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SCL Photography Podcast 178 - A Rum Do

Rob_Nunn — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:50:52 +0000

The Telegraph attack photographers rights.

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The article about the Telegraph's photo policy at the BJP site.

The BBC's World Press Photo 2011 slideshow.

The World Press Photo Website.

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Cheers, Rob.

Grainy Black & White Rose Macro

Rob_Nunn — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:55:59 +0000

It's strange, if you asked me what type of photographs I really like to take, I would answer that I enjoy being outside, walking around shooting photos of things that catch my eye. I wouldn't say that macro close ups of roses would be high up on my list, but it is a subject that I keep returning to.

Maybe its the relative ease of capture when it comes to cut flowers, or that I can take the photographs inside no matter the time of day or weather. I just set up my tripod and start moving the flowers around to get a pleasing composition.

For this effort I used my 350d with the 55-250 IS Canon lens, utilizing the Massa wide-angle / macro converter. Focussing was a little tricky, so I closed up to a tight aperture f/16 to increase the depth of field, and shot a number of variants.

I processed my chosen shot in Photoshop and Niks Silver Efex Pro, choosing the ultra grainy Kodak P3200 Tmax Pro preset to add the analogue look.

I like the photo, and its a subject matter that I think I'll explore a little more this year.

Thanks, Rob.

SCL Photography Podcast 177 - Questions

Rob_Nunn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:51:33 +0000

And hopefully some answers!

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If you'd like to contribute a little something to SCL, please Donate!

Come on over and join the Flickr group.

Cheers, Rob.

An Afternoon Photowalk From Lee To Hill-Head

Rob_Nunn — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:29:09 +0000

It was just after two o'clock on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, the sky was cloudy but the Sun was starting to peek through. Suzanne and I walked along the beach from Lee On Solent to Hill Head, enjoying the sea breeze, the activity out on the Solent, and the chance to spend a couple of hours together.

Here are some of the photos I took that afternoon.

Thanks, Rob.

Top 10 Tips To Develop Your Photographic Impusle

Rob_Nunn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:34:16 +0000

Following on from this weeks podcast, here's my top ten tips to help develop your photographic impulse:

1. Obviously have a camera with you all the time, but why not try and take your main camera, your SLR, bridge of compact? Then you can shoot before work, at lunch and on the way home.

2) Trust your gut, If you see something that catches your eye, get your camera out and shoot.

3) Work your subject. Once you start shooting, don’t stop after a couple of frames. Start wide, then get close, Work the angles and the portrait / landscape orientations.

4) Keep looking around for other subjects, don’t spend your time chimping at the back of your camera.

5) Listen to others for advice about where to shoot.

6) When you’re out with others, like your wife or partner, encourage them to look for interesting things and to tell you about great things to shoot. Follow the ideas up, even if you don’t find the subjects that interesting to start off with.

7) Look for great sunlight. if you see blue skies and white fluffy clouds, chances are it will be a good day for photography. get out there!

8) Make a list of local places to shoot.

9) Keep a careful balance of photography and having fun. don’t burn yourself out, or sicken your loved ones to it...

10) Remember that great photographs are out in the real world, not in front of a computer screen.

Thanks, Rob.

SCL Photography Podcast 176 - Division Of Labour and Photographic Impulse

Rob_Nunn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:27:22 +0000

Aplogies for the late posting of this weeks podcast!

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Do a google video search for Helmut Newton in Frames from the Edge.

Do a google image search for Helmut Newton.

Please check out the new Photo Assignment for Jan / Feb, "Winter Where You Live".

Here's the thread for more ideas for our photo-assignments.

If you'd like to contribute a little something to SCL, please Donate!

Come on over and join the Flickr group.

Cheers, Rob.

Massa 0.45x Wide Angle / Macro Lens Adapter Review

Rob_Nunn — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:29:34 +0000

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

I've always been skeptical about this sort of lens adapter that claims to give you great macro and wide-angle shots simply by screwing onto the front of your existing lens.

I am however on a tight budget, so when I saw the wide angle / macro and telephoto adapters going cheap (around £15) on eBay, I had to give them a go.

Before we go any further I will say that the telephoto lens was rubbish, so don't bother getting one, but the 0.45x 58mm Massa Wide Angle / Macro converter was worth every penny.

You will get vignetting, or darkening of the corners, on the Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens at its widest setting, but simply dial the lens to around 20mm and everything is nice and clear. You will obviously get some distortion of subjects, and this isn't the sharpest glass right into the corners, but it fits nicely into most camera bags without taking up much room and will get you out of a fix if you find you can't back up enough to get all of your subject(s) in.

The macro capabilities of this lens were very good too, making this type of lens adapter / filter a viable alternative to extension tubes or a true macro lens, and at a fraction of the price.

True, I won't have this piece of glass screwed onto my 18-55 all the time, but having a small, light, and very cheap filter in my bag for specific situations, both wide and macro, is very useful indeed.

So before you go out splashing hundreds of pounds on a true wide angle or macro lens, get yourself over to eBay and have a look for "wide angle lens adapters" in your filter size, and give them a go. You might find you like them, and can spend the cash on something else entirely!

Cheers, Rob.

Turning Your Canon dSLR into a B&W Film Camera... Sort Of

Rob_Nunn — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:10:50 +0000

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

The great advantages of digital photography can also be a weakness - we can instantly review our photographs and adjust them to the nth degree in post processing, but this means we spend too much time chimping at the back of our cameras and sitting editing our photographs when we could be out shooting more.

The problem is that film is just too expensive to shoot everyday, for me anyway. By switching to black and white .jpgs and turning off the image preview, my Canon 350d / Rebel XT dSLR kind of emulates the behaviour of a film camera and I spend more time looking for the next photo than reviewing the ones I've already taken.

Thanks, Rob.

Tethering Your Android 2.2 Smartphone To Your Windows XP Laptop For Internet Sharing

Rob_Nunn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:16:43 +0000

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

If, like me, you're not on the cutting edge of PC technology, being able to hook up your laptop to the internet wherever you like is a little bit of magic.

With the Android update to Froyo 2.2, most Android phones can now share their data connection via a USB lead or as a wireless hotspot. I choose to use the lead method because it seems to give faster speeds.

If you're still on XP (like me!) you'll need to download an additional file, tetherxp.inf, which you can download here.

Make sure you check your mobile / cell contract details to see if you'll be charged extra for tethering, and also keep an eye on your data allowance, laptops can chew through an awful lot of megabytes!

Thanks, Rob.

SCL Photography Podcast 175 - Turn Your Digital Camera Into Film

Rob_Nunn — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:53:54 +0000

Not really, but kind of!

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My Weston inspired vegetable shots:

A couple of "wide" shots from my 350d and the Massa converter:

Please check out the new Photo Assignment for Jan / Feb, "Winter Where You Live".

Here's the thread for more ideas for our photo-assignments.

If you'd like to contribute a little something to SCL, please Donate!

Come on over and join the Flickr group.

Cheers, Rob.