First Experiments with Studio Lighting

St Austell Camera Club had a practical night recently where I had my first experience of using studio lighting for portraits. I was quite pleased with the results considering.

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Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Filming Dr Who Confidential in Charlestown

The BBC have been filming an episode of Dr Who in Charlestown, Cornwall this week on the tall ships.

I popped down with my daughter and my camera to watch Karen Gillan film a piece for Dr Who Confidential. She was nice enough to pose for a photograph with my daughter and friends afterwards.

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From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Pond

Amy Pond meets the Doctor in the first episode of the 2010 series, "The Eleventh Hour". Fresh from his regeneration and having crashed the TARDIS into Amy's back garden, the Doctor is dressed in the torn and soiled remains of the Tenth Doctor's attire and is in the final stages of his regeneration, making him behave erratically, as he is 'still cooking'. Once inside Amy's house, the Doctor eats various foods, including fish fingers dipped in custard. At Amy's request, the Doctor investigates a crack in her wall that he discovers is a damaged point of time and space. As he attempts to make repairs, he is interrupted by the cloister bell from his damaged TARDIS, telling him to return before it vanishes into the time vortex. The Doctor promises Amy that he will return in '5 minutes', but due The TARDIS' erratic state, he does not reunite with Amy until 12 years later, when she is 19. In the intervening time, she has been to four psychiatrists as a result of her insistence on the reality of the "Raggedy Doctor" (and has bitten each of them due to their insistence that he is imaginary). After their reunion, in which Amy helps the Doctor save the earth from the Atraxi, The Doctor takes the newly repaired TARDIS on a trip to the moon and back to 'run her in'. While he is gone it is two years (for Amy; how long for the Doctor is not specified) before he returns for her, and invites her to travel with him. Amy makes the Doctor promise to bring her back the next morning but does not tell him why: the next day is to see her wed her long time boyfriend Rory Williams.

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Twitching at Eden

Popped down to the Eden Project the other day to take some photos of the birds with my Sigma 170-500 lens as I really haven't used it half as much as I should have done.

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I found a male and female chaffinch:

And a Dunnock:

So nothing too exotic! Still, it's all practise.

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Lanhydrock

I went for a photography wander around the Lanhydrock Estate last Saturday with members of St Austell Camera Club. The grounds were a stunning mix of Victorian gardens surrounded by acres of grass and lovely old trees.

I took a few shots (click on the photo for a larger version)

I loved this old door, it reminded me of The Secret Garden and made me wonder what was behind it...

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Lunar Eclipse on the Winter Solstice ~21st December 2010

I was up before the sun yesterday morning - watching the first lunar eclipse on the winter solstice since 1638 (372 years!).

I used my Sigma 175-500mm lens, but hadn't bargained on the effect the minus temperature would have on its capacity to focus. The first shot I took, before the full eclipse had happened, was the best of the bunch as the others were too soft.

Bit of a shame, but at least I saw it. There are some fantastic photographs of the moon looking red and spectacular taken by other people here.

Here is my attempt - click on it for a large version - it looks better that way!

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Roche Rock and the Legend of Jan Tregeagle

The weather has been quite dramatic in Cornwall in the last week or so. Flash floods in St Austell caused chaos for some who had to be rescued from their homes and there was talk that the beautiful 14th Century bridge in Lostwithiel would collapse.

I noticed that the sunsets had been quite dramatic so went out to Roche Rock last night to see whether I could get any nice silhouette shots of St Michael's chapel. Sadly the position of the sunset scuppered the shot I had in mind, so I settled for shooting the kids sitting on a nearby rock with the sunset instead.

Click on photographs for larger size:

Then I shot the Chapel in "blue hour".

Click on the photograph to read the legend about the ghost of Jan Tregeagle.

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Sparrows

I went to a fantastic talk at St Austell Camera Club the other day. Sue Earnshaw showed us some amazing wildlife photographs taken all over the world, but also shots of the birds in her garden which she practises her skills on.

I felt inspired and since I enjoy sitting on my window sill and watching the world go by, having a camera in my hand seemed the natural progression.

These sparrows live in my roof, so they are always about.

Click on the photographs to view large versions.

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