Friday 27 February 2009

Inside the Mini-eggs Bag


Another image from the, "What if you were small enough........." series. The front of the lens was right inside the bag for this shot.

Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f7.0; 1/250s; 60mm. Off camera flash from outside the bag.

Thursday 26 February 2009

More tea vicar?


Didn't really work out as I'd hoped, but it's OK.

Olympus E-3; f13; 3.2s; 12mm. Light source was from the cooker hood (tungsten), left of and above subject.

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Smoke Trails


I created these smoke trails using an incense stick and shot against a plain black backdrop, lighting the smoke trail from below, off-camera flash sited between camera and smoke.

I quite like the effect and may develop the idea a bit further.

Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f10; 1/250s; 27mm. Off camera flash low and betwenn camera and smoke.

Tuesday 24 February 2009

Sunrise


This is sunrise this morning, just before 7:30am. Obviously it's been enhanced a fair bit using "Curves" in Photoshop.

Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f5.0; 1/125s; 60mm.

Monday 23 February 2009

Floral Montage


Today's image was almost as much about post-shoot processing and layout as capturing the right shot. Sorry if the explanation is a bit long-winded.

I started out by aiming for a straight silhouette for this one using the light coming through the rippled glass of my en suite window to create the silhouette. Shot from a low angle gave only the pale blue/white sky around the flowers. These are the corner images.
Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f3.6; 1/250s.

For the central image I shot from a more elevated angle which gave a bit of variety in colour in the background from the grass, tarmac and cars. Slowing the shutter speed also allowed some colour from the flowers (artificial - sorry) to come into the image.
Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f3.6; 1/100s.

Keeping the lens aperture fairly wide open kept the rippled glass detail suitably soft to increase the effect of the background.

The ghosted image in the was taken from another shot (similar settings to above) which I lightened in PhotoShop then put into the background layer with a very reduced opacity - about 20%. Why did I put it there? I felt there was too much white space otherwise.

Sunday - The Things that Pass the Window


This sizeable beast of the seas - Spirit of Brazil - passed my window just before lunch time today.

Olympus E-500; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/80s; 39mm.

Sunday 22 February 2009

Saturday's Post - Jen by Candlelight


This image was shot using only a collection of small candles as a light source - hence the orange/red quality of the skin tones.

Along the bottom ege of the image the tips of the flames are just visible.

Olympus E-3; ISO 200; f6.3; 0.5s, 21mm. A dozen or so small candles situated below the model's face.

Friday's Post and Sparks are Flying


This image was actually taken on Wednesday and manipulated yesterday (Thursday) but I figured that as I'd got away with using an image from my archives previously this wasn't such a bad transgression after all.

The welder in this shot was at the top of the mast of a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry which was undergoing servicing at Garvel dry dock in Greenock. The height maybe isn't that apparent in this shot but the point where the guy was working was a good bit higher than where most of us would be happy.

I loved the bright burst of light at the welding torch and the cascade of sparks that fell from it. Pity the final image is a bit grainy. Oh, and the big black diagonal bar is the jib of crane........

Olympus E-3; ISO 800; f6.3; 1/20s; 283mm.

Friday 20 February 2009

Thursday's Image


I saw this done once - much better than I've managed and thought I'd give it a try.

Olympuse SP-500UZ; Auto.

Wednesday 18 February 2009

HELP!


This is a view towards the Erskine Bridge from my front window. The bridge is the shallow arc of orange lights with the two single reds above. What I'm struggling to identify is the three vertical columns of red lights in the centre of the image.

If anyone can suggest what they are I'd be very pleased as I can't find anything when I drive in that direction. The image was taken from OS grid reference NS291761 and the approximate bearing to the centre of the bridge is 100 degrees.

Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f10; 8s, 200mm.

Tuesday 17 February 2009

A Glass of Grapes?


Another little attempt at still life.

Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f16; 1/125s; 30mm. Flash situated behind glass.

Random Image - Monday


This evening's post is a random image from my collection. This is the first day I haven't used an image taken on the day....... :-(

These are some of the heads that hang over the main concourse in Kelvingrove Museum. They depict various human emotions - all expressed by male faces for some reason.

