Shepreth Wildlife Park
With a daughter studying wildlife preservation at university, it’s kind of inevitable that we find ourselves at various zoos and wildlife parks.
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Mine’s a Beer
I took some product shots of some bottles of alcohol this evening.
It necessitated a quick trip to Morrisons to stock up on some likely targets.
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Watch Shots
I recently bought some cheap watches from China.
They cost between £1.80 and £6 each and that included the postage. I wanted them to use them as test products for some photography.
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Armed Forces Day
The 27th June this year was Armed Forces Day and there was a do on the Broadway in the town centre.
I got there just in time to see the Navy cadet band, and very good they were too.
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Evening in Hitchin
The last camera club meeting of the season was an evening out in Hitchin.
Several people who had shown interest in the club at our stand in the Letchworth Festival turned up and joined us.
Letchworth Festival Parade
The poor June weather, on the first day of the Letchworth Festival, wasn’t enough to put off the participants in the parade who did their best to look like they were enjoying walking round the Broadway.
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Letchworth Festival Car Show
The first day of the Letchworth Festival was a bit of a washout.
My camera club had a stand, we were hoping to attract some new members but unfortunately the weather was awful and it rained all day.
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Bee Macros
I spotted a bee on the patio today. It looked in pretty poor condition.
I have previously given bees sugar water and they have recovered after a little drink. I tried it again with this one and whilst it did have a drink, it was probably too worn out and beyond help.
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Trip to Dorset
We had a few days in Dorset this month.
We stayed at a camp site by Corfe Castle and had a few day trips out from there.
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Garden Macros
I popped out into the garden today.
These were shot with the Canon MP-E 65mm f2.8 macro lens with off-camera flash.
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Amanda’s Photoshoot
Another studio night at the camera club.
I invited female American footballer, Amanda, to come and pose for us.
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Visit to the Mach Loop
I’m a member of the Photography Forum, a UK-based forum for like-minded photographers to share and discuss their hobby or profession.
Several of us wanted to go to the Mach Loop in north Wales to shoot the low-flying military aircraft as they trained by flying through the valleys.
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Infinity Curve
I made an infinity curve this week. This is basically a background for tabletop or product photography.
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Photography Show 2015
I popped up to Birmingham to the annual Photography Show.
Apart from looking at all the lovely unaffordable gear, I also like to take the opportunity to take some pics of professional models.
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Visit to Woburn
My middle daughter is a full-time elephant keeper at Woburn Safari Park during her gap year.
We went on one of her days off for a guided tour and got some special access to baby elephant, Tarli.
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Photoshoot with Nicky
Another studio night at the camera club.
On the day of the meeting I received a message from the model we had booked, that she was ill and wouldn’t be able to make the shoot.
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Olympus Studio Day
I got a message out of the blue offering a couple of free spaces on an Olympus studio day and a studio between Royston and Cambridge.
Having circulated the details to the camera club, only one member was free to attend so the pair of us spent a Saturday afternoon at the studio.
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Filter Selfies
I have been making some filter gels this week.
I managed to get hold of some Lee theatre lighting cellophane and cut it down to make gels for my speedlights.
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Unused Guitar
We bought my daughter a guitar for Christmas last year. It stands in the living room, unused, except as a model for some macro photography.
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Remembrance Sunday 2014
I like to go to the Remembrance Day Parade in Letchworth if I can.
Unfortunately, there have been several years where the University American football league schedule games. Whilst the always have a two minute silence before kickoff, it’s not the same as being there in person.
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Film Shoot: 2
This weekend saw me back with the “Hand it Back” crew filming the last few scenes of the movie.
We started off on the Common for a couple of scenes, then it was over to Director, Robbie’s mum’s house nearby where a couple more scenes were shot.
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Film Shoot: 1
This summer I was fortunate enough to be asked to be the stills photographer for an independent short movie being shot in my home town.
Robbie Gibbon is the director of “Hand it Back” and is a creative in the TV & film industry.
