It’s Sunday, and it’s cold and wet, and already I’ve had one soaking whilst walking the dogs – but now I’m home and showered, and thinking about the week just past.
I met a friend I hadn’t seen for years yesterday, and we spent a couple of hours just walking about the promenade, and drinking tea. It was one of those weird meetings really, when you find that over the years, you’ve changed – and they’ve changed. I sat and watched as she uncomfortably snapped in half the wooden stirrers that came with the tea.
“What’s the problem?” I said, “Why are you so nervous?”.
“I was worried that we couldn’t connect any more” she said
Later, we both relax, and then the flow of chatter doesn’t stop. Turns out that we haven’t changed that much really – we just didn’t know quite how to get started again. Once into the flow, and it was like we hadn’t been apart.
In a couple of weeks time I’m doing two talks over three days, and they’ll be ‘in person’. I’m not sure that I haven’t forgotten how to do it. Pretty sure I’ll muddle through though, very much like meeting that friend we haven’t seen for a long time.
She gave me a kiss on the cheek as we parted, with promises to ‘do this again very soon’…… I really hope we do.
It’s Wednesday again, and it’s raining, and it’s September – plus it’s cold, and for the first time in what seems like months, I’ve headed for the jumper drawer and donned something warmer than usual… The weather people said something about an Indian summer, but so far, it’s not happened.
The last couple of weeks though have been fruitful, and I use the term how it should be used…. Blackberry picking (or bramble picking as they say in Lincolnshire). The berries have benefitted from the long sunny days we had, and then been swollen in full fruitfulness with the onset of the rain….. and whilst picking them, amongst the nettles that seem to enjoy the mix, I got stung, and pricked with the thorns…. and it was so worth it.
The woods are looking good too, with hints of autumn in there, and as I said in my last post, I’m looking forward to the golden colours which I feel sure will happen very soon.
I’m busy looking up places to visit when the schools go back, places that hopefully will have few people in them, so that I can enjoy the solitude, and take my time to get more photographs… the internet research has been ‘fruitful’ too.
So now I’m sitting here in the warm, dogs at my feet. One snoring, and one constantly nutting me for attention. I pause to give a scratch, loving the feel of warm dry fur under my fingers.
They’re content, fed, and sleepy….. which reminds me that it’s lunchtime……
The camera club gets back to ‘live’ meetings next week, and I’m looking forward to seeing people that I’ve not seen in the ‘flesh’ for many months. It’s a hybrid, so for those who don’t feel they can’t meet people yet, there will be zoom… internet has been installed, with an ultra sophisticated air conditioning system – all done whilst we were out…. There’s even been a full deep clean of the building to help us start off again…. (Thank you to all those folks who have worked so hard to make the room as safe as it can be…. you know who you are..)
Today though, I manage not only a haircut, but a longer walk out, to see if I could see the fox again…. It’s late in the day, but I spot him (or her), and this time I don’t have the dogs, but I do have a longer lens on the camera…..
The nettles are long on the edge of the field, but the grass is short now it’s been cut, and still green. The weeds are hiding the mesh fence, so it all looks much more natural….. I’ve steadied the lens on the gate, and I wait for him to look back at me. One quick glance and he’s gone – (is this a true foxtrot I wonder….).
It’s been a long while since I’ve seen fox out in the daylight – I did see another one some weeks ago running across a ploughed field… much darker in colour than this, blending in nicely with the ruts…
There’s been a weekend away too – to visit a friend on the opposite coast – heading for Liverpool was a treat…… and the weather was perfect.
I’ll end with things that I love:-
Friendship, fellowship and shared meals. Snoring dogs, fox in a field, and managing to get a picture I like. Lamb Tagine (that I’ve just learned how to make), and cups of hot tea…..
It’s Wednesday again already and it’s hot and humid and close. Yesterday we had a huge downpour and I had to run about in bare feet trying to get the washing in. Of course I’d done all the bedding, so it was all big stuff, but the raindrops were bigger.
A neighbour has a digger in his garden today, and just watching it somehow makes me feel even hotter, it’s really been one of those mornings…..
Everything sounded awful, everyone is niggly, the news makes it sound like the world is coming to an end and none of the staff in the local supermarket are wearing masks, even though all the shoppers are.
It’s only shopping, I remind myself, it’s all going to be OK….
Later, I’m at the computer, with a breeze finally coming in through the window and I’m looking at pictures I took with the drone over the last weekend.
