News/Blog/Tips

I called in at one of my favourite cities on the way south today and had the good fortune to meet Ian

Today we went with some friends to visit the National Railway Museum in York.



The journey is about 125 miles each way but it is a fairly easy run which we covered on the motorway diverting to a side road briefly on the way for a fry up, bacon and egg butties taste wonderful in the fresh air I can tell you!

Today I managed to take the day to go to the North Norfolk coast. Not the best possible weather forecast but my batteries were in need of a recharge and nothing does that better than a days solitude on the Norfolk coast.

I think it started when I bought a Leica D-Lux 5, a 10 megapixel compact capable of shooting RAW. It is so damn good and made me think “If the compact is this good, what’s the real thing like?”

First proper trip out to make some landscape pictures with my new Leica M9 today.....

I have been so pleased with the Leica D-Lux 5 I decided to chop all my Canon gear and buy a Leica M9.

We set off with cameras for Pistill Rhyader a round trip of about 225 miles. With about 10 miles to go the roads turned to country tracks with two strips of black tarmac showing through the snow in most places. With 5 miles still to cover the black strips disappeared and we turned round to try again another day. Sometime I miss the 4x4!

Yesterday was my annual trip to the shops with my elder daughter Claire. For some years it's been a trip to Nottingham but this year we went to the Bullring at Birmingham. Of course I took a camera and the little Leica D-Lux soaked up the architecture......

We had two days of freezing weather mixed with some fog here in the Midlands this week resulting in a superb hoar frost.

Today it was misty and I went out with the Leica intent on capturing some moody pictures in the area. Half a mile from home the mist cleared and my hopes fell. I headed off towards Charnwood Forest.....

Today we went to the famous cathedral at Worcester. This must be one of the best in England. Not only a gorgeous cathedral but lovely cloisters.

There was a thick mist covering the area, illuminated, as I write, by the sun and glowing orange. It completely obliterated the area, I could see nothing but the glow! Unfortunately I was unable to get out with my camera, prior commitments prevented it; perhaps there will be another chance.

Today I went to Staunton Harold and spent a few hours trying out the new camera, experimenting with different settings. First impression was how delightful it is to carry so little. The camera and tripod together weigh 1.5kg

I ordered mine yesterday and am looking forward to getting to grips with the trusty red dot later in the month.

My wife, Georgina, and I went to this wonderful cathedral today. A stunning building, architectural photography is a delight to me in an historic building of such quality.

Just back from four nights in Northumberland. I've been wanting to make the trip and see the glorious countryside for some time now. In those days we managed to pack in Bamburgh, Lindisfarne, Dunstanburgh, Hadrian's wall (at several locations) and made the return journey back down Teesdale, which was well worth while.

The whole trip was a huge success, resulting in a number of fine images.

“SHOULD I SHOOT RAW OR JPEG?”

Many new photographers ask the question “Should I shoot RAW or JPEG’s?”
Or “If newspaper photographers shoot JPEG’s why am I so often told I should shoot in RAW?”

These are just two of the many file formats that are available for image files, each of which has a special purpose.

And just as importantly how much is too little!

I am often asked where the line is drawn between good image enhancement and excessive manipulation. Photography is not a football field, it is not as simple as in or out, so where do we start?

How to focus to ensure as much of the image as possible is sharp.

We regard a lens as focusing light to a point (on the film or sensor) but this is not strictly true. A perfect camera lens does not exist and most of the light is focused down to a tiny circle, the so called "circle of confusion". This tiny circle is so small the eye regards it as a point and we consider it to be sharp.

If you focus a lens on any point then both that point and a certain distance in front of and behind that point will appear to the eye to be sharp. The distance that appears sharp extends roughly twice as far beyond the focus point as it does in front.

How do we apply this knowledge?