ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Saturday 4 January 2014

TWINKLE. (04/01/14)

Another damp day. It cleared up a bit this afternoon so at four I went out to see the Christmas lights. No sooner had I got set up than down came the rain.

_V0G7889   Moffat by night. This was taken with a 24mm tilt shift lens and it isn’t waterproof so I quickly popped it back in the bag. The rest of the images are all taken from the same place or near enough. I was going to have a wander down the street but the star filter was running in water.

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_MG_2571    It would be nice to have just one fine day, going out on dull wet days is pretty much a waste of time. Maybe next week will be better.

Tomorrow I’m heading for Kinross for a couple of nights, then up to Glencoe. I’ll post when I can but the internet will be hit and miss.

38 comments:

  1. Loving the night time/star filter effect. Let's hope for a better week next week for you

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    1. Shaun, you can get a similar effect from stopping the lens right down. Or is it the other way round? This is a Cokin filter I got in a box of junk years ago, I'm not sure they still do them. You just pop it on in a holder and rotate it to get the effect you want Lee do a range of them I believe. The price of Lee filters is beyond me for the use they get. So I'll not even look. If you want one I'll see what I have in my junk box. There may be a Chromatek one. I can post it if you fancy playing and if I have one. I don't want it back I'll have a rummage about on Monday and let you know. They seem to drop exposure about a stop which is no bad thing at dusk. You have to use them while there is still some light in the sky or they become overpowering as you can see here.

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  2. Christmas lights? Clear skies here in Cairns for the next week. 13 hours of daylight.

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    1. Yes Carol, raging fires burning the countryside. Still although it saves on BBQ fuel I think I'd rather have the rain.

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    2. PS. Carol if you click to enlarge then you will see a few. The Scots are not big on Christmas. Pagans they are.

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  3. The first picture is just beautiful! I love the colors and the little twinkle of the lights sets if off. The other pictures are nice but the lights are too overpowering.

    I guess this time of year in temperate zones you can have your choice - wet or cold. It's been pretty nice here up until now but next week it may it 4 degrees F. Last night it was in the high teens. Enough for Leo to come scratching at the door after he had been out only 2-3 hours. Six to eight is normal for him.

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    1. David the first was taken with the best lens I've ever owned it is surprisingly made by Canon. Hats off to them it is sharp corner to corner with little chromatic aberration. It is the TS-E 24mm 1:3.5 L II. It is wonderful at f9 through to f11. Depth of field is not easy nor is focus unlee you use it tethered to a laptop. A great lens.
      The rest are just a bit of tomfoolery.
      It's not cold here just wet and windy.

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  4. Oh Adrian, is that a shift and tilt lens, you do use it proficiently.

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    1. Bob, they are good value for money. Better than the Zeiss 22mm and 27mm by a country mile. Only the first is tilt shift. The lenses are a fortune. It rained so I ducked into a cafe to wipe it.
      It is very hard to use on a Canon even with live view. I leave it tilted just a tiny bit and then manually focus on something about a quarter of the way into the interesting bit. I have had some terrible landscapes from it. They were my fault. Indoors with controlled light and tethered to the computer it is a dream of a lens. It's so good I know it's me if images turn out less than perfect. It has already paid for itself on two outings. I suspect that is less to do with the final image but more to do with the client appreciating the difficulties of firing three strobes and getting the bloody lens in focus. He can see it all on the laptop and see me working. They do get bored whilst I bumble about dialling flash through Pocket Wizards smearing WD40 on chrome bits Chucking a bucket full of water under there pride and joy . But when it looks right after I've metered with an incident meter a dozen times. I call him back. Watch this. One click of the mouse and an image that is impossible with an I-Phone. Perfect first time. It is a high stress job, it's like standing on a stage as Othello and not knowing Shakespeare even existed . Not much gear in the scheme of things. 20K and I've only got two jobs booked for next year. Happen I'll do a calender.

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    2. PS. Forget the calender, I just want the killer image that will keep me for a year or two.

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  5. HI Adrain I hope you get better weather nextweek so you can get out and about.

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  6. Well, that outing, at least, wasn't a waste of time. I really like the first shot, the others are a bit too sparkly for me (I'm not used to bright lights). Hope the weather is more to your liking soon.

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    1. Pauline, and for me. It will get better or at least do something other than rain.

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  7. I like your dusk shots, and the star shaped lights coming off the street.

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  8. A splendid place is Moffat. I don't go there much these days unfortunately but I've stayed there on many occasions over the last 40 years when the A9 has been closed by snow (and on occasions out of choice as well).

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    1. Graham, it is a good place but much of it is suffering, shops closing, pubs closing. It's still an attractive town.

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    2. Shops and pubs closing in Moffat! Given its isolation that's not a good sign. A lack of tourists or Amazon? Not that Amazon would explain the pubs closing!

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  9. It's amazing that you get out as much as you do with so much wet weather. I'd be curled up in a bunk in the motor home.

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    1. Red, staying in bed with a book would be a sensible option.

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  10. Love your first shot Adrian, the others are ok for some amateurs. Keep on clicking, the wet conditions really bring out the colors.

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    1. Horst it is a great lens in the first shot. It's not a lens I can rush with though.

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  11. Matches the twinkles in your eyes, I'm sure ;) My favorite is the first one ~ they all look quite magical.

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    1. Glo, the first is a normal shot the others are just a bit of fun.

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  12. I'm sure Moffat has photographic potential, liking the last shot here a lot.
    I was inspired by yourself from a previous occasion to stop off here on my trip to Scotland. However I experienced similar weather / cars and ended up eating sandwiches in my car in the middle of the street. Went into a coffee shop for a hot drink called aptly named Rumblin' Tum but there were that many people in there unserved escaping the rain, that I opted to do something against my conscience !! … I plumped for a cup of tea in the nearby woollen mill. Thankfully I was the only one in there, well it was getting on for 2pm and IU was desperate by now... Time to move on in more ways than one.

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    1. Jay it is a good town. I got another pair of gloves in the Mill. It's cheap and I lose gloves .

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  13. Who needs Christmas lights when you have a star filter. Some really nice town shots Adrian, and at a time of day that I struggle with camera wise. I probably just need to try harder.

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    1. Gary, you need a tripod. Exposures are always going to be over1s. I go before it's dark so that I get some building details and the sky.

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  14. Despite the rain the photos are great!
    By not stop raining here since Christmas: ((
    good Sunday, ADRIAN.
    a hug.

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  15. thank you for sharing these images with us! The buildings are so charming. Try to stay dry.

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    1. Norma, it is a pretty little town. The only town for miles.

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  16. These are the kind of images that keep me wishing for a full frame camera. I don’t know if my 1.6x crop sensor could handle night scenes like these, mybe it could, but a full frame is better. Nice touch with the filter.

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    1. Maria, you should be fine with a tripod and cable release. I use f9 or f11. ISO at 160 and on AV let the speed take care of itself it is usually around 1 to 2 seconds. If exposure time start getting up around 20s then when you have finished pop the lens cap on or cover it with your hand and take a black frame. This will get rid of most noise and any hot pixels. I blend it using multiply or lighten I think it's the former.

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  17. Hi Adrian, don't know but I like a lot rainy days... your pics are really beautiful... suggestive
    I wish you a happy year, a happy and nice 2014

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