We had a friend over to stay, and it was weird having someone who is not a household member in the house – but it did allow us (if we need to be allowed) to have impromptu drinks in the afternoon – sat around a table in the garden for hours and hours chatting about everything, and nothing…
The ridiculously early start on Sunday morning (getting up at 3am) was invigorating. Cool air, gorgeous coloured skies, sand underfoot, and a gentle sea. An amazing number of people about in fact. Kids who hadn’t been home all night – still dressed in skimpy clothing for evening, (asking why I had a helicopter with me!), and other folk who had been for an early morning swim, jog, walk, saunter, bike ride or workout.
Two ladies with a little girl sat on the steps looking out to sea, told me that they had driven for over an hour to get there to watch the sun come up. The youngster having a great time paddling and digging in the soft sand. She didn’t care what time it was (there was a breakfast treat to look forward to). A teenager too, sitting in the car refusing to move. Hair tugging, absorbed in her phone, missing the dawn of a new day.
There they all are in the photo below, right at the bottom, near the middle….. you’ll have to look closely….
Which reminds me of things that I love.
Friends who come to visit, sunrise, early mornings, colours in the sky, drone flying, watching the tide go out, small dogs in coloured jackets, out of the blue text messages, people saying ‘thank you’, and overhearing bits of conversation, like these two walking past me on my way back to the car…. “if it wasn’t for the books” he said, “she’d never be working in that library”… and there the matter rested as they strolled away……
Today is the same as yesterday and the day before – we’ve not quite unlocked fully, but apparently we will do next week. Maybe I’ll be able to bin the hazmat suit finally, (it was too big for me anyway) and open another bottle of wine, but keep the mask… which actually makes it a bit harder to drink – never mind.
I wonder what my daughter will tell her kids about the last year or so. Maybe she’ll make it sound like it was fun….. It’s been a bit like being stuck in an ever repeating sitcom….. without the laughs, or maybe there were a few laughs….….. moving on…….
I’m pretty sure I’ve spent a lot of time overeating during the pandemic, maybe a bit of over… well over everything really.
I have also apparently lost the concept of time. Can’t remember when I last wore a watch. It’s like we’ve been trapped in an online life, and infinite loop of despair, with no memory of a time before – and suddenly it looks like it’s going to end, and it’s actually a bit scary !
So, after all these months of booking speakers for the camera club, we find we are slowly struggling though the sludge to the end. I’ve got another three I think before the end of July, and then we’re having a whole month off…. Wonder if I’ll miss it, and wonder what will happen next.
At the moment though, I don’t fancy sitting in a small club room with folks breathing over each other.. I’m distrustful, I know……
At least the inspiration that has come from other photographers and artists has kept me going, especially in the last few weeks, and the last two speakers to come are both experimental, and artistic at the same time. So that’s all good then.
Plus for the first time I really felt that I’ve had my fill and monies worth of the RPS – from being a far flung organisation somewhere on the edge of the galaxy, they came full circle and put on loads of events (albeit online) that were brilliant… fingers crossed all that will continue….
Of course there’s been the online zoom social meetings, (and a party, that was interesting) as well as the photo meetings…. and I’ve learned a lot of useful stuff…… like how to plait wheat, and make basic corn dollies….. yes really, and I’ve got two hung in the downstairs toilet to prove it.
Soon be time to go outside again, maskless, in the garden, and then the dogs will need a walk. I tried to take my camera once on a dog walk – didn’t do very well – I spent more time watching them leap around like the demented animals that they are, than taking photographs, oh and avoiding other people who also seem to think they should walk their dogs too, who might just want to TALK to me.
This weekend though, we have guests… it’ll be a bit strange having other people in the house, overnight, who doesn’t normally live with us. They take photos though, so it’ll be OK.
What’s the point of this? Well I just thought I’d put it out there that I’m still experimenting, and playing – we adults, we don’t play enough do we? In my talks, I advocate playtime, but for some grown ups it’s a hard thing to do. I’ve a couple of friends who are avid gamers, but not photographers… I like playing with software and cameras, and pushing boundaries where I can.
Trouble is, we can get too fixated on the so called rules …. I keep saying, ‘there are no rules’, this isn’t a sport, it’s supposed to be fun (unless of course you’re doing it for a living). I used to do it for a living…… and what I did, well, no editing was allowed….
I got fired once, from a company I didn’t work for – I was out there taking photographs of a building for a business (who will remain nameless).. security (who hadn’t been told I’d be there), thought I was a member of staff sneaking out early…. I got hauled into the office and was actually officially reprimanded, till someone from HR came along and realised I wasn’t actually an employee. This was a good rule…. ‘Keep your staff in line’. The other rule they had was that all staff had to wear shoes, not boots, not even in winter – I digress.
I’ve actually forgotten the purpose of this post now… so I reckon I’ll stop…… Here’s a photo for good measure that I took on our first club outing in 18 months…… I might have slipped – waved the camera round a bit, or maybe it was the gin….. who knows……..
