Year Two (124) – Shallow depth of field

I am experimenting today with a shallow depth of field on my 24-70mm lens, natural light to capture the detail and wonder of childhood.

The first image was outside, the light was wrong, but for me it was about capturing the moment.. a full blown paddy on the pavement…. what I find interesting here is the shutter speed at 1/320 sec the arm is still blurred – kids are fast, I shot wide to get the location and I was close to the subject, which has helped the depth of field… I think I need to get closer more often!

A tantrum – ISO320, F9, 1/250sec – 35mm

Inside and still working with natural light

Year Two (54) – Puffins

A bucket list opportunity to visit Skomer Island and see the Puffins. Skomer is about 6 hours from where I live, it is an island and only has about 150 people land on it every day – once you are there, you are there until your return boat….  for me that is a real challenge, my son has a medical condition which means he needs support with little notice so to leave him at home, drive for 6 hours, then to catch the boat to the Island and be there for 6 hours before I can return… was risky.

But we did it!

Puffin – popping his head out of the burrow with flash!

Year Two (50) – Reptiles, Raptors and Owls

I had the opportunity to attend another Photo Experience Day at Liberty’s and had a fantastic time getting up close to a variety of creatures. An experience day is an opportunity to get closer or to be shown a different view of things to photograph – it is not really a day where you are told how to use your camera or how to get the best from it – they is usually a photographer on hand to answer your questions but it is more about providing the opportunity.

The Liberty Eagle – Handled as part of the Adult Falconary Experience Day at Liberty’s in the New Forest

Year Two (49) – Wheels

I visited the Wheels Festival at Bournemouth at the weekend and had an amazing time … I am not a car fan, but I  do like taking photos and challenging myself to take different images and spending the day experimenting with my camera made me realise how far my photography has developed since I last visited.

Last visit – I played it safe, I stuck in Aperture priority and took some photos – too of which appeared in my introduction to my 365 blog back at the start of 2015, this time I was using Manual, Shutter Speed priority and thinking a lot more about what I wanted the end results to be… and this is some of the highlights of my day.

 

Monster Trucks – ISO320, F5.6, 1/1250sec

ISo100, F5.6, 1/200 sec – Wheels!

More Quad Action – ISo400, F6.3, 1/2000sec

ISo800, F5.6, 1/4000 sec – Freezing the sand

IS0800, F6.3, 1/16000 sec

See no Evil – ISO160, F6.3, 1/2000sec

Vintage Truck ISO400, F4.5, 1/1250Sec

ISo100, F11, 1/50 sec – Panning – to capture the speed

Quad Bike Action – ISO800, F5, 1/2500 sec

The circuit – ISo160, 1/1000sec, F5.6

You can also view a video of some of the parking on my twitter feed, head on over to:

Fantastic Show – #wheelsfest – for now a great video @BmthWheelsFest @PaulSwiftStunts – photos to follow! pic.twitter.com/fPVKkToWFm

— Helen (@RenoufDesign) 6 June 2016

Or view some photos in my Wheels Album 2016.

Year Two (46) – Garden Birds

Last year when I started my 365 challenge – back on day 30 I spent some time taking photos of garden birds and want to share with you how my photography and bird population has improved.

Year Two (45) – A trip to the beach

I headed to the beach… I took my camera, I was not really sure what I wanted to capture today, other than some photographs … I ended up enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air and taking a variety of images and experimenting!

Year Two (41) – Photo Buddy is back!

Photobuddy is back and is the star of today’s photoshoot, I wanted a focal point in the bluebell wood and my border collie was a willing model… well put it this way, he was keen to come for a walk and was happy to have the camera pointed in his direction, whereas the rest of the family really want to these days.

Lying among the bluebells

Year Two (34) – Learning your camera

Last night at the Old Bakery we had a go and capturing the moment with drops dripping and glasses smashing … there was only a limited number of people shooting due to the demands of the set up which meant there was a lot more time to talk to each other and to share knowledge … and to my amazement I was asked loads of questions about setting up the flash, and I actually knew a lot more than I thought I did, it was great to hear tonight that one of the newer members thought I was a pro 🙂 Made my evening!

Setting up the shot

This evening highlighted to me a lot …knowledge which a year ago I didn’t have…. and now I am glad I have… some of wish I am going to share:

Year Two (18) Fun at the Beach

I got to go to the beach to catch the end of a Coastguard incident in action .. I was late on scene, do did not get the best photos of the event but it did mean that I unexpectedly found myself at the beach – so the perfect opportunity to take some photos.

Coastguard Incident at Highcliffe – Team Debrief

I thought i would try something new –