Today my latest camera arrived – a Horseman 980. It’s what you might call a field camera. The body of the camera can be adjusted in all sorts of ways to control perspective and focus in the photo. I haven’t had the chance to use it yet since it’s dark outside, but I hope to shoot something at the weekend as a test run.
For the time being, please accept this snapshot of the Horseman on its tripod. I think it’s a beautiful object.
Today I cycled to the Avon Valley Railway, somewhere between Bristol and Bath, and accessible via the Bristol-Bath cycle path.
Being a sunny Spring day, the steam trains were running and there were plenty of passengers and spectators. I took a few photos that I’m pleased with – all the better that I was using black & white film for that vintage feel.
It was also the first time that I’ve properly used my new 135mm prime lens, and it’s fantastic.
Sort of train related, here’s the Staple Hill tunnel – free of trains and now part of the cycle path.
And finally, not at all train-related, but from the same roll of film, a deliberately out-of-focus shot of some street lights…
… and a sizzling barbecue.
I’ve decided to start tagging all of my new posts from now with the camera and lens they were taken with. At some point I will probably work back through the archive (250 posts!) and tag those too.
You can now find photos taken with:
This probably won’t interest most people, but it’s a handy reference for me. Anyone who is interested in cameras and lenses might also want to see my Cameras page, or the photography posts on my geek blog.
Last weekend I found my old microscope, that I was given as a child. Even by the standards of a school science lab, it’s pretty poor – but as I child it made me feel like I was a real scientist.
Today I decided to see if I could take pictures with it using my camera. I set up the microscope without its eyepiece, and added a macro extension lens to my Fuji S9600. It took quite a while to get it set up properly – the hardest part was aligning the microscope with the camera on its tripod, but I eventually managed to stack up some DVDs.
Then was the fiddly issue of focussing it. I had to focus the microscope in the usual way, by turning the knob. Unfortunately, that made the whole barrel of the microscope move up and down – changing the distance away from the camera lens. After setting up the microscope, it was a case of moving the camera back and forth by tiny amounts, and lastly changing the focus on the camera. Of course, changing the focus on the camera moves the lens and not the body, and just touching the camera moved it around. It took ages to get it right.
I backlit the subjects of my photos using a halogen desk lamp and a small mirror that’s built into the microscope. Apologies for the quality of this image – it was taken on a phone.
Then it was just a case of running round the flat like a 6-year-old, looking for things to put on a slide. First I had a look at a daffodil petal. The microscope has three objective lenses, 150x, 300x and 600x respectively. Of course the camera’s macro lens also adds an additional 1.5x or so. I started with 150x…
…and then increased to 600x…
Bored of my botanical subject, I plucked a hair from my beard. Here it is at 300x…
…and at 600x…
And finally, here’s the end of the hair that was once attached in my follicle. This one only looks more zoomed in than the previous ones because I cropped it quite closely on the computer.
The bluish area in the picture seems to be the camera’s way of telling me it didn’t appreciate having a bright light shone right up its barrel, so I decided to call it a day before I broke something. I might revisit this idea with my 35mm SLR (which has better quality optics, and no CCD to accidentally ruin).
Recently I was asked to select some of my photos so they could be framed and displayed in a new meeting room at work.
I chose a night-time shot of Oslo, a snap of the new centenary sculpture, and a photo of traffic outside the Victoria Rooms in Clifton.
And here’s what they look like 
This feline statue is in my parents’ garden. I love its rough texture after years of weathering. It’s not the first time I’ve enjoyed a rough, stony statue either.
It would probably be suitable for this week’s Photo Challenge, on the theme of textures. It’s certainly on my list of candidates.
Last night I was woken by noise and flashing blue lights, so I immediately went to the window. I saw a car on fire in the street below my flat, so I whipped my camera out. It was a bit dark for decent photos, but this is what I saw. I’ve no idea how long the fire had been burning when the fire service arrived, but I guess not long, given that the fire station is about 200m from here.
At one point the flames reached about twice this size but unfortunately I was fiddling with my camera’s settings to try and get a sharper image.
The fire service quickly brought the flames under control and eventually put them out.
You can see the ghostly outline of a fireman in this picture, backlit by the blue lights of the fire engine.
The car is still there this morning, just a shell of its former self. I hope they remove it soon – it’s an eyesore on an otherwise pleasant street.
Last week I was given a Canon 35mm SLR. I’ve already shot a roll of film to test out the camera and today I received the prints and a photo CD. Here are my favourite shots from the roll.
The colours are nice, and the lens is nice.
Flowers
This indoor portrait of Hana is somewhat underexposed. I could have done with some more light really.
Hana
This shot of the physics department was disappointingly grainy given that it was taken in sunlight.
Department of physics
In my opinion, these shots are all rather grainier than they should be. I don’t know if it’s because I used an old film, or because they are underexposed, or for some other reason. But I will keep trying!