Cleethorpes Country Park
Keep shooting, and taking the pills as necessary – normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
As I sit in my little office – listening to some soothing jazz, I’m also looking at some of the art work hanging on the walls.
Here, in this little room, it’s all my own work crammed onto the walls, but elsewhere in the house, I have images belonging to other photographers – it’s either something that’s been gifted to me, or something I’ve bought.
Which got me thinking….. why don’t we hang more of our own work on walls at home in areas where visitors can see it?
Some time ago, a friend of mine got for me some simple black frames, with no backboard and no glass. I’ve used them over and over. It means that I can mount up an image, seal it into the frame – hang it on the wall – and then, when I’m tired of it, I can swap it out for something else.
Some images seem to last much longer than others – in other words, they seem to have a long shelf life.
I’ve noticed that photographs by other people have hung in the same place for years – and I still stop and look at them as I pass. Not every day granted, but often enough that I know I still like them. Similarly with paintings – I have a small collection of original oils which I have never ‘gone off’…… so why do I change my own photographs so frequently?
Well, partly I think it’s to do with me being my own worse critic – I see the faults that maybe others may ignore….
I used to do a lot of home decorating – wallpapering and what not…. When people came to visit – they’d say nice things about it, and it wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve said “well if you look up there in the top right hand corner – yes up there, in the shadow – you have to look carefully, the pattern doesn’t match……. Sound familiar? I’ve been in houses where the host/hostess has done exactly the same thing……
Why do we do it? And the answer is…. Sadly, I have no idea…….. but often self critique is not harmful – and most times it’s actually beneficial, allowing us to learn from our own mistakes.
Which brings me to the next thought……
A couple of years ago now – after having read a book called ‘The Gift’ I offered a number of prints for free to the first people who asked for them. I’d said they could choose from anything on my website, and I’d get it printed to no larger than A4 and post it out. I did this for four months, and each time the offer went out, the number of people asking for prints exceeded the limit I’d set myself.
It was fascinating to me to see who was asking for them – and mostly it was people that I knew…. I asked one lady why she’d never asked me before for a print of something, and she said that she felt too embarrassed to even ask….
It was a great exercise to do though, and I loved being able to send something out in the post that I knew was going to be appreciated. A couple of folks even sent me pictures of the print framed and hung on the wall…..
It’s interesting though to think that the images I make, that I like the best, are not the ones I’d give away unless they were specifically asked for. This of course might be just because I like and enjoy making ‘odd things’, or experimenting with my photography.
I’d love to use my images as gifts, but I’m not certain who it would gratify more, me or the recipient. I suppose it’s one of those things I shouldn’t worry about……….
After all, Vivian Maier never displayed her photos, instead placing all of her energies in to taking them.
In the end you have to love what you do, or give up and go home……..
Being insecure is good for the photographic process. Usually when you are out and about – you take a picture, and then review it on the back of the camera. You might then move about a bit, and take another. You might do this a few times, till what you see on the back of the camera accords with your own internal ideas.
You can’t do that when you shoot film of course. You don’t have the benefit of seeing the ‘result’ straight away, and so there’s that element of insecurity because you are not totally sure what you have got ‘in the can’. You are also limited by the number of pictures you can take. 36 on a roll, or 24, or maybe as few as 8 or 10.
What do we do? Digitallly, we take lots of images – but which ones do you like the best when you get home, and look at them all together?
I often find that the images I like the best are usually not the ones I thought I was taking at the outset – things move on, even as I shoot, and it might be the 10th image that I take that is the one that I use. The benefit of the digital camera is that you can check as you go – but is this always good for you?
Sometimes I wonder if by virtue of being able to look at the back of the camera all the time, I am just confirming that what I saw was good, or am I merely looking at a preview of my ultimate expectation.
It might be both – because looking at the back of the camera all the time can disrupt the shooting process – causing us to miss things….
When I was working as an agency photographer – most times I didn’t have the opportunity to look and check what was happening on the back of the camera – I just had to keep going, and trust that the settings were the right ones. I learned to adjust as I went, working on the principle that it had to be right first time, as there were no second opportunities.
That was the insecurity which was hanging over my shoulder all the time – it made me work harder, and faster. If I checked at all, it was briefly.
The best lesson I learned was to reset my camera to a default, at the end of every single shoot. So the camera sat at ISO 400, f5.6, RAW, and Aperture Priority. That would get me most times an OK shot – it also meant that if I’d previously been shooting at ISO 12,000 – I wouldn’t be doing that the next day, when the sun came out again.
It happens to us all, we make mistakes, but resetting the camera can mitigate things.
Why not try this – put some black tape over the screen – and go out and shoot – make yourself a little more insecure – and see what happens….
