My pics

[Screeeech]

I thought I'd use this thread as a sort of running blog for my photos, I do mostly Landscape and Architecture with a Phase One setup, I used to shoot large format but quit a couple of years back when they stopped making Velvia, so just moved to technical medium format (Cambo WRS-5000 with a Phase one IQ260 ) mostly for the quality of the lenses and movements, which I was well practised with from 5x4,

Been out quite a lot in the last week, I did a couple of quick trips down to the coast - just mainly getting used to this new kit, ahead of an 8 day trip to Lapland next week to try and focus on the Northern Lights and frozen trees

Feel free to comment, or just ignore me

Beachy Head last week



London Bridge last week,



Durdle Door this morning,

 

[Screeeech]

Thanks for the kind comments guys

Really like the light on the bridge shot.

What was the EXIF for that one ?

Because the lenses I use are all mechanical - the only exif available is from the digital back, in this case it was;

Spoiler

Bits Per Sample 8 8 8
Exif Image Size 1,024 × 767
Photometric Interpretation RGB
Make Phase One
Camera Model Name IQ260
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
Samples Per Pixel 3
Planar Configuration Chunky
Software Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 (Windows)
Exposure Time 20
Exposure Program Manual
ISO 50
Exif Version 0230
Date/Time Original 2017:01:15 21:56:44
6 days, 16 hours, 3 minutes, 29 seconds ago

The lens I used was a 32mm Rodenstock Digaron HR, @ F11 with 1.5 degrees of front tilt and 1 degree of swing to the right (to get the wall and bridge in focus)

It's actually one of my favourite spots, but it's on private property (that whole area is) and I get harassed by security - however 90% of the time they leave me alone when I tell them it's just a hobby...

 

[Screeeech]

Cheers guys

I'm currently sat in a log cabin in Lapland Finland, there's a 5(G1) extreme aurora forecast forecast for tonight which is "extreme" so I'm planning to go out around 2-3am to see if I can get some Northern Lights action.

I got here on Sunday which was grey and gloomy, today was the same however tomorrow and Wednesday are looking good (from midnight tonight) so hopefully I'll fill some cards

The snow is pretty impressive, the average depth around here (Posio) is about 60-70cm, so getting plenty of use out of my snowshoes!

 

[Screeeech]

Sadly no aurora last night, good forecast tonight but there's very heavy cloud - not to worry though, had a very productive day - loving the arctic light! The sunrises/sunsets last for ages.

Snowshoeing is also lots of fun!

 

[Screeeech]

Cheers guys!

Been a busy couple of days, Wednesday was also a good day - managed to see the Northern lights for the first time, also spent more time down in Oulanka national park, it's really nice down there





Another one from Arctic Hill



Went outside at 3am and sky was green, was pretty impressive - difficult to shoot though, I think I need more practise and need to be in a spot where you can compose quickly, as it's a very rapidly changing thing - one moment it's there, the next it's right behind you, really good to see it though!

 

[Screeeech]

Cheers Guys!

Nice down at "The Cobb" at Lyme Regis this morning, cheeky session before work

Also looks good at high tide, thankfully no runner or dogwalkers reking my life today



Would have preferred a few more clouds and less harsh lighting, but there'a always another day!



Edit, re-uploaded the top one, wrong colour profile

 

[Screeeech]

I suddenly want a medium format camera

Tbh - it's a very slow workflow, I shoot a technical camera that has the full range of movements (tilt/swing/rise/fall/shift) - the sensor on my IQ260 produces very very nice images that print very big, it has almost 14 stops of DR too, but it's goes to **** as soon as I start doing very long exposures - anything over a minute is a waste of time, unless the temperature is freezing, as the back gets very hot! Most people would prefer a D810 or a Sony A7 as the sensors in those things will easily beat mine at high ISO or longer exposures.

The difference with technical cameras, is the lenses are beyond words when it comes to sharpness and image quality, the movements allow you to adjust the amount of foreground or sky, without having to tilt the camera up or down - so you end up with far less distortion - which is even better if you have buildings in the shot. I can also stitch panoramics by shifting the back from side to side without moving the camera - which generates perfect panos (zero change in perspective, as the sensors moves around inside the image circle of the lens)

The only problem is - it all comes at the cost of time!, time to setup, time to do everything manually, which a lot of people would hate. But I love it because it FORCES me to slow down and think about what I'm photographing

 

[Screeeech]

Went down to Kimmeridge for the evening, I forgot it was half term and the place was packed! along with a bunch of other photographers, tide was rubbish too - but hey! still nice to get out

 

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Is that an amonite on the rock? I had a camping holiday as a kid in Kimmeridge, it rained pretty much every day. I remember fossil hunting and then going to a nearby tank museum!

