Talybont Waterfall Treck

Today myself and Angela Roberts visited the waterfalls at Talybont. I have visited these falls a number of times in the past but have never managed to take a single photograph that I have been happy with. However persistence pays off and with every visit you start to pick out more and more of the little areas and details that really make the scene 'pop'.

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG @ 70mm | 1/3rd sec | f/16 | ISO 100

More images after the jump...

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM @ 10mm | 8 secs | f/16 | ISO 100 | Circular Polariser

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM @ 10 mm | 5 secs | f/16 | ISO 100 | Circular Polariser

Margam Park

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG @ 70mm | 1/200th sec | f/2.8 | ISO 100

Yesterday I went to Margam Park with Andrew Davies, Leighton and Angela Roberts to get some nice shots of their kids. It was quite challenging trying to work with flash in mid day sun. However we did manage to produce some pleasing results using a reflective umbrella and a large gold reflector. Read More...

While we were there this little Robin landed on a pillar quite close to me, I had my 24-70mm lens on the camera but managed to get quite close to get the shot above. It wasn't easy mind, he seemed quite content to let me get close but got spooked when the kids came charging at him! He returned a few times and out of the masses of shots I took this is one of few that turned out half decent. A very enjoyable day out, thanks for the company!

Sunrise at Three Cliffs Bay

This morning I was meant to be attending a field trip to the Glamorgan Heritage Coast organised by the Photography Department at the University of Glamorgan but due to a poor turnout the trip was canceled last minute. So I decided to meet up with friend and fellow photographer David Smith (aka. Wiffs, Wiffsmiff, Wiffster, Wiffles) at Three Cliffs Bay in the Gower. With sunrise being so early in the morning we decided to leave Bridgend just gone 3am to allow for the drive up and the walk to the beach. At one point it looked like it was all about to go down the pan but the sky cleared just enough to give us a stunning sunrise. More images after the jump ...

Above: Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM @ 10mm

2.5 secs | f/16 | ISO 100 | Cokin X-Pro 0.9 ND Grad

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM @ 10mm
0.4 sec | f/16 | ISO 100 | Cokin X-Pro 0.9 ND Grad

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/30th sec | f/16 | ISO 100

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/800th | f/2 | ISO 100

Never Miss an Opportunity

I usually have a camera of some sort with me wherever I go and I think one of the 'downfalls' of DSLR's is that they can be quite large and bulky, with lenses to match. I am giving serious thought to investing in a Canon G10 or one of it's slightly older predecessors, a compact camera with full manual controls that will just slip in your pocket because lets face it, it is slightly impractical to carry a DSLR with you everywhere you go. Read More ...

But as said I usually carry a camera with me and tonight was no exception, I went to meet up with a few friends in Bridgend so I left most of my kit at home and just grabbed my 40D with a 35mm prime. One of the things I like about this lens is that it is quite small and compact and really brings the weight down on the camera, after a while I pretty much forgot it was even over my shoulder. I tried to capture the gritty and urban side of Bridgend tonight and couldn't resist getting down on the floor when I came across some smashed glass.

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/13th sec | f/5.6 | ISO 100

Nash Point

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/320 th sec | f/8 | ISO 100

This evening I took a trip to Nash Point on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast with fellow photographer Mike Stokes. The weather has been very changeable today but we were granted a break in the showers that had dominated much of the day and were treated to quite a stunning if not slightly threatening sky. I shot much of the evening with a 35mm prime and hardly used a tripod as my shutter speeds early on were more than fast enough to warrant hand-holding. This gave me a lot more freedom of movement and the ability to get the camera into positions I would not normally have been able to get to.

More images after the jump ...

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/80 th sec | f/16 | ISO 100

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/60 th sec | f/8 | ISO 100

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 35mm f/2 | 1/40 th sec | f/4 | ISO 100

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM @ 10mm
1 sec | f/16 | ISO 100 | Cokin X-Pro 0.9 ND Grad

Aberavon - The Challenge

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG @ 70mm | 1/125 th sec | f/2.8 | ISO 100

Last night Leighton and Angela Roberts challenged me to Aberavon Beach and 'Challenge' is one of few words I can use to describe the place, a long, flat, almost featureless stretch of sand with Steelworks on one side and Swansea on the other. So once again I decided to ditch my wideangle lenses and tried to focus on the smaller details.

Focusing on smaller details is something that is easier said than done for me at the moment as I am very much used to ultra-wideangle lenses in places like this but I am slowly getting more comfortable using longer focal lengths and am finding it slightly easier to compose and single out individual elements within a scene.

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG @ 70mm | 1/320 th sec | f/2.8 | ISO 100

Lacock Abbey Trip

Today I joined a trip organised by the University of Glamorgan Photography Department to Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, home of William Henry Fox Talbot. I was lucky enough to borrow one of the Universities new Canon EOS 5D MarkII DSLRs for a few hours to have a bit of a play about and I have to say I am quite impressed by how much detail this camera records into its RAW file. I am still unsure of the necessity of over 21Mp, it just seems like overkill to me, unless you are going to be pulling off massive prints I don't think you would ever need quite this much resolution ... however, it is nice to play with!

Read more ...


