Category: Photography

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A holiday to Wales

A stitch of several photographs taken with a Leica M10. The scene is the moutains of Snowdonia with a lake and small cottage in the foreground. The shadow is over the ground but sunlight is starting to iluminate the right hand side of the photograph and the green fields.

As you read this we would likely have just returned from our holiday in North Wales. This was a family holiday and not a photography trip, but I had filters, the tripod and a couple of cameras with me just in case a scene like the one above on a previous Welsh tip should occure.

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Small Rig for your Nikon Z5iiC

Product shot showing the cage, l grop and baseplate available for the Nikon Z5iiC camera from SmallRig

When the Nikon Zf was released a Small Rig grip was available right from the start. More and more camera companies are working with companies like Small Rig so that accessories are available to photographers right from the start. I can image the cage system being very popular to turn this into a really good b roll video tool, or if like me your new to video a primary tool to get your started on your video journey.

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The challenge of colour outdoors

Red head model wearing a dress in a period room, she his lit from the window and is looking to our right.
Leica M10, 50mm Summilux-M 1.4 ASPH

In the studio getting the colour right is fairly straightforward.

Once the lighting and exposure is all correct it’s a simple step of selecting a grey card or colour checker card and setting the white balance but what about mixed light or outdoors.

Colour Checker being used.

Here at the image on the top of this page we have balanced for the outdoor light and we are also using a little bit of fill in flash also at a daylight colour balance. These leaves the lamp giving a warm glow.

Outdoors things get far harder.

Model stood in wheat field, she is topless and just wearing a skirt. Her hands are covering her breasts.

Now here in this image we have the golden hue of the light from the wheat and a slightly blue tinted over cast sky. The colour can be balanced a lot easier then some out door pictures.

Young blond model sat on the grass in a graveyard. She is wearing a sunhat and pretty print dress looking towards the camera.

It’s when you start to get green hues in the picture where it gets difficult. Sometimes you just have to correct as best as you can and accept that if you correct for one thing then something else will not look correct.

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Scouting a scene

The ruin of TIntern Abbey seen from over the river, through the trees.

Sometimes I visit a place to look for future picture taking options. In this situation, maybe a phone camera will do, but I prefer a real camera. Often its my Leica or Nikon Zf that serve me in this as a note taking camera.

For quite a while I used the Nikon V1, a small sensored and small bodied camera that would always fit in a jacket pocket with ease or not be noticed when hung over the shoulder. I the the picture above with it while scouting for a location to shoot the abbey with using my large format camera gear.

I recently came across a youtube video that really well encapsulated my thoughts on this subject of scouting a location really well. Check out Courtney Victoria’s YouTube channel.

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Everyday Carry Cameras – Micro Four Thirds

Olympus now OM stand at the NEC photography show. People at the stand trying out the new OM 3.

My first every day carry camera was actually an old film Hanimex AF film camera. It was a re-badged cheap film camera but worked well. I then went on to a Nikon S3 digital compact, but I was always on the lookout for a large sensor’ed compact like the Fuji X100 or Ricoh GR.

I have tested both of these but prefered the viewfinder of my Leica to either of them, the Ricoh having no viewfinder and the Fuji being a poor competitor in the viewfinder stakes to the Leica.

Over the years I have kept returning to and testing the Olmpus Pen range.

Quick snap of Gavin Hoey at a 1/3 of a second in bad artificial light.

As I posted a while back, I went on a photo walk with the Olympus rep and a OM5. This was a great little camera but I prefer the styling of the Pen. I kept putting it off as none of them had viewfinders. When the Pen-F came out, I loved it but it was too expensive for me at that time. I did get the chance to play with the OM3 recently with is totally gorgeous, see top photograph I took with it at a show. The second shot is a portrait of the amazing photographer Gavin Hoey. This was a shot with the Pen-F and the 17mm f/1.8 lens at high ISO and at 1/3 of a second. Considering the bad artificial light its come out really well. Likely if I had been more familiar and experienced with the camera, this shot would have been much better.

My everyday carry at the moment is a Leica M, but sometimes I want something I can use one handed, especially as I am often out with Ted the Greyhound.

Ted, a large black greyhound laid on his dog bed. His tongue has escaped from his mouth and is hanging down.

The original digital Pen keeps coming to mind and if I can find a VF-1 optical viewfinder that fits in its hot shoe I might pick one up second hand, there only £100 now and still a nice performing camera. It would be something you would not be to concerned with risking in environments where you would not want to take a more expensive camera.

I also tried out out the Pen F again last week, as they had a black one in the local London Camera Exchange. Its still very nice, but its a lot to pay for a secondhand camera and it also lacks weather sealing.

In many ways the new OM Pen announced this month would make a good option. I was in Lincoln on Tuesday and the local London Camera Exchange had the new pen in for demo.

Its got a really nice feel and for a lower end model the quality and feel in the hand was excellent. So I have pulled the trigger and have placed an order. I am going for the black one. I might add an original Pen in silver if I can find that viewfinder accessory.

Being a little late with my order its unlikely i get one from the initial batch but should not be too long. I have placed an order for the original 17mm f/2.8. This is a fun tiny lens, and i’ll also be using a 20mm f/1.4 pro lens on it as well as the zoom it comes with.

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Revisiting an old Camera

Plants by the river bank in closeup, and an old Norman church can be seen in the background.

Sunday morning saw me walking Ted the Greyhound around a local village.

A typical english scene, a field and village in the background.

I decided to dig into the back of my photo cupboard in my office and dig out one of my older mirrorless cameras.

Country tree lined lane leading back to a traditional english village.

I picked up my old Nikon V1 a tiny mirrorless camera from 2011, and popped on a telephoto lens. This tiny combination gave me a reach from 90 to 300mm.

A white village cottage for sale and behind can be seen the old norman village church

The tiny 10 megapixel camera was not a big success for Nikon its tiny CX 1 inch format was considered two small, but for a small everyday carry, its quite a capable little camera.

Too many people people feel you have to have 35mm full frame, and look down on the smaller formats. As a photographer I have large format 5×4 inch camera, full frame medium format, full frame 35mm, and DX and this little CX. I am also considering adding a small MicroFourThirds kit. All have there place and each has an advantage and disadvantage.

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Photo Walks – getting back into the habit

Centre of Horncastle, and some of the old buildings, Perkins shop and the Horncastle Farmers Club are the two main buildings in the picture. Some people walking and pushing a cycle can be seen.

Last few trips out I have always taken a camera with me, generally the Leica M10. I had gotten out of the habit recently, and its one that I have been trying to get back into.

An old plain brick building in Horncastle dating back to the last century.

When visting Horncastle two weekends ago, I had the trusty M10 and a 35mm lens, but now I think something wider might have been better.

An old thatched town cottage on the way to the old church. Some of the old cobbled street can be seen and past the cottage is the remains of a Roman wall.

Theres some lovely old buildings in the villages and towns of Lincolnshire.

Horncastle town square. Market stalls are being setup.

With the showery weekend we had, my thoughts turned again to a small compact or microfourthirds camera, if I can find one that is weather sealed.

The new Pen comes to mind as a great everyday carry when I don’t want the weight of the Leica or risk it in a downpour.