Floral Dance - Summer 2014

Welcome back to my blog page once again. The juggling act between here, ashleycorr.com and Facebook continues. Blogging occasionally takes a back seat when priorities remain elsewhere, but that isn't to say it will die a slow death in the near future, far from it. My Facebook activity tends be nothing more than a photo upload with an accompanying line or two, which is a world away from the more in-depth write-up that generally appears here, and I don't want to lose sight of that, so blogging will continue and be an active part of my website indefinitely. Which brings me nicely on to todays offering. I've photographed some nice landscape scenes over the last month or so, all very local and with plenty of colour to show, so here is a selection of them, beginning with a rural poppy scene at Foxcover Lane, near Hastings Hill, Sunderland. I noticed some nice broken cloud as I was passing, on the A19, and decided a quick stop off wouldn't do any harm, especially as my camera bag was in the boot of the car.

The next shot (shown here) was taken in the wildlife garden at Souter Lighthouse, a National Trust property that lies on the North-East coast between Whitburn and Marsden. The garden is saturated with a variety of plants and flowers, such as Sunflower, Poppies, Daisies, Firethorn, Foxglove and Lavender. A designated path runs round the entire garden, offering many different angles to shoot from, which is ideal and avoids a free for all when the trampling visitors land. The lighthouse, with its red and white hoops, is an ideal backdrop when photographing the garden, and if you're tall enough you might just fit some North Sea into the frame too. I had the place to myself during my short 30 minute stay, which was also ideal - no waiting around for people to move out of shot. The garden is very well maintained, it has to be said. Across the way, in the vegetable garden, a one armed gardener was getting a right old sweat on, digging away during big temperatures. He seemed to be in his element, with his little radio for company, grafting away and looking far more dedicated than I ever could. Gardening isn't something I'm keen on!

Finally, another floral shot with an ancient backdrop that is Hylton Castle, a landmark that I have visited and photographed many times. Having said that, this is the first time I have seen the floral display that is seen here, and although the light was quite poor on arrival, I managed to get this nice shot during a one minute window when the sun decided to cut through the overcast sky behind me. In fact, the only decent colour in the sky was exactly where I wanted it, behind the castle itself and right in front of my lens. The little fella was sat a few feet away, transfixed on two tiny frogs he'd spotted on the path. That kept him quiet while I ran off a couple of frames, he he. So there ya go, some nice colour in the form of local landscapes. I'll be back soon with one or two recent Black &

White shots, so until then, I'll catch up with ya later. Cheers!
Ash

Lens Review - Canon 100mm Macro, 2.8 USM

Welcome back!

Over the years I've taken a few Macro shots on a variety of compact camera's, mainly due to the fact the built-in Macro facility was readily available as an add-on feature. 'Might as well have a try', was the attitude behind it, without really having an interest in this area of photography, it was interesting to see exactly what type of shots each camera would pull in. In most cases each model would deliver more than decent shots, until I downloaded them onto my hard drive and opened each one up to view them on a much larger scale. Although these Macro shots looked very tidy on a two inch screen, the truth was out on a PC monitor - not that impressive. Depth of field was always going to be a stumbling block, especially on a camera that wasn't specifically designed for 'True' Macro, so when the opportunity arose to test out a dedicated Canon 100mm affair, I was more than happy to put it through its paces. Then again, I had no previous experience of using a Macro lens on a DSLR, so maybe it was ME that would be put through its paces! I loaned the lens for a weekend, hoping to get try it out on the coast of Sunderland, among the rock pools and sand at Seaburn and Roker. As the weekend progressed, and other commitments narrowed down my 'Play time' with this lens, I eventually had time to fit in a session, although the tide table wasn't on my side, so I turned to Plan B. I made a visit to Butterfly World, Stockton On Tees, to grab some close-ups of plants and... you've guessed it...Butterfly's!

Arriving with little under an hour before closing time, I quickly got to work with the lens attached to my trusty Canon 5D MKII. It was apparent from the outset that this task was going to be a tricky one. Using a Monopod, and running with a pre-determined batch of camera settings, I was firing away in no time, but on reviewing my work when magnified on the LCD it was clear to me that achieving pin sharp images wasn't going to be straightforward. Again, even with a dedicated Macro lens, depth of field was a real issue here, but patience and a touch of perseverance usually results in improvement, as I know first hand from experience, so that was the route I went down in the short time I had to make my pictures. Butterfly World was busy, even during the last hour of play, with kids running amok and making every effort to grab a butterfly and take it home - those Smoggies have no shame. A swift elbow here and there got the message across, as I wasn't gonna let some snotty nose kid ruin my shots, he he. Do one!!!

And so, down to the nuts and bolts of this lens...
If you want to jump into macro photography making compromise in image quality, this lens is the perfect choice, and here is why:

Advantages
1) Fast Focusing - Utilizing the USM (Ultrasonic Motor), the Canon 100mm internally focuses very fast, quietly and very accurately.
2) Non-Extending or Rotating - When focusing at 1x subject distances, the lens does not extend, and the front element does not rotate.
3) Crisp and Sharp Images - the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens is sharp wide open. The tiniest details in your tiniest subjects will come to life with this lens.
4) Excellent Optical Performance - Flare is very well controlled. Colour and contrast are excellent, although vignetting is apparent at f/2.8, but quickly disappears when the lens is stopped down.
5) Optimum Minimum Working Distance (MWD) - There are three macro lenses in Canon's range of USM lenses. The 60mm lens has a very short MWD of only 60mm, and insects may tend to scare and fly away prematurely. Also, the 180mm lens has a MWD of 240mm, and at this distance insects are not really close enough. The EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens, on the other hand, has a MWD of 150mm, which is ideal for butterfly and insect photography.
6) Very good image quality, L rated.
7) Nice build quality.
8) Large focusing ring, very easy to use.
9) Pretty good for portrait too, or so I've been told.

The Canon 100mm Macro is well worth buying if you want to get into this area of photography. Although I enjoyed testing it out, I reckon I'll stick with Landscape photography. That's where it's at for me. And on that note I shall scurry away, to return another day...
Until then, Ash

Woodland Walks, Bedale, North Yorkshire

Hello again, and welcome to another blog entry of mine. My site updates have been sparse lately due to other commitments - mainly printing, mounting and framing. I've taken time out tonight to give you an insight into our recent visit to Bedale in North Yorkshire. As part of a family day out we visited Ripon and Harrogate, before stopping off in Bedale. The weather was kind, infact very kind as the whole day was filled with bright sunshine and good temperature, making conditions ideal for getting off the beaten track and taking in some photography in the bargain. Bedale is a bustling market town which lies between the North Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors, in the district of Hambleton.

The Riverside, although technically not a river, Bedale Beck makes a pleasant backdrop for walks and visiting points of interest along the way, including the Heritage Trail. Designed by the local Heritage Trust, the Heritage Trail provides an excellent insight into the extent of Bedale's colourful past. And it's colour all the way as you walk the many designated paths through the wooded areas and also the riverside route. We walked for miles, passing mant points of interest that I captured from behind the lens. A variation of colour awaits you at every turn, including daffs, cherry blossom and bluebells. There was even a sudden burst of bright red in the form of some stray tulips - strategically planted just off the main path behind the fence. An example of it is shown here.

Springtime is always full of activity and colour where plants and flowers are concerned. I'm not a big fan of this kind of photography to be honest, but sometimes seeing full bloom just isn't enough, so the camera records the moment for future reference. I like to think I've captured it quite well here. Today's photography was on the back of my recent visit to Mowbray Gardens in Sunderland, where once again I found myself capturing a burst of colour amongst the flowerbeds. At the turn of the year (2011) I made the decision to capture as many colourful flower shots as possible, mainly due to the fact that I had virtually no stock library and also my plans to include them on calendars and postcard designs. I'm not finished yet - I've earmarked more places of interest where I'm guaranteed some decent shots - just waiting the right weather and I'm off!

Bedale was an ideal stop off and another place I shall revisit, maybe in Autumn when the place will be bathed in more colour. We had a nice bar meal in the Three Coopers Inn before heading home. Proper real ale too, although I gave it a miss as I was soon behind the wheel and northbound on the A1(M). A nice day all round - weather, scenery, pub grub and photography - why man, ya cannit get vexed!

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back soon.
Ash