Tuesday 19 February 2008

The apprentice takes his first step (picture)

Without blowing too much smoke up Andrew Denny's ar$e (horrible term but one I find myself using more and more) I am a big admirer of Andrews night photography (I even have a tripod now)

Night or low light shots can't be just a point and shoot job otherwise we would all be taking fantastic shots. Yesterday whilst returning from a nice circular walk from Fradley junction the sun was setting just next to the Swan. Shooting straight into the sun was always going to be a problem, but I did, then decided to have a play with the exposure setting (-) and got more of the picture I wanted. The actual picture is too full, and the car would not move on and I got inpatient , but the fact I did not point and shoot - and got something different (read better, in my opinion) will inspire me......

First attempt

Less exposure



What do you think?

6 comments:

Halfie said...

I think ... first of all, that I will post a comment. I know from my own feeble attempts at blogging how gratifying it is to get a comment. At least SOMEONE out there is reading what you're writing!

About the photography (and I'm no expert) - yes, the second pic is much better for the sun and trees, but the Swan isn't quite dark enough to be a silhouette, nor quite light enough to warrant taking up so much of the picture. I know, I know, easy to criticise. But you did ask!

I, too, have marvelled at Andrew's Granny Buttons night-time photos. I bought myself a digital camera recently and hoped to be able to attempt similar moonlit stuff, but the longest exposure time is 8 seconds, and I guess Andrew uses much more than that. I'm still learning how to use the camera properly - my old Olympus OM10 SLR was so much simpler! And it gave me complete control over focus, aperture and shutter speed. (But I do take far more photos now).

Well, that's enough of me. I'm going back to reading your blog.

Halfie.

Halfie said...

Oh yes, meant to say: it's a shame clicking on your pics doesn't enlarge them.

Halfie said...

Oh yes - meant to say: it's a shame clicking on your pics doesn't enlarge them.

Halfie said...

I think I've been a little harsh in my comment about the photo. I now realise you're using it in your blog header - and it looks better bigger. I'll slink away now....

Nev Wells said...

Halfie,

Many thanks for taking the time to post a comment. It is nice to receive feedback and know someone is reading this little piece of my canal enjoyment.

Thanks for the feedback on the photo. I invariably point and click and must get into the habit of thinking about the photo more - I am sure Andrew goes out looking for the pic, I did buy a tripod so I will (when it is a little warmer I think !)

I will investigate how to post pics that can be clicked on to get a bigger version. I agree this is better as I have enjoyed this feature on other peoples photo's to see the full details.
I read you blog and note that you are doing the retrospective cruise log as I am – it is good to detail in this way and provides the opportunity to re-live some memories.
I have added your blog to my list of blogs to stop by at,

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Nev

Halfie said...

Nev - when I upload images I first reduce the size of the photos (the recent ones are 800x600 pixels). I assume that if I were to make them even smaller then clicking on them in the blog won't do anything. Are you reducing yours too much?

As for my retrospective log, yes - I have been reliving memories. But I wish I'd written it up sooner - almost three years is plenty of time to forget things.

Thanks for the link - I will reciprocate.

Halfie.