Paul Bradley Photography

Kodak No. 2 Hawkette

2012-02-24T23:35:00.000Z

Kodak No. 2 Hawkette

The Kodak No. 2 Hawkette was a folding camera taking eight 6x9cm frames on 120 roll film, manufactured around 1930 (and possibly up to 1940). The body is a mottled brown Bakelite, an early plastic resin (the resemblance to wood may or not be intentional but, for me, certainly improves the look of the camera and puts it nicely in its place in time) with some art-deco detailing on the lens panel.

The cameras were actually Kodak's first plastic-bodied models. They were constructed from moulds fabricated by E. K. Cole Ltd (who were well-known in the UK for the manufacture of wireless sets) and were assembled, using additional parts from Rochester, NY, at Kodak Limited's Harrow (London, UK) factory. I have read that the mottled appearance may be a result of Kodak being unsure how a plastic camera would be received .....

The lens panel uses a spring mechanism to unfold the camera - two catches at the sides, fixed to the camera body, hold it locked when closed - and extend the bellows. When new the panel would have sprung open with quite a speed - the springs on this one currently need a gentle easing back to life ....

Once the front is open and the cross-struts locked into place a small angle finder - equipped with a ground glass screen - is used to compose the shot. I must admit I found the finder on this camera much easier to use than the "brightfinder" on my No. 1 Pocket Junior, which is anything but. The finder rotates to switch between portrait and landscape modes.

A small foot swings down from the plate to allow the camera to stand up in portrait mode for interior shots. There was no self timer, tripod socket nor a cable release attachment point. This was a basic camera in its day.

The camera's focus is fixed (probably around 5' to infinity) and the rotary shutter has speeds of either "I" (interval) or "T" (timed), controlled by a selector on the front of the lens panel. The "Interval" is probably around 1/50th or 1/30th second (I'm guessing, to fit with the "Sunny 16" rule and film speeds appropriate to the day [*]) and "Timed" holds the shutter open until the shutter release is pressed again. In common with my Vest Pocket Model B the shutter (in I mode) can be tripped by operating the release in either direction. Finally, the aperture is controlled by a small sliding metal plate with three punched holes corresponding to f/16, f/22 and f/32.

To fold the camera away two lugs are used to unlock the braces and the lens panel pushed back into the camera body (not an easy task). One useful feature of the Hawkette is the placement of the lens, which sits behind the shutter and means that lens caps aren't needed to keep everything clean. I presume the camera originally came with a small canvas bag but this is no longer around.

Despite its lack of a bag, the condition of the camera is excellent, almost unused in appearance, and everything appears to work as it should (i.e. the shutter fires and the aperture slider slides. There isn't much else!). As mentioned the finder glass is intact and the Bakelite free of chips and cracks. I've read elsewhere that the Bakelite bodies are fairly durable and can be cleaned with regular glass cleaner so that's the next job.

These cameras were never offered for sale but used as "premiums" (e.g. used as free gifts or exchanged for coupons, etc.) for products such as Cadbury Chocolates and Australian cigarettes, amongst others. I don't think they are too rare but, being Bakelite, undamaged examples are harder to find.

Film is, of course, still readily available. However, whilst I'd love to put a film through it, being Bakelite and over seventy years old I think this one will sit on the shelf for the rest of its days. A lovely little camera which has managed to outlive its mighty maker.

Specifications

    Type: 120 Roll Film - 6x9 folding camera.
    Size: (W x H x D) 182 mm x 104 mm x 38 mm (closed), 182 mm x 104 mm x 122 mm (open)
    Image Size: (W x H) 60 x 90 mm
    Lens: Fixed focus meniscus
    Apertures: believed to be f/16, f/22 and f/32 using a sliding, perforated metal plate.
    Shutter: Rotary (1/50th sec??)
    Focusing: Fixed, most likely 5ft to infinity
    Shutter Speeds: Instant and Timed
    Viewfinder : Waist level angle finder with ground glass screen.
    Film Transport Manual wind knob
    Flash Contact: None
    Tripod Socket: None

[*] When the camera was new, film speeds were around 30 - 50ASA. Using ISO100 film requires 1/100sec and f/16 in bright light (the "sunny 16" rule). Therefore, when new, at 1/50sec an aperture of f/32 would be required in bright light.

Tumblr

2012-01-06T22:43:00.000Z

I've start posting a few shots to Tumblr. Not as many as I post to Flickr and nothing goes to Tumblr that isn't already on Flickr but if you use Tumblr instead of Flickr ......

Find me here

Steetley

2012-01-06T22:38:00.001Z

Spent a few hours with friends over the Christmas break taking photographs of and around the old Steetley Magnesite plant near Hartlepool. Some great shots of industrial decay and some superb graffiti around the place.

My favourite from this session is probably one I shot on the beach on the way back to the car.

See more on Flickr.

2011-12-23T09:52:00.005Z

Busy dashing around, as usual, looking for last-minute bits and pieces (and some food would be useful!).

Hope you have a great Christmas and a happy and successful 2012.

Paul

Cinemagraphs

2011-11-02T12:22:00.000Z

I thought I'd have a go at a cinemagraph. I'll post a "how-to" at some point but here's my first try (you'll need to follow the link to Flickr and then scroll down to the Comments section to see the magic .....)

Link to Flickr cinemagraph

Hallowe'en

2011-10-31T20:39:00.001Z

Went out on a witch hunt earlier, strangely enough I'm normally successful. This year was no exception!

View on Flickr

This one was spotted at the derelict site of Steetley Magnesite near Hartlepool, NE England.

Prints, calendars and iPhone cases for sale.

2011-10-20T21:11:00.003+01:00

I have a growing range of items for sale with RedBubble, including prints, calendars and now iPhone cases. Almost all of the photographic images which appear on my web gallery are also available for sale on RedBubble in a range of finishes and sizes. Images can be printed as greetings cards, postcards, regular photographic prints (together with mounted and/or laminated prints), canvases, framed prints and posters.

You can visit the print gallery here.

You will find the calendars for sale here in a number of ready-made collections (slow shutter, minimal, abstract, etc.). If you don't see your favourite collection of images here feel free to get in touch and I'll create an individual calendar for you at no extra cost. It also makes for an easy way to buy a number of my images. Calendars are now available for 2012.

In addition to the regular prints I am able to offer a number of iPhone cases, featuring my images, via RedBubble. As with the calendars, let me know if you would like one of my images made up as an iPhone case. You can see the current range here.

I now have a growing number of images available for sale through Modern Mural in the USA. They have some great canvas designs, perfectly suited to my style of photography, and I'm looking forward to working with them.

I am constantly looking for additional outlets for my prints, check back regularly for updates .....

Transporter - 100yr celebrations

2011-10-14T21:05:00.000+01:00

No, not the film (surely they haven't made that many ....) but the iconic bridge across the River Tees linking Middlesbrough with Port Clarence. One of a few working transporter bridges in the world (and the second largest working example), construction finished one hundred years ago this month and to mark its centenary a specially commissioned light show has been installed and will run for two weeks.

I spent an hour taking photographs with a view to putting together a timelapse video (now available on YouTube, here) and have posted a couple of shots on Flickr ......

Because of the speed of the light transitions I quickly realised that Plan A - nice long exposures at low ISO - would have resulted in a very long sequence of similar shots. Plan B was therefore to take advantage of the 5D Mk II's low noise, wind up the ISO and try for shorter exposures; the main sequence was therefore shot at at 1600 ISO and 1sec @ f/7 (I tried 3200 but the grain started to get just a little intrusive). Lens used was the 17-40mm f/4 L IS but I ended-up shooting at around 26mm due to the location and to reduce the number of intrusive elements in the shot - just to the right are a few streetlights which meant careful zooming and camera positioning in order to keep them out of shot. Moving the camera to the right, of course, meant that the bridge angle became more extreme in the shot whilst further left, although providing a flatter (but perhaps less dramatic) perspective also pulls-in the streetlights.

