Spring 2010



27 Jun 2010: Tri-colour view from the eroding coastal cliffs at Withernsea. It was a hot day, I'd just finished my PhD modifications (well, just have to wait and see what the examiners think), and ignored my hayfever to get out on the bike.
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10 Jun 2010: Ecup Whin behind Golden Acre, with summer flowers, insects and birds. These two shots were taken with the Nikon D700 and a Hartblei 80mm Super-Rotator. Here is a link to a review of the Hartblei lenses.
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05 Jun 2010: I noticed some flowers in a hole in a rock wall on Scarborough's breakwater. The hole was the diameter of a pencil, and I thought the context was interesting (tiny flowers in an enormous and exposed flowerpot). This was a grab shot with the 35-70mm AFD, and I only saw later that the focus was off since the sun was too bright to chimp it in situ and I did not have a tripod. The flower is Sagina Subulata or related species from the Carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). Here is a 100% crop.
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31 May 2010: Most of the exam marking is done, it's a bank holiday and I managed to work on PhD amendments yesterday. Today it was off to Fountains Abbey, and the sun eventually came out. The colour and tonal contrasts of this scene near Markington were captured well by the Fuji S5.
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15 May 2010: Canal locks at Gargrave. This picture shows the miniturisation effect achieved by tilting the plane of focus by 8 degrees upwards using a Hartblei 80mm f/2.8 Super-Rotator. These Ukranian -made tilt-shift lenses are fully manual, require a lot of practice, and are superbly manufactured. Whilst the 35mm Super-rotator can be used wide open, the 80mm should be stopped down to f/4 or f/5.6 to limit flaring and some blur. Unfortunately the Nikon D300 and D700 optical and LCD screens are too small to see the effect properly in the field, so these require some guesswork. A tripod and time would help.
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01 May 2010: Bluebells up close. A cheap Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 bought on eBay delivers the goodies here with a D300. And the mail also delivered my PhD viva outcomes letter... I have been granted the degree of PhD subject to amendments and corrections to my thesis. Not over yet, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The viva took 2.5 hours, and the 3 examiners asked me mainly about my research methodology and epistemology. Lots of lessons there for folk wishing to embark on this journey!
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24 Apr 2010: Malham 2010 and the MSc Project Management group on a residential weekend for my course.
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17 Apr 2010: Butterfly on a redcurrant bush. The insects are emerging now that spring is here, and they are not the only ones with a few walkers out and about. This was at Harewood, and the 300mm with a TC1.7 makes a great insect macro.
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10 Apr 2010: Red squirrel at Kilnsey Crag, near Kettlewell. Poor little guy was not wild, but had a reasonable sized cage.
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03 Apr 2010: Fisheye macros. This little 16mm lens packs a big punch!
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