An unexpected stay...

Well, that was an interesting week...it all started with Lucy and Quinn heading off to South Wales and then Bath for a few days, leaving me to catch up with some shooting time here in the Fens...I then travelled up to York to meet up with them and a funeral...we then went over to Scarborough to see my folks...initially for a day or so; this actually spread into three and a half days before driving back this morning...I have managed some shooting time but no computer based processing etc...consequently I am late with this blog and way behind with post processing...it looks like a long night is in store... nearly 300 images to process and this blog to write...

 So what have I been shooting? Well at the beginning of the week I managed to get down to Wicken Fen...and out and about in Ely at dawn...

So, not that unproductive really...on top of that I did manage to keep up with my target of uploading to Dreamstime (as I said last week) looking back on the archives helped here but they will run out soon...let's hope the weather picks up and I can get out for some early spring shots...I have also managed to upload regularly here - my Flickr site which is getting more and more hits...please feel free to stop by and have a browse...let me know what you think...and of course I have been posting here.. as always...you are more than welcome to give me a "like" if you feel so inclined...

As for the shots from York and Scarborough - you will have to wait for those - all in good time...they will be probably featured next week (they will be on the Flickr and Facebook should you feel the need to see them...)

And - now to the little technical feature that I have started... this week I shall say a little bit about...

this...

My Nikon D2Xs...I actually have two of these plus...one of these...

A Nikon D200 + grip...

The D2Xs bodies are 12MP sensors; when shooting in RAW each file is approximately 15MB in size; the D200 is a 10MP sensor which gives a RAW fie size of about 12MB...yep...not a big as the current crop and in many ways the bodies being old are no where near the standards set by their replacements...low light performance is poor by comparison as is buffer size, memory size and various other defects...However, if you work within their limitations and are aware of them then they return some stunning images...sure I would love a D4 or one of the D800 series and maybe that is where I will go next...but at the moment the bodies I have serve me well...built like tanks and more than capable...great value for money as well...check them out if you need pro quality gear...

An that about wraps it up...keep checking out my sites for regular postings...hope you all have a great week...

TTFN

Using ideas as my maps...

So shooting stock full-time is an interesting way to live!!! Having a goal of producing about 100 fresh images per day is a challenge make no mistake, but at the moment, a fun one! The aim is to have a constant source of income from DREAMSTIME by having images being added regularly to my portfolio. I get paid a small amount for every images accepted so once I have a regular number of images going in...I have a regular income coming out...on top of this of course are image sales plus other bookings that come in...it is hard work as I said before...but hey...let's give it a go...This week I have managed to keep up with the target and as the weather and seasons progress I hope it will become progressively easier to do this.

As well as shooting stock this week I have had a couple of insurance shoots (damaged cars for the insurance companies) and a staff portrait session at a local school...The Nikons have been hot this week!!

As far as images are concerned...well I have managed a couple of  trips to Wicken Fen, plus some hours spent around Ely...

dew is always a winner with low sun...

a sure sign of spring...elder leaves just beginning to sprout...

ivy berries...a good source of food at this barren time of year...

large impressive bracket fungi...

stinking iris seed pod...plant so called because when it is crushed it smells of roast beef (or in some people's opinion beef crisps)...

clematis seed pods...old man's beard or travellers joy...

The week started with a trip to Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast...I managed two hours work...the result included...

cord grass...

saltmarsh...

An enjoyable day...and some cool images...

Now, to continue the gear section...we come to the lens that everyone should have...

The Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AFD - or whatever your manufacturer makes of a similar ilk... the so called "nifty fifty" (for those of you who like naff sound bites). As far as value for money is concerned this is probably the best out there...for about UK£100 you get superbly sharp lens, small, light-weight and offering an angle of view similar to the human eye...it records what you see... Before the advent of standard zooms this was the lens that was packaged with all cameras...known as the Standard lens - technical details are found here...about half way down...
I use mine for portraits, street work, candids; landscapes...you name it I can and do use my 50mm lens for it...small enough to fit in a pocket it is a great lens...if you don't have one I would recommend tracking one down and using it...

And that about wraps it up for this week...half term is upon us and my wife and son have gone off to Wales for a day or so...which means I am free to shoot as much as I can!!!! Yay me!!! My plan is to spend the whole of Monday at Wicken Fen (dawn - dusk) and see what I can find (I bet the weather will let me down...) and then of course processing etc on Tuesday...who knows what then... Slowly the business is picking up although some more bookings would be welcome...

Keep checking my work on Facebook or on Flickr and I shall leave you with a couple of my favourite shots of the week...

well three...!

brown rat...

reed stem by moonlight...

TTFN

Gotta shoot stock...

Yep...that's the mantra from now on...gotta shoot stock...seems to be the way to go at the moment...just keep shooting for Dreamstime (my portfolio here) - processing and downloading everyday...once I get into the swing of it I should be making money everyday just through accepted submissions...lots of work though and lots of shooting - let's see if I can keep it up. At the moment I have the last three years worth of images to select from as well as shooting fresh, but they won't last for ever...then I will be on my own...

So, what have I been shooting? Well you can see a large selection here... or of course here. But for those of you who don't subscribe to Flickr or Facebook - here is a selection of images from this week...

As you can see I have revisited the boat house to take advantage of the ice and snow...the reservoir provided good reflections and light...

the garden also provided the occasional photo moment...

Well, that was the week of photographs...

Now the gear bit (some of you aren't interested in this, some of you are...so here is part 3 of my gear review...

My tele-zoom - the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AFD ED...

Technical information can be found here... This is a brilliant lens...built like a tank with superb optics...I tell you how good it is...originally released in 1996 it has been superceded twice by the 70-200mm f2.8 AFS VRI and the 70-200mm f2.8 AFS VRII but Nikon still make it...that's right the venerable 80-200mm f2.8 AFD ED is still in production...It works great hand held so good is the balance and on a mono or tripod equally as usable. Forming the third of the three kings I would recommend it to anyone...Once again it is available at a bargain price...used about UK£500 the two 70-200mm f2.8 versions mentioned above always come in at over UK£1K so a great saving...It is excellent for wildlife, portraits and street work as well as news shoots and general work...

So that is the three main lenses in my bag...see next week for some more info about gear (if you like...)

An that about wraps it up for this week...shooting stock is becoming a full time job and will become more intense as the year goes on...wish me luck with that... I also have a small shoot at a local school next week - staff portraits so looking forward to that...

I hope you all have a good week (don't forget Valentine's Day...)

TTFN