Since I wanted to put together a timelapse but also wanted some decent images from the seesion, almost everything was shot as a RAW + large JPEG couple - my 16GB card proving useful - and means I have maximum control over any finished shots and also don't have to convert every RAW to JPEG for the T/L ...... All I need to do now is force myself to delete the RAWs I no longer need .

[Update]
I've now uploaded a copy of this image to RedBubble, it's available to buy as a postcard or small format print. I still haven't deleted the spare RAWs, though.

You can learn more about this iconic bridge here.

Olympus XA

2011-10-11T22:01:00.000+01:00

This is the Olympus XA, a 35mm capsule / compact camera. Packaged into this neat little body is a rangefinder and 35mm f/2.8 lens together with aperture priority operation (sadly, no manual mode). Dimensions were 102×64.5×40mm and it tipped the scales at around 225g. Designed by Olympus' chief designer Yoshihisa Maitani (also renowned for the design of other iconic Olympus cameras such as the Pen and OM series and, later, the Mju), the camera is certainly one of the smallest - along with the Contax T - rangefinder-equipped 35mm cameras ever. The cameras were sold between 1979 and 1985, and I'm fairly sure this is a 1984 model.

Looking at the camera from the front, the aperture control is to the left - a sliding scale offering stops of f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11 and f/22 (camera-set shutter speeds range from 10s to 1/500s). Under the lens the lever marked with the white line is the focus control, which is coupled to the rangefinder. Above the focus control is the ISO control, with speeds from ISO25 to ISO800 available (later models had DX coding). At the top of the body is the shutter release - the red button - which uses a specially-developed rare-earth electromagnet switch to minimise camera shake. The shutter is probably the most sensitive of any I have ever used and works on a real hair-trigger. The small window to the left of the viewfinder is for the rangefinder; the rangefinder on this one works fine, producing a yellow ghost image in the centre of the viewfinder. Once the main image and ghost image are aligned, the focus is correct.

The lens itself called for a novel approach to its design, given that Maitani insisted on a 35mm lens being used despite the fact that nothing longer than 31mm would fit into the space available. The lens design finally used was a Reverse Retrofocus (normally used in telephoto lenses) and was the first-ever Reverse Retrofocus 35mm wide-angle to be used. The clamshell design meant that once the cover was slid over the lens everything was protected and the shutter release locked off.

As with most of my vintage film cameras, this one hasn't had too much use. Unlike many, however, this one has had a roll developed, the best image from the roll being this one, on Flickr, taken on expired Kodacolor. In use I found the shutter release to be too sensitive, always leaving me hesitant when firing it, but with a satistying little "snick" confirming every exposure.

You can learn more about the XA - and others in the range - here.

New old gear .....

2011-10-10T22:55:00.001+01:00

Yep, it's another new old purchase. This time it's a circa 1925 - 1930 plate camera manufactured by Houghton Butcher - the Cameo.

This particular model is fitted with an Ilex shutter and Lukos Anastigmat 135mm f/4.5 lens (S/No. 115981). As others I've seen have wire frame sports viewfinders and Compur shutters I'm guessing it's an earlier model? There doesn't seem to be too much information around on these particular models ...

Plate cameras use cut sheet film (at 4 1/8" x 3 1/8" plate size this is strictly a 1/4 plate camera, full size being 6 1/2" by 8 1/2") which is placed - one sheet at a time, in a darkroom - into (metal, in the case of the Cameo) film holders. The film holders are rather like small metal envelopes and have a light-tight removable darkslide to protect the film. This camera has five film holders but I'll be lucky if I can get more than two of them to a working state.

These cameras utilise a ground glass screen - at the rear of the camera, acessible via a small opening door - for checking the focus, though of course the image is inverted and reversed (pentaprisms and pentamirrors not being on the scene in the 1920's). As the ground glass screens are easily damaged I was lucky to find a camera with an intact screen.

In use, the aperture is opened wide and the shutter cocked and set to T. The back is opened and focusing achieved by moving the lens assembly forwards and backwards, checking the image on the ground glass screen (alternatively a focus scale meant that the sports viewfinder could be used and focus distance estimated or hyperfocal zones employed). Once the composition and focus are OK the shutter is closed again and the ground glass assembly is removed by sliding upwards. A film holder is then attached, aperture and shutter set and the shutter cocked again. Once the darkslide (in place until now to prevent exposure of the film) is removed the exposure can be made by firing the shutter. Care must be taken at the latter stages to ensure that the camera is not moved - the darkslides need to be light tight and, being all metal, are none too easily opened. Over-all, a process guaranteed to make the photographer think about each image!

Carrying only a limited number of film plates also made you think about each shot, a far cry from today's digital, rapid-fire, machine gun approach .....

As all of my vintage camera purchases have an intention of being used - at the time of purchase, anyway - for this one I will eventually need to set up a darkroom. Rather than sheet film, however - which isn't easy to obtain in 1/4 plate sizes - I'll be using regular light sensitive paper cut down to size. Since I won't be making many exposures (two a day, tops?) I'm also planning to develop the papers in a coffee / bleach mix (nothing if not adventurous) and then scan the resulting paper negs. An alternative method would be to shoot "through the viewfinder" and use a digital camera to photograph the image projected onto the ground glass screen.

It'll be an interesting and, no doubt, slow journey ......

First dawn shoot of the year

2011-10-03T00:06:00.000+01:00

OK, perhaps it's a little late (for my first sunrise shoot) but Saturday saw some of the highest tides of the year and also the hottest October day ever in the UK. Neither of these facts were known to me when I set out (though the tides should have been - I'd checked the times but didn't note the height) but, judging by number of 'toggers already there when I arrived, I was one of the few who were in this situation. Sunrise was at the rather comfortable time of 6:15 so the plan was to get there at around 05:45 and catch some of the pre-dawn glow, followed by sunrise itself and then a well-earned coffee and breakfast.

I already had an idea as to what I wanted to do and it was all going to be wide - the Canon 17-40mm f/4 L, so that I could use a grad and/or 10-stopper, and the trusty Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5 EX DG for when I wanted maximum impact in the image and didn't need filters. Just for a change, everything would be shot on the 5D2. I normally have the Sigma on the 5D2 and take along my older 40D with a 10-22mm f/3.5 for the wide filter work - as I'd bought the 17-40mm precisely to take advantage of the 5D2's better image quality I figured it's time to commit .....

My choice of location allowed me some freedom of movement around the pier and placed the pier between me and the sun, so the structure would likely be silhouetted against a nice, side-lit sea. As the water was incredibly calm I ended-up with some really nice slow shutter images:

"Waiting for the Sun" - a couple of photographers on the pier itself. Shot at around 3sec & f/13 with a medium grad on the sky. Very little work in post.

"Pier Sunrise" - no post processing at all (other than the crop). Once things got a little brighter I was able to use the ND1000 and pushed exposure to 60sec & f/9. The design of the B+W filter means a grad can't easily be used in combination (I've got to get myself some Lee filters at some point) so the sky and sensor are left to fight it out. The photographers had moved on by now ......

"Optimists" - Finally (in this batch), a grab shot taken with the Sigma of a couple of optimistic surfers. I liked monochrome for this one as the narrative is about the surfers and the sea state and the post-sunrise colours were just a distraction. In one universe I mention that the ultrawide field of view of the Sigma means I can get the surfers nicely framed by Hunt Cliff and the pier. In another, parallel, universe I must say that the Sigma was already on the camera and I was just lucky ....

