Light In The Mist

I took this on my recent photography wander, it was late at night and there were a lot of lights on. It had just started to rain and the powerfull lights were lighting up the misty rain. I really like the effect that this created.

To make the most of the composition I had the camera in aperture priority with an aperture of F8 selected. This ensured that the whole light was in sharp focus but the background was blurred out of focus. I didn’t use the flash because it would cause the housing of the light to white out and would ruin the composition. I had left the camera with the ISO in auto so the camera selected an ISO 12800. The camera selected a shutter speed of 1/60^th of a second to complete the exposure.

To edit the photo the first thing I did was to use the noise reduction tool to attempt to reduce the noise created by using the high ISO. I then cropped the photo down to focus the attention onto the light itself, and to remove some distractions in the foreground. I didn’t edit the colours as I was happy with how they had been reproduced by the camera.

I like this photo now that I’ve done some editing to it. The composition looks much better after cropping the noise reduction has made the photo more pleasing to the eye. I very much look forward to the next photography wander that Bex and I go on.

Mat

Flying Off

I managed to get out for the wildlife photo shoot yesterday; I went through the nature reserve down to the duckpond. I managed to catch a lot of the local birds in the forest, and when I got down to the duckpond it was full of swans and ducks and moorhens.

There was a male mallard duck that was chasing a female mallard duck, the female mallard decided to fly off and I just managed to capture the male mallard chasing after her. I was already in shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/640^th selected. I had left the camera in auto ISO, which the camera selected at ISO800. I wasn’t using the flash at this point as I needed to take a lot of photos in a series.

I didn’t edit the photo as I was happy with how the photo was straight from the camera. The colours where exactly as I wanted them to be. Faithfully reproducing the bright colours of both the male and female mallard ducks. The exposure was also calculated exactly how I wanted it to be.

I’m glad I got a chance to go out on a wildlife photography wander, I tried out some of the flash gun ideas I’ve been meaning to try out for quite some time. I shall upload the best of the photos that I took over the next few days.

Mat

Waiting

I took this photo on my short stay at the railway station yesterday. There was a short gap when no trains arrived or departed the station. During this period a woman walked onto the platform and sat down on one of the many seats. I thought that by isolating her and the local surroundings I could make an interesting composition.

I used the camera in live view so the woman wouldn’t see me taking the photo of her. Because of this I also had the camera in the program auto mode, as I couldn’t change the aperture or the shutter speed easily. I did preset the ISO at 200 though, so the quality would still be high while enabling the use of a fast enough shutter speed.

To edit the photo I cropped it a little tighter to enhance the composition. I didn’t change anything else as I was happy with the effect I had created. The exposure was spot on so I didn’t change it; the colours had also been replicated perfectly.

Bex and I are planning a trip into our local town tomorrow, so hopefully we will come back with plenty of new photos to upload.

Mat

Watery Arch

As Bex has already mentioned we managed to go out for a photography walk with a local group. It was our first trip and everyone was very nice and friendly; they all made us feel very welcome. This photo was one that I had taken on the day.

While we were walking around we went past a group of fountains, I thought they made an interesting composition so I took a number of photos. To make the most creative composition I decided to capture the exposure with a slow shutter speed of ¼ of a second. By doing this the water becomes blurred and looks like an arch. Because of the slow shutter speed I put the camera onto my tripod to keep it steady and to be sure of a sharp photo. Also I took the photo in RAW format so I wasn’t limited in what I could do at the editing stage.

To edit the photo I first changed the white balance to put some warmth into the photo then I changed the levels by lowering the brightness and the highlights while increasing the contrast. By changing the white balance the yellow tiles become much more vivid. And by changing the levels the photo becomes much more dynamic, with the water clearly standing out from the background.

I’m glad Bex and I got a chance to go out and meet the photography group, they were all very friendly. If you have a photography group nearby to you, I would greatly recommend giving them a visit. No matter what you interest you have in photography, whether you’re an amerture using you camera for the first time or a professional with thirty years experience, you will all be made welcome.

Mat

In A Rush

Bex and I didn’t have anything planned during today so we went down to the harbour in our local city. It was quite late by the time we got there. So I thought instead of trying to get a sharp image, I’ll make the most of the conditions and use a slower shutter speed to blur the movement of passing cars.

