Droplet Macro

One of the great things about Cambridge Camera Club is the Special Interest Groups, which meet outside of the regular club nights.  Amongst these is a monthly workshop of practical techniques, held on the first Wednesday of the month.  Sadly, due to work, Wednesdays aren't a good night for me to get to Cambridge, so this month's meeting was the first one I attended all season.  The theme this month was macro photography.  It was an opportunity to for those who had never tried taking macro shots to give it a go with borrowed equipment and for those with more experience to practice trickier techniques, such as focus stacking.

I had a try at shooting liquid droplets.  One of the other Paul's in the club had brought his table top droplet set-up.  A Heath Robinson looking affair, consisting of a squash bottle, part of a medical drip, stands and string.  It was very effective.  The drip tube allowed drops of one liquid (blackcurrant squash) to fall into a wine glass of another (milk) with a regular consistency.  The whole thing was backlit with off-camera flash, coloured with a gel insert and diffused by tracing paper held with a picture frame.

This kind of photography has more misses than hits, but the regularity of the dripping meant that I did get several shots timed about right.  It's definitely something I want to try again, and I will have to built my own set-up.

Inside Wimpole

A few interior shots from Wimpole Hall.  I have visited the estate and gardens many times, but this was my first time in the house.

 

 

Daffodils

I don't really like daffodils.  I find them rather gaudy flowers.  They are an ugly shape, with that huge snout, and far far too yellow.  Which is why I don't normally bother photographing them.  But, seeing them in the sunlight at Wimpole, it seemed rude not to.

 

Signs of Spring At Brampton Wood

Recently, I haven't had much time for photography.  But, I did manage to get out to Brampton Wood for a couple of hours, in search of some early signs of spring.

Pinhole photography at Wimpole

Some time ago I bought a Holga pinhole lens.  Other than the odd shot, I haven't really used it.  So on Sunday I took a walk around the Wimpole estate park with my 7D mark II and the Holga pinhole.  I concentrated on the bare trees and the restored folly.  The resultant images I processed with Nik Silver Efex and Analog Efex to get some ancient looking grimy pictures.

Back to the usual

After briefly stepping out of my comfort zone for the last post, I am firmly back in it with this one.  Snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey.

 

Something Different

Studio portrait work is something I have done rarely.  However, I recently got the chance whilst visiting my friend Vic.  Vic is a member of Preston Photographic Club.  A mate from the club, Bernie, was able to book a studio for a couple of hours on a dull Saturday afternoon.  So, the 3 of us spent a couple of hours doing a fashion shoot with an excellent model, named Leigh. We tried out a two basic lighting set ups, doing our best to vary the limited setting with a couple of outfit changes for Leigh and some simple props.