All three are on Flickr (follow the links above or click here) and one or two may already be available for sale on RedBubble, as well. Other images may make it to Flickr and the 'Bubble over the next few days so it's always worth a look over there at some point.

Roll-on the next sunrise session!

Digital infrared photography

2011-05-05T23:43:00.002+01:00

I have always been fascinated by infrared photography, there was always something other-worldly about the images (which, of course, were almost always B&W). Back in the days when I was starting out, however, pretty-much all photography was film-based and getting hold of IR films, and then having them processed and printed, always proved to be enough of an issue to stop me and so IR remained just outside of the useful spectrum for me.

Once I started doing more with my digital photography, however, digital IR became a much easier option. Regardless of the recording media - film or sensor - the basic concept remains the same; the elimination of as much visible light as possible and the recording of as much short-wave infrared radiation as possible (not to be confused with thermal imaging, which records longer-wave IR radiation, or heat). Normal films are designed to be sensitive to as much visible light - and as little UV and IR - as possible. Digital sensors, however, are naturally sensitive to most wavelengths from UV down to IR and use filters over the sensor to restrict the amount of non-visible wavelengths being recorded and hence distorting the image. Digital IR photography, therefore, requires that you either remove the amount of visible light reaching the sensor or you remove the filter over the sensor. This means in practice either the use of a converted camera or the use a filter on a regular body (for film, of course, filtration is the only option). As a conversion wasn't an option I was left with filtration.

Before parting with any cash, however, it's wise to ensure that the camera is actually sensitive to infrared (the degree of sensitivity varies from camera to camera); this is easily done with a TV remote control aimed at the camera in a darkened room (remember to look at the image via the LCD screen, though, and not the viewfinder!). My cameras at the time were a Canon 350D with a Tamron 18-200mm XR Di lens and a Nikon Coolpix 3700 and both proved to be equally responsive to infrared.

First try was a Cokin resin infrared filter (A007, I think). Numerous test shots with both cameras revealed both the potential of IR photography and the problems of achieving a decent image. Only one image survives from the Nikon. SOOC it looked like this:

Not the most promising of shots with that magenta cast (due to the camera's whitebalance being confused) but interestingly enough hand-held at f/2.8 and ISO200. A nasty case of internal reflection there, too, leading to the hot-spot in the centre. A little work in Photoshop, though, and I managed to get this:

Which is much better and even has the white foliage on the tree.

Next up was the Canon 350D ....

(TBC)

Workflow for the Oxalis image

2011-04-17T23:47:00.000+01:00

I get asked from time-to-time to show some of the workflow steps I follow to arrive at finished shots and, in particular, how the recent shot of a wild oxalis came about. So here we go ...

First-off, the test shot.

Alright, to be honest, this isn't the test shot. I deleted the shot straight away as I figured I would never use it .... so this is a representation.

As I needed a fast shutter speed - focal length was 105mm and and things were a little breezy - ISO had been increased to 400, gaining two stops (1/100sec rather than 1/25sec). At 1/100sec, however, and even with Image Stabilisation on, I knew that I was pushing things a little! The lens was wide open at f/4 - partly to help lose the background and partly to maximise the light I was working with - so offered no flexibility. Fortunately, however, using the camera's automatic metering resulted in the white of the petals being over-exposed (confirmed via a quick review of the LCD screen showing flashing highlights) - and a rather bland image as well! The test shot did confirm that a decent image was in there somewhere, though.

A little working of the settings led me to an exposure adjustment of -2 stops (I was still in AV mode) which meant a shutter speed of 1/400sec - adequate to freeze any movement of either the subject or the camera.

Back home and the RAW image was opened .... no adjustments were required to the RAW as I had the exposure right in the camera and prefer to make my "image" adjustments in Photoshop (though exposure corrections, when required, are generally on the RAWs, as are corrections for lens distortion, CA, etc.). The image was output to a TIFF file and opened in Photoshop.

First stop was a crop. Whether I do this first or last depends on the image - this time it was the first step. The crop allows me to do two things, firstly removing distractions at the back of the shot and secondly moves the flower onto an intersection of thirds:

The "rule of thirds" can be a powerful aid to composition and here helps strengthen the image.

The next step was to isolate the flower ....

Adding a Levels adjustment layer allows me to make corrections in a non-destructive manner. Layers work as their name suggest and allow the base layer (the original shot) to remain untouched; various permutations and effects can be applied to the same image and switched on or off as required. The introduction of the Levels adjustment layer has allowed me to pull-in the blacks a little and has started to bring the image closer to how I imagined it at the point of tripping the shutter, though there's still a little more work required to get things how I want them.

Next step is to give the moss and leaves a little more "punch" ....

.... achieved using a Saturation adjustment layer, upping the saturation of the yellows and greens and desaturating everything else just a touch.

Finally, a curves adjustment layer to give a bit more punch to the shot .....

And there you have it (or even here you have it). Not too many steps and nothing too complex; spotting the shot and getting the initial composition and exposure correct were probably the hardest - and most critial- parts of the process. Failing to correct for the blown highlights at the beginning would, of course, have meant recovery was impossible.

Possibly next time I'd remove the grass stem .....

Light Painting

2011-01-31T23:15:00.003Z

It feels like ages since I've been out with a camera and there's been no space to set up for all of those little table-top studio projects I kept promising myself I would do over winter, so it was great to have the excuse of a Flickr meet at South Gare to finally push me out into the cold.

Armed with a couple of torches we decided to try a spot of light painting of an old WWII anti-aircraft post out by the blast furnace. The light was fading but the combination of what remained in the sky and the lights on the furnace and superstructures meant that a Cokin Medium ND grad was needed to balance things out. Two torches were used, one to illuminate the interior (a torch with the power of five million candles .... any Rhod Gilbert fans reading this?) and a Maglite set on flood for the exterior.

This next shot was a little later, the grad was off and illumination used the 5million candles (from a distance, it was too harsh when used close-up) and the Maglite (again on flood) to fill the shadows.

The key with both shots is to keep the light moving rapidly and to remember the aim is not for even illumination; try concentrating on single areas to improve modelling and don't forget the foreground to avoid that "caught in the headlights" look. Finally, exposure is a matter of guesswork and luck - use your screen to review the image after every exposure.

Freezing temperatures and fading batteries (the two go hand-in-hand, of course) put an end to the fun after a few hours but it's something I'm looking forward to trying again soon.

New slideshow on YouTube

2010-12-26T16:08:00.002Z

I have put together a slideshow of my work from 2010 and posted it to YouTube. Music comes from Jez Creek (aka Modulator ESP, more from Jez at http://modulator-esp.co.uk/home.htm).

I wish you all a happy and successful 2011.

Adobe Licensing Repair Tool (CS3 & CS4)

2010-11-19T21:11:00.003Z

Sat myself down the other day to edit a few remaining shots from my recent trip to Paddy's Hole and Redcar stray (more groyne photographs!).

Launched Photoshop CS3 and was met with the error message that “Licensing for this product has stopped working”. Apparently the solution was to remove and re-install CS3 and, having seen the knots this can lead to when the removal isn't done properly (have never yet done it so can't offer advice on that yet!), didn't fancy the prospect of trying to do it over a mobile broadband link (which is slow and temperamental at the best of times).

A little searching on the web give me a much better alternative - apparently Adobe have a fix in place on their website for Photoshop CS3, CS4, Acrobat 8 & 9, Elements and Elements Premiere and the Technical Communication Suite.

Download (even on my slow link this was quick, it's a 4meg file, unless you use a Mac in which case it's a 10meg file. My PC has a smaller carbon footprint than a Mac!), unpack and run.

Once launched the program will tell you it may take "a few moments" to run - am I alone in thinking that "a few moments" means 20 - 30secs? If you do run this license repair tool be aware that it could sit and think (no disk activity, nothing) for a few minutes at a time .... be patient. It did eventually finish and was successful in clearing the error and I now have a fully working CS3 again.

