Don't miss out you lovely peeps on another cracking giveaway from Ray Larose. He's teamed up with Micheal Pretzsch who has kindly donated a sweet Polaroid Spectra plus 8 packs of Impossible colour/B&W film and a Tamrac camera bag. Cracking prize. What do I need to do? Well, follow this link and good luck. My submission is in! Fingers crossed
Radical Acts of Kindness - Budapest's Maffia
I spent some time recently with Budapest's Maffia. Armed with their bikes, they set about bring "Racial acts of kindness" to those less fortunate than ourselves. I refer to the Budapests homeless.Thank you to the girls at Casimir for publishing my article and thank you to Voltan & Kata for allowing me to join. Check out their web and Facebook links below:
www.bbm.hu/en
www.facebook.com
Salty tales from salty folk
A big thank you to those lovely Salty people at Salt Magazine for publishing the recent "foraged & free" piece I put together in and around the town of St Ives. These guys publish some great on line content from a selection of some very talented photographers. It's nice to be considered to sit along side these guys & girls that provide some inspiring work
Please keep up your salty work...
Keeping a visual
Along the coast there are extra eyes
keeping a visual on how we run our lives
checking the weather and routes we travel
on the seas and over the horizon
Our powerful optics record our visuals
noted down and filed religiously
to ensure we do what we’re told
completing the log of how our days unfold
St Ives, St Ives, this is our station
where Steve & Clive make their observations
keeping an eye on all that sails past
from hidden wrecks to rocky outcrops
We volunteer our time keeping our visuals
ensuring safe passage for ships & vessels
travelling our seas on business or pleasure
so make good your journey
and we'll bid you farewell
Go safely, go safely and remember this
we will keep watching
just in case there’s something a miss
www.nci-stives.org
Todays weapons of choice
I got myself this Petri 7s a few weeks back and haven't had chance to use it as yet. So, I thought why not try it with a roll of Kodaks Portra.
A cracking film offering a high speed with little noise. Great in low light situations,superb sharpness and unmatched colour saturations
As for the Petri, its another one of those "poor mans Leica" rangefinders we here about. It will never be a Leica but it will always be a good quality budget end rangefinder. I'll post the results..
We're British, British, how very British - Part 1
We are very British, no matter how you see us. Over the next few months I will be documenting just how very British we are.
Part 1 - bowling
Bowling, bowling, green grass and hats
woods, mats, slacks and cracks
rolling at speed, then slowing it down
scoring the points and writing it down
Flat shoes we wear to keep our greens fair
so our woods will travel with the greatest of care
numbers turn over as we score the points
from end to end then we bowl again
Keep them clean, count them all
home, away the scores on the doors
we're highly competitive when we step on our green
and hopefully win the game we spin
We're watched from all angles and from behind the club glass
passing the odd comment and perhaps even a laugh
at the way the games going and how they all play
hoping that Penzance will be win their game
Bowling, bowling its a love of ours
with most of us play when we're retired
Its not the fastest game in the world
but lets not forget were British and proud.
Second roll on a Trip
It's really interesting to see the difference that can be obtained with the same film. I'm referring to the £1 Agfa 200 film I used about a month ago. That was shot on my Yashica. This time I used the second roll on a Olympus Trip 35. This roll was run at 200 asa unlike the first roll, that was at 100 asa. However, I'm so pleased with the images. A slightly richer feel to them. Quite sharp too bearing in mind that the Trip is a point and shoot camera.
What does four of our very British pounds get you?
What does four of my very British pounds get me? Well, I'll tell you. It got me a Weston Master V meter and a Soligor UF meter. Absolute bargain! Where? My local car boot sale. Both came with the original lanyards and the Western came with its original Leather case. One happy chap
35mm on a budget
A great budget introduction into the world of 35mm point and shoot photography market has to be the Olympus Trip 35. The Trip is a 35mm compact camera, manufactured by Olympus from 1967 to 1984. The "Trip" name was a reference to its intended market, those who were looking for a compact, functional camera for holidays.
So, what do you get for your money? Well, you get a wide 40mm f2.8 Zuiko lens with 4 elements in three groups. The lens is coated and stop reflections and flare which helps to increase sharpness and contrast. The viewfinder is standard Albada with parallax marks. There's a sweet little feature the trip has in the form of a red pop up indicator to show you there's too little light. There's also this tiny peephole so when you look through the viewfinder it shows your exposure and focus settings on the len. The ASA settings on the camera runs from 25 up to 400.
For 35mm on a budget, the trip is a craker...
For those of you who know of the legendary British photographer David Bailey, then you'll remember the amusing TV Advertising campaign he put his name and face too. Check it out below. "David who"
What sort of money can you expect to pay?
