Megan

Megan is another of my willing volunteer models (thanks, Megs!).

On a grey, drizzly day we drove to Priory Park, Reigate, to hijack the playground (what is it with me and playgrounds?!) and got some fun shots, before setting up in our church.

Unfortunately the light is poor in the church building so many of the shots I took were blurred, but a few were definitely workable!

Here is just a small selection.

How does your garden grow?

These floral photos were taken in my parents' garden, early August (with a 10x macro lens).

I'm all about the frames at the moment...

Nikki

Nikki kindly volunteered to be my subject in Redhill - not the most picturesque of towns but Nikki was very amenable, spinning round on a roundabout while I tried to capture motion blur (of course my ISO setting was too high at 1600 so the motion blur has been added in Photoshop Elements, which I'm still grappling with - live and learn!) and posing naturally, despite the dizziness...

Frames also added in Elements, using templates from Digital Camera magazine.

Faye and Kasia

These two lovely ladies (Faye, left, Kasia, above) are my colleagues and were kind enough not only to pose like absolute professionals but also to let me post a few of their shots here on Blogspot.

I'm getting used to the manual setting (although being boss-eyed inhibits the ability to focus somewhat - that's my story and I'm sticking to it...) and I'm thoroughly enjoying taking portraits. The trick is, of course, having willing subjects, and Faye and Kasia are game for another shoot in October!

Below: with thanks to Digital Camera magazine's free, downloadable frames - that's what ya get!

Bella Toscana

Just a few shots from a holiday in Florence, Italy, around the city, plus visits to Fiesole, Siena and Pisa.

Some of these shots are experiments with the hallowed manual settings. Early days but - good practice.

1) Santo Spirito, Florence, at night

2) Moon over Florence

3) San Romolo, Fiesole

4) Il Campo, Siena

5) Alleyway, Siena

6) Passage to the Uffizi, Florence

7) Florentine sunset...

Street and Studio Exhibition - Tate Modern, London

Went to see the Street and Studio exhibition of urban photography at the Tate Modern today and it fired me up completely - made me want to sit in subtle corners and take countless photos of passers-by and pay the extortionate price of a permit to photograph the London Underground (maybe one day...)!

Do go and see the exhibition if you have a chance. It's quite pricey at £10 a ticket (some concessions) but the exhibition is generous and jam-packed, with photos of urban and street life dating from the mid-19th century to today. Some disturbing WeeGee images of corpses in New York City but also some striking Diane Arbus shots (Child with Toy Hand Grenade) being one of them.

Meanwhile... below are a couple of my shots of the Turbine Hall - a wonderful, vast industrial-size space, in this building that was previously the Bankside Power Station (hence the huge chimney).

Also - the BFI (I think!) on the South Bank - not sure what the steel structures are but I like them!

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/streetandstudio/default.shtm

Dancing in the Moonlight

My quest for night shots continued this evening with a rather impromptu shoot at my friend's birthday BBQ.

I took most of the shots with the camera on a night portrait setting at a high ISO (1600) - here are just a couple. The motion blur adds a wonderful, surreal element to the pictures.