Now all I have to do is sort out the mobile broadband and A/V software ..... but at least I can work on my photographs!

The groyne shot (above) was shot with my favourite B+W ND1000 filter for an exposure of 30sec at f/9. A conversion to Selenium Quadtone was then done in Photoshop using settings found on the Luminous Landscape pages (here).

[Later edit - evidently the fix isn't permanent as I have just received the same error message. Here we go again .....]

[And again, the process takes "a few moments" but does the job]

Road Trip!

2010-08-29T20:28:00.003+01:00

Could there be a better way to spend a day (alright, that's maybe pushing things a little but it was a good day); eleven hours out with cameras and friends driving along the Tyne and Wear coast searching out piers, groynes, lighthouses and fish & chips. Plenty of opportunities to use the ND1000 and get some long daylight exposures and a superb chance opportunity at Herd Groyne lighthouse.

We had planned our major stops and targets beforehand using a combination of maps and online photographs. I'm sure we must have missed loads of little-seen locations (I'm already planning a return visit for the near future) but we got to cover most of what we were after.

First stop was St Mary's Island at Whitley Bay. The tide was well out so most of the shots took advantage of the white lighthouse against the blue sky.

Thinking about it this was probably the only blue sky we had all day, actually.

Next, a few miles south down to Tynemouth. Fish and chips from Marshalls; quite possibly the best I have ever had and well worth the wait (my apologies to everyone trying to get past me in the narrow corridor with my backpack and tripod taking up too much room!).Walked along the pier and got soaked in a torrential downpour - very heavy and very brief - but I had little success with the photographs (one or maybe two in total); poor light and intermittent showers sent us packing.

Back into the car and cross the river (it's a long drive to travel such a short distance!) to South Shields. Main target here was the lighthouse at Herd Groyne but we certainly didn't expect the conditions which met us as we pulled into the car park. Dark and ominous clouds were building behind the bright red lighthouse, it took a lot of self-control not to run across to get the shots ....

Shortly after, of course, this lot turned from rain clouds to rain, resulting in another soaking and a dash to the car. This image has a few unusual artefacts just above the lighthouse which initially I took to be rain spots on the lens but on checking two or three images I realised that the spots remained in the same location when the camera was moved (I have muted them in the final image, they may be just visible).

Once back in the car it was another short drive south for Marsden rocks (no photographs due to no light), Souter lighthouse (ditto, and a locked car park ) and finally Roker pier at the mouth of the River Wear. Some great shots of the pier in the last of the evening light - used a combination of ND8 and Medium grad to smooth out the sky and water and accentuate the colour of the sea .....

Finally, with the light almost gone, it was time to head back.

I maybe came away with nine "A" shots (including a rogue digital pinhole shot), though there may be a couple more which ned a little more work. More photographs will be posted on Flickr and available for sale - as ever - on RedBubble.

"Photography +" (and the tell-tale signs of photographers).

2010-08-23T23:56:00.001+01:00

You probably know the feeling. I have photographed pretty-much all of the immediate area more than once (or, at least, those bits of the immediate area which I want to photograph) and, whilst I'm sure I could find just one more angle on Saltburn Pier, I think I need to be pushing myself a little harder. I also think I should be pushing myself to go just a little bit further.

So I bought myself a map (and discovered my map reading skills are rusty, to say the least) and decided to photograph some of the places I've never been to because I either didn't know how to get there or didn't know they existed. Scaling Beck waterfall is one of the latter locations - only a very short walk from a main road I have used many times and marked "waterfall" on the map. I've been to these before and been disappointed (look through my Flickr stream for Runswick Bay waterfall) but this time was pleased to find a real waterfall, with a good drop into a small wooded gorge filled with ferns and mosses.

I spent a good few hours finding shots - this is a tight location and photographic viewpoints are at a premium - and managed to bag three or four at the end of the day. What I didn't see was evidence of photography or, more accurately, photographers. There are a few locations I've been to recently where, if you look closely enough, the grass is flattened or the ferns are less dense. Stand on these spots and you'll get the perfect view - and the same shot as everyone else (if that's what you want). Of course, it also means that if you want a challenge, you need to be looking to get your shot without standing where thousands of tripods have rested.

So, I'm feeling quite pleased with my first "photography plus" expedition and I am now planning my second and third. They will probably both involve waterfalls but I doubt either can be as nice - nor as surprising - as this one ....

I wanted a real feel for the location to come over in the photograph and so wanted a slow shutter speed. As this meant the trusty ND1000 needed to be used (a ten stop Neutral Density filter) I was left with an exposure of 210seconds at f/4.5 - thank goodness for the noise control on the 5D Mk II! My next purchase may well need to be a five or six stop ND ....

I'm still struggling over a Mobile broadband link though things seem to be a little better these days. O2 recently cut their download limits, I suspect they've lost quite a few subscribers which means I get better up- and down-load speds (though the drivers still crash my machine daily!). Here's hoping I can restart blogging again.

Continuing access problems

2010-07-12T23:56:00.002+01:00

Continuing access problems with my wireless broadband link means an embarassing lack of posts at the moment; must try harder!

Sunrise at Saltburn

2010-05-29T13:57:00.000+01:00

The alarm was set for 3:15am but my noisy neighbours woke me at 3:00 - for once I was not going to complain. Gear was ready, having been packed the night before, so I was in the car for 3:15am and arrived around 20 minutes later at Saltburn-by-the-Sea on the North-East coast. There was already sufficient light in the sky for me to consider myself late ... but I didn't fancy getting up at 2:00am to catch the end of twilight!

I took a number of shots with both the 5D Mk II and the 40D, the latter has the advantage that I can use my grads and ND1000 with the 10-22mm, ultra-wide angle on the 5D2 means using the Sigma (which I did, but I can't use grads). The tide was right in and so restricted the number of locations available to me but at 10mm on the 40D and 12mm on the 5D2 I was able to get the angles I wanted without getting too wet.

The first one finished is an HDR; without the HDR, of course, the sky would have bleached out or the pier would have lost all detail (HDR = High Dynamic Range) though I still had to make a few minor corrections to keep the tones in the boards. I took a number of bracketed shots (-2stops, 0 and +2 stops) with an HDR treatment specifically in mind (brightness ranges were very wide, of course) but this one is based upon one RAW original processed at -2 stops, 0 and +2 stops - one of the benefits of shooting RAW, course, is that you can make exposure adjustments during post process work. It'll be interesting to see if the bracketed images offer anything better.

The benefit of processing the image as HDR is that it allows the shadow detail form the over-exposed shot to be combined with the highlight detail from the under-exposed shot, effectively extending the range of brightness levels which can be used to create the final image. The HDR for this shot was done entirely in Photoshop and was done to retain as much of a natural image as possible, tone mapping isn't always appropriate.

The sun showed itself at around 5:00am and I called it a day just after. The weather now is overcast and showery so I guess I was rather lucky. Next week the plan is for sunrise shots in the Lakes.....

Wireless broadband

2010-05-26T10:05:00.000+01:00

I am now living my Internet life via a wireless broadband link. It sucks, though I may be getting most of the initial problems out of the way (the dongle now lives on a USB extension cable by the glass door, I have no idea why I would need Admin rights to be able to connect but it seems to make a difference - further investigation required - and O2's website needs some work as well.). Living in a well-populated area, and not too far from a base station, you would expect to see a signal strength better than "very low", but there you go. A paucity of posts is the direct result and I will do my best to improve.

Current immediate plans involve dawn photo sessions; in particular I really want to get a shot of Castlerigg stone circle. I'm off to buy a tent ......

