Patchwork camera repairs and Zoo days.

A bit of stuff has happened lately, my camera isn’t fixed and probably won’t be as I’ve decided to upgrade at the end of summer rendering my little 1000D forever in a debilitated state however to my surprise its not out of the game.  I’m sure if you’re familiar with the error 99 message on Canon cameras, It could mean that any one of a list of problems have occurred and according to H Lehmann of Stoke On Trent (who I rate very highly) my 1000D is in need of a new shutter which will set me back £162 and in my honest opinion I feel that this is somewhat excessive for the age and model of camera I have despite for that price, Lehmann’s also provide a full service and a 6 month guarantee on the whole camera.  But to me its just not financially viable.

Anyway after collecting my camera from the post office yesterday I was able to alter a few of the settings which has maintained my ability to capture my memories and experiment with the only form of art I really enjoy creating.  I also think its time for a quarterly update on  how I’m progressing in the world of photography.

So today we went to Chester Zoo for a few hours and I managed to capture some great stills.  I’ve been experimenting with a lot with the user defined setting on my camera and I rarely shoot out of manual mode which from reading information on the internet is a positive step.  As you have may already know I love this light in the spring months and not just to take pictures of what’s happening in my life but also Isabel and I are planting an array of flowers, fruit, vegetables and herbs and she seems to love gardening with me as you can see.

Here is Isabel watering the Strawberries that funnily enough are a year older than her, I planted them the year before she was born and they seem to have lasted very well.  The still itself is what I’m typically trying to achieve; a simple image that tells a little story.  I love the simplicity of the colour and the way the spring light highlights all that pink.  I’m still yet to enter into the routine of cropping and the blue tarpauline covering my wheelbarrow could have been dealt with but I kind of like it, its a perfect image of what goes on in my garden.

And the Zoo

I didn’t really spend a lot of time going crazy in the zoo, I did discover that my camera fits in the pocket of my coat its that small (its not like a compact SLR but its still little). As the day went on I did alter some of the settings to get it back to how it was before it broke.  The Meerkats were very much on form today and if it wasn’t for the triangle roof of the Rhino house in the background it would be easy to think you’re not in the heart of Cheshire.  Again more cropping could be achieved and the more pictures I take the more I feel I should spend more time on touching up but that will come in time. When I talk about the settings, I have been messing with the white balance a lot and depending on where I am depends on how my camera is set but generally living in North Wales there is a lot of green outside and I love to highlight this, its a really big part of where I live. I also like the warm oranges and reds so I tend to have the white balance on my camera set between green and magenta.

I do love the spectacle bear, they seem so placid and laid back and there was a time I would see them every time I would visit the zoo and then all of a sudden they disappeared. I was in for a treat today, one was out playing in full view and I managed to capture the moment when the bear stepped over a stream, i’m well chuffed with this.

Finally

This is what digital photography is all about for me, I take a thousand photos and and if I had to choose one this would be it. I’m very proud of this picture and It will definitely make its way on a wall in my house.  I am reluctant to post this on the internet, I may be biased but this is fantastic to me and my little (broken) Canon 1000D and the amazing 50mm f1.8 Canon lens has really shown what can be achieved.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Why I like the Tax Man today

I really do enjoy spring and there are a few reasons why that you might not expect. Firstly the clocks change next week so its lighter I the evening, secondly it gets warmer; spring time has already been good to us with a bit of heat but I just hope it lasts until September. Finally I really like the tax man this time of year?? Not only because we get a two month break in paying our council tax but also the 100,000 daffodils that were planted in our county paid for by the tax payer. It was done a few years ago and unlikely to be done in the current climate but they don’t just represent Wales, they give everyone a boost knowing that sprig time is finally here. Here are some pictures on how the tax man has very simply made our county much more beautiful for about 10 weeks of the year.

I love it, such a small thing that makes such a difference.

Cameraless; and I hate it….

You may know that from previous instalments to my blog I’ve been waiting (impatiently) for the lighter nights to arrive and over the last few weeks the evenings have been getting much lighter. Last weekend the clocks changed giving us that extra hour the every Brit has been craving for so long and to top it off we have been having the weather to accompany. You know its good when you step outside you back door and the air is filled with cheap meat sizzling on the BBQ masking out the beautiful smell of cut grass, and we all know a handful of people who get very burnt in the first weeks of sun in the British Isles, one of the best is seeing the person who is sat in the south facing beer garden all day but clearly only half of their milky white body is facing the sun rendering them with perfect sunburn on 50% of their body.

Anyway, last week I was getting very excited to take Isabel out and try to get some of the pictures I’ve been desperate to take. I had so much planned so as a precaution I decided to take some pictures one evening in the garden, just to have a practice with the light and from nowhere I started to get the dreaded error 99 on my little 1000d. Now just to clarify how annoying this has made me, no one likes to lose their mobile phone but i wish i had lost mine instead of a broken camera, lets face it i don’t need to speak to people to take pictures and I prefer to take pictures. Well its currently on its way to H Lehmann (official Canon repairs Centre) of Stoke On Trent and hopefully I should receive a phone call today with the a report on what the problem is.

