Travelling to Delf and some Medium Format Film

Delft

Recently I was lucky to get the chance to travel to Delft, a city in the Netherlands.  The city is a quite architecturally beautiful, with many of the building being centuries old and of typical Dutch styling.  The Small streets, the many canals and bridges along with the churches really do make Delft what it is. 

We spent a few days wondering around, sampling all that Delft has to offer, the food, the sights and the atmosphere.  We Explored both the Old and New churches, which have significant links back to Kells, Kilkenny through William of Orange. Below are a few shots of Delft and the final shot is of a walk way in Amsterdam on the way home 

While there I came across one of the coolest vintage camera shops I have seen, they had a wide selection of vintage film cameras, from the Nikon F to Hasselblad 500C's and everything in between. I was looking for a Medium format camera, although lusting after a Hasselblad, I knew they were out of my range starting at €700 just for the body with no lens. Looking around I seen some Bronica's, Lubitel's, Roleiflex to name a few.  After taking to the shop assistant, I finally decided on a Mamiya M645 camera.

Shooting with the Mamiya was a challenge in its self, with no metering and no hand held light meter I had to first test expose with my digital camera and then take the shoot with film,  The view from the waist level finder and ground glass was very similar to the experience I had shooting a Hasselblad 503C, Which is in a previous blog head over and check it out Here. I also found myself using the Sunny 16 rule and making an educated guess at what what the photos would come out like. Taking photos with this camera was a thrill, even more as I couldn't wait to find out what I had captured. 

Scanning the film presents another challenge as at the moment I havant got a backlight scanner, so I have to take a photo of them using my digital camera and my computer screen as a light source. It isn't the best quality so I haven't scanned many. but here is a small low quality sample of whats to come when I get a scanner. The films used are Fuji Reala 100 and Lomography Colour 100, 120 Rolls. and C41 processed. I do have some Ilford Delta 100 but that will take a while as it has been sent off to be hand processed.  Below The top picture is Kells, Kilkenny where I was using the end of the rolls, below that is Up a windmill in Delft with my Folks. 

Lenses - Photography 101

So you’ve got your new fangled DSLR camera and most likely you have gotten a kit lens with it,  but what is so special about a DSLR lens when compared to a point and shoot? The simple answer is the lens on your new camera can be changed, and on your point and shoot it can’t be, although it can be zoomed, so can certain lens made for DSLR cameras.

As im sure you all know there are hundreds of lenses out there for your DSLR, They can be broken down into three categories: Wide angles, standards and telephoto lenses. These three categories can be broken down onto two sub categories: prime lenses and zoom lenses.

I’ll start by talking about my favourite lens, that is the nifty fifty, This is “the standard lens” so-called because it looks natural and emulates closely what the human eye sees. At the moment this is the only lens I use and own, why because I can do everything with it and its is so limiting it forces me to think about my shots.  The 50mm is a prime lens which means it can’t zoom, to zoom you simply have to step closer to your subject.

There are however standard zoom lenses, these are in between wide angels and telephoto lenses, with one of the most common kit lenses being Nikon 18-55mm, giving you a nice range from wide-angle to standard.Canon offer a slightly different lens from 18-135mm giving you from wide-angle to telephoto

Canon 18-135mm kit lens

In the standard focal length range, prime lenses tend to be cheaper than zoom lenses. They also tend to have larger apertures then zoom lenses letting you shoot in low light without a flash. Saying this though, it will depend on what type of photography you are going to be doing, which will ultimately determine if you buy a zoom or a prime.

The next category of lenses is my second favourite, these are the telephoto lenses. These are great for taking photos of distant objects and subjects. They too come in prime lenses and zooms. A telephoto lens can be just as versatile as a 50mm lens, with many photographers using them to take portraits as they give nice out of focus backgrounds. The most popular telephoto lens on the market is the 70-200mm give a great magnification.  The downside to these lenses is generally the price, here primes tend to be more expensive than zooms. This is generally due to the precision needed in making the wider aperture glass. The zoom lenses don’t have as wide apertures but give greater zoom range as the name suggests. Cheaper telephoto lenses such as the Canon 18-135mm will have a variable aperture, meaning as you zoom your aperture gets smaller. Where as the more expensive, popular 70-200mm lenses from both canon and nikon have fixed apertures. Such as the 70-200mm ƒ4 and the 70-200mm ƒ2.8

From left to right Canon 70-200 ƒ2.8 IS ii, Canon 70-200 ƒ2.8, Nikon Nikkor 70-200 ƒ2.8 VR

The final set of lenses which are a landscape photographers best friend, and these are of course the wide-angle. These lenses can be so exciting to use, giving you wondrous distortion creating funky and out of this world effects. But sadly the can be your worst enemy for the same reasons that makes them great.

