I have moved down the road a bit to look after horses. Carole looks after them and I give them a stroke and fill hay nets……sometimes they let me loose wheeling the wheelbarrow full of muck. It never ceases to amaze me how much muck six horses can produce overnight and one horse is only small at fifteen hands and a bit.
Here is Toby the small one. He is wearing his best halter. Very proud he is as he only has it on for coming and going in case he trashes it on a fence.
This is Brav. He is much bigger but a bit of a whimp as he has to wear a rug in summer. I have to be quick taking horse pictures or else they blow snot all over the camera. Worse still they have a nasty habit of sniffing it whilst I have it up to my eye and they aren’t the gentlest of sniffers.
I am still using a bit of film. I have two rolls exposed and am part way into another two. When I have four ready I’ll send them away for processing. I have two rolls of HP5 and two of Velvia reversal film. The latter I am always a bit wary of, it doesn’t always seem to appreciate a cavalier attitude to exposure. HP5 is grand stuff. Anywhere within a stop or so seems to be fine.
I have been experimenting with a bodged up Macro rig to try and eliminate black backgrounds.
It does the job up to a point but I will have another mess around.
Ring flash on it’s own.
With the milk carton….I’ll have to now start watching the background as it shows up a treat.
I’ll leave you with a picture of Candlesnuff Fungus. Xylaria hypoxylon.
Very nice pictures Adrian. Great flash tip too! It is always a pleasure to visit your blog. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from the Netherlands!
Gert Jan
www.gertjanhermus.nl
Thanks Gert.
DeleteToby is very photogenic. Have a great week (hugs to Mol and Alf)
ReplyDeleteR.Mac, he is a friendly pony.
DeleteAh....horses! Now you're talking. And they're bigger and easier to see than bugs.
ReplyDeleteFrances, I'll take some snaps of the other four.....Maybe not Robbie as he bites and I have to keep my eye on him. Naughty horse.
DeleteI like the black bg but understand that you might not always want it.
ReplyDeleteJohn, it's nice to be able to choose.
DeleteYou're a man of many talents. Next thing we know you'll be riding one of those horses! I also like your invention for your macro.
ReplyDeleteRed, I doubt it. It's a long way down if things don't go to plan.
DeletePrecioso caballo Adrian. me gusta la foto 5ª ;)
ReplyDeleteBuen lunes .
Un abrazo.
Gracias Laura, si un caballo grande.
DeleteNice horses...I guess that translates as you being the head s*** shoveler then?
ReplyDeleteI assume that you're just using the milk carton as a snoot to solely light the background...how does that effect the main exposure...or is it a suck it and see job?
Only problem now is that you'll have to do some 'gardening' before you take the shot!...[;o)
Trevor, you have got it in one. The ring flash is ETTL and the milk carton one is manual on full zoom and about half power. It is fired with a Pocket Wizard as I can never work out how to slave sync Canon strobes.
DeleteThank God you are alive Adrian!!! i phoned several Fife hospitals to see if they had admitted an old seadog who had probably keeled over after consuming far too much grog at "The Nicola Strugeon's Head". And all the time you were shovelling horse shit!
ReplyDeleteYP, yes and having a bit of a blog break.
DeleteI like the horses, but that first mushroom shot with the grass was exquisite. Shoveling ...uh....muck must be good for you.
ReplyDeleteBill, it is good to do a bit of muck shifting.
DeleteShoveling horse **** ok, its catching them to wipe their ass i find hard work. Great photos as ever.
ReplyDeletepeter
Peter, if it's important to you take an apple.
DeleteLoving the shrooms:) Poo and horses....and lots of horses=some nice fertilizer somewhere for someone and the continued success of blackbirds and shrooms everywhere:)
ReplyDeleteChris, it goes back to the farm the straw comes from.
DeleteI hate horses everyone I meet tries to bite me, probably due to all the horse burgers I've eaten at football matches :-). I really like the composition on the first mushroom shot.
ReplyDeleteDouglas, they bite because folk feed them. Most don't if you keep an eye on them and give them a slap. Kicking is worse but not many horses kick.
DeleteOooh. A Bronica! I think I'd be spending my time perfecting black backgrounds just as you are trying to eliminate them.
ReplyDeleteGraham, black backgrounds are easy if you use strobes for macro shots. Avoiding them is hard.
DeleteI'd love to get a black background for some of my close-up stuff, Adrian, but then I don't use the right equipment and I don't have the knowledge. I love the black background on the first fungus imafe, but I can see that a black background on the second one might not have had the same impact.
ReplyDeleteAll great stuff, which makes me realise that I've only just started to learn this photography thing!
My very best wishes - - - - Richard
Richard, black is default unless you use a slow shutter speed, have plenty of ambient light and use 2nd curtain flash on the ring strobes. A printed background would be nice.......I'll see if I can do a couple on plastic.
DeletePS. I can use flash but am hopeless with birds. It's horses for courses.
DeleteFirst horse portrait is very nice and detailed. Liked its eyes so clever animal.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kovacs, it is a pretty pony.
DeleteSuch beautiful horses!
ReplyDeleteLinda they are but are not cheap to feed.
DeleteI like your horse images as well as the old film cameras. I was thinking once of getting one, just for fun, but then my laziness of processing the images took over. :) I'll see what you come up with.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Mersad, I would like more film cameras. They are excellent value for money if you steer clear of the collectable ones.
DeleteSome shots need a black or very dark background - others seem to need a context, as long as it doesn't detract from the subject.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I agree. I am thinking of printing some backgrounds. This set up is getting a bit cumbersome.
Delete