Biking Weather – Whats your favourite

The English, and I could possibly say the British in general have a fascination with weather.  Compared to many countries the weather in and around the British Isles is generally benign, but it is certainly variable and difficult to forecast.

As someone who rides motorcycles and where possible flies planes, I have a somewhat more then a passing interest in the weather.  It also has a great impact on photography.  The best shots are always when bad weather is slowly changing to good.

As an all year round motorcyclist, weather is generally not something that stops me from riding a bike.  Surprisingly hot summer is not my favourite biking season but the autumn is.  The weather is a little cooler and not too hot, and you and your machine have really become one, having had the past six months to ride in the ever improving weather.

My least favourite weather for riding, is snow/ice, fog and wind.  Today we have had the pleasure of ex-Hurricane Katia.  Luckily the wind has been strong but steady.  Sudden gusts are the worse.

If you see a biker taking it steady in strong wind, please give him plenty of room, you never know when a sudden gust could take him either into the hard shoulder or into the other lane.

Good Service

I appreciate good service.  This has been highlighted recently, with once again sterling service from WareHouse Express, and Hasbean Coffee.

Last week I had the displeasure of getting poor service from a local garage.  An email to all the directors of the company did cause then to change their minds and accept my reasonable demands but its a shame when you have to twist arms to get the service that should be expected.  I am certainly glad I am not treated that way from the Bike Garages I deal with.

This week I ordered a new heavy duty tripod head and was very pleased with the service.  Placing the order last weekend to Really Right Stuff, in California, well before the week ended its here in my hand.  Well done.

I am just waiting for my new tripod legs from Italy and I have a monster of a solution for when shooting from vehicles, in the studio and when on a ladder.  Not a solution for everyone but I enjoy the perspective you get from shooting down on models.

As you can see, only a little height can add interest to a shot.

Adobe Photoshop World 2011

This week is Photoshop World.  Many photographers are members of NAP and I am sure many American photographers as well as some from further a field have made the trip to see what Adobe has to offer them.

With products like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Elements, the majority of photographers have at least some piece of Adobe software they rely on.

Whether your a Windows user or a Macintosh user, they have a product for you.

One of the more curious things they have shown off so far is Adobe Carousel.  Details are still few and far between but it seems you can sync photographs with a device, whether it be your iPad or Laptop and have then synchronised by the product to all your devices.  Sounds intriguing!

Check out Terry White’s Tech Blog for a few more details.

Tablet Market – Sony gets interesting

Sony have always been a company to admire, producing some interesting designs over the years.  I have a Sony TV, Sony PVR, and for a long time was interested in the Sony P Series mobile phones.

Over the years they have produced a number great products and have now entered the Android Tablet Market with the Sony Tablet S and P models.

I was hopeful that the HP Tablet running WebOS and RIMs new Playbook was going to give Apple some competition, now it looks like Sony are going to be taking up the challenge.

From a photographers point of view unfortunately they don’t offer any real advantage over Apples iPad.  Maybe the next version.

A quick review from a photographers point of view is here at Luminous Landscape.

Being Fashionable

I recently read the new iPad Magazine Light It, there was some interesting techniques and generally it showed techniques that are currently in fashion.

Single Light

Today I looked at a very old lighting techniques book.  I bought it many years ago, and it was written in 1940s.  Some of the rim lighting techniques and back lighting techniques that it goes through are actually now back in fashion.

We may have moved from taking portraits and fashion shots on large format film cameras, to medium format, then 35mm SLR, to now our modern medium format and SLR digital format cameras but the actual techniques have not really changed.

I have to admit, if money was no option I would love something like the Leica S2 for Studio use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would also love a large format camera.  I have used one in the past and it really slows you down and makes you think.

If you want one try www.robertwhite.co.uk

What ever you use, Large Format, 35mm, film or digital, enjoy yourself.  Now off to shoot some fun snapshots with my camera phone!

 

 

 

Models Required

Well its nearly the end of August, and I am now finalising my bookings for September.

I shoot the odd wedding, but these are always booked up to a year in advance, in fact I was booked up to September 2012 by April this year!

Now the photo bookings I am currently working on are my personal projects.  If your a local model and up for a dawn shoot on the beach let me know at enquiries.

Photography Trip to Whisby Nature Reserve


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Caroline wanted to try out her new bird spotting scope, so we took some of the family including Alan with his Sony A55 and tripod off to Whisby Nature Reserve for the afternoon.

We started off with a nice meal there, venison for most of us, then headed off to the nearest hide.

August is not the best season for bird spotting but we had some luck, apart from the usual pigeons and Seagulls, we spotted a Heron, Coots, Moorhen and some Comorants.

Alan soon learnt that even a 300mm lens is a small telephoto for bird photography.  We had also taken a selection of tripods, a mix of cheap legs up to decent medium quality professional gear.  Caroline quickly learnt that even if your not taking photographs a cheap tripod will soon drive you to distraction.

Light It – iPad Magazine

The new photography magazine Light It, has been released, from the Kelby Media Group, its a great magazine with light tips for all levels.  I downloaded it yesterday and really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately instead of getting praise for introducing another means of reaching photographers, all they seem to be getting is hate posts by iPad nay sayers.

Kelby Media Group provide printed magazines, internet videos, pod and web casts, seminars (and not just in America), books and DVD’s and now an iPad magazine.  Lots of different ways to reach photographers, whether you have a computer or not, and plenty for none iPad owners.  Yet all it seems people can do is complain.  How dare they produce a magazine for the iPad.  How sad, why cannot trolls get a life.

Now where did I put that CTO Gell, I want to try that sunshine camera flare technique!

http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2011/archives/21059

 

Compact Camera’s

Yesterday was Nikon’s much waited for press conference. Rumours abounded about new full frame cameras; the D4, the D800; even a brand new interchangeable mirrorless lens system.

Instead we got more compacts.

The Sony announcement was much more interesting. The new enthusiast / professional NEX7 was quite a revelation.

With the Leica M9, Leica X1, Fuji X100, Panasonic GF and Olympus Pen range; and of course now this, we have a number of large sensor Compact Cameras where size does not necessarily have to mean less image quality.

My criteria is interchange lens, high quality prime wide angles and a decent view finder.

As always I’ll be waiting till I can test one in my hands, but the new Olympus Pen 3, and now this are at the top of my lists.

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