Nicola

This is Nicola, a friends Daughter. She was really nice to pose for me knowing I wanted some practice shooting portraits but she wasn't really comfortable doing it. She doesn't like her photo taken and she developed a fit of the giggles due to nervousness. I managed though to get a couple of fair shots of her. This one she loved after i'd given it an aged sepia treatment. She said she could 'live with that'. It's a little soft in focus but i think it adds to the aged look.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Tripod
• Lens Zuiko Digital 50mm macro
• Aperture - f/5.6
• Shutter speed 1/2 sec
• ISO-100
• Exposure compensation - 1.3 step
• Focal Length - 45mm

Advertising shots

Thought i'd try to do a sort of advertising shot. Unfortunately it's not that good. Lighting is ok but it's a little out of focus at the front and back of the object. Reason.... well maybe I used the wrong settings and lens or maybe it was because I didn't think everything out (see tips below).

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Tips: Before photographing a product, you should spend time thinking about how you want to present it. You need to consider the following: Item's size, texture, and surface material. Reflective surfaces must be carefully lit. Do you need to capture small details? Will any other items be in the photo, such as related products or props ? What colour background is appropriate? Materials and shapes can make a big difference in lighting choices.

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Glass and ceramic materials usually reflect light so you have to be careful about glare spots. Use indirect flash by bouncing your flash unit to something like a light coloured ceiling.

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Wood has wonderful texture and a range of color in the same item. Soft indirect lighting and high contrast works well.

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Metal is similar to glass in reflective capacity. A lot depends on what color it is. Indirect soft flash works very well.

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I think it's worth posting this shot up to show we all dont take perfect shots every time. This is how we learn by comparing old inadequate shots with new ones that we have improved on. I'm mainly adding this onto my blog to review it in a few months time after having tried a few more attempts at this sort of shot. I'm always willing to try anything new in photography. I'll be sure to take note of the tips i've added here for you which I found today online.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Hand Held
• Lens Zuiko Digital 50mm macro
• Aperture - f/4
• Shutter speed 1/50 sec
• ISO-200
• Exposure compensation - 0 step
• Focal Length - 50mm

Portraits

Portrait photography has been around since the invention and popularization of the camera, and is a cheaper and often more accessible method than portrait painting, which had been used by distinguished figures before the use of the camera.

The goal of portrait photography is to capture the likeness of a person or a small group of people, typically in a flattering manner. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included.

Thanks to Helen Cook & Wayne Yeaman whom I work with for letting me take their photos.

These were taken today at work. I thought i'd try taking a few photos of people this time. I'm not used to portraiture so this is all a learning curve for me. Wayne was at the time on the telephone taking a call from a client. It's a shame his eyes were looking down. Helen however sat and did a pose for me. So I have one natural and one posed photo in different colour format (mono with a little film grain added & colour with no grain). Any advice is gratefully received.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 50mm macro
• Portrait Mode
• ISO-200
• Focal Length - 50mm

Oh and before i forget i've managed to get back on to Flickr so if you want to see more of my work then follow the link at the side.

Cherry

Sorry everyone this has to be quick tonight. I've been having trouble logging back in to Flickr tonight after doing a good turn for a friend at my local camera club. I had to log out of my acccount to help her and now I cannot get back in. Never mind it'll hopefully be ok tomorrow, if or when, they send me a new password. Fingers crossed.

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This photo has been taken very quickly. Not the greatest I must admit, but I promised I would place a photo every day and don't want to break that promise if I can help it. The cherry was placed in a small glass of lemonade. The top bubble reminds me of a droplet of molten silver.

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 50mm macro
• Aperture Priority
• Aperture - f/20
• Shutter Speed - 1.3 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 50mm
• Exposure Compensation -1.3step

South Shields

South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne & Wear on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. It has six miles of coastline and three miles of river frontage, dominated by the massive, functional if not beautiful piers at the mouth of the Tyne. These are best viewed from the Lawe Top, which also houses two replicas of cannon captured from the Russians during the Crimean War the originals having been melted during World War Two.

