Spider webs and TLRs

I went to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens today and it was oddly colder inside than out. In the carnivorous plants section you could see your breath and I'm pretty sure that's not right. I seem to remember being really hot the last time I seen these plants. The plants were all looking a bit poorly.

I've been in the Botanics a few times but there are always new things to photograph. This time I was rewarded with an amazing sight - a spider building its web! It was at least 1meter in diameter and I nearly walked right into it.
The spider worked fast, moving around it's web foundations quickly and precise as it weaved the tighter threads.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my macro lense with me so I had to use my telephoto (zoom) which is quite slow and it was already quite dark inside. I have managed to put together a few shots to give an impression of the web-building that I was witness to.



And as if the spider web wasn't enough excitement for me today, I bought an old TLR from an antique shop on Byre's Road. I'm not sure if it works but everything seems to be fine. I just need to buy a 120 film and try it out. Fingers crossed.

Lens converted Macro

Whilst taking some photos with my cousins today, I was reminded of a way to produce macro photos without using an actual macro lens. The trick is to turn a 50mm lens back to front and take the photograph this way.

I decided to try turning my own lens back to front (18-200mm zoom) but my camera wouldn't allow me to take photographs without the lens connected (there goes my pinhole idea). So, I borrowed my cousin's 50mm and stuck it in front of my own lens at 18mm - here is what I got (this has not been altered - the circle is how the image was produced).



I then tried it again with my lens at 200mm and found that it was too hard to focus. It seemed that I couldn't get close enough to the subject with this lens and the slightest movement was caught at this focal length - here is the result (this is one of the stamen at the base of the bell-shaped flower).



You can still see the vignetting at 200mm but it's not as bad as with the wide angle. I will try a range of focal lengths and techniques on my next experiment of this type of macro shot.

Tiny Model Images

I plan to attempt the Tilt and Shift method via Photoshop on some of my images at some point, to create a model-village-type scene.

I haven't had the time to give it a go yet but I have taken a couple of images of little models on Dysart Beach, Kirkcaldy. Not for any reason, really. I just thought they looked good against the bland beach on a bleak, rainy day.

Double Exposures

Although I have not been blogging for a wee while I have been trying out a couple of things on the camera.

I asked my cousin if she fancied trying out a random Double Exposure experiment with me and she agreed. We used 35mm film and tried out both black and white and colour films for the project.

The black and white film was taken on my Centon SLR and Bec's (still to be confirmed, but possibly her Canon EOS 500).
The colour film was taken on my [Minolta] Dynax 4 and Bec's Canon EOS 500.

We did come across a few problems on the way. The first film, which I'd shot at the Glasgow Festival, jammed in one of Bec's camera's and was accidentally ruined. Disappointing but these things happen. We also had to make sure we didn't wind the film fully into the canister on completion of all exposures but I mistakenly wound back too far. After lots of research on how to retrieve the film leader myself (without buying the necessary gadget) I decided to play it safe and ask the nice processor in Penmann's, Johnstone, who kindly retrieved the film leader for me.

We didn't pre-arrange the photographs prior to shooting. We simply took the shots randomly before swapping the films over. I think that many of them turned out quite well but you can decide for yourself.

IceSkates and Daisies

Car rear window and Kirkcaldy Harbour

Portrait by my cousin and Kelvinbridge Underground Staircase


This project will continue, with further experimentation applied...watch this space.
More of the doubly exposed images can be seen on my Flickr site - AnneMarie's Flickr

West End Festival (and bloody photographers!)

I went to the West End Festival in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, on Sunday. The weather was great so the park was mobbed with people, animals and.... photographers.

I don't know if this has always been the case at these types of events and I've just never noticed before or if it's the advance in photo-technology that makes everyone suddenly want (be able) to be a photographer. They were everywhere!! Most annoyingly, they were always in my frame!!!

Every shot I tried to take, there was a photographer in sight. Worst of all, if I tried to take a shot of something without people in it, a PHOTOGRAPHER would jump in my way. One guy even looked at me, saw I was trying to take a shot, but just stayed there, staring at me. How rude!!

It did occur to me that perhaps I was in a lot of photographs but I do try to stay inconspicuous. I would prefer to have a sneaky, little Leica to snap away at scenes without anyone's knowledge. Or a medium format, TLR camera where I can hold it at my waist to take shots. Scenarios where the audience are caught unaware are always better for capturing true emotion and genuine activity, in my opinion.
I know some people would object to this approach as it does seem a little 'peeping tom'-ish but I would try not to be imposing.

In hindsight, I should have simply taken all the photos that I was going to take, with the photographers in them. It would have made a pretty nifty little project - something I might toy with for future events (starting next Sunday at the Mele in Glasgow??).

There was a female who was taking photographs of the bmxers at the ramps whilst the Beatles tribute band were on. She wasn't so obtrusive like the others. She even saw me taking a photo and smiled.
As I watched her give her card to the best biker of the crowd I realised that my problem, perhaps, isn't so much with all those invasive photographers but with competition.

Ha!

Here are some shots I took of the day on my dslr (Sony A100) - [still to come].
I also used my 35mm camera (Centon), with colour film, for part of a project I am doing with my cousin - all will be revealed in a future blog....