Kodak Autographic Vest Pocket Model B

2010-04-16T23:30:00.004+01:00

An early eBay acquisition, this one came with an exposed film still in the camera. A look around the web reveals the following ....

The Kodak Vest Pocket Model B, with the Autographic feature, was produced between 1925 and 1930 in the USA (subsequent models, produced in the USA and the UK between 1931 and 1933, lacked the Autographic feature). It was a fairly basic folding design, intended to be sold to the more casual user, and used 127 film, now sadly almost discontinued, thus allowing a smaller (vest pocket) body size when compared against cameras using "medium format" 120 roll film and beyond. The 1920's equivalent of a cheerful 35mm compact (though at around $7 new I doubt that it would have been considered cheap).

Negative size was 6 x 4 cm and allowed for small contact prints to be made (so, no enlarger required). The Autographic feature (offered only by Kodak, I believe) was a first attempt to allow any form of "data stamping" of the negative. The rear of the camera has a small window, covered by a sliding door, which revealed the back of the film when opened. Using the supplied stylus - seen to the left of the lens in the photograph - the photographer wrote on the backing paper and held it up to the light; the paper was thinner where it had been written on and, after a suitable exposure time, the negative was then permanently altered. However, a lack of "autographed" prints from this time suggests that it wasn't too popular.

Incidentally, I believe the Autographic feature was invented by Henry Jacques Gaisman and rights were sold to Kodak for the princely sum of $300,000 sometime in 1914 (Gaisman also patented a design for a safety razor, subsequently sold to Gilette....).

To the right of the lens is the "Brilliant" viewfinder, a simple, lensed silvered mirror, which are often degraded by now (I rather think I'll be fairly well degraded when I get to ninety years of age). Whilst I haven't used this camera yet (but hope to), I am currently running film through a Pocket Junior which also has a Brilliant viewfinder - which is anything but!

Aperture control was via a rotating wheel which has four circles punched through. The apertures are marked 1 to 4 and correspond to around f/11, f/16, f/22 and f/32 (the camera in the photograph is set at "2"). Available shutter speeds (above the lens) were T ("Timed") or I ("Instant"), Instant being something like 1/25th or 1/40th sec. and Timed being open as long as the shutter release is held down. The shutter is of the ball bearing type and requires no cocking - and the shutter release operates in both directions, which left me rather confused first time around. The design of the lens & shutter means that the lens actually sits behind the shutter. Lenses were simple meniscus affairs and rather soft, so it'll be interesting to see how any shots turn out.

Film in 127 format is still produced by Efke in Croatia. Developing looks like it may be expensive in a lab as not many of them are geared-up for such an old format. Home development could be an option with scanning of the negs. I have also seen mention of using 35mm film in these with suitable modifications. As I already have the backing paper from the exposed roll this could also be an option.

Whilst it's a superb looking little camera it would be a shame not to take *any* photographs with it!

[Edit - I've found a lab in the UK who not only process 127 but also sell colour film as well .... I haven't used them yet (so can't recommend them yet), you can find them at

http://www.plasticmagpie.com/newshop/10-127-film]

There is some great information on these old folders on the web, I used the following ...

http://randcollins.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/selecting-a-vintage-camera-ii-kodak-cameras/

http://kodak.3106.net/index.php?p=208&cam=1280

http://www.historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium/pm.cgi?action=display&login=kodakproducts

http://www.geh.org/fm/brownie/htmlsrc/brownie_idx00001.html#E130.00327
(the last one is specific to Brownies).

Digital pinhole - Mk IV fieldtest

2010-04-13T21:04:00.002+01:00

Took a few shots with the Mk IV "pinhole" the other week and the results were great.

The Mk IV pinhole aperture is, of course, based around a small piece of film wrapper (from a roll of 120 film; I thought it fitting) with the point of the pin used to make the hole only just pushed through in order to keep the hole size narrow enough (previously I pushed the pin right through).

I managed a few shots whilst out and about on Redcar seafront ....

"Penguins"

"Tractor"

"Flags"

Sharpness is much improved over the previous versions (sharpness in this respect being a very relative term!). There's a little vignetting but only on the one side (and sometimes only in one corner), I think either the hole through the body cap is not wide enough or the pinhole is not quite in the right place (though I'd prefer the vignette to be in all corners, at least it offers a degree of credibility!).

"Penguins" works really well, I think, though pinhole photography is a bit like Lomo and really needs the right subject. Unlike Lomo, though, you're unlikely to be too spontaneous with these slower shutter speeds.

And finally, the pinhole lens itself .....

The pinhole is the small dot seen within the grey .....

Digital Pinhole Photography

2010-03-23T23:09:00.001Z

I now have a Mk IV pinhole lens. Having reviewed the shots from the weekend - and seen others - I was sure I could improve on the Mk III. The following was shot at ISO6400 and is a 100% crop, intended as a quick and dirty test for sharpness.

Points will be awarded for correctly guessing the names of the DVDs.

The Mk IV uses the foil cover from a roll of 120 film (I had just loaded my vintage Kodak ....), since I figured it's got to be light tight, sandwiched between two pieces of mounting board. The same pin was used but was only just pushed through, rather than going all the way through. I reckon it's around half a stop slower, so must be smaller and hence sharper (since, with pinhole photography, the pinhole diameter dictates the sharpness).

There's certainly an improvement (!) and a more detailed "field test" will be made ASAP.

Digital Pinhole Photography and Fishkeeping

2010-03-21T23:38:00.002Z

I have an uncle who is a keen fishkeeper (he's a keen fishkeeper like I'm a keen photographer, I guess). He has progressed from a small tropical freshwater tank to a rather large saltwater reef tank (he has rebuilt parts of the house around it). Lately he has taken to breeding and growing his own copepods (food for the fish), not to save money but for something to do.

We'll get back to him later.

Recently I had the idea of trying some pinhole photography. Initially this was to involve buying an old 120 film camera and removing the lens assembly, replacing it with a home made pinhole. Unfortunately after buying the vintage 120 folding camera(s) and then an vintage Agfa box camera I realised they were far to good to be used for something other than their intended purpose and started putting film through them instead and pinholes were forgotten.

Not too long ago, though, my thoughts turned back to pinhole photography and I realised that I could probably achieve this easier if I went digital .... so, after a couple of false starts, I now have a Mk III pinhole lens which can be used on any of my DSLRs and also have my first Digital Pinhole image .....

which isn't particularly exciting as an image but - for me - is particularly interesting seeing as no glass was used in the making of the it (I know that technically that probably isn't true since I use a glass filter on the front of my pinhole aperture/lens and the sensor itself has microlenses - which probably aren't glass but they are lenses - and then there's the filter in front of the sensor .... but you hopefully understand what I mean).

So, yes, it's very, very soft but it also has zero distortion and zero chromatic aberration as far as I can tell. I think it's softness and the inherent long exposure (or, alternatively, high ISO) will help suggest more appropriate subjects.

The lens itself is simply a small piece of foil with a pinhole (literally) punched through it. This was mounted onto a cardboard carrrier and then taped to a cheap body cap (£2.99) which has a small hole drilled through its centre. I fitted an old skylight filter to the front to minimise dust (not too sure how much dust would normally get through such a small hole but also don't want to take a chance) but that's it. The foil was from a pack of throat lozenges and I mention this because it's plastic coated - I thought it might make the foil less likely to tear when I pushed the pin through. The Mark I and Mark II pinholes used a piece of metal cut from an old 3.5" floppy disk shutter and were less effective as I couldn't make the hole flat enough and, at the same time, small enough. I might try a Mk IV pinhole (having a hopefully smaller aperture) to see if I can improve on the sharpness but I doubt that I'll be sucessful.

