Keswick...

Apologies for the large absence of posts recently, I have been rather busy of late.  Moving out of my uni accommodation (passed first year with a 2:1!), packing my stuff away at home, shooting a conference over a couple of days for my Dad, and I have been on holiday with Sarah in Keswick, which was amazing!

So Sarah and I looked at the weather forecast for the week in Keswick and it didn't look too good.  Rain every day and a tiny, tiny bit of sunshine.  Oh dear.  But we weren't going to let that stop us!  The first day took us to the bottom of Derwent Water, so we could walk from the village of Grange, past the Bowderstone, through Watendlath, then on to Lodore falls and catch a bus back into Keswick.

Bowderstone.

The Bowderstone is a 2000 ton stone, 300 feet high, carried here by glaciers of the Ice Age.  Quite impressive!  Having climbed onto the stone (I say climbed, I mean walked up the steps...), we walked on for a fairly long time, taking in all the wonderful views, until we came to the beginning of the Lodore Woods.  We spent a while working out which way was the right way to go and we were on our way again.  We then came to a part of the river that feeds Lodore Falls, which was very fast flowing.  I made my first exposure of the holiday here.  I also used the 5x4 for the first time at this location.  It took me a while to set up, and for my trouble I got attacked by bugs!

Up from Lodore Falls.  

The next mountain that Sarah and I conquered was Skiddaw, the fourth highest mountain in the lakes.  The day started off fairly warm.  It was a good day to climb to the top, and the views were spectacular!

 The views from the ridge on the way to Skiddaw.  

Unfortunately, when we finally made it to the top of the summit the weather turned and within 10mins of reaching the top, we were in the middle of a cloud!  It wasn't all bad though, before the cloud covered us, we could see such fantastic views! We could see all the way to Scotland!  Even though I didn't manage to get any photos at the top, I did manage to get some on the way up, and it was still a very enjoyable walk.  

The third walk that Sarah and I did, was the Threlkeld Railway walk, followed by a trip down to the lakeside.  This was an easy walk compared to the previous walks that we had completed, but the old railway line offered views and scenery as spectacular as the views from the mountains!  Along the way there some information boards. These boards had info about how the railway line was constructed, the towns it went to and came from, and it also pointed out interesting things to look out for along the way, including mile markers, old level crossing gates and signal posts.  

The Threlkeld Railway. 

Having completed the Railway walk, we went to the lakeside.  Here I tried lots of compositions, trying to incorporate the rocks in the lake, Derwent Isle, and other things that I found interesting.  I found some interesting posts that were jutting out of the water.  These must be the remains of an old pier or jetty.  Having made some exposures with my 7D, I decided to set up the 5x4.  Whilst I was setting up, a photographer who sitting down the beach noticed the camera I was using and came over to have a conversation about equipment, approaches to photography and other things.  

Derwent Water

The fourth and final walk that Sarah and I completed, was the Ashness Bridge walk.  The weather was perfect for walking.  It was sunny and warm, with a nice breeze over the tops of the fells.  We got a bus to the bottom of Ashness Bridge, and walked up the lane to the bridge.  We stopped to rest and cool off, and for me to do some photos.  

Ashness Bridge.  

I felt that this view warranted me to use the 5x4, so I set up and shot one slide of film here.  After I had packed up, we walked up and over to Walla Crag.  On the way, we had some stunning views across Derwent Water, to Catbells and Maiden Moore.  

We carried on over to the top of Walla Crag, stopping for lunch on the way.  At the top of Walla Crag, I shot images to stitch into a panorama.  I also set up The 5x4 here too, and had another photography related chat with some fell runners.  We set off again, down from the top, down to the river that runs through Springs Wood.  We then walked through town back to our flat, where we soaked our feet in cold water! 

The 5x4 on Walla Crag.

Later that evening we headed down to the lakeside for the last time this holiday, and we were greeted by an amazing sunset.  This was the perfect end to a perfect holiday.  Sarah and I were very lucky with the weather.  The days we decided to walk we had lovely weather; sunny and warm, with some cloud cover which suited us both! I like the clouds for my photos, and Sarah like the sun!  The days that we decided not to walk, there was some light rain, but it was still warm.  

