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The AV Group Entertains and explanations about Challenge Fixed Focal length
Music and images abound - even in Lockdown!
26/02/2021
Members were royally entertained on Thursday with a string of AV Presentations put together from archives as well as new pieces from members of the AV group. Whilst they have been unable to meet formally these past twelve months, some managed to put together some really amazing combinations of photos and music that were refreshingly new, and Jill Toman was able to forge an evening of old and new for us . Subjects were many and varied and ranged from Glastonbury Festivals to Bears and Wolves, featured the Minak Theatre as well as Spanish Oranges and Vintage Cars. They rang out to the sounds of The Beatles as well as to Queen and to " Any Old Iron" made famous in the music halls of old by Harry Champion. We just had to sit back and watch and listen! What was particularly impressive was the range of skills in composition and use of IT to effect smooth transitions visually. It was a really stunning evening, and a gave us something to look forward to when this group can come together once again creatively.
It is our Annual AGM next week and a night when the new Committee can meet to make some decisions about the future meetings and focuses. We also need to hand in entries for the next competition: "The Letter O" so there is much to be looking forward to as the Spring approaches and brighter days beckon.
Jenny Short
February 26th 2021
The Fixed Focal Length Challenge with the good weather has got us going .
Jill says :
I chose my Canon prime 35mm lens which is small and light. I bought it over a 50mm one (which is supposed to be closest to what the naked eye sees) as I love to shoot landscapes and the 35mm gives me a slightly wider angle. It is a f2.8 lens so is also quite good for close ups and in low light. My 3 pictures show a landscape, an outdoor close up and an indoor still life (the Poinsettia)
Jenny says :
I decided to use the Nifty 50 mm which I love for street photography.It is my cheapest lens and one i use a great deal for street stuff so in the park today i had a ball. It is really fast - f1.8 so good in low light as well as the bright sunshine we enjoyed at Collett. It is light and unobtrusive in the street on the R6 and for the price it is absolutely great value. I recently bought myself an L bracket so I have a more flexible and solid arrangement on the tripod for table top and still life stuff so the pepper pic is my first go with that and the 50mm . I have yet to do my third one - perhaps tomorrow. I am thinking portrait or landscape . update Saturday: yes I went for a portrait with the 50mm and decided I would try an HDR image as I have just learned the settings for that today . Practised on the cats first then Frank As always a black and white is my preference !
:
Pamela says
Message: I chose my 16-55mm lens but kept it at 55mm. This was a good
exercise for me to concentrate on not changing the focal length.
Suzanne says
I used my Sigma 28 -200mm, 3.5 – 5.6 lens, as Telephoto work used to be
my favourite type of photography. I wanted to use it around the 200m
end. These pictures were all taken at 175mm. I found I had to stop
myself automatically zooming the lens in and out. Composing the
picture I saw in my eye sometimes meant I had to: change position
where possible or keep stepping back- but I did find myself off the
pavement once, blocking a footpath and stepping in mud! Keeping the
camera steady without a tripod was a challenge too as was finding a
convenient object to lean against I will revisit this lens.
Louise says she used her macro 105mm for her images of the toads .
Janice says :
I chose my 50 mm lens which doesn't get much use. However, I
really enjoyed this challenge and will be using it much more often. All
three of my images were taken on a walk along the old railway line from
Radstock to Kilmersdon.
This from Graham:
My favourite lens is my Canon 60mm macro. It's light, easy to
take close up hand held with its auto focus although I usually have the
camera on a small tripod when taking flowers. The lily in my three was
taken hand held, the subject selected in photoshop and background
blurred. A few months ago I bought a Sigma 105mm macro thinking to
upgrade but it weighs a ton. Lovely on a tripod but hand held NO. The
Canon 60 mm is what I also use when taking portraits at it's fantastic
for that,
And from Tony who used his new lens !
I don’t have a fixed focus lens so used my 24 – 105mm f4 lens to take the images all of which were shot at 105mm. The crocuses were taken in the garden at the minimum distance the lens will focus, which is 0.45M, and at f6.3 to keep all the group of flowers in focus while blurring the background. Then I took the portrait of Toby from a slightly greater distance. I wasn’t able to get both eyes in the shot as he’s not the most willing of models and every time I tried to attracted his attention he would get up and walk over to me! The final shot of Farrington Gurney Church is to get a landscape image at 105mm rather than the more normal wider angle used for landscape photography. Unfortunately I missed the beautiful sunshine at the weekend so ended up taking this shot on a misty day and the image was very flat in colour so I converted it to monochrome which I think improved it.
