Rod Collins Photography

Photographing the Seals at Donna Nook

Rod — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:24:18 +0000

Tips and Advice on Photographing the Seals at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire
Donna Nook is very popular during the Seal Season when seals come from the Atlantic to give birth to their pups.
It’s a marvellous site for all but a golden opportunity for photographers . . .

There are 2 main areas of appeal as far as I can see.
1: The chance to photograph something completely different, the likes of which we rarely see in Britain.
2: It is possible to see them fairly close sometimes so it does give people a chance with normal cameras and lenses

I went at the very end of the season, in January, there weren’t many seals left but consequently there weren’t the crowds either – it does get very busy during peak periods.

I was very lucky in having very bright light that day, this was during the morning so if you’re going try and be there in the AM as the light is behind you.
Longer lenses obviously help, I was shooting up to 500mm but the best ones, unsurprisingly, came from a 70-200mm IS MKII coupled with a Canon 7D – here’s the result, ISO 100 and f2.8

A Seal at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire

Overall I was pleased with the results on the day, the great light and the water glistening on the seals plus ability to get away with a 200mm lens gave some pleasing sharp results.
All the best
Rod

Microadjusting a Canon 7D and a Sigma 150-500 Lens

Rod — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:31:10 +0000

Microadjusting a Canon 7D and a Sigma 150-500 Lens.
I’ve read a lot about focusing issues with Canon’s 7D, indeed it stopped me buying one for some time, one issue is ‘tuning’ cameras to specific lenses – here’s how I did it

How do I micro adjust my Canon camera and Sigma lens ?
That’s what I wanted to know the the advice was two-fold, send them to Canon and pay them to do it or start downloading various shapes, get your computer screen as far a way from the camera etc etc – sounded very complicated not to mention the limitation of getting a reasonable distance from a screen.

Here’s how I did it, I don’t say this is right or that you should do it this way, I simply say I did and it worked.
Took an object with plenty of fine detail and texture and placed it at the very end of the garden, set my camera up on a tripod.
I used manual settings so the camera wouldn’t change anything and ensured the light was consistent and not cloudy etc.

I took a test shot and then went C.FnIII:Autofocus/Drive in the menu setting.
Go to Adjust by Lens you can then step up or down in + or – increments.
It will also register the lens to the camera so next time you use the lens the camera will select your chosen setting.

I took a series of pictures, each one moving 1 step up or down and noted which were which on paper.
I then downloaded the pictures, there was a clear winner and it was better than my original unaltered test shot – noticeably so.
In my case the best shot was a micro adjust of +1
Here’s the result taken later that morning.

After Microadjusting

It has made a real difference, the before and after shots were really obvious. I’ve used the same setting ever since, the camera remembers the lens so you’ve no need to repeat the exercise. Interestingly, all my other lenses proved to be fine it was just the Bigma 150-500 that needed a tweak.
I hope this guide helps a little

All the best
Rod

Picture Information
Camera: Canon 7D ~ Lens: Sigma 150-500 ~ f8 ~ 1/320 ~ ISO 500 ~ Handheld

Sepia Glamour ~ A Touch of the Old Fashioned

Rod — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:35:20 +0000

There’s something quite appealing about sepia tones, it lends itself to all sorts of effects and is hardly cutting edge
If anything it’s clichéd but it still works and looks really pleasing with some nice soft glamour shots I think

I quite like this picture all the angles compliment each other and there’s a pleasing line to the shot.
If it’s about anything then it’s about the flowing lines these look beautiful and the model nailed the pose creating shapes and curves akin to a pedigree sports car – it has those sleek flowing lines
I’m keen to use different angles and partial body shots, straight forward portraits and head-to-toe pictures just seem dull to me.
The idea here was to be drawn in and down – it has an almost mistral like flow to it.

A Touch of Old-Fashioned Sepia Glamour

I processed several versions of this shot, black and white, full colour etc and the above. I know the sepia toning and the lighting is a bit corny but that doesn’t stop it working visually. I think it’s a legitimate shot which shows the beauty and flowing lines of the female form – the lighting and desaturated tone highlighting the overall feel.

It seems a softer and kinder picture as well, the type of lingerie lends itself to a feeling of a less stark era which is reinforced with the sepia look – it lacks the direct harshness of so many modern glamour shots – there’s something to be said for something a little old-fashioned in feel and something left to the imagination.
All the best
Rod

Picture Information
Camera: Canon 7D ~ Lens: Canon 18-55 ~ f8 ~ 1/250 ~ ISO 100 ~ 2 Head Set Up: Softbox and flash through brolly

Using A Macro Lens to Photograph Birds

Rod — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:39:33 +0000

Using a Prime Macro Lens to take pictures of birds wasn’t my first consideration when I bought the lens but a chance encounter put the idea in my head

Sod’s Law inevitably operates when out with a camera, there also an interesting close up shot when you’ve got a big telephoto on and a rare bird when you’ve got a macro lens on.
It was on just such an occasion I saw a bird I couldn’t identify so I took a picture of it using a Sigma 150mm macro lens just to try and ID it when I got home – it turned out rather well

I just snapped this in the garden this morning as an experiment.