Sunset over Derwent Water.  

The gorgeous Sarah and I.

I would just like to say thank you to Sarah for being so patient with me when I was in the 'zone' taking photographs, and for all of your support and suggestions of what to photograph when I had one of my many 'photography blanks'!  And I would also like to say thank you for an awesome holiday!

Thats all for now, I'll have the film developed when i'm back at uni and share the results on here.  More photos from the holiday can be seen on my Flickr page 

Enjoy!

G

Ribblehead...

I recently took a trip to Ribblehead, the famous viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales.  However, it wasn't the actual viaduct itself that interested me.  In this area are some stunning limestone pavements, like the ones that you can see above.  Some of the shapes are fabulous, having been carved by the wind, rain and snow.

I took with me my 7D, Bronica and 5x4.  I wanted to give myself the options of shooting digitally, but also on film.  Next though, I think I will limit myself to just one format, as the bags I was carrying were just a little too heavy!  Needless to say, setting up the tripod on this surface proved very tricky. I had bend the legs in all kinds of directions in order to get a stable platform.  It was also quite windy that day.  This has led me to realise a few things.  I need to invest in a bigger and sturdier tripod.  I also need to invest in a bag to carry my 5x4 camera in safely.  Of course, a good sturdy tripod is expensive, as is a big sturdy bag, so it looks like I have some saving up to do!

I am fairly pleased with the results of the day, the digital files turned out nicely, no clipping of data in the highlights or the shadows, which is good.  however I feel i can probably do better, so no doubt I will be heading back soon!

Unfortunately I am unable to to develop colour film until next term, so you will have to wait to see the results of the 5x4 slide!

Enjoy!

G

A Day in London....

Just a quick post today.  I recently went to London with Mum, Dad and Henry for Henry's birthday surprise, which was a lovely outing!  I managed to shoot 4 rolls of film, and around 100 frames on my 7D.  I found that I could 'see' more photos when shooting film, than I could when shooting digitally.  I will hopefully get the film developed by the end of this week, so keep looking!

Enjoy,

G

Rain Rain Go Away....

Today I went out with my camera's to see what I would find.  I looked at the map, and chose an area that I thought would be interesting and headed off.  The weather was perfect today; it wasn't too cold, some sun, but also excellent, well defined clouds.  I took this opportunity to try out my 5x4 camera again.  Just as I put the camera on the tripod, the rain started to come down.  The rain the was very light to begin with, so I didn't see it as a problem, and carried on shooting.  Then, as I started to work out my exposure, the heavens opened, and it started pouring down.  I had to rush my light metering, so i'm not sure if its 100% correct, but hey ho, we shall see.  I shall post the results when have them developed.

I have really gotten into panorama's lately, I tend to shoot one every time I go out.  I mainly use wide angle lenses for landscapes.  This is fine 90% of the time, but sometimes, you just cut get wide enough, and if you go too wide, then you get lots of distortion, and things start to look strange.  I like how panorama's create and natural looking wide angle effect.  I normally shoot my panorama's in portrait orientation, and overlap by 30-40%.  When the photos are put through Photoshop, the software can easily stick the photos together.

Enjoy!

G

A Foggy Afternoon.

I went to Ribblehead today.  The trip was a bit disappointing, as soon as I got there, the fog rolled through the valley, and within half an hour, I couldn't see the viaduct anymore.  Also, it was raining lightly, which made keeping the filters and front lens element clear a nightmare.

However, I did get some good experience, both in taking the photos, and in post production.  I borrowed a Tilt/Shift lens from college, so I could try out the different camera movements that are found on large format/view cameras.  I also wanted to try and achieve Schiempflug.  You can read more here.
A tilt shift lens works with the same movements as a large format camera.  The lens can be tilted; forwards or backwards, side to side, to adjust the focus plane within the image.  The lens can also be shifted; up or down, side to side.  This moves the image circle that the lens produces around on the sensor/film, therefore adjusting what the camera 'sees'.

