Did a few interesting things over the weekend that meant no time for any ‘serious’ photography but then, thats what bank holidays are for isn’t it?
I decided that too much of my photography is serious ‘work’ and that I seem to miss out on the more impromptu snaps that others seem to capture so easily in this world of Facebook and Twitter. Therefore, I ‘needed’ to have a more handy camera than my big weighty DSLR Canons. So, being a ‘tog, I couldn’t just opt for something ‘normal’ and ended up deciding to get the Panasonic GF-1. The new Fuji X100 looks great but way out of this slightly whimsical budget! So, with the decision made the trick was now finding one (they are no longer being produced) at a discounted price as the new (and imho, inferior) GF-2 is now out. Well, having trawled through all the usual suspect retailers I settled on a big high street chain. Only, I wanted a 20mm f1.7 lens kit and they didn’t have one. Or at least not in Bristol where I was at the time. So, after a few phone calls, one was located in Exeter, so off we quickly high tailed it, as it was one of the only kits left in the south UK. We duly picked it up on Saturday afternoon for an amazingly good price!
The graceful power of chestnut, "Woodfalls Inigo Jones"
Joy Dawes with Finnisterre
Sunday was spent in an ‘unofficial’ capacity at the cross country day of the Badminton Horse Trials. I have been several times before and I decided that this time I would take my 7D with just the 70-200mm f2.8. I wanted to capture the ‘power’ of the horse rather than the fence or rider. In fact, for this purpose, any other element than the horse, was going to be incidental. I therefore chose to shoot wide open at f2.8, thus ensuring on this bright Easter Sunday, that the motion of the horse should be pretty much frozen. These beasts are amazingly honed athletes and I hope the shots I have made portray this. It is quite an exciting experience being there as nothing happens for a few minutes until horse and rider appear at pace, there is a pounding of hoof on ground, a mad flurry of activity for a few seconds and then they are gone as fast as they arrived.
Bank holiday monday was spent lounging after a quick visit to Bath with new GF-1 in tow and many family snaps made!!
It is quite a cathartic experience to be able to just take a photo without having to worry about composition or depth of field or exposure etc etc… I wonder how long it will last?
Panasonic GF-1 20mm at f1.7 capturing some of the curry spices
The evening was taken up by my new found hobby of cooking a new curry every week. I have done this for 3 weeks so far and it is going well! Nothing too complicated other than looking up a recipe on the internet and then going for it. We have stocked up on all the necessary herbs and spices and this week was the turn of the good old Chicken Korma. It turned out well but maybe not one I would cook again as there are so many others to investigate and try out first…Mmmm…
Finally, there was the difficult task of deciding what Olympic tickets to go for and hope to get. I am not fully sure of the procedure and how they decide who gets what but if it all comes off then we have a week full of competition and a shed load of money going out of our account. However, I think it will be just one of those amazing spectacles that you just have to be a part of, rather than apart from, otherwise it will be a tough month and the opportunity will pass by. I for one, cannot wait, here’s to hoping we get some great tickets!
Squash Imagery 