Whether you entered or ever enter competitions and whatever your views on competitions, this is a beautiful book. I can recommend it without hesitation. It flies the flag for natural, authentic images that faithfully record our beautiful landscape.
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TTArtisan 75mm f2 lens review
The low cost lenses emerging from China are changing dramatically from the manual focus legacy designs of only a few years ago to modern, well made high quality optics. This delightful little lens is small, light, metal bodied and feels very well put together. The AF is quick and quiet
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Creation of Sadamitsu by S. Nei Fujita from the album cover of Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out
I'm approaching my annual summer sabbatical from landscape photography. Every year I take about six weeks off during which the big camera, tripod and all the other paraphernalia stay packed away
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A Time to Print #2
Having set up the printer from the box and installed ink cartridges, the next step is to make some prints. However there are some significant steps to make before we hit the ‘Print’ button in Photoshop. The major parts of this are monitor calibration and colour management.
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A Time to Print
Every print that I've sold since leaving a wet darkroom environment has been produced by a specialist printer. Some years ago by the inestimable Paul Grundy and for most of the last ten years by Loxley of Glasgow. I've never needed to print beyond admin stuff and whether by luck or skill, Loxley precisely match the images I see on my screen.
However I have become increasingly dissatisfied that I'm not fully au fait with what's going on under the hood.
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Cod and Lobster - Staithes
In praise of a sabbatical
I'm halfway through my annual summer sabbatical from landscape photography. Every year I take six weeks off during which the big camera, tripod and all the other paraphernalia stays packed away and I spend time just being with my family.
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Blea Tarn
Kingjoy C83S Tripod Review
Last year I reviewed the outstanding Kingjoy C85 Tripod and found that it not only performed as well as my Gitzo Systematic 3 Series but that by the end of the review period I was choosing it in preference on a regular basis. My interest was especially raised therefore when Kinjoy invited me to try out another of their tripods. This time the C83S.
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To crop or not to crop - a perfect bridge too far?
Is a cropped image of less value or less ‘pure’ than one in which the entire captured frame is used? There has been some debate on the subject recently and I felt the need to nail my own colours to the mast.
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Sunway GH Pro II + Geared Tripod Head review - UPDATED CONCLUSION
The advantages of a geared head are that it allows for very precise adjustments in composition to be made in exactly one plane. With a ball head, while adjusting to raise the camera slightly, you may also very slightly move to the side or slightly incline. With a geared head, only the adjustment you desire is accomplished. There is an oft quoted parallel benefit of slowing the photographic process down.
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Another little bit of perfection
It's the little things that often make a disproportionate difference and for those of us given to obsessing about small details, some such small details can be all but life changing.
Read MoreA certain lack of focus
I like the look of a minimal depth of field image. I think it instantly creates a sense of depth by virtue of the layers of focused and unfocused elements. This will give at least two layers and if there is some foreground then three distinct layers resolve giving yet more depth.
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26 Hours in Coigach and Inverpolly
A dramatically curtailed trip to the far NW of Scotland. Fabulous locations, enjoyable photography but an unexpectedly short visit cut short by Covid.
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Kingjoy C85 Tripod Review
Over the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to try a new tripod, the Kingjoy C85 - in this instance with a Ball Head, the T30x. KingJoy may sound a new name to many but they seem to have been around for quite a while, quietly making tripods for other brand names so while the name may be new the experience is clearly there.
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Nikon Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 Review
This review has been difficult to write, I feel as though I've been swimming against the tide throughout. I've had to force 'head over heart' and analysis over instinct. I've had to forget decades of experience and accept the new.
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Rationale for changing to Kase Filters
Inertia and familiarity are powerful forces that act against all change. When one adds in the substantial investment we make in photographic equipment, changing brands is not something I undertake lightly. I’ve used the same brand of camera, Nikon, for the last 40 years. The same brand of tripod and the same square filter system for the last 10.
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Light on the Landscape by WS Neill - Review
This delightful book arrived a couple of weeks ago courtesy of the inestimable @blackwellbooks. I've been waiting for the release since I first heard about the possibility. It is a brand new book but not brand new content. Rather it is a carefully curated collection of Neill's essays for Outdoor Photographer, the American magazine.
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Cry FOWL
Normally we would say ‘Cry Foul’ but here we invoke another acronym that describes the paranoia experienced by Landscape Photographers.
Here the acronym stands for
Fear Of Wrong Location
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Aspira Smock
Some thoughts on waterproof clothing
If considering an item of waterproof ( or indeed any) clothing for use in wild country, a number of factors need to be balanced. First and foremost the purpose of your endeavours. In my case there is a need for complete compatibility between foul weather protection, landscape photography and comfort. Comfort? That's clearly very individual but while I'm prepared to endure ( and even relish) the extremes of UK weather, if they compromise what I'm doing I feel that I have failed.
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Cow parsley - Motorola G7 + Snapseed
Examples of photographers’ paranoia #1 - FOLK
This is not as you may have thought, a terror induced by Morris Dancers nor being locked in a room with The Spinners. In this lexicon of photography paranoia, FOLK is an acronym for ‘Fear Of Lesser Kit’
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Shimoda Action X30 Review
Some photographers are exceptionally fussy about camera bags, others don’t see it as a big deal. I’m fussy. I always have been and probably always will be.
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