Yes, I like watches!

A year and a bit ago I started collecting watches, I like watches, hence the reason they appear from time-to-time in my 365 postings. Most I buy are ex-display - as new, just don't have a box. A few are purchased as used and some I buy new. This is a used example, awaiting a new strap.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO 400; f8; 1/125s; LED ring light.

Concord at East Fortune

When the Concord fleets were taken out of service East Fortune Aircraft museum was lucky enough to secure one as a display piece. Transportation by land and waterway saw it make the log journey north to its current place.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@42mm; ISO 400; f5.6; 1/125s. Fl-50R mounted on camera hotshoe.

Seat of Learning

Glasgow University on a sunny but cold day. The contemporary car aside, this makes me think of a seventies post card!

Olympus E-3, Zuiko 12-60mm@49mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/250s.

Riverside Reflections

This was taken today during a visit to Glasgow's Riverside Museum (museum of Transport. It was shot from the quayside before boarding the Glenlee.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@12mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/125s. Ambient light.

It's Easter.......

I doubt the Faberge family will be worried at my efforts to create a hand crafted Easter egg.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@60mm; ISO 100; f4; 2s. Ambient light.Published on

Star Trail

Star trails have been part of my quest to produce astronomical images. This is an early attempt spanning only about ten minutes - twenty images of thirty seconds duration each, then combined into this single image using a piece of freeware called "StarStaX". To save me having to stand out in the cold for the duration of the image sequence being shot, I used a Pixel-252 intervalometer. For the uninitiated, this is basically a remote release with a timer function which facilitates unattended shooting.

Individual images were shot as follows:-

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@12mm; ISO 400; F4, 30s.

The Plough

I've been trying to do a bit of astro photography lately. This was done from my back garden. The moon was full, hence the lack of visible stars. Some post shoot work in PS to darken the sky and bring out the stars.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@12mm; ISO 400; f4; 30s.

Night Car

This image was taken during a recent visit to the Galloway Dark Skies area in Ayrshire. Despite it having been a beautifully clear night when leaving home, forty-five minutes and thirty miles later it had become a night shrouded in mist and low cloud. Trying shots like this and doing a bit of experimental light painting filled the time between clear patches of sky.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm @ 26mm; ISO 800; f4; 58s. Minimal light painting (number plate and light clusters)  using a 2 x AA Maglite torch.

Thanks to Les Johnstone for the inspiration on this one.

Bertie Bassett

I really don't like liquorice or Aniseed so it seemed to me the best thing to do with these (inedible to me) confections was to try to recreate the little character used to advertise them - Bertie Bassett. I couldn't find a blue aniseed one for his hat so had to make do with pink!

Olympuse E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO 100; f3.5; 1/125s. FL-50R flash camera mounted.

Spice Islands

Paprika; ground coriander; black pepper; ground cumin; generic "curry powder".

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO 100; f8; 1/250s. FL-50R flash set off camera low to left of shot.

Triangular Numbers

Who remembers triangular numbers from maths classes at school? 1; 3; 6; 10; 15; 21....... and so on.

I thought these Liquorice Allsorts were an ideal way to illustrate the concept of triangular numbers. I don't really know what function they perform in the real world but as a number sequence (or should that be a series - can't remember the mathematical difference) triangular numbers are one of my favourite.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO 400; f3.5; 1/60s. FL-50R on camera.

Black Watch

This is one of my black watches. I particularly like the contrasting yellow second hand and highlighted digits.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO100; f4; 1/125s; LED ring light.

Shell

I liked the pattern on this and the surface textures.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/60s; LED ring light.

Tea?

Anyone for a quick cup of tea?

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm; ISO 400; f8; 1/60s; LED ring light.

Oriental Garden

This was taken in Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens at their oriental garden section.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@12mm; ISO 100; f22; 1s; ambient light.