Anyway, enough of the technical mumbo jumbo.

In post production, I had a challenge with producing the image above.  The image is a blend of three landscape orientated photos, Top, middle, and bottom.  I wanted to include all of the viaduct in the shot, so I used the shift movement (up and down) to adjust what the camera saw, without distorting the perspective of the verticals.  As I had three different photos, I had three different exposures.  The white balance was also off in each of the images, as I forgot to use manual white balance.  Rookie mistake I know, but this was easily fixed.  Before I could do overall adjustments to the final image, I had to do a lot of colour correction to each of the three images to get them to blend well.  Although I spent a considerable amount of time doing this, I didn't manage to get it quite right, but I suppose that'll come with practice.  If you look closely, you can make out the blend line of the images.

Overall, its not a very good image, the composition is poor, not focused very well; I know you shouldn't blame your tools, BUT, the lens had spots of water on it, and the soft focus at the top and bottom of the image is due to the image being made at the edge of the image circle, where focus fall off is unavoidable.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings,

See you soon!

G

Brandenburg Gate.

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Fog....

My brother Henry came to stay with me on Friday, and we had an awesome time!  I took some portraits of him, which you can find on my flickr.  Whilst out on our walk we went throughout the uni campus, and I found some new interesting pieces of architecture to photograph.  

So this morning I woke up to thick fog, it was so thick I could just about see 30 metres in front of me. I thought I would try and get some photos in the fog, so I went to photograph at the new locations I had found.  I think I will go back and photograph them from new angles, as I am not entirely happy with the results.  I will go back when it is cloudy and see what I can get.    

My camera decided to play up as well.  Normally the camera writes files to the memory card instantly, but today it was taking several minutes to write files to the card.  I don't know if this was because it was so cold and damp, but I will need to keep an eye on it.  

Enjoy!

G

Parental Visitation.....

This weekend I had some very special people visit me....Mummy and Daddy!  It was nearly two months since I had seen them last! That's the longest I've been away from home!  They took me for meals, did a food shop for me, and we even went to see the fireworks and the bonfire in Hyde Park!  It was lovely to see Mum and Dad again, and I can't wait to see them again at Christmas!

On Saturday, Mum and Dad took me to Malham Cove, which is in the Yorkshire Dales.  When I woke up, the sky was a flat pale grey.  Not very nice to be taking landscape photos in!  I was picked up at 10 O'Clock, and we made our way to Malham Cove.  After a little detour around some roadworks, we finally arrived in Malham!  The sky had completely transformed.  There were now light clouds, and the light was amazing!  It was the sort of light that you get in the evening, but it was half one/two O'Clock!

After we had walked up to the top (I say walked, it was more like a climb!), I set my camera up.  The view from the top was amazing! I could see for miles, and they was a slight hazy mist on the horizon, which was perfect.  The limestone pavement was spectacular, I suggest you go if you ever get the chance!  It was like standing on giant teeth made of stone!  And to my surprise, some of the rocks moved when I stepped on them!  I would love to go back, there are so many photographs I could make!  I also shot a panorama, which Blogger couldn't upload, but you can find it on my flickr page, here.  May I suggest that you click on all sizes, and then original.

I would like to say thank you very much Mum and Dad, for a lovely weekend!

Enjoy!

G

Good, but Not Good Enough......

Today I had my first test shoot for my portrait brief, which you will find a brief explanation of on my college blog.  Whilst I was waiting to begin my shoot at 4, I cycled down to Merchants Quay, where this photo was taken.  My flatmate Brendan had mentioned to me that he had walked under this bridge (bottom Photo), and thought it might make for a good photograph.  He was right!

I struggled with exposures for the bridge photo.  The sun was coming under the bridge from the right rather harshly, as you can see from the blow-out bits on the right.  Had I had my ND grad with me, I perhaps could have controlled the brightness a bit better.  Oh well! At least it gives me a chance to go back and shoot it again.  Also, I would have liked more reflection of the steel beams in the water, but the water was flowing a bit too fast for a crisp reflection.