We were walking alongside a busy road which gave me the idea of blurring the movement of a passing car. So for this photo I slowed the shutter speed of 1/30^th of a second this means that the background will be blurred but the car will still be relatively sharp. As it was dark I used the widest aperture of F4.5 which gave a shallow depth of field.

To edit the photo I increased the contrast and the brightness. I did this because I thought the photo could do with a bit more ‘punch’. I also de-saturated the photo because I thought the photo had a bit of a colour cast to it.

Overall I am impressed with this photo, and I really like how the lights of the car have become refracted through the lens to make the patterns on the image. I’m glad I didn’t change much in the image because I like the overall effect that I created.

Mat

Community Christmas

Among other things, Christmas is a time where a sense of community is most strongly felt in a small town or city. This is normally reinforced by a large variety of events taking place throughout the festive period. I’ve tried to visit quite a few as they always provide great photo opportunities. I took this photo at one of the events I attended.

This particular event attempted to showcase the large diversity of culture that we have in our local area; exhibiting this through traditional cooking on the part of each culture involved. One of the stands that I saw as I walked around was Spanish. I liked how they had a long row of pans at the front, advertising their food. It was intriguing to watch them cooking, as much as it was trying. I decided to try to capture a sense of the rush in my photo. I used an aperture of F11 to encourage a larger depth of field. I had to use a slower shutter speed to accommodate this, so some of the people are blurred through movement, but I think this adds to the effect.

Because light was shining through a coloured gazebo, the photo was hard to edit and a few colours came out looking a little odd. I edited the picture in Photoshop to try to dampen some of the effects. I changed the hue, increased the contrast and sharpened the image to bring up finer details. Considering I was being pushed in a busy crowd and only had one chance to take this picture, I think it turned out well.

Bex

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Take A Guess

I thought I’d do something slightly different for my upload today. One of the first things that I always explain is about the subject and where I took the photo. Today I’m leaving you to guess what it is. I took this photo during a recent outside broadcast with Bradley Stoke Radio. We were offered the chance to switch on the Christmas lights and provide the entertainment – and no, it’s not the Christmas lights!

I’m a little limited to what I can write so as not to give you any clues!!! For this reason, I shall skip straight to post-processing. I had to edit this image rather a lot as the quality wasn’t wonderful and the colours didn’t stand out enough. I increased the saturation and contrast; I changed the hue slightly, removed noise and sharpened the whole image.

I will reveal the answer in a news post in a few days time, so keep an eye out! If you’d like to enter my mini competition, then either comment on this post or send an email to dailywandersblog@gmail.com

Good luck!!

Bex

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NOTE: THE ANSWER CAN NOW BE SEEN ON THE POST FROM 25TH NOVEMBER

Starting Fires

I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself over the past week of fireworks and bonfires!! I love this time of year, as there is so much to take photos of- both inside and outside of events.

I took this photo at one of my town’s local events, which I attended to support my grandmother as she had the honour of lighting this year’s bonfire!! After she had lit it, it was left to burn down completely (which was rather nice, as it was freezing!). It was a really interesting subject for a photograph, as the combination of smoke, flames and ashes made for a unique effect at every press of the shutter. I like this photo in particular.

I experimented with exposure times to get different effects; in this picture I used a shutter speed of 1/4000 with an aperture of F8. I used such an incredibly fast shutter speed because I didn’t want the patterns made by the smoke to blur, and there was a lot of light coming from the fire.

I haven’t edited this image as I was pleased with the original. I love how you can see the ash around the outlines of the fire along with the silhouette of the wood. I hope you’ll join me in saying congratulations to my grandmother – she did well!!!

Bex

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Stalls

This is another photo from my holiday, as I still have many to upload and so little time to take new pictures!! I took this photo on the first full day of our holiday when we went shopping.

As described in a previous post, the shopping centre opens out to reveal a long high street with small pathways spiralling off of it. I’ve visited the same place several times, so I’ve been down most of them. The trouble is that they ALL lead to another winding alley, which leads to another and another, and so on.

I walked a little further down the street before turning off this time, and I found two large archways in what seemed to look like a long forgotten part of town. I heard noises so walked in to see what was going on and was faced with the buzz of a traditional market place.

I took this picture using ISO 1600 so that I could get a fast enough shutter speed whilst still being able to use an aperture of F8 to get a deeper depth of field. I didn’t do any editing apart from noise removal, as I wanted to keep the photo as close to the original as possible.

It’s near impossible to find the same streets more than once, but I certainly hope that I’m able to find this one again- I love it!!! Retro sweets anyone?