A Blackbird Shot with a Macro Lens

The detailing isn’t too bad all things considered but I think I’ll experiment with narrower apertures and do some more to see if I can balance overall detail whist still retaining immediate sharpness.
The head is slightly ‘soft’ on this one due to DOF

I don’t know whether there’s any real mileage in this other than an interesting experiment. Clearly this isn’t what the lens is designed to do but that said it is a chance to take pictures of birds with a fast lens that gives fabulous detailing usually.
It’ll be a challenge to see if I can get anything decent out it.
Ideally I should use a tripod or monopod any movement with this lens and the shot is dead, also of course no IS

I’ll see where it leads and post another picture if I can get one I consider worthwhile – I’d always be interested to hear from anyone else who has given this a go
All the best
Rod

Picture Information
Camera: Canon 7D ~ Lens: Sigma 150mm Macro ~ f6.3 ~ 1/1250 ~ ISO 400 ~ Handheld no Image Stabilization

Taking Pictures of Churches ~ It’s in the Lap of the Gods

Rod — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:07:40 +0000

Everybody takes pictures of churches it seems, well perhaps not everybody but it’s certainly a fairly clichéd thing to do.
I hate predictability and I loathe clichés so why do I do it as well ?

In fairness, I’ve never really looked upon this side of my photography as ‘photography’ more ‘taking pictures’ really.
With a relatively recent, and burgeoning, interest in history coupled with a penchant for days out in Lincolnshire then churches are pretty much unavoidable but are there any possibilities for doing anything different with them in photographic terms ?

It’s something that I’ve only thought of as I prepared this article. Primarily I have to take a purely representative picture of churches as they’re for a project I’m doing on one of my other sites. Of course I want a nice photograph but the constraints mean it has to, first and foremost, show as much as possible of the building and from the most dramatic aspect.

Perhaps it’s a bit like wedding photography, now matter what you may fancy doing you’ve got to do portraits and cake cutting etc.

Grimsby Minster ~ St James

There are two problems with taking photographs of churches in my experience:

For some reason, which is beyond me, people like to plant bushes and trees so as to obscure the obviously prime aspect of the building, most are not ancient trees but relatively new – does nobody ever stand back and think – that’ll ruin the entire vista ?
I use a 10-20 wide angle because of this, sometimes you almost have to stand next to the building to get any kind of shot

Light: Churches face east so that poses problems in terms of the sun. Obviously you want the sun on the building rather than behind it – it means if you’re there at the wrong time of day you’re guaranteed to be scuppered light wise !

I’ll have a go at trying something different I think and bring the results to this site and leave the vanilla stuff for my other website.
A decent challenge I think – can you get something edgy, a bit different out of a church ?

If you have done or do so then please do feel free to comment
All the best
Rod

Beauty and Danger ~ A Study of Femininity and Masculine Iconography

Rod — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:48:11 +0000

This picture is all about contrast, soft and hard lines which combine together but couldn’t be further apart.
Beauty and danger, the warmth and softness of all that is feminine and the stark contrast that is the coldness of steel.

The ingredients for this picture, simple as they are, were pre planned. The dramatic qualities of the knife lent themselves to imagery but what could I do with it ?
I liked the idea of contrast between hard and soft. I tried to show and extremely feminine image with the model and contrast that with something decidedly male-like in nature and suggestion.

The vulnerability of the human body laid bare set against feelings and images of invulnerability that surround both the modern and ancient culture of weapons.
There’s a plethora of other subtext in this photograph and it juxtaposes beauty and danger, femininity and maleness rather nicely, though I say so myself.
There are, of course, also a myriad of other contexts which were in my mind which I need not go into and will leave to the imagination of the viewer.

I wanted fairly stark lighting so as to optimise the impact of the knife but also some careful backlighting so as to produce a flattering light for the model.
A soft box was used to light the model in a softer, more sympathetic fashion and a shoot through umbrella to light the foreground and knife

Beauty and Danger

I think it works, or at least I hope it does in the eyes of others. I’m always interested in feedback and would value any comments, opinions – good or bad – on the photograph and the rationale behind it.

All the best
Rod

Picture Information
Camera: Canon 7D ~ Lens: Canon 18-55 ~ f8 ~ 1/25 ~ ISO 100

An Ancient Lincolnshire Landscape

Rod — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:55:23 +0000

Nettleton Top near Caistor in Lincolnshire can boast of being at the very peak of Lincolnshire – over 500 feet above sea level at some points.
It also makes for some spectacular photography

The landscape is quite simply stunning there, possibly the best in Lincolnshire, rolling hills and valleys, truly mind-blowing. Unfortunately, bringing that out in a photograph reduced in size to suit this website simply doesn’t do it justice.
Consequently, having struggled to get satisfactory ‘general landscape’ shots I tend to look for striking features or simple shapes in the landscape which don’t get lost in a mess of general detail.
That’s what I did here:

A Decaying Tree in Lincolnshire

This old tree had almost fossilized, it wasn’t actively rotting as such and had the appearance of those skeletons one sees in desert areas. It was also situated in what was once an ancient settlement long since abandoned so it really did symbolize age for me.
Photography such as this is more about what the picture says and trying to convey what I thought and felt at the time rather than simply creating images.

The day was extremely overcast and on the verge of a downpour but what was lost in light was gained in a reasonably dramatic sky.
I quite like this picture, not so much as a photograph but as a representative image.
I’m always interested in feedback and opinions on any of the pictures or text – if you like to leave any form of comment then please do – thank you

All the best
Rod

Picture Information
Camera: Canon 7D ~ Lens: Sigma 10-20 ~ f13 ~ 1/50 ~ ISO 100 ~ Cokin ND Grad Filter