Flowers In The Window

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For no reason in particular, I went back to the 6D II for this one today.
For all of the technical and quality of life advantages of the mirrorless R5, there is still something nice about seeing a real optical image through the viewfinder.
It is weird not to be able to review images in the viewfinder though, I've got very used to that since I got the R5, particularly for a quick check, or when it's too bright to see the screen. I instinctively hit play with my eye to the viewfinder and wondered why I was still seeing a live image for a moment, until the 'duh' hit me!

Now There Is Rain

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The long dry spell broke with a rather nice thunderstorm followed by an evening of rain. I'm sure the plants and gardeners will be happy. I, however, am slightly damp.
This was my 500th post on Instagram. Not sure how I got here, but here, evidently, I am.
Owing to being a muppet who left the R5 at his parents' house, I had to fall back on the trusty old 6D II tonight. Still a lovely camera, but it doesn't half make a noise when you fire the shutter!

Revisiting HP5+

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I've been threatening to do it, and I did it!
I bought the kit I needed to develop B&W film again, and shot a long-expired roll of @ilfordphoto HP5+.

This is the first film I've shot in well over 10 years. I suspect the HP5+ that I shot here, which expired in 2012, was probably one of the last rolls I bought, which puts the purchase date around 2010 at the latest. This would line up with the point that I was made redundant, and almost completely gave up shooting for fun.

Amazingly, my old EOS 1N still works perfectly after a bit of cleaning, and my ancient Konica Minolta film scanner still functions too, thanks to the excellent Vuescan software.

I took a rather indifferent video of loading the camera to mark the occasion.
The video and a couple more frames are after the jump.

Chopped And Changed

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A bit of a play on words, I suppose.
This caption was going to contain much detailed, frustrated yammering, but you don't want to read that, I'm sure.
Suffice to say that today has seen plans chopped and changed on top of frustratingly slow progress on everything.
Never did the phrase "more haste, less speed" seem more appropriate.

An old neighbour once said that his work felt like constantly fighting fires with a water pistol. I know how he felt.

The Hyacinth Finished Loading...

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This is the same plant I shot a few days ago, but properly out now. It smells remarkably strong!
A couple more after the jump.

Property Of F. D. Green

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This week's 52Frames challenge is "Something Old" with an extra challenge of focus stacking.
I thought I'd shoot some of my Grandpa's old tools (which I still use quite regularly!)
This is a focus stack of 30 images.

Don't Be Salty

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A day late posting this backup photo of a salt lamp. I find the textures in these glowing blocks of salt quite interesting.

Layers of Yellow

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Another go at the daffodils.
I'm not overly happy with this photo, but I'm too tired to think about how to make it better!

HeartHeartHeart / That which is insufficiently flat

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A backup image from a very long time ago, back in February. I did take a few photos today, but they were very boring technical things. You can see one after the jump, if you're inclined to seek out such tedium.

Stratified

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A hectic day rapid-fire switching between different projects today left me with no creative energy tonight, so this is a backup image from the weekend.
I liked the look of the distinct layers in this cliff face.

Beach Doggy

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Bailey's first trip to the beach. Once he got used to the feeling of the sand, he loved it!
I wondered if the sound of the waves would scare him, but he didn't seem bothered by that at all.
One more after the jump.

Threads

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A very busy day today, including working a decent chunk of the evening machining some parts for the project I'm working on at work.
I can't really share those parts, but these assorted screws go some way to telling the story of the day...

Noctilucent

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I spotted a little wisp of what might have been noctilucent cloud just after sunset, and kept an eye on it for a while.
It seemed to be intensifying, so I thought I'd head out and try to capture it.
It turned out to be rather a nice display.

Pineappleweed

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Seeing and smelling this plant a couple of times recently brought back childhood memories. Such a nice smell!

Crocosmia while the gnocchi boils

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A bit of a snatched shot today - I saw these catching the sun in the garden while my pot was coming up to a boil, so nipped out to grab a few quick pics. I'm glad I did, because the sun had moved off them by the time I had finished eating.

These probably deserve more thorough treatment with a focus stack, but they were moving too much in the breeze to attempt that today.

Alternate Viewpoint

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A backup image today.
Work was frustrating and it was far too hot to focus on tedious tasks, which left me with no inclination to shoot anything.

Carnation

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I was going for a more abstract look with this one.

I was also having a play with a bit of an unconventional macro arrangement - my 50mm f/2.5 macro lens, with a 20mm extension tube, and then a 1.4x teleconverter that is normally only usable with specific L series lenses because it has an element that protrudes into the back of those lenses. The extension tube made space for that element, and it appears to work quite well.

Till tomorrow

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Another sunset, and another weekend walk with Mum, Dad, and Bailey.
A couple more after the jump.

2024-05-15

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Late posting this one, I was out with the family, and then ended up doing some work when I got home, and ran out of time and energy to post yesterday!

Teasel at Sunset / Dandelions at Dusk

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Backup pics today, taken a few evenings ago.
More after the jump