I has been a long while since i updated anything on here, i haven’t been too busy to write anything, and i haven’t been so quiet i have nothing to write about. I just haven’t seen any of them as interesting enough to write about on their own, but i have been up to a few things in the last few weeks.
A few days after my last blog post i bought a new lens, the Nikon 85mm F1.8, i have been wanting to try some more portrait stuff lately and thought this was a good cheap lens to try with. The first thing i did with it was go for a wander with my girlfriend and my new lens into the countryside and fields, snapping photos of the sheep and cows to test the sharpness and depth of field of the lens, it looked incredible ! We decided to go and have a look around RAF Manby and try some portrait stuff, the light wasn’t perfect but i wanted to give it a go, and i got a couple of photos i liked, overall very happy with my new lens! I have also tried the new lens with my niece and on a tiger!
The next thing i did was find a new photo location, well i was shown it by my mother, who usually point out a bit boring stuff but this was good! It wasn’t the easiest to find so while my car was in for a MOT she drove me to it, its only 10 mins from home and its very cool! I got a few images i liked but its definitely spot to come back to in all weathers and time of year, i cant wait to get back and do a milky way shot here. It appears to be some sort of abandoned hut in the center of a field, the only thing inside is a box that a barn own lives in.
Up next is a quite a big one………my first paid wedding! I have done bits at weddings before but this was my first paid shoot through my website, not a friend or family! I was very excited, i went to the church, looked around for some nice spots of the photos, where would the sun be at this time, how much light was in the church, what the reception would be like, how much light, space, everything. I met with the couple, Nick and Nikki before to discuss what they wanted, and they were after mostly candid photos, which was good, that’s how i like it. The big day came, and i had everything ready, batteries charged, lenses cleaned, cards emptied, ready to go, there was only one thing i hadn’t accounted for….it was raining, heavy, all day! There was no light, no sun, no colours, noting to work with. I arrived early, met a few people, waiting for the groom to turn up, started snapping away, the bride turned up and got a bunch of photos of her and her bridesmaids. Once inside the church the light was almost non existent, i changed to my 85mm to get a longer look to keep out of the way but it isn’t stabilized and i was shooting very low shutter speeds and i was struggling, so i changed back to the 17-50mm which lets less light in and is wider, so this was a struggle right away. I kept to the back in the church, it was a tiny ceremony, only around 10 there including the bride and groom, so i had a hard time blending in and being quiet. Once back outside i could get some better photos, smiling people, confetti throwing and a few group photos. The group photos were rushed and had limited space so the backgrounds are a little distracting but i think i got some nice photos from the church.
We moved on to the reception at the North shore Hotel in Skegness, it was all set out very nicely and the wedding room was a large conservatory, lots of light, while the day lasted at least. These shots were more candid with some group photos thrown in, some dancing and some people just having fun until it was time for the speeches and dinner. I once again tried to stay back during the speeches but by now it had gone dark and my long lens wouldn't have worked in this light, i did what i could and then as dinner was coming out i left.
After this i decided it was time to invest in some new gear. that could handle the lower lighting so started the hunt. I was in Nottingham and i was just having a mosey around a camera shop and noticed the Tamron 70-200 2.8 was up quite cheap so i snapped that up! This was a step above the zoom i already had. Next was a new camera body and the D500 looked promising, with an ISO of 50000+ instead of my ISO of 6400, it would work so much better in low light, and it shot 10 photos per second which is a nice bonus! I Found one on ebay also quite cheap so ordered it! Before the D500 could arrive i had a new born shoot to do, another first for me ! This was unpaid for a friend, although she did get me a bottle of Jack Daniels as a thank you ! I had no idea what i was doing, not a single bit, i had a look on YouTube for tips and Instagram for some ideas before i went. I arrived with a couple of ideas and little hope of getting any nice images, i had got an LED light panel to use instead of a flash, the light was adjustable in colour and brightness. I had Chloe controlling the light, and Kirbee controlling Marley, the baby! The light was a lifesaver, it worked very well, and transformed the images. Marley was quite well behaved, even though he did throw up and pee on everything, including me a little bit ! I took a lot of images of him, hoping for just a few nice ones. The next day i went through them all, happy with a few, i would have maybe been better with a flash and a studio but for photos in a bedroom with an LED light panel i think they came out quite well.
The next day after these photos, the new camera arrived, i haven’t had a real chance to test it yet, i nipped to Cadwell Park to grab a few shots and took a few landscapes and it performs very well and just feels so much better to use, so i look forward it using it more soon! It is dark now when i get home and weekends have been busy recently but i break up from work for Christmas on the 13th of December this year so ive been deiced where to go for a photography trip, do i go to Australia again, Vietnam, Thailand, USA, Norway, South Africa…….i couldn’t decide, bit i landed on Scotland, easy cheap and some incredible landscapes to be had! I have been to Scotland but never as a photo trip, and im going to focus most of my time in the highlands and the Isle of Skye! Looking forward to that and all the other work coming up and everything next year brings me ! I have updated my website a bit to now include weddings so remember to suggest me if anybody you know needs a photographer!