Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
14January2010
This Focus Ring’s A Little Stiff….. Oh Dear.
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: Uncategorized.
Picture the scene. I had checked my bag and camera, and was in the garden taking some shots of birds (the feathered variety) foot-prints in the snow, with my trusty Pentacon 50mm.
“This focus ring is a little tight” I thought, trying to get close, when something pinged and the focus ring went loose.
Playing around with the lens, it fell in two and I was left with this. I remember dropping it on my desk the other day, where unfortunately it rolled off and bounced on the floor a couple of times…
Looks like the casing got bent and was jamming against the bit of the lens that goes in and out when you focus.
At least it only cost a couple of quid….
20October2009
Minolta Auto Meter II – Painting With Light!
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: Uncategorized.
Inspired by Victor Ws work I thought I’d have a go at painting with light.
I set my camera up on my tripod, went to manual mode and chose a tight aperture and a 10 second exposure, focused on the light-meter, turned the lights off, tripped the shutter and shined a small torch on my subject.
I was really surprised at the outcome, quite pleasing, and I’m going to work on the technique….
Cheers, Rob.
15October2009
Free Business Cards From Moo.com!
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: Uncategorized.
I mentioned these on the podcast the other day, 50 free business cards from moo.com. You have to pay postage – GB£3, and mine came through the door after about 48 hours.
You get to choose a big photo for the back, which can be uploaded from your pc or imported from Flickr, then you can add a small photo or logo to the front and your contact details.
With the free cards moo adds a small add on the bottom, with a discount code for new users to get some money off if they decide to order some cards of their own.
This is a limited offer, so head on over moo.com and order some before they turn the offer off.
So why, as photographers, is it a good idea to carry around business cards? Well, think about those times when you’ve been out shooting, then you’ve got into a conversation with a member of the public. Maybe you also take a photo of them, maybe not, you’ll probably tell them you’ve got photographs on the net, but they’ll never remember the URL. Give them a card and it’s a definite.
You could be visiting galleries, or talking with follow photographers, and you could hand out your cards there. Anywhere where there are people who may be interested in your work, you could hand out cards.
There’s thousands more uses for business cards, so get some quick and start handing them out.
Cheers, Rob.
6October2009
View Toward Entrance, Explosion Museum. Zone Plate Optic f/19, Lensbaby Composer.
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: Uncategorized.
View Toward Entrance, Explosion Museum. Zone Plate Optic f/19, Lensbaby Composer., originally uploaded by scalespeeder.
Ah yes, the final part of the Lensbaby Optic Swap System, the Zone Plate. Using symmetric rings instead of a hole, or glass lens, to focus light, the Zone Plate offers yet another artistic option for the photographer.
The Zone Plate Optic is part of the Pinhole Optic – both are in the same lens, you simply slide a switch inside the housing to change between the two. Both give similar looking fuzzy images, but the zone-plate lets much more light in, so shorter exposures can be used.
This wasn’t the best day for photography, Zone-Plate or not, being very overcast and grey, but I had half an hour to spare, so Oli and I headed down to the Explosion! Museum to grab some shots.
All these photographs were taken hand-held, then processed in Adobe Camera RAW, Nik Silver Efex Pro and Photoshop.
I’ve found the Lensbaby Composer, along with the Optic Swap System, a revelation. It’s more than just another lens – it’s a whole new way of seeing with your camera.
I’m not saying that I’ll have the Composer on the front of my Canon Eos 350d / Rebel XT digital slr camera all the time, but it’s definitely going to be in my camera bag, and it has opened my eyes to different interpretations of the same scene.
The variations and options to hand are astounding. In the first couple of weeks I’ve had the Composer I’ve just scratched the surface of what may be possible – and I can’t wait to discover more.
Cheers, Rob.
24September2009
28mm f2.8 And 75-300mm f4-5.6 Join My Canon EF Lens Line Up
Posted by Rob_Nunn under: Uncategorized.
Left to right: 28mm f2.8. 50mm f1.8. 28-80mm f3.5-5.6. 75-300mm f4-5.6.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Manual Focus M42 lenses, but I’ve wanted a Canon EF 28mm f2.8 for a while – autofocus with that wide-angle, what a lens!
However, the 28mm f2.8 isn’t cheap, even second hand, so I was searching eBay and the classifieds, but nothing was in my price range.
Then I saw an old Canon Film Camera on eBay, with the 28mm. Poor listing, wrong description, and they were also selling the 75-300mm.
I’ll just say that I got the 28mm, and the 75-300 f4-5.6 for less than the price that well-listed 28mm’s go for on their own.
Both are perfect, older versions with the metal lens mount. The catch? They’re my Christmas present from my better half, so they’ll be going back in the box until then…
Cheers, Rob.
