I have always wanted to have a go at Astrophotography. My only worry was always the cost of the equipment. So luckily last month I started to see YouTube videos popping up about the Seestar S50 smart telescope, which was a lot cheaper. Basically a small unit with lots of features that allowed me to shoot deep sky targets via an App on my phone. What more could be simpler than pointing at an object and letting the telescope do all the work. Taking multiple images and stacking them into one file that you can then edit. What a thrill, my first beginner image was of the Orion Nebula and then I started moving onto Galaxies, Star clusters and other Nebula. Seestar lets you shoot the moon and the sun and comes with a solar filter. Now the only problem living in the UK is you don’t seem to get a lot of clear skies so even though I have had the telescope for a month I have only photographed around 8 images. I process all the images using a free software package called Siril. Then I further develop it in Photoshop and Lightroom. What an absolute joy to see the cosmos and realising we are a small particle of dust in an ever expanding universe.
London Street Photography Trip
I was lucky enough to enjoy shooting four days of street photography in London UK. I was like a child in a sweetie store with images popping out all around me. Shooting 12 hours a day gives you the opportunity to capture life on the streets. With a Fuji XT4 and a Fuji X100V you have everything you need to capture some mesmerising images. I can’t wait to get back again but I think the next trip for an extended period shooting street images will be in Dublin.
Experimenting with Wet Collodion
Wet-collodion process, early photographic technique invented by Englishman Frederick Scott Archer in 1851. A group of us from Truro Camera Club were lucky enough to spend a few days with Nicky Thompson experimenting capturing portraits and still life using this wonderful process. Nicky’s website can be found here. https://www.nickyjthompson.co.uk . You have to slow down and prepare everything very carefully. The hit rate is not 100% but it great fun and you soon realise how skilled the early photographers must have been. If you dont want the perfect look and love that old feel then give Wet Collodion a try!
Fungi explosion
It’s Fungi season. From about the beginning of October to December there is an explosion of Fungi. So its time to get the Macro lens out for my Fuji XT4 and My Mamiya macro lens for my Fuji GFX 50R. The local woods provided an abundance subjects and my knowledge of individual species is very poor. But for me it’s all about the art. So armed with lights, silver paper and a tripod that inverts its off to make magic (not mushrooms)
A stormy trip to Godrevy Lighthouse
Godrevy is a stunning location at any time of the year or day. But when Storm Agnes popped by I thought high tide and low light what more could you ask for. On a single trip it was possible to capture 6 images that were portfolio worthy. Which is a very rare thing. Big waves and a fantastic back drops means photography life becomes a lot easier.
New Website Domain www.paulnash.co.uk
Just to inform all my follows that my website domain name has changed to www.paulnash.co.uk
Bluebell Panorama with a new Fuji GFX
Bluebell Panorama with a new Fuji GFX
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A street photography trip to London
Last week I was lucky enough to enjoy four days in London just focussing on street photography. What a treat. Out from 8 till late everyday capturing different locations. From classic street to architecture. What a place to explore and capture everyday life set out in front of you. I can’t wait to get back again to indulge in this magnificent capital city.
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A Trip to Dartmoor
During a recent workshop a few friends and I took the opportunity to explore different areas and capture the local scenery in this national park. Dartmoor is. special place and for this trip I took two cameras. The Fuji infrared converted camera and my trusty Sony A7R3. As conditions were mainly bright the Fuji came out on top with a different perspective being discovered on Dartmoor through the medium of Infrared.
Read MoreThe first mist of the Autumn at Idless in Cornwall UK near Truro
The first mist has eventually arrived and I was luckily enough to capture it at Idless near Truro in early September. The separation caused by the mist gives the woodland another worldly look and inspires you to keep capturing image after image. This few hours inspired me to capture around seven images that were worthy of keeping in my portfolio. Great images are always about weather, light and processing, with two of these the processing element is quick and easy. Lets hope a new few days of mists arrives quickly so I will have the opportunity to explore another local woodland in this majestic atmosphere.
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Bluebells Bluebells Bluebells at Enys Gardens
Enys Gardens Enys is situated a few miles to the East of Penryn in Cornwall. The beautiful gardens are a genuine joy and the bluebells during spring are an eye to behold. The building have been left to rack and ruin but are slowy awakening from their slumber. The Bluebell festival in May is a joy and I was lucky enough to look around last Tuesday in the pouring rain. While this may have put some people off this was an opportunity to get the lovely misty shots I craved whilst also having the gardens to myself.
