Experimenting with water

Water droplet

Taking photos of water droplets might be a bit cliche, but the results can be stunning. I say can be, because to date I've not faired very well will this.......

I've read lots of articles, viewed lots of photos and watched a couple of instructional YouTube clips, and yet my water droplet photos still fall someway short of expectations. There isn't one particular problem, but multiple issues - the lighting, the water drops and the camera (or should that be the person using the camera?)

Lighting
Natural light isn't enough for this kind of photography and putting the main room light on won't help, as it just casts shadows on the water. I used 3 lamps and positioned them around the water, whilst this allowed a faster shutter speed it did mean that some of light rays are visible in the photos.

Water droplets
It is much more difficult that it looks to get water droplets to fall into a dish. I used a freezer bag (as used in many of the demonstrations) and pierced a small hole in the bottom. Unfortunately the result was a continuous stream of water rather than intermittent droplets. My solution was to place this in another pierced bag so it was more difficult for the water to escape.

Camera
Once the camera is focussed and in place it is quite tricky to capture the perfect moment. I tried a variety of settings, including altering the shutter speed, manual and automatic focus, ISO, zoom and release mode. However I had the same recurrent problem - the camera would only take the photo when the droplet was present, and by the time I had pressed for the photo to be taken, it was a split second too late.

I'll try again in a few weeks time, but any comments, suggestions or tips would be very much welcome!

Brompton Cemetery

Raven at Brompton Cemetery
Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

About Bromptom Cemetery
The dramatic increase in London's population in the 1800's led to inadequate sanitary conditions which in turn led to disease. The existing cemeteries were unable to cope, and so seven commercial cemeteries around London were established including Brompton. More information about the history of Bromptom Cemetery can be found on the Royal Parks website.

Wildlife at Brompton Cemetery
Although the grounds seem well kept, there are vast areas of overgrown grass which encourage and provide a suitable habitat for wildlife. The cemetery is very beautiful and tranquil, and although I wasn't there at the right hour to see any foxes, I did managed to spot squirrels, birds and butterflies.

Photography
My original aim in visiting the cemetery was to capture a suitable 'Halloween' style photo (hence the photo above). However, the beautiful surroundings coupled with the glorious sunshine means that most of the photos I took have a very different feel.

View all the Brompton Cemetery photos.

Learning patience.......

Beautiful Butterfly 

Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

I've recently returned from two weeks in Mexico, and although I didn't dedicate much time to photography, I was fascinated by the wildlife around the hotel complex.

Admittedly, to date, my 'wildlife' photography has been a little short of the 'wild' bit, having frequented zoos, wildlife centres and other ready made animal spots. This meant that I haven't learned the patience that many other photographers do. Trying to photograph butterflies required a lot more persistence than I thought, but I'm pleased with the result.

I saw at least 10 different types of butterfly, but unfortunately many of the types didn't seem to settle for more than a split second, making a clear shot almost impossible. This particular butterfly was quite accommodating and the iguanas, crabs and lizards were also easier to snap.

All my photos from Mexico can be found here.

Chasing the perfect squirrel shot

I hope there is a nut in this for me (explore 29 May 2011) 

Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

At the end of May, spurred on by good weather, I ventured to Kensington Gardens in search of the perfect squirrel shot. The squirrels there are particularly tame (so much so that one sat on my knee whilst I was taking a photo) so they make good subjects for close up shots.

The best photo I managed was this one and given that my new lens (Tamaron 70-300mm) only cost my £99, I was quite impressed with the result. However, on reflection I think the photo looks a little posed and had I not been there, I might have though this was a stuffed squirrel.

I'll continue my search for the perfect squirrel shot....probably with another trip to Kensington Gardens.

Pawtraits of pooches

Ellie

Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

Type in 'Pet photography' to google images and a massive 21,700,000 results are returned. 'Pawtraits' of pooches are pretty big business nowadays, so I thought I'd try my hand at it whilst I was dogsitting last weekend.

Although I'll admit dogs in dress can be very funny (McDonalds, Grumpy Dad, Santa), I don't think I can, in all good conscience, put clothing on a dog. Besides, the subject in question was less that co-operative, being an older, tried and frankly less than active dog. There were no jumping shots, no fetching shots (she won't fetch, she won't even run to get a ball) and walks are determined by the weather (she won't go for a walk in the rain), the temperature (not if it's cold) and her mood (if she wants to get out of bed).

The shot above is the most 'active' shot I managed, but I'm quite pleased with this shot as she looks happy and content (more photos are on flickr and in some of these she looks a little grumpy). It's hard to get a dog to look interested when they aren't, but I suppose an over exuberant dog brings its own challenges as well.......

Thames Walk Goslings

Thames Walk Goslings

After much talk, today, I finally decided to walk part of the Thames. I started at the Thames Barrier with the aim of walking 6 or 7 miles (allowing plenty of time for taking photos).

The gleaming Thames Barrier was quite impressive, as was the Dome, Canary Wharf and the Cutty Sark. However, had that been all I had seen I think I would have left slightly underwhelmed, especially as there is so much construction work going on which frequently obscures the view of the Thames. However, as I was nearing the end of my walk I saw some Geese just ahead of me and happily began snapping away. As I came closer I saw several yellow balls of fluff next to them and to my delight the geese had 5 goslings; I don't think I've ever changed lenses so quickly. Not wanting to disturb them, I kept my distance and instead focussed on the nearer goslings (shown above) as they bathed in the sun.

I'm not sure I've completely fulfilled my aim of expanding beyond wildlife photography with this particular trip (Thames Walk Pt 1 - Charlton to Cutty Sark) but you never know, part 2 may yield more success.

Part 2: Cutty Sark to the South Bank (London Eye).

Piranha pose

Piranha Pose
Originally uploaded by YvonneSherry

Today I visited Sea Life London Aquarium on the Southbank for the first time. I've been to a couple of great aquariums over the past year, so I had high expectations of this well known attraction (especially for £19 per adult).

I've come away feeling really disappointed. It isn't that it lacked a good variety of aquatic life - far from it; the problem is it's gloomy, very dark (not good for photos) and lacks the 'experience' that other aquariums create. Clearly some of the darker tanks are trying to create a natural habitat for the fish that are used to the depths of the North Atlantic, but even the more tropical fish were quite poorly lit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for bright strobing lights just for the sake of my photos, but if they are kept dark for the fish then staff could at least enforce the rules of no flash photography (distressing for fish). Maybe the penguins arriving in May will results in a few changes.......

I took a few photographs in aperture priority mode as my fixed lens allowed f stop of 1.8. The shutter speed was still a bit too slow for many of the darting fish, so my photos are limited to the slower moving ones such as piranhas (posing above) and lion fish.

Flickr photos of London Aquarium