Diana says :
3 Images taken with my Olympus 300mm lens. (her favourite ) all the images are taken from Haydon Batch. none has been cropped so Downside Abbey is a long distant view, the Hazel Catkins are much closer and the Teasels were about 2 feet from me
Jane Richardson says : Used my 46mm fixed lens, which I have been starting to use abit more, its lighter and I like the results it gives me.
On the landscape I liked how it dealt with light and shadow. The post gave mea good sharp foreground and a defused background. I liked the result of
my favourite tree.All photos taken on a circular walk I do betweenNorton and Stratton.
It is our Annual AGM next week and a night when the new Committee can meet to make some decisions about the future meetings and focuses. We also need to hand in entries for the next competition: "The Letter O" so there is much to be looking forward to as the Spring approaches and brighter days beckon.
Jenny Short
February 26th 2021
The Fixed Focal Length Challenge with the good weather has got us going .
Jill says :
I chose my Canon prime 35mm lens which is small and light. I bought it over a 50mm one (which is supposed to be closest to what the naked eye sees) as I love to shoot landscapes and the 35mm gives me a slightly wider angle. It is a f2.8 lens so is also quite good for close ups and in low light. My 3 pictures show a landscape, an outdoor close up and an indoor still life (the Poinsettia)
Jenny says :
I decided to use the Nifty 50 mm which I love for street photography.It is my cheapest lens and one i use a great deal for street stuff so in the park today i had a ball. It is really fast - f1.8 so good in low light as well as the bright sunshine we enjoyed at Collett. It is light and unobtrusive in the street on the R6 and for the price it is absolutely great value. I recently bought myself an L bracket so I have a more flexible and solid arrangement on the tripod for table top and still life stuff so the pepper pic is my first go with that and the 50mm . I have yet to do my third one - perhaps tomorrow. I am thinking portrait or landscape . update Saturday: yes I went for a portrait with the 50mm and decided I would try an HDR image as I have just learned the settings for that today . Practised on the cats first then Frank As always a black and white is my preference !
:
Pamela says
Message: I chose my 16-55mm lens but kept it at 55mm. This was a good
exercise for me to concentrate on not changing the focal length.
Suzanne says
I used my Sigma 28 -200mm, 3.5 – 5.6 lens, as Telephoto work used to be
my favourite type of photography. I wanted to use it around the 200m
end. These pictures were all taken at 175mm. I found I had to stop
myself automatically zooming the lens in and out. Composing the
picture I saw in my eye sometimes meant I had to: change position
where possible or keep stepping back- but I did find myself off the
pavement once, blocking a footpath and stepping in mud! Keeping the
camera steady without a tripod was a challenge too as was finding a
convenient object to lean against I will revisit this lens.
Louise says she used her macro 105mm for her images of the toads .
Janice says :
I chose my 50 mm lens which doesn't get much use. However, I
really enjoyed this challenge and will be using it much more often. All
three of my images were taken on a walk along the old railway line from
Radstock to Kilmersdon.
This from Graham:
My favourite lens is my Canon 60mm macro. It's light, easy to
take close up hand held with its auto focus although I usually have the
camera on a small tripod when taking flowers. The lily in my three was
taken hand held, the subject selected in photoshop and background
blurred. A few months ago I bought a Sigma 105mm macro thinking to
upgrade but it weighs a ton. Lovely on a tripod but hand held NO. The
Canon 60 mm is what I also use when taking portraits at it's fantastic
for that,
And from Tony who used his new lens !
I don’t have a fixed focus lens so used my 24 – 105mm f4 lens to take the images all of which were shot at 105mm. The crocuses were taken in the garden at the minimum distance the lens will focus, which is 0.45M, and at f6.3 to keep all the group of flowers in focus while blurring the background. Then I took the portrait of Toby from a slightly greater distance. I wasn’t able to get both eyes in the shot as he’s not the most willing of models and every time I tried to attracted his attention he would get up and walk over to me! The final shot of Farrington Gurney Church is to get a landscape image at 105mm rather than the more normal wider angle used for landscape photography. Unfortunately I missed the beautiful sunshine at the weekend so ended up taking this shot on a misty day and the image was very flat in colour so I converted it to monochrome which I think improved it.
Diana says :
3 Images taken with my Olympus 300mm lens. (her favourite ) all the images are taken from Haydon Batch. none has been cropped so Downside Abbey is a long distant view, the Hazel Catkins are much closer and the Teasels were about 2 feet from me
Jane Richardson says : Used my 46mm fixed lens, which I have been starting to use abit more, its lighter and I like the results it gives me.
On the landscape I liked how it dealt with light and shadow. The post gave mea good sharp foreground and a defused background. I liked the result of
my favourite tree.All photos taken on a circular walk I do betweenNorton and Stratton.