Armed with my wide angle and 200mm lenses, camera and tripod I started off in the car to go to Marsden in South Shields thinking I would have all afternoon to concentrate on taking good photos. How wrong I was...... Traffic jams into South Shields held me there for nearly 1 1/2 hrs. My favourite spot at Marsden closed off due to subsidence and the steps down to the beach cordoned off. I ended up having to go down by the pier in South Shields itself. So much for all afternoon to take photos.
I have to say though, I look forward to the weekend, and weather permitting, getting out into the fresh air. Being couped up at work all day during the week and unable to get out sometimes gets me down, but it also makes me appreciate my weekends more too.
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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 11-22mm Wide Angle
• Aperture Priority
• Aperture - f/22
• Shutter Speed - 1/6 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 22mm
• Exposure Compensation -0.3step

Thornley Woods

I took this photo this morning at Thornley Woods hide. Thornley Woods is a country park, which is mangaed by Gateshead Council. The park is mid-way between Swallwell and Rowland's Gill, and not far from the Gateshead Metro Centre. The park forms part of the Derwent Valley walk, itself based on an old railway line which ran from Consett to Newcastle.
The park is a good educational resource as it has 3 distinct ecosystems; a deciduous woodland, a coniferous woodland and a meadow. If you walk over the main road from the Centre and along a short walkway you will come to the bird hide. As well as many kinds of birds such as jays, nuthatches, finches, sparrow hawkes and pheasants you can see foxes and roe deer.

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The photo is of a Nuthatch. Nuthatches belong to the bird family Sittidae which is a Greek word and used by Aristotle for a bird that pecks at the bark of trees. They are a thickset, stub-tailed, nervous little bird that scurry down tree trunks headfirst, hops, jerks, takes short jumps and moves along underside of branches in the same way with their back to the ground. They fly up and down like woodpeckers. When climbing down tree trunks, nuthatches depend entirely upon their claws. They stretch one foot forward under the breast and the other back under the tail, and hitch nimbly down the trees, digging in with their strong hind toes. The reason why these birds climb downward is that they may find food in bark crevices overlooked by birds that climb upward like tree creepers and small woodpeckers.

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 200mm Macro
• Aperture - f/3.5
• Shutter Speed - 1/200 sec
• ISO-400
• Focal Length - 200mm
• Exposure Compensation 0 step

Fresh cut Flowers

There's nothing like a vase of fresh cut flowers in your living room to brighten up those cloudy miserable days outside.

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 50mm Macro
• Aperture - f/20
• Shutter Speed - 1 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 50mm
• Exposure Compensation -0.7 step
• Aperture Priority

As years go by

"Old is wisdom

Youth is learning

Old is dependence

Youth is independence

Old is memories

Youth is experiences

Old is youth"

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I've been reading some quotes from a book which I was given as a present for my 50th birthday. It's called "Wrinkles' wit and wisdom". It's so funny and so true, I just had to share a couple of quotes with you all. It's a must read for the over 40's, believe me you can relate to a lot of the stuff in it.

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"I contemplated buying a cream that stopped the 7 signs of ageing, and wondered what they might be. Incontinence? Talking about the weather? Wearing slippers? Memory loss? Compulsive need to queue up at the Post Office? Memory loss? Inability to comprehend the lyrics of a pop song?"

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"I don't eat health foods, at my age I need all the preservatives I can get."

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"Mick Jagger told me the wrinkles on his face were laughter lines, but nothing is that funny."

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Zuiko Digital 17.5 - 45mm
• Aperture - f/20
• Shutter Speed - 1.3 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 17mm
• Exposure Compensation -1.3 step

.(The photo on the table in the image is of my Mum, Dad & me of course. Mum & Dad have passed away now but the memory of them still lives on in my heart).

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Good night all.

Food photography

Taking good photos of food is not as easy as it looks - lighting, composition, angles etc are all potential problem areas. Close-up shots are less forgiving to movement than pictures at a distance. It is harder to get a good focus, so I used a tripod but if you don't have one at hand try using a stack of books for stability.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500


• Aperture - f/4.5


• Shutter Speed - 1/8 sec


• ISO-100


• Focal Length - 50mm


• Exposure Compensation 0 step

Also trying my hand at a Lemonade experiment. Saw someone else do this and it looked great. Think I need a bit more practice. It's not as easy as it looks. Wish they would tell me their secret but you know how some people hate sharing their knowledge ........ Only kidding I know this person would share if I asked.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500


• Aperture - f/18


• Shutter Speed - 4 sec


• ISO-100


• Focal Length - 50mm


• Exposure Compensation -1 step
  

Scissor Happy

Once again another studio image. These are some craft scissors that were left lying in my craft box from the time when I use to make greetings cards as a hobby. Now photography is a big part of my life. Might as well make use of the things I have lying around from my craft making days.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Aperture - f/22
• Shutter Speed - 4 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 17mm
• Exposure Compensation -2.3 step

Took this photo at work this morning with a little digital camera borrowed off a colleague. Couldn't resist. The sky was ablaze in reds and oranges.