Yeah it is! the whole place is literally made from ammonites, you can't see it so clearly in the web version - but in the full size version there's hundreds of tiny ones in the foreground, it's a really interesting place,

 

[Screeeech]

Had a rubbish time recently, I've been out loads - but I've just repeatedly run into bad luck, clouded out/rained on every time, I went down to "Dancing Ledge" this morning with a bit more hope as it was a good forecast, however there was a giant chunk of cloud stuck there again so no decent light until it was too harsh, only came away with a couple of images, I'm going to America for a few weeks next week (work) so I'll be happy to have a good crack at Spring when it arrives

 

[Screeeech]

Had another crack at Dancing Ledge today, better tide and nicer light, also found a huge Ammonite the size of a dinner plate to act as a foreground anchor, some of the Ammonites there are gigantic - unfortunately most of them have been smashed up by someone's vain attempt to extract them, thankfully the one I found wasn't too bad,



Bit of behind the scenes action -

 

[Screeeech]

Been away on business these last few weeks, managed to get down to London for the evening, very very busy - lots of flowers on the bridge due to the incident week before last, but still managed to get some half decent stuff,

 

[Screeeech]

wow! Very beautiful!!

Thanks!

 

[Screeeech]

Thanks for the kind comments,

Really nice shots here! It's also interesting to see discussion about medium format. I've only shot with a Canon DSLR and moved to the Sony A7 series so it's nice to be reminded of the other kinds of systems out there and pros and cons of each. I look forward to seeing more from this post.

Yeah - it all boils down to what you like working with, I shot 5x4 large format film for a number of years, I tried a 645D and a D800e and just never got on with them, I just found the quality of my work went drastically downhill, which sounds weird - as there are many people with D800e's who take much better pics than me, but for me I'm just so used to using proper movements with large-format style lenses, so it's a personal thing for me, I have to have something that slows me down and requires thought - otherwise I just end up uncontrollably filling cards with junk!

 

[Screeeech]

Went down to Corfe Castle last night, slept in the Jeep for a laugh - there was a good forecast of mist but unfortunately it didn't happen, but still the sunrise was nice, always nice to get out early on a Sunday morning



Also went through some of last weeks London pics and found this last pic of Big Ben quite funny - one of those dudes on a tricycle covered in LEDs went past and made for an interesting shot!

 

[Screeeech]

Went up to Wales over the weekend (Anglesey) to do a bit of camping, unfortunately the weather was a bit grim and I came back early - however I did have a half decent morning at Penmon lighthouse, the tide was a it rubbish which made it hard work trying to find foregrounds whilst keeping the image balanced, but I thought I came away with a couple of decent shots,

 

[Screeeech]

Been in the Dolomites in Italy these past few days, struggling with most stuff being closed or under 10ft off snow, but aside from that it's highly spectacular, I think I'll come back in the middle of summer when all of the lifts and roads are open, I've done about 25 miles of hiking with my 35lb rucksack, in 4 days so I'm pretty tired, a lot of it in deep snow - which I wasn't expecting considering it's almost May!

 

[Screeeech]

Been out of action for the last month or so, either due to work or other stuff,

Decided to go on a last minute trip to Iceland, been up from 6-7pm through till same time the next day, on nightshifts - it's one of the best places I've ever been in my life, it's incredible... Had a couple of good opportunities so far, only been here 2 days - go back Sunday, so still some time to go,

A couple from the last 2 days, loads more to process



The Iceberg beach down near the lagoon at Jökulsárlón - this is a fantastic location, I'm definitley coming back in winter when the sun sets out at sea,

 

[Screeeech]

Thanks guys!

Wow. Only just come across this thread but the pictures are top draw! Especially loving the Dolomites and Iceland ones. I am going to Dorset in September so hoping to get to the Cobb myself! Any tips?

Thanks!

The Cobb is pretty simple to be honest, just plan the weather forecast to make sure you'll get some decent light - also use suncalc.org to check where the position of the sun will be, mine was taken around February - I think it makes a better winter shot than a summer shot, it also might be worse for people walking around on the pier in summer - but if you're shooting a sunrise at 4am in July, I imagine you'll be fine

 

[Screeeech]

Bored at work today, so went through some more iceberg pictures, think I found my fave one,