There's a really good selection out there at the moment. Expect to pay between £20 to £30 depending on condition. I grabbed mine for £15...
Does buy cheap mean cheap?
The UK high streets are packed with pound shops these days offering cheap deals. Part of that boom gives us photographers the opportunity to grab films such as the Agfa's 200 Vista Plus for just a £1. So, does buying cheap mean cheap. Well, here's the results of my first roll I shot on my Yashica Electro. Im pretty dam pleased if Im honest. I dropped the speed down from 200 to 100 to slightly overexpose it and its really worked for me. Lovely deep grain and some impressive tones. Very organic just like film should be
Following on with the "coastal" subject matter theme, I rolled off a few more shots whilst I was on an recent automotive shoot, just to give me some comparisons. What Ive found with these is the film gives such a great period retro look to them. Very 1950's
The answer to my question then is easy. Buying cheap doesn't mean cheap results. Far from it.
If your looking for a film with great grain and lovely tones, the Agfa Vista 200 is for you and its super cheap....
Inside the world of Ken Howard OBE
It was a Saturday afternoon, just before lunchtime. Ken had just finished putting paint to canvas. We met in Mousehole harbour and I followed him to his studio chatting on the way. He invited me into studio and his personal space that he shares with his wife Dora.
Kens world is unique. Surrounded by volumes of canvas and paints of Cornwall and all that he loves to paint. The walls were filled to the brim. Oils, brushes covered most of the surfaces inside his studio. I spotted a self portrait of Ken to one side. It was so life like. I only knew of the portrait work he did when he painted the Queen. Id also associated Ken with landscapes if Im honest.
His studio is more than a studio, it's his and Dora's very personal space and his lovely home.
Huge vaulted ceilings,large exposed wooden beams and skylights that throw natural light into the space below
Marrakech:a photographers guide
Ive read a series of interesting and helpful photographic articles over the years on guides & tips about taking photographs in Marrakech. All of which are helpful in there own way and offer some good advice. However, I thought Id put together a definitive photographic guide to help you along the way. You might be a budding travel photographer, a street photographer or perhaps just a tourist with a camera looking for a selection of holiday snaps. Ive put together a few helpful hints and guidelines that I hope you'll find useful whilst capturing Marrakech at its best.
Its obvious when you arrive in Marrakech that it has very different culture & lifestyle that you might normally be use to. Please be aware of that. Islam is the dominant religion in Morocco, the Sunni varinat in particular. First pointer for you is Don't think about rolling off a few shots once you have arrived. You'll automatically draw attention to yourself by either the local police or airport security. They'll ask you to stop!
Once you've exited the airport terminate, its time to release your shutter! But, beware. This could be your first experience of being charged for taking the most basic's of shots. All walks of life are switched on to the fact that if a tourist happens to raises a camera in their direction, that equates to 'money'. This is something your going to experience in Marrakech time after time. Travelling to your Riad or Hotel is an experience in itself and is a great opportunity to grab yourself a shot.
A good point to remember here is that if a local does catch you pointing the camera at him/her, lower the camera straight away and turn away from them. Try and be quick with the shot you'd like to grab. It will save you a lot of hassle
Useful phrases that will help
They have two main languages in Marrakech, Arabic and French. Ive found in the past that if you take a little time to understand their language it shows you've taken a little time and effort to understand them. So here's a few Arabic words/phrases that you'll find useful. Check out Linda's You Tube top 10 common Arabic phrases.
Exploring
So, Your ready to go. Its time to roll off some film or digi. There are several main attractions that everyone heads seems to head for. The square (Jamaa el Fna) and the souks. You'll find snake charmers, monkeys, medicine men, local dentists. Remember this, everything has a price include the shots you'd like to grab. All of the locals are pleased to see you as you generally have a large sign above your head saying 'money'. Lift or point your camera anywhere in this square and you'll be charged. What ever you give them, they'll always ask for more. Be strong and say 'La' No.
Be a little stealth in your approach. Lower your camera down by your side of your leg and grab a shot this way. If your running manual, my preference, pre set your settings prior to rolling off a few shots. You can get some great results with a little patience. Bear in mind that you'll have to be quick. The locals eyes are everywhere. If your seen grabbing that sneaky shot this way, they'll come after you for money. The two shots below were taken using that lowered camera method I mentioned . Personally, I think the square is far more interesting in the evening
No matter where you go in Marrakech, there's always sometime that will catch your eye. I found the more interesting subject's away from the general tourist spots. My broken Arabic helped me out with these shots. I asked them if I could take a shot of them and then offered them a small fee in return for their time. That worked! Don't be surprised if locals wave their hand and so 'LA' - No. Respect that...
So, take care where you point your camera. Carry plenty of coins and expect to be hassled where ever you travel in Marrakech. Its all part of the experience.