I dislike super wide angels due to the distortion and warping the lens gives, although it can be corrected in editing software at a later stage, it is a pain, but saying that I have gladly had one and needed it for a specific corporate shoot I was on  and had to fit a stage in frame without stepping back, due to the audience behind me. Here is that Image.

Wide angle lenses are the king of getting everything in the frame and keeping everything in focus. I’m sure you have all seen the wonderful and wacky fish eye lens, this falls under wide-angle, and so do lenses with focal lengths less than 35mm which is border line wide-angle/ standard.  Like all the other lens types these too come in prime and zoom lenses. Pricing here is a bit tricky as with all the telephoto the focal length and aperture size will increase the price the wide the focal length and the wider the aperture opens.

As I said I dislike them, but when it come to creating amazing unique pictures, that show a different perspective these lens are absolutely king.

Below is a picture of the Nikon 6.00mm ƒ3 Fish Eye lens. I believe that this is the widest fish eye ever made. Giving a 180° view.

And as always most importantly, get out and shoot! Enjoy your photography!

Want to contribute your tips trick, and show some shots leave a comment and link to your photos. Feel I’ve missed something? Well drop me a comment and I’ll write a blog about it.

Cameras - Photography 101

Thinking of getting into photography as a hobby or as work? There are a few things you need to know and do. I’ll not to bore you too much and keep it short and sweet for the first post.

Starting with the type of camera.

There are a few types of cameras and as the pro-photographer you so long to be, you should be looking at getting a decent mirror-less or DSLR camera.

I’d recommend getting yourself a starter DSLR kit, from Canon, Nikon or Sony. It really doesn’t matter which brand you pick, just go into your local camera shop and pick one up. Make sure to test it out and see if you like what you feel. I started out with a HP point and shoot camera (something I would not recommend, ever!), which was a christmas present. I have to say it was awful to use when compared to the old film SLR I had lying around. Eventually I managed to get my hands on a Sony A300 DSLR with a whopping 10MP sensor (top class for the time 2008), and built in-body image stabilisation, still one of Sony’s better points.

But back to the main point. I Currently shoot with a Canon 5Dmk II, which is a pro DSLR and will most likely be way beyond what you need when starting out. Below are 3 starter DSLR kits that I would recommend. All are very similar with advantages and disadvantages to each. I’m going to be as neutral as possible but as I’ve shot with all three makes. I am slightly preferential towards Canon, but I’m not going to open that can of worms.

All three cameras come with a lens, have a pop-up flash and are easy to use and perfect for beginners.

First is the Sony A37-STL

Canon 650D

Nikon D7000

The advantages of these systems are huge, as lenses can be swapped for different situations.  Many of the starter DSLR’s will teach you to use and shoot great pictures with their many automated modes.  Although with these modes I found myself getting complacent and not using the camera to its best. Once you have the basics nailed, take it out of full auto and try one of the other modes. You’ll find your photography will take on a new lease of life.

Not to baffle you with hundred’s of facts about cameras, but here are a few useful ones.

• Most DSLR will now shoot video in full 1080p HD.
• Most take a memory format such as an SD card or a CF card, which you may have lying around if you own any type of camera.

               There are thousands of accessories available to customise your camera to your needs.

As a rule of thumb not many pro photographers will shoot with brands such as Sony, Pentax and Sigma; this is simply because the range of lenses and their performance aren’t as good as the Canon and Nikon counterparts.

A tip that all pro photographers and I will give you is to invest in good glass. (The kit lens is a great starting point, but generally are, well junk compared with other lenses you can buy that are slightly more expensive) Camera bodies come and go, but lenses can be used on all or most of your camera bodies.

So if you have the choice between a Pro body with a cheap lens or a cheap starter body and a pro lens, go for the cheaper body and pro lens.

One thing I will briefly say is with modern DSLR cameras; high megapixel counts are pretty much pointless unless you are creating huge prints.  1080p HD video is only 2MP; most new DSLR’s have megapixel counts of over 12.0MP. I say this just to give you some perspective on what you can see and what your eye can distinguish.

Remember gear isn’t everything; learn to use what you have. Most importantly, get out and shoot! Enjoy your photography!