At the moment I'm not sure where this pinhole lens will be used, as it's so soft, but it was done more out of curiosity than anything else and now I've made one I'll always have it for when that certain image presents itself!

And the copepods? When I was talking with my uncle he asked me why on earth I would want to take a Canon 5D Mk II and attach a £2.99 image forming device to it. After a while we worked out that the answer is the same as for his copepods .....

Why not?

And there's a short video of his tank on my YouTube pages, if you're interested. Shot on the 5D2 in a rather unprofessional way, if you're still interested.

Sandsend

2010-03-11T22:09:00.000Z

Finding myself with a bit of free time I decided to try a few hours at Sandsend, on the North Yorkshire coast and just North of Whitby (here). Sandsend is a place I have been through plenty of times but have never actually stopped at - normally I get there at the wrong part of the day and wrong time of the year and the place is packed; I figured that March should be OK!

Weather was not too cold but the light was decidedly uninteresting, pale skies and not much contrast. I managed a couple of long exposures with the ND1000 (ten stop neutral density filter, discussed earlier here) and particularly like this one (posted to Flickr earlier). As the tide started to come in, though, things finally started to get interesting. It's surprising how quickly the waters rise (Goretex boots, gaiters and waterproof overtrousers saved me from too much of a soaking) and getting the best shot means having to work quickly. My 40D was used for a lot of wide angle, slow-shutter work but I must have caught the focus ring at some point with the result that almost all of the shots were out of focus and good only for the recyle bin, though I did come away with one (the waves in the foreground were subject to a little dodge and burn to pull out the textures using a non-destructive technique rather than the standard Photoshop tools, more on that later).

As the tide continued to rise I picked up the "shot of the day" of the waves lapping past one of the old groyne posts. This was shot on the 5D Mk II with the Sigma 12-24mm (at 12mm), converted to B&W and again some non-destructive D&B was used to pull out the contrast between the wave and the sand and to add texture to the sky.

I now need to get back when there is more light and a mid-day tide.....

Subjectivity and philosophy

2010-02-14T23:50:00.000Z

The most popular upload to my Flickr pages in a long time? Certainly took me by surprise and is now making me stop and think; time to reflect on the age-old question "what makes a good photograph?".

Second thought for the day? Consider the question most photographers get asked from time to time ... "what camera do you use?". Ask yourself - does it make a difference? I know that there are obvious instances when it will make a difference, but does it change anything from a creativity standpoint?

My most popular shot in some time wasn't taken on a DSLR and wasn't even digital. Even more surprising the image I posted wasn't even subject to any post-processing work (and therefore gains membership of an extremely exclusive club in my portfolio). Some time ago I bought a Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim for the grand total of, well, less than a roll of film; for a while it was always with me and was generally forgotten when the time came to press the shutter - after all, digital is more convenient, more immediate, more, well, convertible (you want it cross processed? Monochrome? More saturated? More - or less - like film? .... Voila!). Now, it just happened that on this particular day I had taken along the UW&S and nothing else (just like old times, maybe), and this is the shot (one of three or four taken) that I posted ....

It's the "Big Wheel", installed in Middlesbrough town centre for a few months beginning late '09 (this was taken just before Christmas). The camera was the Viv' and this is SOOC ("straight out of camera"), no post-processing other than the watermark. Of course, I wouldn't have posted it if I didn't like it and it will be interesting to see how it compares with its "digitally enhanced" versions, though I think I already know the answer to that one.

And no, it won't make me shoot more film or less digital. I won't be trading this for that or shooting less of this or more of that. But it did make me stop and think. And it raised a whole host of photography-based philosphical questions in my mind (but maybe more on those later). And that can only be A Good Thing.

The UW&S is still found here and there on some of the more well-known auction sites. They aren't as widely available now as they were then and they go for significantly more than the price of a roll of film but, if you fancy getting your own moment of epiphany, I'm sure you can find something similar. Mine may be shooting its last rolls these days (shortly after this one was taken the shutter stuck and refused to fire) but she has a cousin (the rather less well-known IC101 Panorama) and she seems fine.

Of course, I also posted this one ....

Which I like a bit more :)

Yet more from the Sigma 12-24 .....

2010-01-31T23:35:00.000Z

A light dusting of overnight snow and a free day - whatever I did, it was probably going to involve a camera or two! A few moments thinking about possible locations and I decided on Hardwick Country Park, near to Sedgefield (Co. Durham) and around twenty minutes' drive (the other possible location which came to mind will have to wait).

There are plenty of pages on the web detailing its history (e.g. here) but suffice it to say that there are numerous interesting architectural features and plenty of water, woodland and open spaces. My interest was the architecture and in particular the Temple; I was here last year and did some nice Infrared and long exposure work but the shot I really wanted (a nice up-close and distorted wide angle) was too difficult with the Canon 10-22mm on a cropped body. This time around, however, I had my trusty Sigma 12-24mm on the 5D Mk II. The cropped bodies, because of their smaller sensor, effectively impose a "zoomed" effect on the image projected by the lens and, on the 40D, the multiplier is 1.6 so a 10mm lens becomes equivalent to 16mm on a regular 35mm camera.

In practice, whilst it's still wide, sometimes it just isn't wide enough (and getting everything straight enough for a photomerge is difficult, given that the ground slopes away). Not a problem with the Sigma on the 5D2 as the camera is full frame, so 12mm is still 12mm - and those 4mm make for a huge difference.

I particularly like the abstract, imposing nature of the shot and the really deep blue of the sky (a little post work helped but mostly this was as it came out of the camera). No filters since, of course, the Sigma can't take front-mounted stuff and, whilst I'm happy to cut-up ND gels for the the rear holder, it just isn't going to happen with polarisers!

I also looked around for something rather more abstract and found this one which I quite liked ..... always remember to look up!

Infinity

2010-01-17T19:56:00.005Z

Infinity
Originally uploaded by ScudMonkey

The weather has been a real pain recently; heavy snow (very photogenic but couldn't actually get anywhere) and then middling grey skies. I finally got fed-up with waiting for a decent opportunity to present itself and made my way to Stockton - figured I'd get some interesting monochromes of the Infinity bridge, maybe some long exposures - only to have it rain within ten minutes of arriving. Blue skies today when I'm not around. Still, I'm sure there'll be other opportunities ...

So, I finished yesterday's session with the grand total of One shot (and one nice idea for another time). I've probably done the Infinity Bridge to death (a distant second maybe to Saltburn Pier!) but there's always opportunity for a new perspective, even here.

I started out with maybe a high contrast B&W in mind but the light was rather flat and, whilst tinkering, realised I hadn't done any Duotones recently. So that was that. Of course, when I worked in Photoshop Elements all of my Duotones were hand crafted but since I bought CS3 (early adopters may get there early but we "wait-and-see"-ers save a fortune!) it's all just menu driven. It takes a little of the satisfaction away but the result is just as good ;) and a lot quicker. Of course, one of the big advantages behind a Duotone is the improved printing quality on a less-than-able printer. The image is now printed in two colours rather than either one (single black ink, very difficult to obtain appropriate levels of grey) or three/four (when the printer tries to create blacks and greys from its colour inks, imparting a colour cast). I also found a rather nice recipe for a Selenium Quadtone on the Luminous Landscape pages, where there is also a better walkthrough than I could do.

This is also my first Blog post from Flickr. That was all very painless .....

Next up - I want to practice off-camera flash work using mixed light sources.

Snow

2010-01-09T10:33:00.002Z

We've had snow on the ground for three weeks now and the forecast suggests maybe a further two weeks. I know this isn't unusual for many parts of the world but for Teesside, NE England, it probably happens about once in forty years, and we are unsurprisingly ill-equipped to deal with it. We had around four inches fall overnight and it's looking like it'll snow again very soon.