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A Couple of Macro Flowers
Just a couple of shots taken in the garden today.
I have no idea what the flowers are but they were shot with the Canon MP-E 65mm f2.8 specialist macro lens.
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On John’s Farm
At the end of the camera club season we had an evening visit to John’s farm.
John has been a member of the camera club for some years now and is a farmer by trade though he has taken more of a back seat in favour of his son running the farm nowadays.
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Disappointing Flash
Being a keen user of studio lighting and speedlights, I am a regular visitor to the Flash Havoc website. I like to keep up on what’s new in the land of lighting.
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Another Commercial Client
I was pleased to be able to do a photoshoot for another commercial client in Hitchin.
This one was split into two phases; a range of electronic product shots and a selection of staff and machinery on the factory floor.
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Caroline & Vincent’s Wedding
I was pleased to be able to photograph the wedding of Caroline & Vincent at the beginning of May.
This was an unusual one for me in that the couple are French and live in France, however, they wanted to have their wedding in the village of Lemsford in Hertfordshire, where Caroline has family.
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Commercial Shoot in Hitchin
I was recently commissioned to shoot some testing equipment for a local company.
The shots are to be used in brochures and marketing materials.
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Laura’s Camera Club Photoshoot
At the end of March I led a workshop at the camera club.
I took my studio lights and set up three of them against a black background. I took 2 Elinchrom BXRi500s and an iLux CD300, all fitted with softboxes.
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Icknield Riding Stables Easter Dressage
The Easter break saw me popping down to Icknield Riding Stables to photograph a dressage event.
Laura has been riding a couple of years and rides Blaze.
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Photography Show
I popped up to the new Photography Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham .
The show has taken over from the now defunct Focus on Imaging.
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Self Portraits
I’ve never felt entirely comfortable in front of the camera. And whenever photos are being taken, it’s usually me doing the taking. So those things combined mean there aren’t that many photos of me.
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RIAT 2013
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the biggest airshow in the world.
Before I turned to digital photography, aviation was my biggest photographic passion. I’ve spent many weekends at Duxford or Fairford with bags full of rolls of film. My first lens purchase after my first DSLR was a Canon 100-400, purchased in 2005 specifically for airshow photography.
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History Live 2013
History Live is the annual living history event run by English Heritage at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire.
I’ve been a member of English Heritage for over 20 years so I like to attend this event when I can. The event is a fantastic opportunity for photographing hundreds of re-enactors dressed in all kinds of periods from history.
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Emma’s Photoshoot
Had a lovely afternoon with Emma, who popped over for a shoot. I’ve shot Emma in her role as a cheerleader at American football games, but it was nice to do a bit of one-to-one with her.
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Natalie’s Photoshoot
Natalie came over for a portfolio photoshoot.
Natalie is a singer/songwriter from Cambridgeshire. I met her through the Hertfordshire University American Football and Cheerleading teams.
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Emily’s Photoshoot
Had a photoshoot with Emily today.
We got some standard shots off using a number of lighting setups, including the new 1.5m octobox. Then we got some police uniforms out and played around with a few props.
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Felicity’s Photoshoot
Felicity had a family photoshoot some time before these photos were taken, so she must have seen something in the family shots to make her want to come back for some individual portrait shots.
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Charli’s Photoshoot
Charli popped over for a photoshoot with Angelina.
Charli is another American football player so we took the opportunity for some kit shots.
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Angelina’s Photoshoot
Angelina is one of the Hertfordshire University Tornadoes Women’s American Football team.
She popped over for a shoot and brought her gear with her.
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Focus on Imaging
I popped up to the annual ‘Focus on Imaging’ show at the NEC in Birmingham today.
I’ve been here for the last few years and usually manage to relieve myself of a few quid. I bought my Elinchrom studio light set from Focus as well as my mount cutter.
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Gridiron Girls
Had a great photoshoot with a couple of girls from the Hertfordshire Tornadoes.
We popped over to Hitchin Rugby Club to do a bit of a Strobist lighting shoot with the girls in their gear.
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