A couple of weeks ago, I took part in a Fab Collective project which saw us ditch our cutting edge digital photography equipment and arm ourselves with just a disposable film camera each.  Our mission was to go out within a 1-mile radius of our starting location and to simply shoot with the disposables within a 2-hour window.

Until then, I had not shot any film since 2002 when I sold up all of my film cameras.  Actually, that’s not quite true, I still have an APS film camera and little Polaroid Fisher Price thing lying around somewhere, but they’ve not …more

Watched this?

Pete saw this and was insistent we have a whiteboard installed during our exhibition. So, we did!

Whilst Clay Enos found his subjects on the streets, we engaged the people who came to visit the exhibition. This might seem like shooting fish in a barrel, but it really wasn’t. Getting your portrait taken is probably one of the things you’d least expect to happen at a photo exhibition. After all, the idea is to go and look at photos. Right? So, the process still involved approaching a stranger and asking them to stand in …more

As my camera history shows, Canon models have featured quite heavily in the line up of cameras I’ve owned.  Much like Windows computers, Canon were the popular and safe choice.  Well, hey, it’s 2009 and I’m composing this on a Mac because I believe it to be the better personal computing platform for me at this time.  As the title of this blog post suggests rather unsubtly, Canon have lost their hold on me and I’ve ‘gone to the dark side’.

Out went the Canon EOS 5D and in its place came the Nikon D700.  So, why the big move?

Improved high …more

I’ve always had an interest in the technical side of PC’s; from building custom systems to trying out new software just for fun. As time’s gone on and modern day life became more demanding, my hobbyist approach to computers had to shift onto the sidelines somewhat as I became more user than tinkerer.

As far as operating systems went, Windows was what I knew best and what I’d stuck with for many years. Sure, I’d had experience of other operating systems such as Linux, but Windows was what I used to work and play for the majority of the …more

Does ‘better’ equipment make you a ‘better’ photographer?  Without proper definitions of both instances of the word ‘better’, it’s a very ambiguous question.  Is newer better?  Is more expense better?  Are more megapixels better?  Are photographs that sell for more money better?

Anyway, the path from 40D to 5D is considered by most to be an upward one due to the increase in sensor size even though the 40D is 2 years the junior in terms of release dates.

Okay, bigger sensor size.  What exactly does that mean?

Technically speaking, DPReview provides the following information about the difference in 40D and 5D sensors:

Canon …more

Maybe you don’t need to!

When I decided to get back into SLR photography, I didn’t really give too much consideration to the difference between the different sensor sizes on offer.  After trying a friend’s 40D, I decided it was a good choice for me to go with and indeed it was.  After 8-months of shooting with the 40D, I’ve shot almost 12,000 frames, learned a great deal and produced some images that I’m proud of.

However, having shot with 35mm film in the past, in the back of my mind there was always the desire to get back to shooting with a full frame sensor.  …more

You’ve got opinions on your camera, lenses and accessories haven’t you?  I’ve yet to speak to any photographer who hasn’t wanted to share their thoughts on their equipment and now there’s a new way in which you can do just that.

PhotoGearUser.com is a website I’ve been working on for photographers to rate and review their photography equipment.  In return for airing their thoughts and carrying out a public service to other potential users, reviewers get a link back to their own website.  So if someone reads your review and finds they want to know more about you they can just …more

The EF 50mm lenses from Canon are probably the most talked about lenses I’ve come across (in the world of Canon). Their popularity is no doubt partly due to the great value of the f/1.8 flavour, which costs less than £70, in light of the sharpness a fixed focal length lens brings.

As well as the f/1.8, there are f/1.4 (2/3-stop faster than f/1.8) and f/1.2L (1/3-stop faster than f/1.4) versions each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

50mm f/1.8 (aka nifty fifty) offers sharpness, shallow depth of field and low-light capability in a very light and inexpensive lens.
50mm f/1.4 improves on …more

The rucksack style of camera bag is often favoured for reasons of comfort, security and its ability to disguise itself as an everyday rucksack that isn’t brimming with expensive equipment.  In terms of giving its wearer quick access to the bag contents however, it tends to lag far behind its shoulder bag counterparts as most traditional backpacks require the wearer to take it off before being able to get into the bag.

With a Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW or one of its siblings, this isn’t the case (or rather the bag).

The rumours and reports of accidentally published official web pages have finally been ratified with the announcement of the latest Canon digital SLR; the EOS 50D.  Just a year younger than its sibling, the 40D, the new mid-range camera once again brings Canon up to speed with the latest Nikon releases with features such including:

15.1 MP (APS-C) CMOS sensor
DIGIC 4 processor
ISO range up to 12800
3.0″ 920,000 dot VGA LCD with Live View
Face detection technology [on a semi-pro model?!]
AF adjustment

I’ll leave the feature debate for others and simply say that I won’t be replacing my 40D with the new 50D.  …more

A question that I often see being asked in photography forums is

What’s a good walkabout lens for my xxxD?

Rather than it being a reference to lenses with legs, a walkabout lens is one with which you might take out on a day of walking whether it be to a park, to the shops or to your friends barbeque. The requirement being that because you don’t know what type of subject you’re going to come across you take a lens that can cover most general situations rather than lugging about a heavy bag filled with lenses.

Prime lenses don’t fall into …more

Over the past few months, I’ve spent a not too small an amount of money on parking and entrance fees to various National Trust properties.  Seeing as though I plan to visit many more, it makes sense to take advantage of the benefits offered to NT members such as:

Free entry and parking at over 300 historic sites
Free parking at countryside and coastline locations
A members guide book to all NT sites
Newsletters about special events
3 editions of the NT magazine
Free access to National Trust for Scotland sites as well as others around the world.

If you’re not yet a member of the National …more

As a photographer, there are certain times when you might want to use a relatively slow shutter speed in order to increase exposure time. An example of such an occasion is when photographing a scene containing moving water and you want the movement of the water to be captured as a milky mist for dramatic effect.

I’ve just been reading a couple of articles which address two questions that often attract much debate:

Do filters protect lenses from physical damage?
Does technology help to make a better photographer?

The answers to both of these questions as given by professional photographer, Vincent Laforet, are provided in the following articles: