Eva Besnyo and other Photographers....

Black and White Photography ...
http://www.faciepopuli.com/tagged/Eva-Besny%C3%B6

Love the images on this tumblr site ...lots of great inspiration

"The Little House" by Philippa Gregory

I've read some of Philippa Gregory's historical novels, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance and The Queen's Fool , all of which, much to my surprise, I enjoyed reading. I don't usually read historical novels, they tend to be too slushy, sentimental and saccharine for my taste, But they were none of these things, the characterisations were interesting, they've thoughts insightful and although these are fictitious stories based on fact, they were plausible.

I find the when I've read a few of one particular authors' books, they do become a little predictable. This isn't true of all authors, just some. You become accustomed to the way they write, the stories tend to take on a similar path, the characters have similarities; when this happens I usually move on to another author. But Philippa Gregory has written other novels, apart from the historical genre and before I gave up on her I decided to read one of her more modern novels.

I picked up The Little House, the story of a married couple, both journalists, one in Radio, the other in TV. Its a story of a wife and her spoilt husband, her upper class, domineering in laws and her struggles with her past and the intricacies of their relationships. It has a unexpected twist at the end which made me laugh out loud. The book is worth reading just for the ending! But don't cheat and read the end first, that would spoil the whole thing completely!

Image Couresy of philippagregory.com

I have to add that the book cover does not in any way give any indication of the story it tells. I don't like it! There must have been a more appropriate image that could have been used!

Wedding Blogs

Intimate Weddings is a real gem, information and ideas discovered from all over the web. Advice for small weddings, alternative dresses, gifts to make the day even more special and some absolutely fabulous images.

http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/rethinking-wedding-dress-2015/

The Lomography site is one of my favourites, one of my passions is analogue photography and there is a lot of inspiration on here. I searched through the Tags and I've found lots of wonderful stuff.

http://www.lomography.com/magazine/82260-analogue-weddings

Amy Lou Photography is the first website I came across the other day when I was starting to build my website. Its really well written, gorgeous images and a real friendly style.

http://amylouphotography.co.uk/

Vintage Wedding Photographer Jessica O'Shaughnessy ... I like her style of photography, a bit kooky, very professional and very creative. Reading her clients Kind Words its clear that she makes people happy!

http://www.jessicaoshaughnessy.co.uk/kind-words/

Happy Days...Wedding Days...

I have made the decision to photograph weddings, they are such happy events, full of love and hope and celebrations. I feel that I could use my talents to create those special photographs that last a lifetime. I call them Forever Photos.

I had thought that because of the stress of shooting a wedding that I would shy away from them ... but in the past, the weddings that I have had the pleasure of shooing, although yes they were stressful, and yes I didn't sleep for a week beforehand, and yes there is always that terrible dread that none of the photos will turn out right. The stuff of nightmares. But ... I am being silly. I am trained as a photographer. I can photograph weddings, and photograph them well. I am creative, I have a sunny disposition, I like being happy and I like going to happy occassisons. So I have decided to be confident in my abilities and I feel that Wedding Photography is the right way to go.

Reminding myself of my Degree days at University, I am going to make a Sketch Book, do some research on Weddings on-line and other sources, take inspiration for other wedding photographers, look at artsits and light and colour, discover new things, stretch my imagination, find ways to improve my skills in wedding photography, learn as much as possible ....

Here is a link to my Website ... http://pennydaviesweddings.weebly.com/about.html

In the Middle of Nowhere..

A day out with my two sisters, a little retail therapy, and then a walk in the middle of nowhere. A hidden woodland where you discover a lily pond, lots of wildlife and a beautiful spot to have a picnic.

It rained, but it didn't matter, the trees made good cover, though I must admit it was a little cold for July.

 

Mr Turner DVD

I was fascinated to watch this film about the Genius  J.M.W. Turner. He was nothing as I had imagined him, but his many works in light are inspiring and completely delightful, in my opinion anyway.

