Oooh, ooh, ooh - got a new picture ready...

...well, I say new, it's a re-working of an earlier shot, and I'm just waiting for permission from another flickrite whose image I've used. Quite excited - it's the first attempt I've ever made at compositing and I quite like the end result. The rest of the world may hate it, but hey, I like it.

Hopefully he'll get back to me soon and I can post this monster...

Needless to say, it's a selfie...

Radiohead (Tribute)

Radiohead (Tribute), originally uploaded by Venn Diagram.

[S'me, yet again - apologies if you don't like staring at my mug, but it's the only one that regularly agrees to be involved in my photographic adventures...]

EDIT: Re-reading the title, makes me think of Tenacious D's "Tribute", but there you go...

Just messing about, listening to UNKLE and playing with lights. Bit of a tribute to Radiohead, having just watched their excellent live show from a European festival.

Didn't quite capture the blue as intensely as I'd hoped, but you can't have everything. Where would you put it?

Strobist - Two sidelights, each a 430EXII at 105mm with "Bright Red" Honl filters and a 580EX on-camera as controller with a "Just Blue" Honl filter a
Attached. Ratio was 1:2.33 A:B with the two side lights being group B. Impromtu use of bedsheet to cover up the bookshelf behind my noggin.

Post was Photoship to posterise the image (but you'd guessed that, right?).

Once, we swam in the sea...

Once, we swam in the sea..., originally uploaded by Venn Diagram.

Playing with my 50mm f1.8 wide open at Whitley Bay today. Realised that I'd never really tried to get the most form this lens before, just hung around the edges, using it for IR photography. As I'm toying with the idea the a f1.4 lens would be a good thing (either a Canon 50mm or a Sigma 30mm), I figured ti would be good to see why I thought that was a good idea.

Part two of the experiment was setting my 18-55mm lens to 30mm and taping it at that focal length and seeing whether a prime at the length would suit me. Short answer - yes, it seemed pretty good. So, when I can scare up £380, I'll be looking to the 30mm f1.4 Sigma lens, though that might not be for a while yet.

The Frog Prince cometh...

The Frog Prince cometh..., originally uploaded by Venn Diagram.

..and he doesn't look happy.

A shot from the Hoppings in Newcastle last week. This was shot with the 50mm f1.8 wide open, and braced on a monopod. It's (reasonably) sharp, and while it doesn't really show much in the way of depth of field, I'm pretty happy with it. Took a few shots to capture the smoke, and this was the best of them.

In all, quite happy with my trip to the Hoppings - got a few nice shots, and not regretting my decision not to take a tripod along. Saying that, waiting to see my friend John's photos before being definitive about that - his tripod looked rock-steady and I'm sure he'll turn in some amazing pics.

Home from home

Home from home, originally uploaded by Venn Diagram.

So I might be busy, what with work, home, a bit of photography here and there and the likelihood that we're moving home soon, but I think this shot proves that I can always find five minutes to relax, wherever I may be... :-)

Strobist: One 430EXII (Group A) camera left, into a silver/white 100cm relective umbrella with a 1/4 CTO. One 430EXII (Group B) balanced on a clamp and shining up at the lamp with a 1/4 Green. All set off by a 580EX on-camera (but not firing) acting as controller. Ratio for A:B set to 2:1.

Onwards! To the land of milk and honey...

Onwards! To the land of milk and honey..., originally uploaded by Venn Diagram.

How good is this - after four or so years of working, studying and taking exams, I'm officially an accountant. You might not be impressed, but it's pretty good payoff for me.

I realised that I haven't been posting much here recently, but then again I haven't been shooting so much - will have to put that right.... :-)

Eat your shots (Not So Serious Shot)

Eat your shots, originally uploaded by Venn Diagram.

Just messing about, inspired by a shot from Mark Hathaway.

Decided to have a go myself and see how it all went.

Lesson #1: A single flash in the gob doesn't give much light, but a second 'external' flash can mess up the illumination.

Lesson #2: When the flash in your gob goes off, it's quite hot. THAT was a little shocking...

Lesson #3: Those flash heads are pretty big, I had a tough time...

Lesson #4: The Canon Wireless Lighting System can cope with lighting this? Go figure...

Strobist: One 430 EXII in the mouth (group A), one 430 EXII (group B) on the windowsill way 6' away with a full CTO slapped on for good measure (probably a mistake, set the camera to "flash" white balance and now I'm a bit orange). One 580EX on-camera, acting as the master unit but not flashing.

Flash ratio A:B 8:1, master unit set to +0 compensation. Still getting to grips with the Canon WLS, so not sure what other data would be useful. Think I had the flash set to high-speed sync, too, but might be wrong about that. :-)