing around with the sepia this week.

Something new!

OK, so after getting grief from both Billo and Hash about putting up those shots last week, I had little choice but to get out and take some of my own. We went to Wales on for the weekend on the trip I won in the TNT comp a while back. We visited some really beautiful paces, and I'd have loved to have stayed for hours with the camera, but as it was an organised tour it was all a little rushed. The shots below were taken at a reservior in West Wales - an amazing location. I'd just ordered a wide angle lens too - Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6. I could have had some fun with that here :) I'll definitely be heading back there - with the hiking boots, and all the kit, and all the time I can find.

It was a bit of a greg and gloomy day, so I was continually struggling to get the exposure right. The tripod was back in London - not that I'd have had the time to use it anyway but like they say - its no good having it if you don't carry it with you. Overall I took about 30 good shots during the weekend, so a pretty good result.

The photo that might have been...

Before I start, just to make sure no one gets the wrong impression, even for a moment - these are not my images!

I had another one of those all-too-frequent moments during the week - one of those moments when you see the perfect photo right in front of you, waiting to be captured - but don't have your camera.

During the week we've had some pretty heavy low cloud / fog in London - from ground level it was just another gloomy day. I'm lucky enough to work on the 39th floor of my building - the view is pretty good on a standard day, but Tuesday morning was somethig special. We were above the clouds, and from my window I was looking over at the top of the Gerkin a few miles away poking out of a solid blanket of cloud.

These pics were taken by someone flying into the city - pretty good considering! It was nothing compared to the view that I had, and the photo that I wish I could have taken...

Colours and textures

OK, so I missed my self imposed deadline again - I promise it wont be the last time! On top of that I planned to head out with the camera on the weekend, and just ened up in the pub intead. I'm thinking up a plan to get myself out more often... more on that later.
So, more from the vault. These were taken in a market in Thailand - I love these places - so full of life and colour! When I took these I was thinking something random to put up on a white wall to beak the monotony... Ithink they worked out well! They've not made it to the wall yet -but they might :)

Everyday life - People

People shots this week. These are the kind of shots that I'm always trying to get - but they're always the hardest to find.

The first shot was taken inside the Cao Dai Temple, Vietnam. They encourage tourists to visit and are happy for you to take pictures - but I have to say that I wasn't confortable taking photos during the worshiop - my camera was firmly packed away by then.

This next shot was taken on the border between Equador and Peru. There were probably 20 money changers just like this lady, all lined up in a row.

More nature photography...

Back on the nature theme this week...


We saw these guys in Peru - I love the way the red in their beaks set off the detail in the whole photo.

This next one wasn't quite what I hoped - it's not exactly original so I'm sure you get the idea of what I was aiming for! We're off to Africa in a few months, so hopefully I'll get a better shot then. I think it is a great excuse to get a teleconverter!

Leave only footprints

First things first: I'm going to try and update this blog every Monday... it may be just for me, but if you are interested, have a look on Tuesday mornings! Otherwise, there is always the option of subscribing the the RSS feed - the link it right at the bottom of this page.

OK, so on to the photos. I know it is a bit of a corny line, but the old eco-traveller's motto is my title for this first shot - just a bit of fun from one of our desert trips. Egypt maybe? I'm not too sure.

This next one was taken during our last trip to Morocco - we were having tea with a Nomad family after a long day hiking. My feet were feeling it, but our host's shoes brought it all into perspective pretty quickly! I had to be pretty quick with this one to make sure I didn't cause offence by taking the photo - I'm glad I got it though - it always gets me smiling when I see it.

Toucan

Some colour to brighten the day. This is one of many Toucans we saw in the bird sanctuary near Igazu Falls, on the Brazilian side of the falls. This one seemed to love having his picture taken almost as much as I enjoyed taking it!

Reflections

I thought I'd continue the theme of reflections a little. The first shot was taken at Battersea Power Station, one of my favourite London landmarks. I'm sure I'll end up posting some of my shots of the power station itself - I've spend many days snapping away at the grand, crumbling hulk of a building.

The second one is a little further afield - the floating reed islands in Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. I love the way the beautiful traditional reed huts and boats grab the eye initially, and how the modern dingy and tin sheds slowly emerge. It does reflect their lifestyle well - people do still live on the floating reed islands in the traditional way, but modern influences are creeping in everywhere.

The not-so-murky depths

OK, so I'm kinda being cheeky here, but I thought I'd start with a good one :) This was one of two pics that I submitted to TNT for their weekly Hotshots competition - and I was lucky enough to have this chosen as the winner a few weeks ago.

I captured this image in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. I was on a boardwalk, at the end of a great day wandering among the amazingly beautiful lakes and cascades, when I caught a glimpse of this submerged boat in the corner of my eye. I didn't have my kit with me, but I did have Michelle's IXUS800IS, which did an amazing job. It was a point and shoot camera, s there was nothing technically difficult about this shot, but I think that I got the composition just right... I'm really happy with it.

Welcome!

Welcome!

The plan is to use this blog as a journal of my photographic exploits. I'm going to post a few photos at a time from my existing portfolio to get things started, then hopefully I'll be able to begin posting freshly taken shots - who knows, maybe this blog will help inspire / motivate me to get out there with my camera...I don't know why I don't get out more often, I really love it when I do.

Let me know your thoughts - feedback / tips / (constructive) criticism all appreciated :)