Olympus E-3; ISO 400; f3.9, 1/125s; 30mm.

Monday 16 February 2009

Sunday's Dishes.......


No more to say on this one.

Olympus SP-500UZ; Auto; Flash.

Sunday 15 February 2009

Saturday - St. Valentine's Day


I thought I should try to be a bit topical today.

Olympus SP-500UZ; Auto; Macro; Flash.

Friday - Plane Trail


I posted a shot of some car trails taken from my window near the beginning of this photo blog but thought I'd like to try doing the same with an aircraft. Having chosen an elevated vantage point overlooking runway 31 at Prestwick International Airport I awaited my first arrival. I under exposed the shot by a couple of stops and thought I'd lost the moment, however, the wonders of RAW files let me come up with the offering shown here.

The image isn't exactly what I'd hoped for but it's close and gives me something to build on for the future.


Olympus E-3; ISO 400; f22; 6s; 12mm.

Friday 13 February 2009

Thursday's Offering - More Macro.


It's been a few days since I posted a macro shot, so here's another for your interest.

Olympus SP-500UZ; Auto; Macro.

Thursday 12 February 2009

Wednesday's Post - A Floor Perspective


Late again today - ah well, at least I'm keeping at it.

Had a lot on today so struggled a bit to come up with a subject for today's image.

Here it is, a bit of a strange one, but I thought I'd share with you the perspective a very small being would have on the environment inhabited by normal size humans.

Olympus E-3; ISO 3200; f22; 2.0s.

Wednesday 11 February 2009

TUESDAY'S POST - Reflections


At lunch time today I took a trawl around one of Greenock's old harbours and dry-docks. The calm water in this dry-dock provided a perfect reflection.

Olympus SP-500UZ; Auto.

Monday 9 February 2009

Winter Wonderland


I think this has been the longese period of snow we've had in this neck of the woods for many years. Another, more persistant covering this morning. I wonder how long it'll last for.


Olympus SP-500UZ; Auto.

Sunday's Entry


This is my sister's stand at the Scottish Wedding Show at Ingliston about five minutes before the event ended, after two days meeting potential customers. Seventeen new cake styles this time round!

Her business: Sweet Unique.

Olympus E-3; ISO 200; f5.6; 1/125s; 14mm.

Saturday's Post


This low angle creates an unusual perspective of a furrow caused by water on the sand at Scalpsie Beach, Isle of Bute.

Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f4.5; 1/100s; 12mm.

Friday 6 February 2009

Condensed Milk Bomb!


One danger of creating caramel by boiling an unopened tin of condensed milk........

Note the distorted pot! This incident also managed to re-decorate a twenty by twenty foot kitchen in a dripping burnt caramel residue.

Olympus SP-500UZ; Macro; Auto.

Thursday 5 February 2009

Three Cranes


I think these three cranes at Port Glasgow still actually work. They made a wonderful silhoutte against the azure Winter sky.

Olympus SP-500UZ - ISO 100; f3.3; 1/10s; 20.9mm.

Wednesday 4 February 2009

Still Life?


So is this still life? It's a very basic imaged I know but I reckon it still life.

Olympus E-3; f5.6; 1/125s; 12mm.

Tuesday 3 February 2009

Nice Buoys!


This was a bit of an experiment. A pair of marker buoys at the entrance to the James Watt Dock, Greenock.

I like the swathe of water illuminated by the markers' lights.


Olympus E-3; ISO 100; f4.8; 30s; 239mm.

Monday 2 February 2009

Did you have snow today?


Just a quick image of the heavy snow here at lunch time. Although it looks like it's pretty bad, nothing really lay for any length of time. We shall see what tomorrow brings...................

Olympus SP-500 UZ; Auto; available light.

Sunday 1 February 2009

Look what I got today!



Now I know I'm not the first person in the world to see a fifty pence piece like this but it's the first one I've seen so I thought I'd use it as today's 365 subject.

New. From today onwards I'll be including camera settings for anyone who's interested.

Olympus SP-500UZ; Auto; Macro2; Plain Tungsten Lighting.