During a very quiet day at Hatfield Forest I had some time to admire the ancient hornbeam tree which sits opposite the kiosk where I work. The autumn colours have lasted a particularly long time this year and it seemed a shame not to take a photo before the leaves are all blown away. Instead of using a single frame I took a different approach, shooting a series of images from different angles and then combined them in Photoshop. The end result won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but it was good fun experimenting!
Mr & Mrs Greylag Goose having a good preen
13 January 2018 - Oh, for some sunshine!
I'm beginning to wonder whether my recent camera and lens purchases have put a curse on the weather. Since I bought the lens in mid-December we've barely seen the sun, and when it has deigned to appear I've been at work! Today was similarly gloomy but that wasn't going to put me off going for a stroll after my shift at Hatfield Forest.
Feathers tidied up, so it's time for a swim
Yesterday I attended the SWPP photography trade show in London. I had no intention of spending any more money but it did offer me the opportunity to meet up with sports photographer Ian Cook to ask his advice on action shooting with my new G9. He was incredibly helpful, suggesting tweaks I could make to the settings, including using back button focus. I've been aware of this technique (which separates focusing from the shutter button) but had never tried it until this afternoon. After a few minutes all at sea I managed to get my brain into gear and spent some time photographing the birds.
Coming in to land
Thanks to the apocalyptically dull light I struggled with birds in flight today but had more success with the geese on the lake. Of course, one of the forest robins was ever present, always hopeful of some crumbs, so I couldn't resist a quick picture, especially when he chose to land on a post just a couple of yards from me!
I think I can safely say my back button focus technique needs more practice but at least I came away with a few pictures. All I need now is for some sunshine when I have a few days off next week - fingers crossed!
11 January 2018 - Company on a quiet day
I had a very quiet shift at Hatfield Forest this morning but fortunately a couple of the local robins popped by to keep me company. Naturally, I'd taken my new camera and long lens into work with me so I whiled away some of the quiet moments taking photos of my companions. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get to use this lens in good light (I've had it three weeks and barely seen any sunshine!) but the pairing acquitted themselves well in today's gloom. Once again, the camera's image stabilisation worked a treat, especially when paired up with the long lens, where the two stabilisation systems work in tandem. Fingers crossed for some better weather soon so I can really have fun!