broad_ologie: February 2015

Friday 27 February 2015

Friday Adventures: 27th February in Norwich

Today's Friday adventure was not all about it photography. I went shopping with my mum!

Mandatory selfie!!

As the old saying goes the best camera you have is the camera that is with you.

So while today was not ALL about photography some photography was done! I got this shot in my local shopping mall. Pretty neat. Taken on my iPhone & edited with Snapseed :)

I also treated myself to this Man Ray book. I had a voucher for the store I bought it in, so ended up paying £15 -bargain! I've signed up to do a Portrait Workshop with The Nikon School in a few months time so I thought I should get a bit of research in!

Review: Lomography LC-A+

Today I finally got two rolls of film that had been through the Lomo LC-A+ (that I got for Christmas) developed.

I was going to do a bit of editing but the store didn't scan TIFFs as I requested, they gave me JPEGS ....72dpi... (ALWAYS THE SAME). So here is my selection in it's unedited glory.

Lomo Chrome Purple 100-400 (this film and the LCA+ are available at Lomography Store in both 35mm and 120):

Expired Fujicolour 200

So I am hard pressed to decide what I enjoyed most about shooting these rolls. I love how easy the double exposure feature is with the LC-A+. But the effect of the Lomo Chrome Purple is sensational! I'm also a bit enamoured by the grain on the Fujichrome! I am really looking forward to shooting the next roll I have. Also excited when my turquoise edition is shipped!

With the LC-A+, metering is done by half pressing the shutter. One red light means you're all good. Two means your pictures will end up either under or over exposed. Now every shot I took; I had one red light. But as you'll see from this selection some did still come out exposed incorrectly. This might have been due to the batteries going down. Or maybe just how far away I was in low light! Since the LC-A+ let's you set your ISO, you can always try pushing the ISO up to compensate for the low light.

In any case, happy accidents. I like the gothic feel. And I will be scanning in the negatives to see what I can do to compensate for the exposure.

The LC-A+ is a really great camera to have in your bag for some analogue adventures.

Pros:

Double exposures are a breeze.
Compact, light and robust. Perfect for having with you all the time.
Focusing is straightforward.
Manually select your ISO. Great for when you have ISO variable film (eg Lomo Chrome!)

Cons:

Metering can be a little off at times.
Can't focus close up. 0.4m is the closest you can get.
Vignette a little inconsistent.

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Wex Mondays: Week 8

So I found this twig. It looked pretty neat like an eye watching me. Problem? Originally there was only one eye! I have a basic understanding of layers so I played around then used the clone and heal tools to smooth any hard lines. I am pretty happy with the result. Even though Nick did say it looked like Falkor XD

Obviously not my image - © Warner Bros. Pictures

Here's the original unedited pic for anyone interested!

@JHumphreyPhoto won this week with a stunning horse portrait. Check out the winning photos and leader board on the Wex Blog.

Monday 23 February 2015

Sunday Outing: 22nd February 2015 Thetford Forest

Went out with our Macro lens' to see what we could see. I wasn't drawn to much visually. But I did get a shot I could work with for my Wex Monday entry.

After that I got inspired by all the dead twigs from the vast array of plant life in Thetford Forest. It got me thinking back to the short series of photos I did with frozen plants. I decided I wanted to do more.

So I put my camera away.

I'll hopefully be working on my "Dead Wood" project at the weekend. Watch this space!

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Wex Week 7

So despite being really please with my long exposure at Sea Palling I still went with this shot. Both pictures really excited me but I went with this one because I'm more experienced with high contrast and less so with long exposure. As I didn't place I thought maybe the other shot would have been a better choice. But who knows that's the joy of the competition!

The winner this week was a brilliant long exposure from Matthew Dartford. Check out his shot and the rest of the leader board on the Wex Blog.

Sunday 15 February 2015

Sunday Outing: Sea Palling 15th February 2015

Today we ventured out to the cost. While there was no rain the weather was infinitely gloomy. So trusty tripod and filters in hand I experimented with long exposures.

This is the shot I am happy with out of the 12 I took. Did a bit of editing to get it looking presentable. I'm still finding me feet so I don't think I will enter any long exposure into Wex Mondays until I get a bit better at the whole process. Any tips from my readers would be gratefully received.

I also snapped a shot with my iPhone.

Edited on Snapseed. I have briefly tried the new Darkroom by Bergen app but I did miss the selective editing tool I'm accustomed to in Snapseed. I will be having more of a play Darkroom over the next few weeks and plan a review.

