A303 Sunset

As a photographer one of the biggest obstacles we can come up against when going out to take pictures or purchasing new kit is the other half. Generally this is because they don’t understand the passion you have for taking pictures. You will probably notice how geeky the talk can get when a few photographers get together. Thankfully for me, my obstacle is a lot smaller than most, I’m not saying I don’t have a better half I do. But like me she is a photographer too, so when can just geek it up together. So when I get a call as she is driving to see her parents saying get your ass to the A303 where it overlooks Yeovil and Mere, there is a really low mist with the sunset, so in the car I jumped.

I pulled over when I found the best point that overlooked the mist, which was a high vantage point. I decided to shoot a panoramic, using a tripod I shot 8 shots to over the ground I want in my final shot.

The sun was slowly setting, which was changing the colour of the sky. So once I had shot my panoramic I moved across the field to the lone tree to shot some silhouettes. 

There were a few different tree sporadically dotted about which I used. When out shooting I always try and used different lenses and compositional techniques to shoot the same subject.

One of the other things to try in changing the white balance on your camera and see the difference it has on your pictures. 

After I was done and headed on my way home I passed one of the many laybys on the A303, this particular one has a farmer building right next to it. Quite often I would see a bird of prey sat on the roof of this building. Tonight was a little different, there were 3. Pulling into the layby and grabbing my 70-200 with a x2 on I walking quietly towards the farmer house. One had already gone leaving 2 left, as I lifted my camera the 2^nd one lifted. I managed to rattle of one shot.

So it just goes to show what you can get from spontaneously jumping in the car and heading out to take some shots (even if I was given a little push).

Back to where it began.

I was recently back up at the training school I went through near Wolverhampton, teaching on a short course. Whilst there I had the opportunity to go back to some of the places I was taken on my course. I didn't have the time I would have liked but I did managed to photograph some of the people that I had done before. The first place was Ironbridge just outside Telford and then on to the living museum at Blist Hill.

The biggest change for me this time was cameras. The last time I was there I was using a Nikon F5 and a Metz 60 with battery pack, this time I had a Nikon D3 and didn't need to use the flash. One of the people I went back to was the Leathersmith, he works in a lovely small workshop with two windows making him nicely side lit and back lit.

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is something I have got back into again. The basic principal is to take 3 or more different exporsures of the same image and blend them together using in post production with special software. There are a few ways of doing this, first is to manually take different exposures with the camera on a tripod, also if your camera has the ability to bracket it will set the under and over exposure settings for you. The other method is to take 1 shot in RAW and then using a RAW convertor to produce the under and over exposed images.

I prefer to use the RAW method because you don't have to worry about the camera moving between shots. Once you have your shots you can use a few different programs to blend them together, Photoshop CS3 (or later) or Photomatix.

Above is a image of the new font that has been installed in Salisbury Catehdral in Wiltshire UK.

Above is a shot from Exmouth beach in Devon UK, it is at the far end I jogged by it  on a regular basis, it took me a while to go back and photograph it. Photomatix made the sky look a little grey, but rather than re blending in the original sky, so I used a different sky that I have from within my archive.

The fox glove is from just outside Capel Curig in Wales, I was actually there rock climbing, but as always I had my camera with me. It took a bit of a trek through the bracken to find a good one. It does look like there is a bit of haloing around the fox gloves but the end of the flowers are actually white.

The house was taken down in Cornwall UK just outside Penhale Camp. Photomatix did produce a lot of noise in the sky and forwardground, so both where re-blended in photoshop with layer masks using two of the different images that were used in the original blending

The above picture is from Snowdonia in Wales. After not getting the train to the top, this shot was taken on the way back down about a mile from where the car was parked. The real shame was there was real low cloud that day so after getting to the top, you couldn't actually see more than a few meters.

The rock is also from just outside Capel Curig in Wales whilst rock climbing, taken really low using a 14-24mm.

Whilts working France a few years ago I took this shot, it one that I went back to, to try Photomatix on it and am pretty pleased with the results.

I will be putting together a tutorial on how the use Photomatix to make HDR shots.

Panoramic Images

Finally having gotten around to editing some of my various panoramic shots from around the world. Some of the places include Scotland, Ireland, Devon, Chicago, France and Austria. I have always had a thing for the long thin image.




Prints of these can be ordered at http://www.photoboxgallery.com/nolanphotography/collection?album_id=436192991

The Land that Looks Like a Boot, Italy.

Recently I was out working in Italy, during my time not only did I get to visit some of the more rural areas like Cortona and Castiglione del Lago. I also managed to get into Firenze (Florence) and its surrounding area.

I love how rural and old world Cortona looked and the amazing things that I came across. Trying to find the time to edit the picture is hard so they will be posted in parts.

Rachael and Steve 720p web.mpg

This is the wedding of Rachael and Steve which took place in March 2010. The venue was 17th century refurbished barn called Blake Hall in Essex. The barn was used for all the elements for the wedding and the couple had the use of the grounds for photographs, which almost didn't happen due to the weather. Luckily the rain did stop longer enough for to shoot some lovely images of them in the garden. To see more goto www.nolanphotography.co.uk

Jump Park in Avoriaz, France

Cameras in the cold are normally a nightmare, but the Nikon D3 proved its worth. The updated batteries were excellent, not like the old D1x, where a slight chill would cause the battery to only take 4 shots before having to be warmed.

These shots were done in the jump park in Avoraiz resort in France, which a mix of large and small jumps and a array of different slide rails. Once I'd arrived at the park I tried to find myself a spot that wasn't already occupied by the other photographers and film makers, to cut down on the challenge of not getting in there shots. 

I tend to shoot most of my sporting events on Av (aperture priority) as the light can change quickly when on the mountain. You may have to use the exposure compensator to under expose a little to stop the camera burning out the snow, I tend to find -0.3 to -0.7 works well. You may wish to use Tv (shutter priority) so you can set you speeds to either freeze the action or a slow one for movement.

I had picked out a few different positions to shoot from the first was from right by one of the jumps using a 24-70mm.

 

I then moved to some off side positions and with a long lens (70-200) took some more shots to get that really compressed look.

Things to remember when doing shooting like this, be aware of your surroundings, you can get very tunnelled vision when taking pictures. Bear in mind that you may be stood on jumps so be careful when walking backwards. Keep an eye on any routes the skiers and boarders may be using. Watch your camera kit I had a boarder turn right on the end of the jump and he sprayed me and my camera with snow as he took off.

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