London Zoo

In preparation for a trip I am making in a few weeks time, I recently bought a 40-150mm lens for my Olympus Pen.  Equivalent to 80-300mm on an SLR, but a fraction of the size and weight, it will be handy on my travels.  I have had little opportunity to try it out since I got it.  So with this in mind, and armed with a two for one voucher, a friend and I headed to London Zoo on Saturday.

It was an enjoyable day out, but photographically very challenging.  A combination of the tricky lighting  conditions (bright contrasty sunshine outside, mixed artificial light inside), glass and wire meant I didn't get many shots I liked.  Not as thorough a test of the new lens as I was hoping.

Another stroll along the South Bank

Last Saturday I had tickets to see a superb production of  Richard III at the Globe Theatre. Since I had time to spare and I had my Olympus Pen with me, it was another opportunity for some street pictures.  The first two pictures are from a roof top garden on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

One of the great things about the South Bank is that it is easy to get up high and take 'bird's eye' shots of the activity below.

Finally, another of the art installations that have been made on the South Bank as part of the 2012 festival.  A 'cave' with stalactites and stalagmites made of plastic milk bottles.

Some Cambridge People Shots

I had to pop into Cambridge on Saturday to pick up a couple of things from the shops.  Being a bit short on blog fodder, I took to Pen with me and tried to get some people shots.

Some Random Shots

A few random shots taken with the Pen last weekend in London.

Hill Testing The Pen

Some shots from the second day of my recent trip North.  We did a fairly gentle trip around 4 fells in rather grey weather.  I wasn't expecting much photographically, and thought this would be a good opportunity to put the Olympus Pen through it's paces in hill conditions.  I didn't come away with any great shots, but exploring the details of a dry stone wall gave me an possible idea for a panel for next year's portfolio competitions.

New Toy

I have just bought an Olympus Pen. I had been thinking of getting a micro 4/3 camera for some time, as a nice compromise between my 40D and a point and shoot. Ever since I saw one being used to good effect whilst doing my winter skills training in 2010. I spent a lot of time comparing the Olympus and Panasonic systems. Eventually Tesco made me an offer on the E-PL1 that I couldn't refuse (never underestimate the power of the clubcard point).

Thanks to the very 'mixed' bank holiday weather, I haven't had much chance to play with it yet. I did manage a few shots around Cambridge on Sunday afternoon. I am still learning the controls. I can work the buttons on my 40D instinctively, without looking at them (handy in the dark or during action shots when you don't have the time to take the camera from your eye). This caused a few issues, as I 'instinctively' pushed the wrong buttons on the Pen, but that's just me and not the camera. Having to rely on the LCD for framing shots is also new to me (even my point and shoot has a viewfinder). Still, initial thoughts are positive. I like the flexibility that the small size of the Pen gives me.