The film showed a man who was cantankerous, moody, and spoke in a guttural fashion and didn't really seem to have much to say. But of course he didn't really need to say much as his paintings speak volumes for him. He was a generous man, we know that because he Bequeathed all his works of art to the British Public, he wanted everyone to be able to view, not only his art, but art in general. He did not succumb to greed by accepting hundreds of thousands of pounds, as he could have done. This makes him a good man in my eyes.

Timothy Spall is one of my favourite actors and he plays Turner magnificently. I always look forward to seeing Mr Spall on the screen or on TV, because I know if he is in it, then it more that likely will be worth watching.

 Image Courtesy of www.guardian.com/film/2015

Timothy Spall as W Turner

DianaF

The DianaF is a simple little camera, but far from easy to use. It has taken several films and lots of practise for me to hone my Diana skills. Even now after using one for a couple of years, its still a bit hit and miss as to whether I've been able to successfully shoot an image that works, and that I'm happy with. But one of the joys of Lomography cameras is that the accidental image or the unusual is its selling point. The nature of the camera means that it will create an image that is misty, abstract, soft, out of focus .... or "creative." The developed pictures are not really meant to be clear and sharp ...where's the fun in that!

Taking the Diana in hand, there seems nothing easier than loading a film, turning the film on until you reach No 1 and then just shooting away. Loading the film into the camera isn't difficult, its once the film is in the camera that the challenges begin.

These two images are from the first film I shot with my DianaF.... a bit of a disaster is an understatement, but from this first film I had something to work with. I knew it wasn't going to be easy and that it would be a very steep learning curve.

After the results from the first film I thought about how I was going to achieve the best results, as it is such a simple camera, no technology involved, there really is only your intuition. Feel the image so to speak. Work on your experience of how long you think you should hold down the shutter. And also think of what kind of atmosphere you are trying to create. A part of my University Degree that I really enjoyed, was to research my subject and create a sketch book. There is no doubt about it that by looking at other artists and their styles, looking at other people's images created with the DianaF and doing any research that you think is relevant to helping you shoot images to create your own style of photography and your own story, is extremely beneficial. Also adding your own images to your sketch book help you to see how you improve ... that is always very satisfying!

The hole at the back of the camera where you look for the number is small, it can be quite frustrating. Turning the dial to move the film forward, you do need to watch the arrows, don't do this too quickly because the number 1 will appear before you know it. I have lost many negatives where I have gone past the next number or have shot an image in the middle of the frame. My solution to this is to hold the camera up so that the sun shines into the hole, or on a dull day find the brightest light source. Then I can see the arrows leading the film onwards and finally I get to the number.

The pinhead size hole inside the lens is tricky. It is probably a good idea to use a tripod because I find using a three second rule will ensure that I get light into the lens. However, having said that, I hardly ever use a tripod when I go out, because I find it cumbersome and a pain to carry around with me. The weight of too much camera equipment slows me down and makes me tired! I like to keep things simple. If I'm out walking on the coast or in the woods, I like to feel free and this helps me to be "in the zone" and use my intuition. I do carry a Shutter Release Cable with me which I use sometimes.

In sunny weather I count to three when taking a shot, in cloudy weather I may count to four, in shady areas I count to five. If I'm in the woods where the trees obscure the light, then I have to use my experience to make an educated guess as too how long I will hold the shutter down for. What I'm trying to say is that if you want a lot of light in your photograph then you do need to hold the shutter down for a count of at least five. If its around mid-day and there is lots of light then you may just want to count to 2/3. Its all about experimentation really. I quite like dark images but sometimes I will lose the detail in the darker areas and the shot doesn't work. 

After I had studied the images from the first film and began to think about ways to achieve better results.... my pictures did improve... not immediately but during the months that I shot more and more film, I did get some that I was happy with. I don't believe that any photographer is happy with all his/her images .... there is a little luck involved too!

So here are some DianaF images post first film!

And here are some more recent DianaF Images.

 

I hope this has helped anyone using the DianaF who has maybe lost their enthusiasm for it, anyone who has shot a couple of films and is thinking of giving up ... don't... you will achieve great images.. or anyone who is thinking of giving it a try.