Can't travel far nor quickly so photography opps are limited (other than "look how deep the snow is in my garden", which isn't going to get posted here [g]). I might try and get down to the river, last time I was out I managed this one of a snow-dusted hogweed ...

Canon 5D Mk II, EF 24-105mm f/4.5 L IS, 1/100 @ f/4, ISO200

I'm going out for a walk, I may be some time :)

Serendipity ... or creativity

2010-01-02T11:25:00.001Z

I was out in the garden trying to get some decent snow / ice macro shots (Canon 40D, EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro and a Metz 58 AF-1 flash with off-camera cord). I was really strugggling to get anything different or unusual enough when I spotted a blue plastic bucket, normally used to hold rubbish whilst gardening. Over the course of the last few weeks the bucket had become full of water which had then frozen. A few shots of the surface gave me nothing inspiring but then I had the idea of firing the flash through the bucket itself (full power needed!) so that it illuminated the ice from below with the blue plastic providing a heavy colour cast.

The result .....

The dots are the result of the flash illuminating air bubbles trapped in the ice and looks a little like something from the Hubble space telescope.

I have also posted a couple of others, which I took at the same time, on Flickr.

And finally

I've just watched Star Trek on DVD. A great film but the over-use of the "Add Flare" tool in whatever software they used in PP really spoils things.

My favourite from '09 ...

2009-12-31T17:38:00.001Z

Time to sum-up my 2009, I guess. Some new gear bought and some new styles and techniques tried. I reckon I've taken around 5,000 images this year and, looking back through my Flickr stream, am fairly happy with the way it all went. Quite a few "could have done better" but one or two which I'm really pleased with.

My favourite for the year is the first decent IR shot I managed with the 40D, taken near to Guisbrough Priory, NE England, way back in May ...

Canon 40D with EF-S 10-22mm, Hoya R72, 30sec @ f/6.3

Three more days before I am back to work; I must make an effort to get some time behind the lens before my available time disappears again.

Happy New Year!

Christmas ..... and 2010

2009-12-28T09:00:00.002Z

As ever, Christmas manages to distract me from the computer and from my cameras, so there's been precious little activity to report here.

I did, however, discover a firmware update for my flashgun (Metz 58 AF-1) which was downloaded and applied together with the overdue firmware update for my 5D Mk II. Update processes for both were painless, hassle-free and sucessful (that last bit is always a worry) and both bits of kit appear to be working fine.

The Metz update addresses a failing which I have always mentioned when discussing this bit of kit, namely the lack of control offered by the gun to the camera. The upgrade is found on the Metz homepage at

http://www.metz.de/en/photo-electronics/firmware-download-flash-units/mecablitz-58-af-1-digital.html

The upgrade for the camera adds support for the WFT-E4 II wireless transmitter. I figured I'd do it since I was doing the flashgun but don't expect to ever use wireless with the camera (I can do without carrying the laptop around as well!); the 5D update was at

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html

Feel free to drop me a line if you need further advice on either of these upgrades.

Plans for 2010 (aside from the usual "get out more") include more landscapes and more work with strobes (flash). For the strobist stuff I expect to be making heavy use of the articles at the Strobist blog

http://strobist.blogspot.com/

I really need to expand on my techniques for using flash and ambient in a more balanced manner.

And Finally

Are you from Edinburgh? What is it that makes these pages so popular with people from there? If you can shed any light on this I'd love to know .

First try at a slideshow

2009-12-02T23:42:00.001Z

It's winter, it's cold and damp (or raining) and dark at 5pm. My photography tends to be done on a weekend and, if I've managed to get plenty of shots, I have all week to work on them. Last weekend was a success in terms of quality but less of a success in terms of their number, so I find myself on a cold, dark Wednesday evening with time on my hands ....

So I had a play with Windows Movie Maker and a put together a selection of slow shutter images (some recent, some rather less so) and posted it onto YouTube. It may still be there ...

The music is White Cube - The Light by Alex Beroza.

If you like the images, please let me know. If you like the music, please tell Alex.

Saltburn Pier

2009-11-28T15:45:00.002Z

Saltburn Pier wasn't my intended destination this morning but heavy fog tempted me to give it a go. Sadly the skies were fairly clear when I arrived but I still managed some decent shots. The Sigma was called into play immediately and fitted with two four-stop ND gels; unfortunately I must have managed to get one of them twisted as all of the images have a small patch of flare on the top left corner. I'll post the best from the Sigma when I've finished "polishing" them.

The shot shown here was taken with my 24-105mm (at 24mm) with the 10-stop B+W ND1000. The aperture was closed to minimum to enable a shutter speed of around two minutes to be used, it would have been longer but a large wave forced me to cut it short - in the event, though, this worked in my favour as the exposure is fine as it is. The slight colour cast comes from the filter and I decided to leave it in, I think it adds to the image.

Transporter - Stop

2009-11-26T23:23:00.002Z

Out and about with a few local photographers; I was hoping to get some new shots of the Transporter bridge in Middlesbrough but low temperatures and strong winds put paid to too much photography. The camera & tripod received some heavy knocks from the wind so little chance of any long exposure work. I did, however, manage to get this one on the Sigma at 12mm. No filters and no adjustment, the colours come from the nearby sodium lights and the spotlights on the bridge (that and the beginnings of the "blue hour"). I was fortunate that the strong winds had closed the bridge, allowing me to stand in the middle of the road to get the shot. Exposure was around 5secs and I had to drop the camera close to the ground to keep it stable for the shot.

"Stacks"

2009-11-19T23:16:00.001Z

Out and about with the Sigma (again). This time on Hartlepool Headland and the one remaining Magnesian Limestone stack. Taken from the footpath alongside the stack (it looks larger than its approx 15ft height) and on "full zoom" (24mm), a slow shutter speed of just under 2secs was used to capture the movement in the water but not lose the detail in the white foam trails. Without ND filters to hand I had to stop the lens down to f/25 to get the shutter speed down and am really pleased with the performance (again) of the lens.

Once back home I decided to bin a number of the Lee samples which I figured I would never use and discovered a four stop ND gel in the pack. As I can get two gels in the Sigma's gel holder this'll give me eight stops of attenuation. Can't wait to get out and give it a go ......

There's still life in the 40D ....

2009-11-15T22:25:00.001Z

I spotted these piles from the top of the beach and had to wait until the tide went out to get close to them. Unfortunately wet, soft sand meant I couldn't get close enough to do a long exposure at 12mm (it was rather breezy, too, and I never like to change lenses in these conditions if I can avoid it) so the 40D was dragged into service. As luck would have it it was already fitted with a telephoto lens in place of the usual 10-22 so I was able to set up a little way up the beach and zoom in.

Exposure was around 25sec at f/9. Once in Photoshop I upped the contrast a tad and boosted the colours of the sunset a little. The sand was still a little soft even here and meant the tripod feet sunk very slowly during the exposure. Next purchase will be a set of shoes for the tripod!

More from the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5

2009-11-12T22:46:00.004Z

I've spent around ten hours out with the Sigma so far and I'm very impressed with it. Optically great and handling feels superb (other than the fact that the zoom ring works in the opposite direction to Canon's, though as it hardly ever leaves 12mm I don't see it as a major problem).

Lack of a filter thread (the lens has a protruding front element and fixed petal hood so won't take regular filters) is a shame but not an issue. Paying only a third of what I would have paid for a Canon lens helps to quell some of the nervousness .... but only some!

As mentioned last time I have some Lee filter samples and the Sigma comes with a template for cutting out your own polyester filters - I managed to get three suitable filters from one sample and can fit two into the filter holder. This means I can achieve six stops (with 2 x 3-stop gels) and, whilst not perfect, is a good start.

