Starting at 8am getting home at almost 9pm.
The great outdoors. Fresh air. Sunshine for the solar powered human body.
Cold, wind and a runny nose.
Photography is my thing. You know that. I have to do it. its all that seems to work for me. Nothing else is quite the same.
Its my smoking, my drug, my vice. I
need to go out and shoot. Sitting at home slowly drives me crazy. Im a caged photography animal waiting to break free.
3 dogs.
Wow 3 dogs is hard work. 2 dogs is 1 too many but 3 dogs is ridiculous.
Thats 3 dogs that all want to walk in 3 different directions.
3 dogs to clear up after, 3 dogs too feed.
They're living creatures, they need to get out, they need to run.
8am i got in the car and took the dogs to west bank light house at the mouth of the wash.
Walking boots and dog towels at the ready.
The wind was bitter, hands were cold.
After buying the 6D recently I've been using it a lot to familiarise myself with it, which is not that difficult as its like a mini 5D. Ive been carrying it everywhere. Its not super heavy but its hardy unnoticeable especially with the battery grip attached too.
Luckily, which has kept the weight down, I've been shooting with the Helios 44-2 lens.
Its tiny compared to the average 'new' lens. New lenses have all sorts trickery involved in the glass to give you perfect results.
This old lens doesn't have any tricks up it's lens barrel (the closest it has to a sleeve, see what i did there) so its small and light. 254g to be exact and thats with a small lens hood and mount adapter included.
Compare this too, 903g, the1st lens i pulled out of the drawer, my Tamron 24-70 f/2.8.
649g is a big weight saving when carrying the lump around.
Ive been using an adapter with a focus confirmation chip, to aid in getting focus correct. It does a pretty good job too!
Keep the lens reasonably open and it will focus easily, if stopped down even to f8 focus confirmation is not so successful. Apparently this is the case with most manual focus lens/confirmation devices.
As always I've been challenging myself. This time I've been using focus differently; I've not been focusing on the usual subject instead I've focused on another area in the scene and have allowed the main subject to fall out of focus.
Why?
Why not?
Why do the same thing as everyone else?
Take this photo for example.
The East bank lighthouse.
It would serve as the subject of focus in many images.
I don't blame it, its not often the average joe sees a lighthouse in real life.
To begin, i create the composition. Follow all of the normal rules or just make the scene pleasing to my eye. After all if you don't like your own photographs then why are you taking them.
Once everythings in place, find another part of the scene to focus on.
Simple.
I want the usual main attraction to be recognisable but not sharp. Like a fond memory.
Let me tell you. Taking photographs whilst in the company of dogs is hard work.
Its much easier to take a photo of a dog.
But in the company of dogs, it can be difficult.
Right at the decisive moment, the shutter click, your almost guaranteed either the dog will walk into the frame or will jump up you or pull on the lead.
Many of times has this happened to me.
Maybe i should get the message.
On this occasion i just got dirty footprints up my jeans and jacket.
Ella usually sits quite patiently, waiting for my call to move. She deserves a photo now and then.
Focus is not great but she was anxious to move, so, never mind.
I had an appointment soon after the dog walk.
I was then free to roam the streets of Spalding again.
Not a bad 30 minutes spent walking around shooting street.
Beer cans and alleys. A common occurrence in the Fens.
One man and his bow.
Where would the world be without mobile phones?
Smoking, according to one source is the 3rd most difficult addiction to cure.
It reports that love is the most difficult.
Patiently waiting.
Light, is an amazing thing. Highlights and shadows and create images just by themselves.
Not long after getting home from Spalding i got invited to shoot landscapes with Jack.
Im no landscape shooter. They just don't do it for me.
But you should never pass up an opportunity and just because i don't like something doesn't mean i shouldn't try.
Just like Ribena, i don't like the stuff but if its the only thing available then fill me up a glass.
We drove over to Cromer in preparation for sunset.
I met a couple of other photographers who were waiting for the same light. Its nice to talk shop with new people.
Setting up on the beach i wasn't feeling it. Its not my thing.
But i had do capture something. Luckily the tide was out at this point and so the wet sand was flat and strewn with thin layered puddles that reflected their surroundings like glass.
This is what makes me an artist and not something else is that i know to look for beauty in all scenarios.
Is that a big headed thing? No. I just know there will be something in amidst the mundane.
On to the 'landscape'.
Everyones long exposure favourite; water.
Sitting here thinking about it. I guess the feel good thing about this image, or the story about this image, is the standing around and waiting for the exposure time to be up. So you can see what you've got. Like shooting on film with imaginary fingers crossed hoping that it works out.
Thats my two pence on it, feel free to disagree.
A busy day.
Keep shooting.