Utensils

Every kitchen has them and every kitchen stores/displays them differently.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@33mm; ISO 100; f8; 1/250s; FL-50R, left of subject.

What lurks within........

Just a wee experiment really. Not a massively successful shot but OK for creating a bit of chat! The flash needs turned away down and/or diffused in some way.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@12mm; ISO 100; 1/250s; FL-50R placed in the cupboard.

Any guesses?

Does anyone want to hazard a guess at what this is? I think it's fairly obvious, but maybe that's becasue I took the shot!

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@60mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/250s; FL-50R flash above subject.

Bananas

A trio of bananas!

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@52mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/250s; FL-50R set to right of subject.

Bass Rock

The bass Rock. Home to thousands of gannets. Low tide reveals a narrow crevice running through entire width of the rock, but I really don't much fancy going in there! Don't know if it's big enough to take a kayak through?

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 70-300mm@202mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/1000s.

Quadcopter - Practice Craft

Having recently launched my self into the world of radio controlled quadcopters by taking on a build project, I thought I'd better get some practice in something smaller and less expensive to repair before taking to the controls of the BIG BOY. Behold, the Hubsan X4, which, as you can see, is tiny, but ideal for getting the basics of quadcopter control learned.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@42mm; ISO 100; f11; 1/250s; FL-50R off camera flash.

The Milton Mill

This derelict building outside Kilmarnock was once a working mill. It became a dwelling house and pub for a while but when that ceased the building began to fall into disrepair. As you can see, it has become 'roofless' and heavily overgrown.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@14mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/250s.

Glasgow 10k 2012

The timing car at last year's Glasgow 10k ushers in the first runners across the finishing line.

Olympus E-500; Zuiko 70-300mm@169mm; ISO 400; f.6; 1/250s.

Graffiti

Some backstreet graffiti in Kilmarnock! Any locals care to hazard a guess on the location?

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@32mm; ISO 400; f5.6; 1/60s.

Urban Industry

There's something quite appealling about this shot of a brewery chimney stack billowing its white steam into a blue sky while being watched over by a CCTV camera! Maybe it's just good to know industry is alive and well in the middle of Glasgow?

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 50-200mm@83mm; ISO 100; f22; 1/60s.

Unusual!

Now this is down-right odd! Even for Edinburgh during festival time. Oops! That's let the cat out of the bag that it's another archive shot.............

Olympus E-500; Zuiko 40-150mm@68mm; ISO 400; f4; 1/250s.

Glancing Blow

In this shot, the destructive blow came from a rough stone glancing off the surface of a water filled balloon sitting in a small flower pot to support it. The burst pattern of the water clearly shows how the stone has caused a tear in the balloon skin, giving a much more linear pattern to the the water's exit.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 50-200mm@112mm; ISO 400; f3.3; 1/500s; ambient light.

Impact Deformation

This water filled balloon was dropped from a height of about one metre, which prevented it from bursting and allowed me to capture how it deformed on impact with the ground. High speed video would be a great thing to get into to reveal all this sort of stuff, normally hidden to the unaided human eye.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 50-200mm@117mm; ISO 400; f3.3; 1/500s; ambient light.

Water Explosion

A water filled ballon just after its point of impact with the ground, dropped from a height of about two metres. The shutter fired just as the balloon ruptured and the water within exploded outwards.

Olympus E-3 (tripod mounted with remote shutter release); Zuiko 50-200mm@88mm; ISO 400; 1/500s; ambient light.

The Red Arrows

Taken at last year's Airshow at RAF Leuchars, this shot shows seven 'arrows' executing a fairly standard display move with full smoke trails. Notice also the streaks of ionised air from the wingtips!

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 50-200mm@200mm; ISO100; f3.5; 1/1000s.

Brushless Outrunner

One of the Brushless Outrunners for the  quadcopter I'm currently building. Brushless outrunner seems to be the snappy term for what I would call a little electric motor........ I thought it looked a good subject to photograph.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@26mm; ISO 100; f11; 1/250s; FL-50R held above subject.

