Photography: Year 1

Soldato
Joined
4 Sep 2003
Posts
4,428
Location
Cornwall
Well seeing as every man and their dog is doing a 'Best of 2007' thread I thought I'd inflict one on you too :p. I started photography back in January this year (or last year if you're reading this tomorrow!), and it's lead my whole life off in a direction I didn't even really know existed until recently.

Anyhoo, having never done any real photography before I decided I needed a new hobby and bought my first SLR (D50) in January with the kit lens, and being cheapo a £10 reversing ring off ebay to try some macro stuff.

Januray: Violet stamen macro
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Then February I had my first go at landscapes, and at post-processing, so apologies for the garish nature of the following!

February: Bodmin Moor silhouette
feb_by_HairyToes.jpg


In March I finally accepted I was going to have to start investing in some real glass, and bought my lovely Sigma 150mm, which I put to very average use!

March: Racing
march_by_HairyToes.jpg


By April I was in something of a kit-buying frenzy, and got what is possibly still my favourite lens, the immensely silly Sigma 10-20.

April: Moon & Venus
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The 10-20 pretty much stayed on the camera for several months!

May: Storm Machine
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In June a lot happened. I got an amazing deal on a D200, discovered a whole new style of photography using a 10-stop ND filter and completely fell in love with landscape work. I spent two full days at a place called Porth Nanven in west Cornwall, and produced a series of shots that I don't think I've bettered since. It is truly a wonderful place for photography, and I recommend anyone that finds themselves down this way takes the time too visit.

June: View to the Brisons, Porth Nanven
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July: I took no photos! Shame on me. So here's another from Porth Nanven:
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Much of the summer was also spent getting very scratched legs chasing insects dementedly around fields!

August: Grasshopper
aug2_by_HairyToes.jpg


Finally started to get to grips with Photoshop and spent a lot of time trying different processing styles on both old and new shots. The image below should have been a 40 second exposure, but my camera battery died after 6 seconds. The resulting image was almost completely black from underexposure, but shooting RAW and a lot of playing in PS eventually produced one of my favourite images:

September: Marazion Harbour
aug_by_HairyToes.jpg


In October I started an MSc in Biological Photography & Imaging which I applied for at the last minute after deciding I didn't want to do a PhD after all! Much of the start of the course was quite frustrating because we were given very restrictive briefs and large amounts of software training. We did however get to play with a few beasties!

October: Fire-bellied toad
oct_by_HairyToes.jpg


November was an incredibly busy month, and I took a huge number of photographs, but mainly for very specific projects that aren't really worth sharing as 'art'. This shot taken just as the last of autumn faded I do think is worth sharing (ignore the dust-spot please!):

November: Padley Gorge
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And so to December. The first few weeks of the month were spent working 12-18 hours a day on finishing assignments for my MSc, but I also found some time to make use of the studio equipment at my disposal.

December: Freddy The Fish
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So there we are! My first year in photography, hopefully the first of many :)

And finally, because choosing shots for each month was so difficult, I'm going to cheat and add a small compilation of 'almosts' below!

2007_by_HairyToes.jpg
 
Good thread Tom. Some great shots there and its nice to see your journey through pictures. Best of luck for 2008, hope the MSC goes well and that you take lots of good photographs. :)
 
Wow, I wish I was that good. I have been at it for 6 months but unfortuately I only go out about once a month for pics at the most. I have little motivation :(

Awesome shots mate :)
 
Some amazing shots there.

Looks like a very good year for you, would post mine..but wasnt anything near the ones posted already.
 
Great work, you can definitely see the progression through the year.
Did you have a bachelors in something before starting the masters? I'm trying to find a way to stay in uni for another year :P

And yes we all love our 10-20s!
 
Thanks for all the comments you lot.

Rob, I've got a Zoology degree. The course website states you need a biology related degree, but there are people with chemistry, geography and biomedical degrees doing it too. If you want any more info just give me a shout.
 
Thanks for all the comments you lot.

Rob, I've got a Zoology degree. The course website states you need a biology related degree, but there are people with chemistry, geography and biomedical degrees doing it too. If you want any more info just give me a shout.

I don't think a masters in civil engineering will cut it really then :P
Thanks anyway, I'll keep an eye out for courses that would take me.
 
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