Friday 23 September 2011

Stray Kitten, Ortaca


Stray Kitten, Ortaca, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Well, I did warn there would be more of these. All in camera, bar a very slight crop. Just f/4 105mm at minimum focus distance to get the bokeh, and, most importantly, a willing sitter.

Hope everyone is having a great end to the week.

Monday 19 September 2011

Central Asia Lite, Dalaman

One of the best thing about Turkey is that it feels like you're visiting a "Central Asia Lite". It's like Tashkent without the longhaul flight and problematic visas and nervous feelings about terrorism and language barriers.

Wandering around these farming areas at night I could explain myself in German, and feel safe, and all much cheaper than Central Asia - but still with the strange mix of Soviet blocks threaded with fragrant vines.

The ghosts in this image are an interested family of concerned elders pleading with and commanding excited kids not to talk to the strange chap with the tripod.

Hope everyone is having a terrific week!

Saturday 17 September 2011

Articles of Faith (Backlit Cow), Dalaman


Articles of Faith, Dalaman, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Some different ways of seeing the world in the notes on Flickr. Another one for lightbox if you have a moment though. The tiny white dots next to the nose are flecks of cow saliva caught in its whiskers. This is pretty close up - I got spray on my filter from the cow's snorts, which caused problems with some later shots.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

White Gold (Bees Foraging On Blue Cloud), Wisley

Shot with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 with 21mm of extension tubes. Thanks to ok2smile for some incredible advice on how to use DOF preview to trick my lens into staying at f/8 when on my entry level, no connection extension tubes.

Focus was on manual, but achieved by swaying back and forward like a seasick porcupine. No small number of frames taken to get one sharp one that way, but it seems to work much better and keeps hands away from the front of the lens. I would guess this was shot about 8cm from the bees, so manually focusing on the ring would certainly have spooked them.

It's my first non-abstract macro posting, and hopefully supports the argument that an £80 lens and £5 tubes (and a £5 lens hood) shouldn't be judged on price alone.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Star Board (Boats at Harbour), Göcek

Another shot from the recent holiday in Turkey. One for lightbox, really, if you want to bring out some interesting distant light trails as the taller yachts come into harbour. Göcek is a super place for long exposure shots of an evening, as it is full of boards, posts, walls and other improvised tripods. This was taken on just such a wall.

Much of Göcek is given over to yachts (in the discreetly named "Mega Yacht Super Marina"), but in middle of everything this quirkly little plank pier still stands to moor small local craft. Ten minutes after the last boat trip gets back in you see a little swarm of pancake, ice cream and similar vessels all dock here - having spent the day pursuing the tourist fleet like seagulls (with an inverted business model).

My favourite part of the image is the funny underwater sail suggested by the reflected lights to the left. Hope everyone's having a great week!

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Stray Kitten Prowling, Sarigerme

Back from holiday with lots of pictures to process and post, and plenty of catching up to do. I hope everyone is well and enjoying life. Look forward to seeing your latest images this evening.

I'm afraid I have a number of stray cat/dog shots. I'll make the apology now with the first, and leave it at that. This one is a crop from landscape, with a nice feline prowl and bokeh shoe shop frontage in the background. Hope you like it!