 

 

I do hate not having my camera.

Another project; Izzy’s desk

Izzy love’s to colour, even at 18 months she really adore’s to lie her tummy on the floor with a piece of paper and scribble with her crayons. So a few weeks ago I was driving past an antique shop just outside Chester and noticed they had an old double school desk probably for about a 10 year old, you remember the type, the ones with the flip up lid to keep all you school work; I wanted one!!

I went on Monday to see if they had a single one and as luck would have it they did, in great condition; granted it needs a lick of paint but for twelve quid I cant go wrong. I’ve taken it on as a project to make it look brand new and I will keep my blog updated over the next few weeks to show how its coming along, here is how it looks when I got it home.

I can’t wait to show the finished product.

Spring time

A few things happened today, they all had something to do with what felt like the first day of spring.  Everyone was smiling for a start, it was great.  The day started very gloomy, as soon as the could’s cleared I was determined to make the most of the 30 minutes I have for lunch.  I went to the River Dee  just outside Chester, armed with my camera I went to where one of the hundreds of disused World War 2 pill boxes are situated.

It was about 13 degrees Celsius here but it felt about 20 and to have the sun on my face after so long gave me an injection of adrenaline.

 

It was so still and peaceful despite it being lunch time on a busy industrial estate.

I love going round old world war 2 pill boxes and its only recently I realised there were so many in my local area. They are dotted along the cycle path as well as other areas of beautiful.

When I went to Oxford last I went along the canal for a few days and hidden in the banks are similar pill boxes to this one, the canal cuts through the deepest depths of the English countryside which amazes me how far the government though the Nazi's were going to invade.

As mentioned earlier, this one is on the River Dee about half a mile from Chester city centre, it amazes me that there are so many around here; no corner left unguarded except its hard to think of an invading army coming up these peaceful estuaries.

 

It was such a nice day. I cant explain to folk of other origins how important these sunny days are to us Britons especially with the last few summers being so poor. These pictures are taken along a beautiful cycle path that takes you along most of the North Wales coast that can eventually take you to Liverpool.

 

Evening winter sun at the farm shop.

I took Isabel to Hawarden Farm Shop the other day to pass some time, get some food and take some pictures in the lazy, winter evening sun.  I had a great time and I managed to take some really good pictures.  I’m very satisfied with the light and colour in these pictures and I feel like i’m getting ever closer to where I want to be with my new hobby.

This is what you first see when you enter the farm shop, there is a deli and meat and dairy section to the left but it was busy so I didn’t want to disturb anyone.

I love the green in the grass against the pink of Isabels coat.  It was a beautiful evening to spend with my daughter.

I just love the light and colours of this picture. I love the depth of field on this too; shows the power of the canon 50mm f1.8 ef lens.

I know it sounds like i’m bragging, I guess I am but only because I am getting closer to achieving my goals.  I’m really happy with these pictures and as I’m getting some fantastic light with the longer days and bright sunshine its giving me a great opportunity to learn about natural light.  Also I get to go to the farm shop to eat loads of horseradish cheese.

Just a general comment on photography really

I originally bought a digital camera for 2 reasons.

1. Ive accepted that I could possible have upto another 40 years of work left in me and pushing numbers around an Excel spreadsheet isnt my idea of a lifetime of stimulation.  Ive realised that I have about 10 years to learn a new trade before age becomes a factor in the world of employment and I realise I need to use the time wisely to figure out what I want to do; photography being the first attempt.  If I can make money from it i’m doing something I enjoy and earning a living at the same time.

2. Secondly to document my my family life.  You may have established from reading my blog that the most important thing in my life is my daughter and the best way to keep hold of the memory is with a half decent camera and lens.  Point and shoot’s just dont cut it and this became apparent yesterday when my wife and I spend 15 minutes going through all the captured moments over the last 2 months since I bought my new canon. It was great, not only because we laughed for sometime reminiscing of the christmas just gone by but it was also satisfying that this was achieved by me and that these good feeling are a byproduct of something I enjoy doing.

Something else that i’ve been pondering is what people will see in what I capture when i’m not around, it makes me think of artist’s (such as J. M. W Turner), before the age of photography and how they have managed to create a visual representation of what they experienced during their time for the whole world to appreciate.  I suppose that often the finished product didn’t actually look exactly like what they were illustrating/painting but the idea was to show people what they saw during the age they lived.  I believe that in an age where most people have an opportunity to express themselves visually in one way or another, fail to show the same emotion that an artists achieves in their work.  I hope that in my short time in this life, I will produce work that people will be able to conclude that ‘this is what life was like when I walked the planet’…..

Put it this way, I cant paint.