New camera!

Finally I have my new camera. I have been after an upgrade for some time now for numerous reasons but with money being a limitation, I haven't gone for a massive jump and now have the 40D. So as you can imagine, I have been playing lots - not only because it is a new toy but because I have a Wedding in 2 weeks and I need to get used to the setup of the body as it is rather different from the 400D.

So far, I'm very pleased with the results and I'm getting to know my way around it quite well. Although the menus are very similar to that of the 400's, there are several features and settings that my old camera didn't have.

The only down side is that I really miss my battery grip as it was so much more comfortable to rotate the camera when taking photographs.

Here are a couple of the images that I took at the weekend.

Summer Break

Well, I must admit, I haven't been up to a great deal so far this Summer. I seem to have a never ending list of things to do!

I have updated my website with more recent images and links but still struggling with Flash to get the site exactly as I would like it.

I have also been entering photography competitions so I will keep my fingers crossed and keep you posted with any progress.

I did some photography for a Goth Wedding in June which was pretty cool and rather different from the more traditional weddings that I'm used to. I am fairly happy with the images, although it was a shame that the weather wasn't too amazing. It was rather overcast and started to rain during the group shots so I have bumped up the warmth in most of the shots so they don't looks so bleak and cold.

Website & Logo

This has been quite a while in the making and I am still pondering on how I want this to work - I'm never happy with it!

I have been working on revamping my website on and off for a while now as I want it to look a bit brighter and more welcoming. As much as I like the current shades of blue, it is very dark and dismal with a heavy banner making it look very heavy and amateurish.

I have been trying to work out using Photoshop slices with Dreamweaver but I just get completely confused by the CSS! I'm sure I will work it our eventually.

So the first thing to go is the dark blue - I'm trying to work on something in white and a warm yet pale colour to give it some interest. The banner is going in the bin and I'm working on a logo idea with the signature of my initials - this is really common for watermarking and logos but it is simple and minimal which I like.

I also want to get rid of the boxes but I really don't like floating text as it lacks structure to the page so I need to experiment further with this. I will be using Flash eventually with scrolling text boxes but for now the majority of the site will remain html.

So there are a few idea of what is to come and obviously, I will post when I have finally finished it!

Web Site Update

Yet another update! I have added an extra page for Testimonials, tidied up my Weddings pages and the gallery so it is a Flash gallery like the others as well as updating the links page where I have add links and information to relevant local businesses where my business cards can be found.

This is the first time that I have started using business cards for advertising and so far, I have been shocked as to how fast they move - most of them have gone already in all of the shops that I left them in...

...I think I need to get some more printed!

I have also been working on a new logo idea but I can't quite get it how I want it so I'm afraid you will have to wait a while for it!

Nasty Fest!

I was given the opportunity to take photos at Nasty Fest last Saturday - like I would say no! lol

I don't have much experience of gig photography so I was rather nervous! I knew that it was unlikely that I would be able to use a Flash and that the lighting conditions would be less than perfect so I made sure that I did plenty of research first and took the best lenses!

As it turned out, I was able to use flash for most of the bands (having been polite enough to ask the performers) but I didn't expect it to bee too dark to use auto focus! It is alot harder to photograph people moving while having to manually focus - I am getting rather lazy and taking auto focus for granted I think!

Anyhoooooow, I did get some good photos (well, I think they are) but I didn't go with the expectation of being able to do an amazing job as having not worked in the lighting conditions before... I will know what to expect a bit more next time.

Self Written Brief: Portraiture

So the deadline was yesterday and I think I have handed in everything...I would have liked more time on this project as I was quite enjoying it but I will carry on in my own time regardless.

I framed 4 of the photos and displayed them on the wall and all of the others were presented as back up on a portfolio.

I chose these four to demonstrate the different styles and lighting that I had used throughout my project, while still trying to ensure that theimages were strong.

Top Left - Studio Flash Lights

Top Right - Natural Light (Outdoors)

Bottom Left - Studio Flash Lights (more of a fashion style shot)

Bottom Right - Natural Light (Indoors)

Fingers crossed...mark is due towards the end of next week!

Photography Elective: Macro

Well, I have finally decided what to do for my elective and made a decent start on it; Macro & Close Up Photography.

I decided this as the current work I have in this area is minimal so it would help to expand my portfolio. This also has the added bonus that I can do it easily at home with everyday objects around the house, therefore, minimalising any stresses involved such as the wind moving the subjects or the rain stopping me from doing work ourtside...

Here are a few of my images so far;

I partcularly like the liquids as I haven't done anything like this before and not only was it rather amusing to do, it looks really interesting.

The rose I'm very happy with. It is definately an improvement on my previous rose image that can be seen on my website. The new version is so much crisper and the focus is a lot sharper, but I did use a tripod this time!

I also like the screws as I feel there is a good depth to the image, mainly due to the contrast. But I also like the composition - it worked very well having the screws on an angle.