If you don’t know, or haven’t seen this photograph before, you should have done – it was taken May 6th 1937, and depicts the crash of the Hindenburg, killing 30 people. It was also the cover of a Led Zeppelin album.
Who caught this photograph? It was a photographer I’m sure you will all have heard of……. Sam Shere.
Sam Shere was a photojournalist, born in 1901, best known for his 1937 photograph of the explosion of the Hindenburg dirigible balloon as it returned from a transatlantic crossing. He said of the photo: “I had two shots in my big Speed Graphic [his camera] but I didn’t even have time to get it up to my eye. I literally ‘shot’ from the hip–it was over so fast there was nothing else to do.”
Shere worked for International News Photo, part of the William Randolph Hearst publishing empire, and covered stories as diverse as the Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated as king of England, to the invasion of Sicily in World War II. His photographs also appeared in LIFE magazine and The New York Times. He was awarded the Editor and Publisher Award for best news picture for 1937 for his famous photo of the Hindenburg disaster. He died in 1985.
His work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realised prices ranging from $5,371 USD to $8,972 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 2010 the record price for this artist at auction is $8,972 USD for Explosion of the Hindenburg, sold at Grisebachin 2010.
And this folks, is all I can find out about him. He was famous for one picture – the picture being way more famous than the photographer who took it.
I looked up other references to Sam Shere – there are of course other images taken by him that you can find online (including some underwater cycling shots!), but every page referenced back to this one image – and the reprints of it (which by the way are incredibly expensive).
I’m sure there are other photographers around, that we have never heard of, but who have produced remarkable images. I’m also pretty sure that I’d rather have one image that everyone knows, but forget who I am, rather than lots of images that drift around in the ether with no-one caring about either the image, or the author.
In the meantime, do look up Sam – and have a look at the underwater table tennis fashion shoot, by clicking this link…….
Just over two years ago, I started to move over to the Fuji camera system. At the time, it was with regret that I sold my beloved Canon 1D MK4, and some lens. I bought the Fuji X-T2, and a 23mm f2 lens, and promptly went on holiday with it.
I could not believe the results from such a small camera – I’d done my research, and quizzed people who already used the Fuji system, and trusted those whom I had asked. They had assured me I would be happy.
I’ve been a Canon girl my entire photographic life. The first one I bought was the 350D, and after that a range of their cameras, and lens. So a switch to a completely new system was a bit of a culture shock.
Once you get over the problem of sorting your way through a completely alien menu though – and realise that everything the Canon did, this does (and in some cases does it better), then you’re away.
Last year, Fuji brought out the X-T3 – and whilst I’m not one for upgrading for the sake of it – I decided that I’d go for it. I had Canon stuff still to sell, and it sold really easily. So with an upgrade trade in price from Fuji, and a great price for the X-T2 from the local camera shop, and cashback on a new lens, also from Fuji – the deal was done.
So, how am I getting on?
Well, it’s about image quality, and to be honest it is stunning. I’ve worked this camera much harder than the X-T2, shooting sport and wildlife. I’ve also had it in the studio, and shot some portraits.
There’s a massive amount of detail.
With the X-T3 there are even larger files (the downside is I need more storage), and you do need a fair amount of processing power to move these through quickly. Detail and quality are excellent, and the ever increasing range of Fuji Lens, gives the shooter more and more options.
This hare was on the other side of a field. Taken with the 100-400 lens, and cropped in. I’ve not lost any detail, and the image is still tack sharp.
Catching small birds means getting the shutter speed up, but using the electronic shutter means I can access a much faster frame rate, and get exactly the shot I want. Plus it’s a silent shutter. No more spooking the birds.
I’ve read a lot about ‘worms’ within the xTrans sensor that the Fuji has. I’ve also read that Adobe Lightroom makes the problem worse. To be honest I just can’t see it. I have sharpened the Fuji files in Lightroom, in the same way I did with the Canon. There’s no difference. They sharpen up just great – and a bit is always needed as I shoot in RAW.
The end result is what matters, and it seems to me that whatever I do with this camera, the results are going to be brilliant.
So to those who are ‘sitting on the fence’, don’t wait any longer. I can thoroughly recommend the Fuji system – and in case you’re wondering – no, I’m not getting paid for this – it’s just my thoughts and my impressions of a system.
I’ve read a lot about ‘worms’ within the xTrans sensor that the Fuji has. I’ve also read that Adobe Lightroom makes the problem worse. To be honest I just can’t see it. I have sharpened the Fuji files in Lightroom, in the same way I did with the Canon. There’s no difference. They sharpen up just great – and a bit is always needed as I shoot in RAW.
Photographic Musings......... Or 