Out on Sunday at the old Steetley Magnesite chemical works (just north of Hartlepool) with a few Flickr mates it was 12mm all the way again. My favourite from the session was taken on the beach and is of some of the old piles from one of the railway piers (not much left of these now and they are disappearing fast). Using the lens at 12mm meant I was able to get "up close and personal" with the old woodwork without having it dominate the shot and get a great sweeping seascape behind. A B&W conversion in Photoshop provided the finishing touch ....

This was shot at f/9 - nice and sharp with very little vignetting.

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5

2009-11-07T23:10:00.005Z

After much indecision and reviewing I have finally decided on the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5 as my wide angle lens for the 5D Mk II (I already have the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5 but, of course, this won't fit the 5D Mk II).

Spent a few hours at Whitby this afternoon and didn't take the lens off the camera once it was on. I managed to make a few 3-stop ND filters from some Lee samples I had lying around and was soon back to (moderately) long daylight exposures. This could become my new favourite toy.

I may try and put together a review at some time when I've used it a little more, in the meantime I have managed to process one of today's shots ....

Daylight Long Exposures

2009-11-04T21:30:00.006Z

I am a growing fan of long exposures made during daylight, the longer the exposure and the brighter the daylight the happier I am. So, what is a long daylight exposure? The typical midday setting (or, for the North-East of England, an atypical midday setting) with bright sunlight will require a shutter speed of around 1/100th of a second and an aperture of f/16, a combination which gives rise to the "sunny sixteenth rule" (more on that some other time).

I would consider a long exposure in these conditions to be anything over half a second, or around six stops, and, since lenses typically perform at their best at around f/9, I would be looking to extend the exposure by a minimum of five stops. The only way to extend shutter speeds without changing the aperture is to restrict the amount of light getting through the lens and for that you will need to use filters - either a polariser (which, as a side-effect of its polarising, will reduce the light by up to two stops) or a neutral density (ND) filter. For maximum effect, use both together.

Neutral Density filters will come in many different strengths, offering various degrees of attenuation, and qualities. Typical ND filters will offer 2, 3 or 4 stops of attenuation (so 1/100th sec @ f/16 becomes either 1/25th, 1/13th or 1/6thsec @ f/16). I use a 10 stop ND to give an exposure under the same conditions of 10 seconds. Used with a polariser I can get another two stops and slow the shutter to 30secs. Naturally you won't be hand-holding at these exposures (unless you are after extreme camera-induced blur) so a tripod is essential and a cable release could be useful (though the camera's self timer can be used). For SLRs mirror lock-up (or MLU, and why does everything have to have a TLA?) can be useful. As to quality, it's a tricky business to block light evenly through all of the wavelengths and most ND filters will impart a colour cast on the final exposure. The B&W 10-stop I use gives a slight brown tone to the final image which can be removed in software later (or, since I quite like the effect, left unchanged).

My earlier "Surf School" image used a 10-stop ND filter to give an exposure of 8sec at f/9. This next image was taken at the entrance to Whitby harbour and used the 10-stop ND and a CPL (or Circular Polarising Lens, for an extra two stops) for a total of 12 stops attenuation and a 30sec shutter speed at f/9 :

Slowing the shutter to this degree renders the boats and clouds as whispy trails. I also like the effect it has on the colours and tones in the shot. Results are not completely consistent and will vary according to the conditions and the subject matter but that just adds to the fun.

See more of my long daylight exposures here.

One other point with regard to polarising filters; modern autofocus systems will struggle to work, or not work at all, if the older Linear polarisers are used. For this reason always use a CPL on a modern camera or one with autofocus. Also bear in mind that using a CPL with a very wide lens could result in banding, so it's very much trial-and-error.

Calenders for 2010

2009-11-03T20:27:00.006Z

I have a number of 2010 calendars available for sale via RedBubble, including a collection which features some of my favourite "slow shutter" shots (a mix of infrared and long-exposure daylight images). There are currently six calendars available with more to be added, click on the calendar title to see all of the images included and to place an order :

Slow Shutter

Want a calendar but prefer to make your own choice of images? No problem, just drop me an email with your choice of images and I'll make a calendar up for you to review and post you a link.

See more at www.paulbradleyphotography.co.uk

Buy prints at http://paulbradley.redbubble.com/

Follow me on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/pcbradley/

The Penshaw Witch

2009-11-01T20:58:00.008Z

Just a short post this time as I am in still in complete shock. I managed to spend a few hours over at Penshaw Monument yesterday (31st October) and still can't believe what I saw ....

Slow Shutter

2009-10-29T22:15:00.005Z

"Surf School"

Taken at Saltburn beach from the pier. This is an eight second exposure using a B+W ten stop ND filter (ND1000).

The bright yellow surfboards and high-visibility red jackets out on the water makes a great subject for a long exposure. With the ND1000 and f/9 I was able to push the shutter to 1/8th second, long enough to blur the movement but also short enough to retain detail. I made a number of exposures, trying to catch the best mix of movement, detail and colour but also trying to create an interesting composition.

One of my favourite shots from recent months.

Camera was the Canon 5D Mk II, lens was the 24-105mm f/4 L IS at 84mm. Tripod was my trusty Manfrotto.

See more at www.paulbradleyphotography.co.uk

Buy prints at http://paulbradley.redbubble.com/

Follow me on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/pcbradley/

Olympus Pen FT

2009-10-28T22:36:00.008Z

This is the camera which started my collection of film cameras (having previously sold my film camera to go digital). Bought for less than the price of four rolls of film from a charity shop, it came with the 38mm standard lens and a 100mm telephoto. Inside the original gadget bag was the owner's address, dated 1968, making the camera over 40 years old.

The Pen FT was an SLR (and had interchangeable lenses) but was the first to use a mirror instead of the more usual pentaprism. As a result the body is much lighter and much more compact. Exposures are half-frame, meaning two half-size exposures are made in the space usually taken up by one full-frame exposure, so a 24-exposure roll becomes a 48-exposure roll ....

It was nice to see Olympus reprise the design on the new EP-1. Such a superb design, almost makes me want to buy one.

I have put a couple of rolls through it but I must admit I am reluctant to use it any more in case it gets damaged. I have a few shots on Flickr taken on the Pen FT, you can see them here.

The main image above was shot on a Canon 40D and 60mm f/2.8 macro lens. Light source was a Metz 58-AF flash, with a Sto-Fen diffuser, used with an off-camera cord.

My favourite image from this camera is this one ...

which I shot on a construction site.

See more at www.paulbradleyphotography.co.uk

Buy prints at http://paulbradley.redbubble.com/

Follow me on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/pcbradley/

First post, first image

2009-10-27T21:44:00.003Z

Welcome to the first post for Paul Bradley Photography.

I'm a photographer living in the North-East of England. I'm mainly interested in urban/abstract with a growing interest in landscape, producing bold, graphic images with an abstract edge. I'm slowly building a business selling large format canvas prints to local homes and businesses and currently have three prints on display at Café Lilli, Norton-on-Tees.

Having just bought a Canon 5D Mk II I am slowly getting to grips with full-frame digital (I've been using cropped bodies for a few years). Lenses are the 24-105mm f/4 L and 100 - 400m f/4 L for the 5D and the 60mm f/2.8 macro with the 10-22mm f/3.5 for my old 40D.

I have a few vintage and toy film cameras, too, obtained from various places. All seem to be working and I hope to put them all to good use in due course.

This was taken on the 5D at Yarm fair recently:

"Spokes"

Shooting at around 1/10th sec, using a monopod, against a cloudy sky allowed the motion blur and clean high-key look. I have a few other shots of this ride from last year against a blue sky which also work really well.

See more at http://www.paulbradleyphotography.co.uk

Buy prints at http://paulbradley.redbubble.com/

Follow me on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/pcbradley/