fun | Dave Johnson's Photography

January 28, 2012
by DaveJ 3 Comments

Playing with a 50mm!

Quite a number of years a go I bought the cheap Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens for my Canon Digital Rebel (my first dSLR). I barely used it at first mainly because if I wasn’t paying attention and the ISO was set to 100, the camera would automatically open up the lens. This would often result in photos that were out of focus or the focus point was not on the subject. Recently, I have found that having such a fast lens is fantastic for taking pictures of the children, particularly where I don’t want to use flash. However, recently I have decided to use my flash more and so I am now using 2 pieces of kit that were bought and forgotten about.

I don’t really have an eye for the shallow depth of field photography, or Bokeh style, so I am having to readjust my eye to looking around my surroundings more. I couple of photos taken yesterday are posted below where I thought the narrow depth of field would work- what do you think?

Another reason for digging out my 50mm lens and the flash is that my sister-in-law is getting married in May and they have asked me to take some of their wedding photographs as they aren’t having a professional photographer- so they get me instead! Naturally this has resulted in lots of google searches for the best lenses to use at weddings, flash techniques and so on, and so on. One idea I have (which I haven’t discussed with the happy couple), is to set the camera up on a tripod and to make a time-lapse movie of the wedding and subsequent wedding breakfast. I’m sure they will be happy for me to post some pictures post scrutiny!

On a totally separate note, I have been listening to the new album by Lana Del Rey constantly for the last few days. If you haven’t heard it I would definitely recommend buying it or finding most of the tracks on YouTube! Try this for size…

January 14, 2012
by DaveJ 4 Comments

Wild, Wild Wales!

Bwlch Y Groes

Today I went on a bike ride with my cycling buddy and friend, Ash. We went to an area of North Wales that we haven’t yet explored with the aim of tackling one of the UK’s fiercest climbs- The aptly nicknamed Hellfire Pass (Bwlch Y Groes). Despite the temperature hovering around freezing for the majority of the ride it dampen our spirits as we were blessed with clear blue skies and lots of sun. This was my first proper ride for around 3 months and although I managed it (just!), I am now feeling the effects and don’t really have the energy to write anything. I’ll update soon but until then checkout the pictures in the gallery and if you’re really interested have a look at the data generated by my bike GPS computer.

: Bwlch Y Groes

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/141527140

December 30, 2011
by DaveJ Leave a comment

Capturing a Kodak moment

Whilst waiting in Grand Central Terminal for Mummy and Mia, Ben and I decided to take some shots of the station. We found the escalators that go from GCT up into the lobby of the Met Life Building and thought it would be a good spot to slow things down and capture the hustle and bustle of the daily grind! It didn’t take long before Ben got bored and started to wander around during the shots, after all, all he was interested in was the picture once it was taken, not the processes used to get there. Just as I was pressing the shutter who should stumble across the frame…yep, you guessed it, little old Benny!

Now, normally I would bin this photo as it doesn’t portray what I originally set out to capture. However, looking at it again many months after it was taken, I now like it a lot and think it captures perfectly, a time in our lives that we have all experienced – being a child and not having a care in this world! Ben sums this up perfectly by not only walking in front of the camera at the exact moment I press the shutter, but also by the expression on his face created by blowing air out of his cheeks (most likely accompanied with a tune being hummed under his breath!).