Bex

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Round- up

Unfortunately, the weekend didn’t last forever and all too soon I was forced back to reality! This is the first festival that Mat and I have done, and it was amazing!

On Saturday, I spent most of my time walking around the stands and the smaller stages to see what I could find. The atmosphere was incredibly lively, with the animal themed fancy dress well adopted by most! On Sunday, I spent a lot of time on the main stage photographing dance acts. Later in the afternoon, one of my favourite unsigned bands were playing. The lead singer is quite feminine and always has flowers wrapped around her microphone stand. Before the singer came on, smoke filled the stage and the lights shone in anticipation of her arrival, making a mysterious atmosphere.

I used a starburst filter whilst taking this photo, as it cut out some unnecessary light and made some interesting effects. I was really pleased with how well this picture turned out so didn’t do any editing. It was such a good feeling to be on stage for the first time (even if the crowd weren’t cheering for me!)  Please do let me know if anyone invents a time machine...

Bex

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Harbour-side Seating

I’ve finished my busy weekend; I’m back with plenty of new pictures (and only marginally exhausted!). I took this picture at Bristol’s harbour festival this weekend. It had been a hot day, with temperatures reaching 24 degrees. The festival was incredibly busy which meant it was difficult to find anywhere to sit.

I needed to cross a bridge over the canal as I was leaving. I stopped in the middle to watch the world go by when I spotted this. Every space on the wall of the canal was taken up, stretching right down to a second bridge. It was really strange to see, there were so many people that I couldn’t get the whole length of the wall into my shot; it makes it look like the line doesn’t end.

I love this picture- I think it sums up the festival perfectly. I’ve really enjoyed my weekend; it was nice to finally have some sunshine! I hope it stays like this for a while to come!

Bex

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Flower Power

Firstly, I must apologise for not making many posts recently but I’ve been rather busy.

On the first day of our holiday we decided to go exploring so took a bus into the city centre. In one of the main squares there was a small market selling fruit, flowers, food and drink. I took this picture at one of the stands selling flowers. The stand looked incredibly vibrant and the bright blue flowers caught my eye straight away.

I wanted a picture of them as they looked so pretty, but I didn’t want to only have snapshots of my holiday. To combat the typical snapshot, I took the picture at a lower angle so you could see more of the side of the flower. I love how it turned out; it’s so different compared to normal shots of flowers.

I actually really like that you can see the price tag; I think it makes it more interesting and gives an extra element to the picture. I could quite easily get used to this kind of street photography!

Bex

Back to Blogging

I’m back (again!); Switzerland was great, the weather was gorgeous with beautiful clear blue skies. What do I get when I come home? Freezing weather and rain! The rain stopped me from going out on a photography wander so I had to find a picture from my computer to upload.

This photo is from a wander a few weeks ago. I took it in black and white because I thought it would make an interesting composition. I used a yellow filter to I wanted to block out the background. Also, I used a large aperture to blur the background and again make the flower the centre of attention.

I really liked the effect that the black and white setting with the yellow filter had on the photo. The blurred background it forces your eye onto the flower. Even though the weather hasn’t been amazing I’m glad to be back and blogging again. I’ll try to make up for all the uploads that I’ve missed .

Mat

Wings vs Water

It was much sunnier today, which made me feel slightly smug when Mat sent me a text to tell me he was sat in the sunshine at the side of Lake Geneva. Although it was sunnier today, the area surrounding the lake was still flooded and it was incredibly soft underfoot.

I enjoyed using the telephoto lens yesterday, so I took it with me again today. I sat down on a bench at the lakeside. While watching the wildlife go past I saw a dragonfly. It flew away before I had chance to take a picture so I decided to follow it.

When it landed I took my chance. I’m glad I had the telephoto lens on as it made it easier to take the shot without scaring it. I’m surprised at the amount of detail that has been retained even though I didn’t use a macro lens. I love the amount of detail that you can see in the wings, and how you can see the hairs on the dragonfly.

I’m really impressed with this picture, and it’s encouraged me to use the telephoto lens again. I’m really enjoying having the blog to myself!

Bex

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Stuck

If you live in the UK you may have noticed that there is no escaping the excessive amounts of rain that we have had over the last week, and you wouldn’t believe that I’m now looking out of the window at the sun shining!