Friday 13 February 2015

Friday Adventures: Friday 13th February Blakeney

Far from being unlucky I had a great morning shooting today (on Friday 13th!) at Blakeney.

On my last trip to Blakeney, I was feeling under pressure and uninspired. I got one good composition that day, which was poor quality so I went out today to have another go at it!

'Leader of the Pack'

I am really happy with this shot. It was well worth the wait in the cold for the right group to stroll on by!

I have two more images to edit but I need to do a little research on how to edit the clouds. They look a bit pap!

I'm feeling a little under the weather so I'll do those later on.

I also snapped this chap on the way to the car.

Taken on iPhone camera and edited in Snapseed.

By the way, you can see all these images on my Flickr page :)

Tuesday 10 February 2015

Friday Adventures: 6th February Blickling Hall

Today I took myself off to Blicking Hall. There is a particular piece of architecture on the grounds I had sudden inspiration to photograph!

Quick shout out to David Hopley a talented photographer in York who sold me his old (brand new) tripod for a bargain price! Armed with this and after quickly stopping by at Wex Photographic to pick up a Cokin ND8 Filter, I was ready!

Having not done a great deal (no) long exposures before I had a lot to learn!

First I found out how light leaks through the viewfinder. So I covered the camera with my jacket. Since my camera was second hand I didn't get a cover for it with the camera.

Then I discovered 30 seconds is not always long enough to get the right exposure. Keeping your finger on the button during bulb mode causes shake/blurring. In short I need a external shutter release cable.

Finally I discovered. TO MY HORROR. I had a HUGE fibre stuck to my sensor. Initially I thought it was on the filters and spent about 10 minutes trying to 'clean' them. Queue a visit to Wex on the way back to pick up a puffer.

But after all that I did get one shot that I am pretty happy with.

To get this shot I used a combination of the Cokin ND8 & P007 Infrared Filters and a 30 second exposure at F22. Editing wise I converted to Black and White in Capture NX-D and then did some dodge/burn in GIMP. And used the clone stamp tool to rid the picture of the ghastly fibre!!!

Due to the freezing temperature and the long exposures my battery didn't last long (I don't have a spare - another thing to add to the list of near future purchases). I'm going to go out there again and see what I can do with more experience and a clean sensor!!

Wex Mondays: Week 6

My entry this week was my favourite image from Blickling Hall.

I am really pleased with this image. It might be a little over edited for most folks taste, but I really wanted to make that moss glow! I really had fun with this picture. It was my first attempt at long exposures and since I was working with a infrared filter guesswork was involved as to how much light was stopped.

I didn't place this time. But the winners images were truly stunning. Check out the current leader board on the Wex Photographic Blog.

Sunday 8 February 2015

iPhone Apps: Diana Photo

I've been playing around with a pretty fun app recently. Diana Photo - The Fastest Double Exposure App in the World .

I guess a lot of people will be using the app for cool double exposure portraits, a la Sara Byrne. But I had a little different subject in mind.

The following shots use only one image twice (second time it is mirrored) as opposed to two different images.

Pros:

Free!

Available on both Android and Apple platforms.

Really unique Ingram ready shots.

Cons:

Can only apply filters and rotate images - No further editing tools. But I just open the image in ProCam or Snapseed ;)

Have you had a go with Diana Photo yet? Fancy giving it a go? I'd love to see your images! Tweet me @broad_ologie.

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Wex Week 5

Put this eye bending macro shot in. Since I'm not too experienced with the macro lens I think the texture probably makes this image more than my skill.

Mark Horton claimed first place this week with a stunning black and white tree line reflection. Check out Mark's shot and the rest of the leader board on the Wex Blog.

Sunday 1 February 2015

Sunday Outing: 1st February 2015 - Going Macro

I celebrated my birthday this weekend. I was a very lucky girl and my family - knowing how much time I spend with my camera gifted me money to go towards the Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro.

I had wanted this lens since first getting a DSLR so today was a big day :)

We had planned to go on an outing to Wymondham but the with the rain being so on/off we decided to stay in. But with a macro lens rainy days in can mean endless fun and creativity!

How close can I get?

What can I do to utilise the shallow DoF to my creative advantage?

What does that look like up close?

How far can I push the abstraction?

I'm certainly looking forward to the next rainy day! And getting outside to explore the world of texture.

I chose the 105mm 2.8 specifically because it's also a great portrait lens. I have an idea for a portrait project but not the confidence yet. So a bit more research and practical exercises are in order.

Once I've had a decent amount of time with the lens I will do a review post. But I will quickly say, to anyone considering a macro, give Sigma serious consideration, these lenses are epic!