During my last couple of months in the UK I hired a car and took a road trip. Several hundred photos later I arrived back in Manchester. SInce then the photos I took while on that trip around England sat patiently on my computer waiting... This picture has been tweaked (obviously) to look de-saturated but with a touch of colour - Hollywood style!

New lens and new motivation!

After some mucking about I finally have a new lens and already Im in love with it!

I have been playing around with it and some of the results have been posted here and on my Picasa site under Nature. Needless to say Im excited about taking pics again :D

Another random doodle

Dooooodling!

Havent been busy taking photos recently. I was becoming very despondent with the quality of images and as a result of a few tests and research I have purchased a new lense. 50mm fixed lense that the guy behind the counter promptly dropped and now I have to wait for a new one to be sent to the store. So I have taken up the pen again and started doodling.

The doodling started when I was at college and it was a way of stopping myself from freaking out, letting go and allowing something imperfect to be drawn on the page. Who knew I had such control issues hehe. I deliberately went for black fineliner pen because it forced me to use two colours, black and the colour of the page. This made me focus on the graphics rather than trying to put too much on the page, too much colour, too much of everything. Looking back the tutors at college eluded to it but never really challenged me about it and it took me two years to realise after a comment by one of the tutors that felt like it was almost an afterthought.

Kings Park

It's Father's Day today and we headed for King's Park for a coffee and a muffin and photographs.

Focus is still not great but getting there. The rest can be seen here.

Photography can be dangerous!

As I promised myself I headed out today to take some more pics. I wasn't happy with the results nor with the killer bee attack. After I convinced the bee that I wasn't a flower or a mate by squeaking and flapping my hands around my head, I headed for home. Nature didn't look so harmless after my close encounter. And before you think "wuss" I have been stung before on my little finger and it puffed up twice its size... so yeah, Im a wuss :D

I still haven't fixed my "why the hell cant I take a picture that is in focus!" issues and have spent the better part of the day trying to figure out if its the user or the equipment. I have found out that my 28mm - 105mm lense has limitations and that maybe an upgrade is in order, one that can take a pic using anything but the f-8 setting. I'm still not ruling out user issues but even in automatic-everything mode the camera doesn't take a photograph that is in focus. Enough excuses do you think?

Here are the two photographs that came even close to be ok.

Photographs

I have a love/hate relationship with photography. I love it because every now and then I manage to fluke a awesome shot (like I did with the magpie) but mostly I hate it because I never manage to get it right. Its slightly out of focus, composition is wrong that a crop or two cant fix, the lightings wrong that Photoshop isn't able to put right.

I am completely aware its the users fault for not getting it right but damnit!! I wish I would get it right!

So next weekend, weather pending, I am going to go back for the third time to a cool place down in the valley to try again and get it right. Wish me luck :D