A Walk Around Hampstead

The day started with lots of sunshine and it seemed like a great day to go out and take photos. After arranging to go to Hampstead Heath, I set off just to have clouds move in and it getting quite cold.

With the clouds and grey skies the walk around Hampstead Heath was a bit boring and not very eventful for photography.
Thankfully it cleared up later in the afternoon and the sun came out so it made the walk and photography a lot more enjoyable.

Hampstead is a ok area but a bit hyped from what people make it sound to be, it's nice enough to go and see it if you're around but does not really warrant a special trip in my view.

News & Pint

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 2934, RAW, 53mm (Jupiter-12 f2.8 28mm)

Just a quick pint after work on a Monday to have a nice start to the week, I liked the light when I saw this and the Jupiter has done a good job at capturing it.

A Pint with a View

GRD IV, f1.9, 1/20, ISO 3200, RAW

Been a quiet day and only took two pictures while having a drink at the Yacht pub in Greenwich.

A Glass of Wine

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/45, ISO 3200, RAW, 53mm (Voigtlander Nokton f1.2 35mm)

British

GRD, f2.4, 1/8, ISO 400, JPG

Enjoying a Refreshing Pint

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 800, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm L)

Conversing over a Pint

GXR A12 50mm, f4.0, 1/410, ISO 200, RAW

As nice as the A12 50mm module is now with the new firmware updates, it simply can't focus properly in backlit situations. I took 15 pictures of this scene and only had a few properly in focus although the camera always showed a green focus confirmation. This is a problem with both A12 modules and it happens most of the time if the scene is backlit or if the contrast range is too high.

Feed the Dog

GF1, f0.95, 1/50, ISO 400, JPG b&w, 50mm (Voigtländer Nokton f0.95 25mm)

Flash Photography with Cristian - Part 1

No picture today, the weather was not great and I was not inspired. Instead you get a free flash workshop. :)

Imagine you are out with friends drinking and want to take some pictures, I know this is not difficult to imagine. Now, you have basically two options, you can use the on-board flash:


...ugh, maybe not.

You could boost the ISO and get a picture with a lot of noise:


This is much better but still not great.

Now you are out of options or are you?

Well, you could try to use a huge external flash and bounce it but seriously, would you want to carry this on a night out? Most likely not.

There is however another way to get great pictures and all it requires are things you would already have if you are out drinking with friends, beers and other colored drinks. If your camera has a pop-up flash (which most proper cameras have) you can use it together with your drinks to create great flash images.




All you have to do is enable the flash and hold a glass in front of the flash but not the lens and take your picture (see the 2nd picture in this post). Hold it as close as possible to avoid shadows but even with shadows it you can create great effects.


Try experimenting with different colored drinks and have fun but drink responsibly or you won't have enough of the drinks left to take more pictures. ;)

The Reader

GX200, f4.4, 1/10, ISO 200, RAW, 72mm

For low light work the GX200 is really not good unless you can get away with using a low ISO and can rely on steady hands and the image stabilizer.
Took a few pictures while having some drinks in a pub this evening and this I liked best. I did have to underexpose the picture to get a good result out of the GX200, unlike the GRD I where you have to slightly overexpose. Also you need to desaturate the blue channel quite a lot so as not to get blotchy noise after using Noise Ninja or other noise reduction methods.
I do hope the next GX camera will have at least a faster lens and better high ISO to make these shots easier.

Summer Afternoon

GRD, f3.5, 1/2000, ISO 100, JPG b&w - Taken on 20/07/2006

Took this picture while enjoying the nice weather in London. I really liked the scene with all the different people in there. At the time I took the picture I wished to have a 40mm lens since 28mm was too wide for what I wanted to capture. But with some cropping it gives me the view I wanted.

Looking Back

S40, f2.6, 1.3 sec., ISO 100, JPG, 35mm - Taken on 09/02/2006

While creating a backup for all my pictures I realized that there are quite a few pictures I really like but never got round to upload anywhere. This is why I decided to look back at some of my favorite pictures from before I started my blog and post some of them here. This week will be all dedicated to my older pictures.

Today's picture has been taken with my old Pentax Option S40, my first digital camera and the camera I replaced with the Ricoh GRD. This picture is my favorite picture from this camera and made it clear to me that the camera you have with you at any time is the camera that will give you the picture. This was basically the day I decided that a dSLR would just not work fo me due to the bulk. I took this picture while walking home from work and after I decided to met a friend at a pub, I had the camera with me because it was small and so I could take this picture.

Since I will use older pictures this week, I can relax and use the GR1 again to take pictures.