Superfortress

 What I stumbled upon by accident was the wreakage of a B29A Superfortress, nicknamed ‘Over-Exposed’. The loss of all of its thireteen crew members in a tragic accident whilst doing a payroll and mail run from RAF Scampton to the USAF base at Burtonwood near Warrington. The accident occurred in November 1948. The plane was part of the USAF 16th Photographic reconnaissance Squadron from the 91st Reconnaissance Group. What was surprising was how much wreakage was still visible and in good condition. Always show respect and don’t steal or interfere with any of the parts. There is plenty on the web about all the aviation crash sites in the Peak District and interesting reading it makes. History shows the Peaks are a dangerous place for aviators with over 60 sites documented.

Engines

 One of the lenses that goes always into my camera bag is the Nikkor 50mm f1.8g. It’s so sharp that it’s just amazing to use and lightweight ,which makes it a great lens to stick in the bag when carrying large lenses. It’s proving to be a gem of a lens to use and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to buy.

Grill

Windows

Under Carriage

Windows

Engine

 Engine

Respect

Battling the Elements

Common Blue Damselfly

Nikon d3s,105vr,1/320@f8,iso400.

 I have taken a few chances over the last couple of days, mainly deciding if a journey to do some macro work would be worth the effort. The wind being the main enemy, however I have come back with some very nice images of butterflies and today managed a nice set of images of damselflies. Determination and being flexible with my approaches have saved the day. Normally when shooting macro a tripod is must, but today being able to use your knees provided more success. I did of course use some of the ‘basics’ as outlined in my previous post, namely getting your camera parallel with the subject. Using this technique allowed a more shallower depth of field which helped soften the background. The light today was wonderful  due it’s softening effect, just like a giant softbox, the wind I just had to work with and time my exposers carefully to help stop subject movement. Conditions can prove difficult at times and can stop you from going out and being creative, so I presume the lesson is to be determined and the images will follow and with the old wise words ‘ you’ve got to be in it to win it’ certainly rings very true.

Abandoned Coat

Coat

Nikon d3s,105vr

 I had hoped to be out and about photographing butterflies last weekend, however mother nature decided to deal the butterfly photographers worst nightmare, wind. I did however discover this abandoned work coat and thought it might be worth photographing. The nikkor 105vr micro so far just keeps delivering stunningly sharp images, testing is no longer needed its superb and worth every penny enough said.  I know when I visited an abandoned hospital recently I could have used a micro lens to photograph some of the amazing details which covered the walls especially. A return visit is planned and maybe I might just use one fixed focal lens like the 105vr which could produce a challenge to come up with some visually appealing images. Stay tuned.

The Macro Legend Arrives

Pineapple

Nikon D3s, 105vr micro, tone-mapped

 I finally have a Nikkor 105vr lens in my hands, just in time for late spring and summer macro feast. I had just had to try it out just to see how sharp it is and would it match the Canon 100mm that I was using in 2010. The ripening pineapple in the kitchen would just do fine, my favourite fruit!  The colours and sharpness were just what the reports were saying,” stunning”, ‘a real no brainer if you are Nikon user”  and “sharpness that could cut”. Yep I think the reports are right it’s stunning. I am looking forward to trying it out more this weekend. Sorry about the subject matter but needed something to aim the lens at.

teabags

as above for techs

“Going Off At Half Cock”

Uniform

d3s,24-70, iso 400, tone-mapped

 Amazing, taking the family out on a bank holiday Monday and not spending a fortune. £5 pounds entry and a few hours of fun wondering around a camp and photographing wonderful colours and textures and getting to watch a re- enactment of a Napoleonic battle. Just wondered around with a 24-70 and photographed to my hearts desire, well until the family started to give me the dagger eyes. Still nailed a few nice images and had a bit of fun. What’s amazing is the huge amount of effort that people go to, from the glorious uniforms with fine details to what soldiers would eat and drink all down to the finest detail, outstanding effort. Also found out where the term ‘going off at half cock’ comes from. A few more on my flickr in due course, just check it out next time a similar event is in your area, well worth a few hours.

Winter’s Details

Snow and Shadows

Canon 5D mark 11, 100mm macrois lens, iso100,1/25@f22

Winter has finally arrived and I have managed to capture some of what winter means, details. I have no mountains or sweeping landscapes, so I make the most of what my county has to offer. This for me means looking for details and translating this into an image which gives a meaning of winter. I had spotted some really nice ice patterns in some frozen pools two days before but I was looking for hunting owls at the time and didn’t have the correct lens for the task, so I made plans to return as soon as possible. A superb Great Northern Diver was too much of a chance to miss on the following day, I didn’t have chance until the day after. Yes you guessed it, the pools were now covered in a light covering of snow. A short walk did however reveal other details to work with, here using a shadows and light to create this image and shot with the amazingly sharp canon 100mmm macro is lens I was more than happy.

Ice Detail

Canon 5d mark 11, 100mm,iso100,1/6@f11

A decent few images to start the winter off, just hope it continues.

I am at the moment in lens nivarna, after the purchase of the canon 800 lens a few months ago and seeing the stunning results in combination with the 5d mark11. Primes are a thing of beauty, the 100mm macro has been out awhile and at first I wasn’t that bothered by the lens but the results I was seeing from other users tempted another purchase and what another stunning lens canon have produced, so sharp it could cut paper, yes its that good, no stunning. Now I am waiting for the trio to be complete with a 24mmtse mark 11 on its way, and I can’t wait. I will post some images when I get into my hands with some images. An exciting time to be a canon user, producing some of the finest sharpest optics I’ve had the pleasure to use.

Ancient Oaks

A wonderful afternoon filming some of the ancient oakes which stand within the Sherwood Forest. The light was perfect for filming details, overcast light with no wind. This would mean that contrast levels were low enabling all the beautiful textures to be revealed. I wasn’t after any shots of the whole trees today, that will come later in the year when all the surrounding vegetation grows and glows like a green blanket. Today was all about getting in close to show some of the amazing patterns of decay of these ancient oaks. Photographing these oaks which can be up to  several hundred years old, just makes you wonder about all the history that must have passed them by!

 

Ice Puddle

A change from all the birdlife images of late as I found some nice images from last winter which I’ve only just processed. When a a period of cold weather formed this  series of patterns in a puddle, on a small track in a local forest. A few hours of fun filming a puddle full of ice. The only problem was keeping the tripod legs from touching the edges of this ice, while maintaining  the filmplane parallel to the surface. Always look for the details at your feet there’s lots to explore.