I’ve had a rather eventful morning today. Mat always says that I should be more prepared (I’m forever walking in pumps!), but to be prepared today I’d need a boat! I’ve been stung, got stuck in mud while taking a picture and I’ve almost fallen in the lake! Despite everywhere being flooded this morning, I have managed to take enough shots that I am pleased with for Mat to have a two-week holiday!

This picture is of one of the paths by the lakeside, which I think sums up the past week incredibly well. I used a fast shutter speed to try and catch the spray in my image. Later, I edited the picture in Photoshop. I de-saturated the picture slightly and increased the contrast. I think it worked very well; I love the detail and the effect that the lack of colour gives.

I hope that the weather stays bright, I’m enjoying the sunshine! I just got a text telling me that it’s sunny in Geneva. Charming! Thanks Mat….

Bex

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Picnic

It was a gorgeous day yesterday so Mat and I went to our local park for a mini picnic and to soak up some sunshine (a bit too much in my case, I’m a lovely strawberry shade!). I packed some jelly babies but Mat got there first, so this was all that was left.

I’ve seen some interesting shots of sweets before, and thought I’d try my own version. I held the camera just outside of the opening to the packet and used a focal length of 45mm to distort the picture slightly. Also, I used a large aperture to get a shallow depth of field, meaning only the front few sweets were in focus.

 I love how you can read the writing on the outside of the packet; I think it adds interest. I think my version of a macro sweet photo came out quite well, and the picnic was lovely!!!

Bex

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Taking Shelter

The weather has been stereotypically British today, meaning I’ve spent a lot of time hiding under my umbrella. Despite the rain I decided to go for a walk, hoping to get some dramatic shots.

I freely admit that this isn’t the most dramatic picture, and it started off as an accident in a desperate attempt not to get rain on the lens. In one picture, the umbrella tipped too far forward and ended up in the shot. After this I decided that it might make a good effect, so made my umbrella the subject and the lake the background.

I think it turned out well, and I love how I caught the raindrop just as it was falling from the umbrella. I really enjoy taking pictures in the rain, but I’d love a bit of sunshine soon!

Bex

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Sunset skies

I know this is a photography blog, but today I’m allowing myself an exception and instead I’m uploading a snapshot.

For most, today has been a day of street parties and celebration- but not for me, as I enjoyed a relaxing day after a busy weekend. This evening I went for a walk, stopping once I reached the top of a sizeable hill to watch the sunset. I love walking, and the view from the hill is amazing as you can see the whole of the nature reserve from the top. At the top of the hill, it’s flat and about the size of a field so it’s an amazing place to go for some quiet time.

The colours of the sunset this evening were stunning. I took this photo with a macro lens as I was expecting to take mostly close ups. I upped the contrast on the camera, but reduced the sharpness to get a softer effect. I love this picture, and I’m really impressed with how the colours came out.

I hope you had a good day and enjoy yet another day off tomorrow!

Bex

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Young at Heart

Yesterday, I mentioned that I helped Bradley Stoke Radio at our local community festival. The stalls, music & dancing of yesterday is just one part of a three day festival. Unfortunately I missed Part 1 of the festival (a children’s picnic and circus) as I had work to do.

This is part 3 of the festival, a 10km run. By some work of a miracle I managed to drag myself out of bed this morning and was ready to capture the runners at the finish line!

I took pictures of most of the runners, but I especially liked this one. There weren’t many runners of age, but this was one of my favourites as it shows that age doesn’t always limit you!

I used my telephoto lens to get a close up of each of the runners. Later on, I increased the saturation and the contrast, as it was a very grey day.

I’ve really enjoyed the festival weekend, and I’m looking forward to the extra day off, with thanks to her majesty.

Bex

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POP!

I wanted to go into our 3^rd month with a bit of a bang... or at least a pop. I joined the Bradley Stoke Radio outside broadcast team today at a yearly community festival that our town holds.

At the moment we are trying to raise funds for a full time FM license. One of our members is great at coming up with strange money making ideas, and this is the latest- a popcorn machine! Having set up the stand, he set up for making the popcorn. I had landed the role of official photographer, but I couldn’t resist doing at least one arty shot.

I loved how the cups were in size order in a row, and how there was something different in each. I decided that a shallow depth of field would suit this picture best, and I think it worked well! I was especially pleased when no editing was needed.

I will try to bring you some different types of shot so as not to bore you while Mat is on holiday (but no promises!). I have a feeling I will enjoy this week…

Bex

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