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Helios fun
The last couple of weeks have seen the local woodland fill with bluebells, wild leeks and wild garlic. The scent is heady and the landscape is luminous with all the wildflowers in the woodland. But besides the normal shots of woodland I have been experimenting with my Helios lens on my Sony camera with lovely results in contrasty light. The bokeh produced is very specific and the contrast between what is in focus and what is not is distinct. Used with an adaptor on my Sony A7 R3 the lens is purely manual mode but what fun bringing out your creative side as you experiment.
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Scanography a new stay at home adventure
I have had my printer/scanner for about 10 years now so it’s very old. But whilst at home under another lockdown I fancied a new project. Scanography was the answer, it’s very basic but very rewarding. All you have to do is place items on the scanner in the orientation you require and press the scan button. The only other considerations are do you want a black background or something a bit more open. Anything is possible, still life, portraits or flat lays everything is possible in the scanner world. So why not give it go while you have time at home.
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Infrared in Colour 590nm
Over the past month I have been experimenting with colour infrared shot at 590 nm (nanometers). I recently purchased a Fuji X100 converted camera which allows me to shoot in a normal way with a custom white balance. This results in images that can been seen immediately in the back of the camera at normal apertures and shutter speeds. With a simple conversion in photoshop changing the red and blue channels you get back to normals blue skies and an infrared landscape. Although not to everyones taste it allows you to shoot at the brightest times of the day therefore extending your photographic opportunities. With a small infrared camera in you bag at all times you have the possibility to see the world in a different light, literally.
Read MoreThe mist at last
I have been waiting around 8 months for mist. Each morning I expectantly look out the window and nothing. I have mist apps and alerts programmed into the phone in case it happens but it has not. Then last week on the 12th August I peered out at 6.00 in the morning and there it was. All my equipment was ready and I raced to our local woodland Idless. I was in the carpark by 6.30 and had it all to myself before all the rowdy dog walkers arrived. The tranquility was bliss and images were jumping out at me from all directions. I managed to capture about 20 images over a 3 our period and woodland photography became much easier with just that separation between foreground and background. I am now waiting for the next appearance so I can experiment somewhere else (Ladock).
Ladock Woods
Over the last year I have been exploring Lack woods near Truro in Cornwall. I have been visiting on a weekly basis and it’s true what they say you have to keep going back to the same place. I love woodland photography and the challenge of finding compositions and something new. Light is everything and the ever changing conditions means the same scene changes drastically on each visit. After a recent Truro camera club visit my Friend David Martin captured this image of myself and I was surprised how small I seem against the majesty of these trees.
Visit to Clevedon
After a life time in Bristol I finally got the chance to shoot Clevedon Pier. It’s not somewhere I have every considered photographing due to the brown waters of the River Severn and low muddy tides. But when evening draws in and you have a chance of a sunset then the location radically changes into a magical landscape location. You can tell this by the queue of photographers on the beach trying to get that elusive shot. After 55 years of not trying I will certainly be back as I have had so many requests for prints of the images taken on that evening.
Bridget Macklin
I have been working with the amazing Ceramicist Bridget Macklin https://bridgetmacklin.com . We have been working together to create a portfolio of images based on her porcelain. These stunning pieces of work come with the added twist that there is a story in each object. Each artwork is created using materials related to the future owner. Why don't you follow more of Bridgets work on instagram https://www.instagram.com/macklinbridget/
Street Photography Workshop with Mark Fearnley
Myself and a few friends recently went on a great workshop in London with Mark Fearnley focussed on Street Photography. Although I have been keen on the genre for some time and have produced lots of work this was a real eye opener with lots of learning and opportunities to experiment with Marks guidance. I will be uploading more work on the website so people can see the results of my endeavours. Marks Website is https://markfearnley.co.uk and you can find him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mark.fearnley/
Photoplus Magazine and Amateur Photographer twice in a month
I have been lucky this month to be published in two photography magazines. The two magazines are “PhotoPlus ” and “Amateur Photographer”. The first was an article was after I was placed in a Canon photography competition the second was a Portfolio review showing many of my black and white images from around Cornwall. It’s a real privilege to be published and to see your images in print.