Settings

• Camera Canon Ixus 70
• Aperture - f/3.5
• Shutter Speed - 1/79 sec
• ISO-125
• Focal Length - 8mm
• Exposure Compensation 0 step

Bamboo

Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants and can grow up to 4 feet per day.
The hard woody stems of bamboo plants are used in construction, furniture, crafts and fishing poles. Certain varieties are grown in gardens as ornamental grasses.

Well here's another studio shot, this time of a bamboo stem. Looks like there'll be a few studio shots until the weather gets a little better. I hate winter and the damp miserable days we get, but rain provides the water we drink so I shouldn't complain.

Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• 50mm Macro lens Lens
• Aperture - f/20
• Shutter Speed - 1.6sec
• ISO-200
• Focal Length - 50mm
• Exposure Compensation -0.7 step

Just had to add this tonight. At work today it started to snow but it never lay on the ground as it was too wet. Later that day my boss let me go home 1/2 hour early as he'd heard that where I live the roads were bad with snow yet there was nothing at Gateshead where I work. Well off i went home and here's what I saw. You wouldn't believe that we were only 12 mile away. Where I live is pretty high up and we always get the worst of the weather.

Daffodil

Commonly known as Daffodil narcissus, jonquil have six outer petals surrounding a cup which creates a trumpet-like look. Some stems produce one flower; others produce clusters. The outer petals are yellow or white; cups may be white, yellow, orange or salmon, and some have an orange edge.

Another attempt at 'still life' work. I still haven't bought those lamps yet so the lighting's not quite right yet. But I won't give up as it's the only way to learn..... try, try try again....
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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• 50mm Macro lens
• Lens Aperture - f/4
• Shutter Speed - 1/20 sec
• ISO-200
• Focal Length - 50mm
• Exposure Compensation -1 step messed around in photoshop with this version and gave it an infrared look. I like experimenting not only with the camera but also in photoshop t

Three for the price of one today to make up for the missing days of the year i haven't posted. Hope you like this one. I was just messing around in my little make-shift studio and came up with this.

Tulip

Tulips are single flowers and have six petals. Flower variations include lily-flowering types, double flowers, fringed petals and ruffly parrot varieties. Colors include white, yellow, pink, peach, orange, red, lavender, purple and bi-colors. Vase life is up to seven days.
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Inspired by a friend and her still life photography I decided to try my hand at photographing a flower. Tulips are beautiful flowers, I hope i've done this one justice (must get out and buy those desk lamps i've been meaning to buy).

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• 50mm Macro lens
• Lens Aperture - f/4
• Shutter Speed - 1/15 sec
• ISO-200
• Focal Length - 50mm
• Exposure Compensation -1.3 step

Another little bonus image to make up for the days I lost posting this year. Hope you like it.

Ben

He looks so sad doesn't he. This is a photo of my dog Ben. He hates his photo taken poor thing and never usually sits still long enough to get a decent one of him. I was very lucky today to get this one.

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I got Ben from the Kennels when he was 8 months old. He was a rescued dog that had been mistreated by kids and was very nervous little thing when I got him.

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He such a cutie and lovable dog with a character that's almost human sometimes. LOL

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Settings

• Camera Olympus E500
• Lens Aperture - f/5.4
• Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
• ISO-100
• Focal Length - 42mm
• Exposure Compensation 0 step

Take a bite

Well better late than never starting my photo-a-day blog. I promised myself I would start on the 1st Jan but what with my 50th birthday celebrations and having the dreaded flu bug I haven't got round to starting the blog til now.

I'm in the middle of setting up a little studio in my spare room to photograph smaller still life stuff. All i need now are a couple of lamps for lighting. This was taken with the light from the room.

Settings

• Camera - Olympus E500
• Lens Aperture - f/4.7
• Shutter Speed - 1/15 sec
• ISO-200
• Focal Length - 33mm
• Exposure Compensation -0.3 step

See you all tomorrow.