So I spent a few hours playing about with the camera and my 17-40L lens, unfortunately I had to hand the camera back, will have to add it to my shopping list! It was quite an enjoyable trip overall, even if it did start to rain towards the end, I think I may have to return here at some point, maybe in the winter when there is likely to be less tourists about as they kept getting in my shots!

above: Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM @ 17mm | Cokin X-Pro 0.9 ND Grad | 1/20 th sec | f/16 | ISO 100


Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM @ 17mm | 1/4 sec | f/16 | ISO 100


Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM @ 200mm | 1/100 th sec | f/4 | ISO 100

Limiting Availability to Increase Creativity

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG @ 70mm | 1/60 th sec | f/2.8 | ISO 400

This may sound a little silly but bear with me. I'm sure I am not just speaking for myself when I say that it is all too easy for a landscape photographer to go to a beach for sunset, stick an ultra-wideangle lens on the camera and find a nice low viewpoint to create a striking composition. Now don't get me wrong, I love low down wideangle work but after a while it can seem like you are starting to repeat yourself.

Last night I returned to Bwlch Gwyn and upon arrival handed my Sigma 10-20 over to Angela who was accompanying me on my trip. I decided to turn my way of thinking completely on it's head and limit myself to just one focal length, a focal length that I would normally not even consider for landscape work; 70mm. I had seen plenty of stunning landscape images taken with telephoto lenses but it requires a very different thought process to compose these images, something I was not really familiar with. So by limiting myself to one focal length and forcing myself to look for new and creative ways of seeing and composing an image I have started to open up a whole world of new opportunities. This is something I plan to apply not just to seascapes but to pretty much all situations. I think I will start shooting at a focal length I am comfortable with in a given situation and then experiment by using all manner of different focal lengths to really work a location and explore all of it's possibilities.

Two Light Self Portrait

I was browsing the Strobist Blog this morning and read a post on two light only portrait shots so I got out this afternoon and gave it a try. I didn't realise how hard it was going to be to shoot a strobist self portrait! It's hard enough just to position yourself in the frame and get the focusing right let alone setting up flashguns on stands and getting them to hit the right places with the right power... But I got there in the end, just.

There was a part of my garage wall that was in shadow and as a result was evenly lit with nice soft light, a perfect backdrop! I got an ambient reading for the wall at 1/200th sec at f/2.8 ISO 100 so I stopped down to f/11 to completely kill the ambient light and allow me to use only the two flashguns to light the shot. I set up one of the flash units leaning against the wall to camera right and put it level with my head, set it to 1/2 power, zoomed it to 105mm and used an 8" Cardboard Snoot to restrict the light to my head and shoulders. I then set up the other flash low down and on 1/4 power to camera left with a stofen to send the light out in all directions and fill in the shadows.

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG @ 70mm | 1/200 th sec | f/11 | ISO 100
430 EX II 1/2 with 8" snoot front camera right | 360AFDC 1/4 with Stofen camera left

Making Headway

OK, so maybe my last post was not worded as well as it could have been. There are a lot of things I like about Flickr, the wealth of outstanding photographers producing truly inspiring work to start with, some of which I have had the fortune to meet in person and from which I have learnt a lot. But anyway, enough of that! Now for some photography!

Tonight I met up with Mike Stokes, one of the photographers mentioned above, and headed down to Bwlch Gwyn, a little cove on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. I have visited this beach on numerous occasions but it is one of those locations that I will never tire of! I decided to try something different tonight, usually I go out with no clear idea of what I hope to accomplish and as a result end up running around taking all manner of photographs. Sometimes I get lucky and end up with something of a reasonable standard. Tonight however I had a specific goal, the tide was in high tonight and on the turn with an easterly wind so I knew that there would be a fair break and I would be able to get quite close to the waters edge without having to worry too much about getting spray on the filters so my aim was to catch the break close up with an ultra wide-angle lens against a sunset sky. Instead of running around like a lunatic I had a focus and stuck with it tonight. Below is one of the many images I took this evening.

Canon EOS 40 D | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM | Cokin X-Pro 0.9 ND Grad
1 / 13 th sec | f/16 | ISO 100 @ 10mm

A New Beginning

Right, I'm relatively new to this whole Blog thing, I've never done anything like this before and I don't know how, or even if, I'm going to get on with this but what the hell, I'll give it a try anyway! So I suppose I should start by introducing myself; I'm Rob, an amateur freelance Photographer from South Wales UK. My main area of work is in live music events and promotional photography for bands, when I'm out shooting for myself I'm mainly a Landscape enthusiast although lately I have been doing a lot more portraiture especially using off camera flash units. I have been doing a lot of experimentation with off camera flash and have started using it on Landscape shots as well. In the words of Joe McNally: "It don't got to be human to light it!"

Canon EOS 40 D | Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM | Canon Speedlite 580EX II 1/1
w/ 1 1/2 CTO | 1/30 th sec | f/2.8 | ISO 400 @ 200mm

That's who I am and what I do, but what am I doing here doing this? I will try not to ramble on too long but basically I decided today to take a break from Flickr. Maybe I'm just being apathetic or maybe I'm just missing the point but it seems to me that Flickr is poisoning the very values of photography. Now I don't mean to generalise because I realise this does not apply to every single Flickr user but it seems to have given rise to a culture of comment whores chasing after an explore. People that sit at their computer after uploading an image clicking refresh on their homepage waiting for the next comment; I know, I've done it myself. Sad I know, but I have since realised that I was missing the whole point. This will not be a break from photography, quite the opposite, I hope to spend much more time with my camera, but for the time being I will be leaving Flickr well alone and will be using this as an alternative outlet for my thoughts, ramblings, learnings and of course, images.