Photography

Check out my flickr account.

I've always quite enjoyed photography, but have never really got into it, for a few reasons, film development costs being a major one. Recently I've become more interested, with the price reductions of DSLR cameras, and seeing various shots in forums which have really inspired me, so have taken the plunge into photography.

I bought a Nikon D50 with the kit 18-55mm lens in August 2006. After finding a passion for nature and animals, I bought the Nikkor 75-300mm lens second hand on ebay, which I really like, although it has a few weaknesses, like the front of the lens turns when it focuses, making use of a CP filter difficult to say the least. It can also get a little distorted at the longer range (see the car in the background of 'A Bird in the Hand'), but hey it was pretty cheap (I paid £90!), and does the job.

I have also picked up a Nikkor 50mm f1.4D since then, which I rather regret buying; for the use I get out of it, I should have gone for the cheapr 50mm f1.8D - what's half a stop between friends?! But it is a good lens, and produces great portrait shots.

Feeling inspired after watching 2001:A Space Odyssey, I bought a Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 wide angle lens. I'm finding this lens rather difficult to get used to. Thus far I have been used to shooting subjects but with this wide lens it really makes you concentrate on shooting scenes, which I suppose will make for better photographs in the long run. It's just taking a little getting used to!

I also use a fairly cheap Manfrotto 714SHB tripod, which I feel has the perfect balance of weight and, well, erm lack of weight! I use UV filters on all my lenses - just to keep them safe - I would rather break a £15 filter than a £150 lens! I also have a CP filter and an ND8 for those long exposure daytime shots.

Software wise, I'm an Open Source advocate, and as such run Debian GNU/Linux as my operating system, and The GIMP as my photo editor. I'm currently learning Perl, so I can create an app to sync my photos, do backups and stuff. I'll put it up when it's done.

Suffice to say then, I'm really enjoying my new hobby thus far, and it's giving me a chance to get out and capture the area I live in.

I don't host all of my pictures on this site; I have a flickr account that I put most of my pictures on. However I have a few of my favourite pictures here, in my gallery.