I enjoy eating pork pie in a Leicestershire pub with a pint of real ale, or sitting alongside the Gare Loch with a dram of single malt. Unfortunately, I live in the historic city of Lancaster and I must console myself with the thoughts of those pleasures when I am visiting friends and family. I am an avid supporter of Leicester City and I channel that passion into maintaining my other, more successful blog.
Whilst I mainly take photographs for fun, I am also open to bookings for a variety of functions and occasions and I am able to work with those whose budgets may be very tight indeed. Should you wish to make an enquiry of this nature, please do not hesitate to contact me.
My Kitbag
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| My kitbag, including my two lenses, flashgun, tripods, accessories and all-important D5000. |
Camera Body
Lenses
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A body is, of course, useless without a lens to focus the light onto the sensor. My D5000 came equipped with Nikon's standard-issue 18-55mm DX VR lens, which is perfectly acceptable for a range of photographic situations. I also have a Tamron 70-300 VR telemacro lens, which is superb for close-up work and, too, for wildlife photography. Both have reliable, reasonably quiet auto-focus motors and whilst not offering an 'always-on' manual override, the small switches on the side of each lens do not require more than a quick flick to switch between modes.
Flashgun
My Nissin Di622 gives me a lot of versatility in one very easily-manageable package. The easy-to-use power settings make creating the right mood easy, whilst the twisting, tilting head allows a choice of lighting directions should a direct beam at ninety degrees not be desirable (it often isn't and I rarely use my flash at anything other than 150-180 degrees tilt, allowing me to bounce light off the ceiling). The Nissin has a built-in light diffuser to help one create the right sort of lighting.
Tripods and IR Remote
Of far more value to me than my tripod is the GorillaPod, which allows me to attach my camera to any stable surface, for example by wrapping its legs around a railing or branch. It is far easier to manoeuvre its jointed legs than to fiddle with the catches on the three legs of a tripod, too! For long exposures and self portraiture I could not live without the ML L3 infrared remote control. Just a couple of inches long, the ML L3 allows one to close the shutter without physically touching the camera, eliminating any form of camera shake from the resulting photograph. Absolutely essential.
Binoculars
You may have learned by now that I am a keen - if not entirely proficient - wildlife photographer and, as a result, I am rarely in the field without my Olympus compact binoculars. Yes, they are not strictly something to be put in a camera kit bag, but I will nearly always have them with me in order to spot interesting subjects out in the field - let's face it, they are far more easily focused on a distant subject than even the fastest lens. Specifically, these Olympus Zoom binos have superb contrast and, for their diminutive size, produce a stunningly crisp image.
Accessories
Consider this an acknowledgement to the hard work of my Fujifilm 8GB Class 4 SD card, my Hama rocket blower (it does so well to propel dust away from lenses and mirrors) and the essential UV filters attached to both of my lenses. UV filters can enhance the quality of an image by eliminating some of the 'purple haze' caused by errant UV light, but they also serve to protect the lens from damage. Far better to scratch a £20 filter than a £400 lens...
