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.

Ramsey 1940s Weekend

A few images from the annual 1940s re-enactment weekend held in Ramsey. This year it was held at a new and bigger venue. I visited on Sunday afternoon, which coincided with the strongest sunshine of the whole weekend, making some of the shots rather tricky. It did give me a chance to use my new Nissin flashgun for some fill flash.

Northampton Balloon Festival - Night Glow

Saturday evening I visited the Northampton Balloon Festival to see the 'Night Glow'. Frankly it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped. The balloons were in quite a small area, surrounded by a funfair and far too many parked cars. Plus the event didn't start until it was much darker than I would have preferred. Still, I persevered with a few shots.

Getting the colour balance of these shots right has proved tricky. The auto setting of the camera gave too orange a hue, but a full correction in Lightroom took away all of the glow from the flames. I settled for a manual compromise that reduced the colour temperature slightly.

Hoverflies

A couple of hoverflies photographed at the weekend on a stroll around Grafham Water.

Inveraray Highland Games

I was recently up in Scotland, staying in Kinlochleven, for a pal's 40th birthday. The weather was rather mixed and photography wasn't the purpose of the trip, so I didn't get many shots. However, on the way home a few of us stopped at the Highland Games being held at Inveraray. This was my first experience of a traditional Highland games. I spent much of the day moving between the different events trying to get shots that best captured the spirit of the place.

Demolition Site

This old factory is not far from Vic's house in Preston. It's slowly being demolished to make way for houses that, in this economic climate, might never be built. We were able to get some shots of the exterior from outside the fence. I would loved to have explored inside, but that would have been nether legal not safe!

Salford Quays

The weather forecast on the second day of my recent visit to Vic wasn't promising so we decided against another day in the Lakes. Instead we spent the day at Salford Quays. This is home to some impressive buildings; the Lowry, the Imperial War Museum North and MediaCity, which will be the new home of to much of BBC television. This was my first visit and on a dull and rainy day the area gave a lot of opportunities for interesting and varied images. I would certainly like to go back there again some time.