Bone China Cup

This is the design printed on the outside of a bone china mug, backlit with the head of the flash unit sitting inside the mug.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/125s; FL-50R set at 1/16 power and situated inside mug.

Orange Pepper

Not much to say about this one other than, "Orange Pepper"!

Olympus E-4; Zuiko 35mm macro; ISO 100; f11; 1/250s; FL-50R off camera.

Balloon Burst

This needs re-shot with a black background. I was trying to capture the point just as the balloon begins to rupture, probably a few milliseconds before this image, but I like it anyway.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@23mm; ISO 100; f11; 1/250s; FL-50R mounted above the balloon and of to right of frame.

Jigsaw

It's another relief one I'm afraid but shot in macro mode this time. Tomorrow I will do something different!

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 35mm macro; ISO 100; f8 1/250s; FL-50R set to left of jigsaw, level plane.

Keyboard

Not a lot of inspiration today, so just another relief highlighting shot.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@25mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/125s; FL-50R set to left of subject in same plane.

Bubble 2013

Trying to do something else associated with water, so here's a "home made bubble". I mixed a high concentration of washing-up liquid with water then used a straw to blow the bubble to a point where it would just hang on the end of the straw.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@39mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/125s; FL-50R off-camera, positioned to left of shot, angled away from backdrop.

Cork Mat

I did warn that there may be a few relief style shots posted, so here's the next one. A cork mat this time shot with the same technique as yesterday's image.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@25mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/250s; FL-50R in the same plane as the mat and set diagonally from top left of shot.

Relief Exaggeration

I got this idea from some reading I was doing on the train on the way home today. I think I'll have to try a few different subject shot in this way.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@39mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/125s; FL-50R flash laid flat on table to left of shot.

Fishing Boats at Troon

Some of the Troon fishing fleet at rest in the harbour.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@50mm; ISO 200; f5.6 1/60s.

Ginetta Pile Up

Three Ginettas coming to grief at Knockhill last August.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 50-200mm@60mm; ISO 100; f4; 1/500s.

Sarah & Francesca

Taken at a group shoot event organised by Adam Matheson in Helensburgh today. Great event as ever.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@60mm; ISO 200; f5.6; 1/125s.

Lighting as follows:-

Main light - Bowens Gemini 500 @ f5.6 with barn door
Background left - Bowen's Gemini 500 @ f4 with green gel
Background right - Olympus FL-50R @ half power with blue gel, bounced off white sheet behind up-standing piano lid.

Second Curtain!

Henry the Navigator's "Gerry" on mouth organ solo.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 40-150mm@41mm; ISO 200; f8; 1s; FL-50R off camera, second curtain.

Henry the Navigator

Henry the Navigator tonight at Whistle Binkies, Edinburgh.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@16mm; ISO 400; f5.6; 1/125; FL50-R stage left, IR trigger.

Another Tap

Not much to say about this one really.....

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@60mm; ISO 200; f8; 1/125s; on camera flash.

Bubbles

Some bubbles in my kitchen sink.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@60mm; ISO 100; f5.6; 1/250s; FL-50R off camera flash.

Jen's Reflection

A simple shot showing the reflective properties of calm water in a puddle.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@26mm; ISO400; f4; 1/125s, FL-50R flash on camera.

Layers

These are both water based products. Orange juice floating on top of cranberry and apple juice. It's a very small glass!

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@60mm; ISO 100; f16; 1/250s; on camera flash.

Porsche

Just a wee hint of an excellent opportunity I had with a few others today.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 40-150mm@123mm; ISO 400; f5.6; 1/60s; ambient (window) light.

Cold Tap

Wonder at the complex patterns created in your kitchen sink with the simple flow of water from the tap.

Olympus E-3; Zuiko 12-60mm@37mm; ISO 400; f5.6; 1/250s; on camera flash.