The top Photo was just along from the bridge.  I'm not entirely sure what it is, I think its a cooling tower and silos of some sort.  I'm glad I found this location, and when I reshoot here, I will put some more thought into the composition.  I think I might ask if I can get closer to get a better perspective/composition.

That is all for today,

Enjoy!

G

A successful day in the darkroom...

Today I had my first day in the darkroom since I did an introductory course a few years back, and it was good to be in the red light again!  Yesterday we were given a film and told to go out into town and shoot until we had finished it.  Then today we developed the film, mixing up the correct amount of developer and water, making sure it was at the correct temperature.  We then made contact sheets (bottom image), and then Ross, the tutor, said if you know what you're doing, you can make a print.  

So I did a test strip, which is where you cut a strip of photographic paper, and expose it to the image, but holding some card over the majority of the paper, leaving only 2cm's of paper exposed to the light.  You then move the card along 2cm's every 5sec exposure, so you end up with a strip of paper going light to dark (after you've developed it of course!).  From this, you can tell how many second you need to expose the real print for, 5, 10, 15, 20 seconds etc. 

I printed the top image on Illford multigrade paper, which means you can print any contrast grade on to it, and it won't come out looking funny.  A 'Grade' is basically how much contrast (the difference between black and white) the image has.  The scale goes from 1 to 5, in half stops, for example; 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 etc.  The colour of light also changes, grade 1 is yellow, then orange, red and then 5 is magenta.  

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

G

P.S My hands STINK of chemicals! but I do quite like it :)

Live Brief......

On Tuesday, my course leader announced that he had managed to organise a competition specifically for the Leeds College of Art Photography students.  The Park Plaza Hotel in Leeds is having a refurbishment, and they want some photos for the rooms, corridors and reception.  There are 3 categories, an architecture, people and landscape.

These 2 are for the architecture category, not sure which one I like best though, let me know what you think!

I'll keep you posted on the progress,

G

I saw a sunrise.....

I got up extra early to catch a sunrise this morning.  It was quite scary walking through Hyde Park, but I was ok!  I was a little late, and missed the actual sunrise, but managed to catch some of the last colour in the sky.  Just when I though I was done, I turned around and saw this beautiful mist rolling through the park.  

Enjoy!

G

Cloudy

Soooooo, tomorrow I move up to Leeds and start Uni.....thats what big boys do!  I still find silly noises funny (mainly flatulence) and jump in puddles! Hey ho, I'm doing something that I've always wanted to do, and that I love!  

Anyway, I shot this photo at 12, looking into the sun.  I used all of my filters, two ND4's, an ND8, and a  2 stop grad.  I've never seen clouds move this fast before, I had to work rather quickly so I didn't miss the clouds.

Just a quick post today, when I write the next post, I'll be a uni student!

Enjoy,

G

Evening Light.

Just a quick post; I thought I would make the most of a beautiful evening today, so I headed over to Calverton, although unfortunately I arrived a little too late for the best light, but made the best of what I had.

Both images were shot with a 28-80mm at 28mm, with a ND4 and an ND grad.  Exposures were 30sec for the top image, and 45sec for the bottom image.  

Enjoy!

G

Radical Skateboarding

Met up with my good friend James yesterday, who I hadn't seen in a long time.  It was good to see him again, and we had a blast shooting these photos.  This spot is perfect, its quiet, the floor is buttery smooth, and it's easy to light too.  

I shot the top photo at 1/160th, f/3.5.  I had a 3 flashes, one to the left; slightly behind the block for a back light, two flashes to the right, one on a stand in line with the end of the ledge, the other on the floor nearer to me.  

On a different note, I've started to pack for uni! I'm finishing my summer task, and I'm packing clothes and other things.

Also, i'll be scanning the other film prints soon, and i'll be posting those up.  

Enjoy, 

G