Feb
24
2009
0

Packing in preparation

Harry_9thsepNikon D100, 24-85mm @ 85mm, 1/60th at f/4.5, on camera flash

We’re expecting our second child in the next couple of weeks. With our first, my Wife packed her bag for the hospital a couple of centimetres dilated – she’s prepared a little earlier this time. It’s got me thinking as well. With Harry we got transferred from the birth centre at Lymington to Southampton, and I had to switch cars to follow the ambulance. Typically my D100 was in the other car… The shot above was the first picture I took of Harry the next day – I did take shots on my phone but it’s not quite the same! You’ll have to excuse the composition and shadows, even at this stage I was exhausted!

This time I’m putting together my bag to take with us to the hospital. I’ve pretty much decided on the contents. The D700 (obviously) with 24-70 f/2.8 lens is the mainstay. High ISO performance means no flash is needed, just as well – best not annoy the staff! Couple of 8Gb Sandisk CF cards, lens cleaning materials, Lowepro Topload Zoom Pro bag and job’s a good ‘un. My only (minor) worry is the EN-EL3e battery – it’s lasting far too well, and it’s bound to run out just when I need it. I do have a third party backup with alledgedly greater capacity, however so far it’s failed to live up to this expectation.

Written by Dave in: Equipment, Photography | Tags: ,
Feb
22
2009
0

Amateur Photographer of the year competition launch

Amateur Photographer magazine in the UK have launched round one of their annual Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Sponsored this year by Canon, there are ten themes to submit against through to the end of November this year, and £25,000 worth of prizes to give away.

It’s particularly good to see that this year you’re able to submit pictures via email to the competition. There are a couple of stipulations (maximum image size of 2700 pixels on the long edge for example) but on the whole much easier than posting them in with a form. I’ll post the full details on how to submit a shot in the next day or so.

This month’s topic is Leading Lines, closing on March 6th. The results will be in the magazine at the end of March. I’ve submitted a shot, I’ll keep you posted on the results!

Written by Dave in: Photography | Tags: , ,
Feb
15
2009
1

New evolving blogs

Morning! A couple of updates to share…

Away from photography I love to indulge in a little online gaming every now and again. Chris McKinnie, a fellow gamer, has recently started a new blog documenting his experiences putting a site together and working with a content management system. It’s interesting to see Chris have some of the same experiences I did when setting this site up. Bloggers unite!

Back to my blog, I’ve made a few changes on the blog today, and there are a few more in the pipeline.

  • Added a link in my photography section to John Goode. John is a colleague of mine at Redweb and also a Canon shooter with a great set of images. Check out his Sky set on Flickr as well, some unbelievable colours and moody clouds in attendance!
  • You can now follow me on Twitter via the link at the top right and from my About page – Twitter is a great microblogging service and is a great source of information as well. The first shots of the ‘plane coming down in the Hudson were posted on Twitter literally as people left the cabin!
  • In draft: new equipment pages. The lowdown on my gear, and the software I use too. I’m hoping to get these on the site this week some time.

I’ve got some more shots to post on the blog later as well, watch this space. Or just come back later.

Written by Dave in: Blogs, Photography | Tags: , , ,
Jan
11
2009
0

Iphone Application of the week – Focalware

Focalware Iphone application

As featured on Scott Kelby’s blog last week, Focalware is my first Iphone application of the week.

If you’re a landscape photographer and you visit a new location it’s really useful to know where the sun will rise and set for those killer knockout landscapes. This application uses the GPS function on the Iphone to calculate the directions based on your current position.

An update due in February will also allow you to save data for custom locations, magnetic declination and times for dusk, dawn and solar noon.

Follow the link below to see the application (requires Itunes):

Focalware application on Itunes

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