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Getting that ‘Photo of the Month’ – Part 1

Well with hospital and general ill health, no real photography had been done at all this month.

This simply would not do, so two quick photo trips were planned to try and get that ‘Photo of the Month’.

The first was a quick 30 minute excursion at lunch time on Friday, a quick walk around the Brayford Wharf area of Lincoln with my trusty Nikon D200 and a 105mm f/2.8 macro lens, trying to get that elusive ‘Photo of the Month’.

A few macro shots of flowers, some ants and the odd snap of the building work currently being undertaken were all I managed at first, but then I attempted to sneak up to some black headed gulls that were sat on the edge of the Brayford Pool.  I managed a few quick shots before they took off, and I nearly got my ‘Photo of the Month’ as it flew off, it was just slightly out of focus.

I also popped into one of the offices there and shot a few portraits of some of the more interesting characters.

The second, trip well, I’ll tell you all tomorrow.

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Photo Tip: Sharpness 2

Sharpness.

Something all photographers worry about, this the second in a series of posts will look at:

Tripods.

Most people own one, but how many of us actually carry one with us. I’ll put my hand up. I certainly don’t use it as much as I should.

A few points to consider, a tripod thats not with you is useless.

Invest in a good one, a good head and get the brackets for your camera.

If your looking at saving money then spend all your budget on a set of legs.  Then when you can afford it buy the head later.  Then buy the brackets for the camera.  If your eager to start using your tripod then buy a cheap head that comes with a quick release platform, but beware you will need to replace it.  A poor head design will after a while frustrate you to the point you will stop using your expensive tripod.

If your after a recommendations for legs then Manfrotto and Gitzo are top of the class.

For heads then most pro photographers use not Manfrotto or Gitzo heads but Arca or Really Right Stuff Heads.  A warning to you, you can spend over £1000 on a good head.  For most of us that is over kill but do consider spending over £100 pounds.

Lastly a brackets for your camera.  A cheap quick release plate may do to start , if your using medium format or large format then this may be all you need.  For 35mm where you will be switching from portrait to landscape and back, and generally be more active on the tripod you may want to consider custom brackets that will not slip once fitted.

For more information see a previous blog entry here and also Chris Bennet’s blog.

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AeroPress – a new way of coffee making

For the last few days I have been trying out my Aeropress coffee maker.  Not exactly an expresso but not a french press either.

I have been using the reverse method to make coffee, and I have to admit, it does make wonderful coffee, and it is ideal for an office environment.  Easy and quick to use and very easy to clean afterwards.

I can definitely recommend it. I think I like the coffee from it better then from my home filter coffee machine!

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Customer Service

You generally don’t find out how good a company is until things go wrong.

Marks & Spencer; they always come to mind.  We once made an error and when we tried to correct it, we not only had the problem easily corrected but got an apology and a bunch of flowers for my wife, now bear in mind this was our error not theirs, we got excellent service and their opinion was they should not have allowed us to make such an error.

Warehouse Express; is also a company I have had excellent service from.  On one occasion their courier let me down badly and I was having no satisfaction trying to resolve it with them.  As far as the courier was concerned they could not be wrong so it must all by my fault.  A quick phone to Warehouse Express and what the courier has said was impossible now became posible and I had my goods the next day.

Yesterday I was pleased to experience some more good customer service.  I had placed an order the week before for an AeroPress Coffee maker.  On the Monday I got an email informing me it had been shipped, just the day after the order was placed.  Well by Friday night nothing had arrived, so I dropped them a quick email that evening to chase it up.

Despite it being outside office hours I got a quick email back, apologising and saying they would look into it on Monday. Well, first thing Tuesday morning by 1st Class post I had my order, including some coffee that had been roasted that very Monday morning and a quick note explaining what had happened.

Thanks Sarah for sorting this and i’ll definitely be placing more orders with you at HasBean Coffee.

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The Fine things in Life

As anyone who knows me will testify I love the finer things in Life.

  • Particularly good quality red wine
  • Fine Whiskey
  • Chocolate
  • And of course coffee

We had to pop into the nearest big city today, as I had another hospital appointment to check on how I am doing, and we took the opportunity to indulge. Two large Lattes and two Cinnamon rolls from Starbucks.

Back to the diet soon I think!

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Model’s and TF

TF, used to be called TFP now often TFCD.

It means Time For Print or Time For CD.

Basically the photographer and the model both work for free unpaid, each covering their own costs. Both work hard to get some great images that would benefit both their portfolios.

At the end both get copies of the final edited images for their own use.

Most weeks I get approached by models asking for TF, generally I turn them down. This is not cheap photography, my time, the studio and the editing afterwards, all costs me money. The model must either be something special or I want to test out something in the studio, and this saves me from having to book and pay for a models time.

So models, feel free to contact me for TF shoots, but please do not be disappointed if I turn you down, I only have time for one TF shoot every month or so, but please do contact me again in the future sometimes I might just need a model and you could save the day.

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Hospital Update2

Well were now both out of hospital and glad to be home.

Thanks again for everyones good wishes and a special thanks for Caroline’s Father and Alison, Caroline’s younger sister for helping and and running around for us.

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Lightroom – Importing Presets

Installing Lightroom presets can be a little tricky but as Mat from Lightroom Killer Tips has recently found out, there is a far easy way;  Just Drag and drop the preset file on to your Lightroom icon. Thanks Matt.  Another great reason for having a Apple Mac, it just makes things so easy for you.

If you’re a Windows user then double click the preset file. It will most likely say it does not understand the file type. Associate the file type with Lightroom and then double click will install it.

Have not tried it in Windows, as I do not have a Windows machine handy to test it on, only Apple Mac’s, Linux, and Solaris at present. Must rebuild that Windows 7 test machine of mine.

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Hospital Update

Hi,

As most of the family know, I was admitted to hospital on Wednesday.  Once again I had collapsed at work.  Well I only had to stay in the one night until things stabilised, I am home now and feeling much better but have been told to rest for six weeks.

A few hours after I was admitted, Caroline was also admitted to hospital, she is doing fine but will be spending a few nights in.  Thanks for the support and best wishes.