Preparation
Derek Smith • 31 October 2019
50mm "Portrait Lens"
Photo By: Derek Smith
Preparation – Are you a dedicated photographer? Or does your camera reside unused at the back of a cupboard only dusting it down for family events, or holidays? The reason that I ask is that preparation is important in either situation, check if the battery is charged, take a spare battery, and a new SD card with you on any outing with your camera.
If you have an interchangeable lens camera, think about the lenses to take with you on any outing. On a recent Rhine cruise, I took my Sony A6300, the Sony 18-135mm zoom lens, and a Sony 35mm prime lens – very lightweight for the holiday, and it covered every situation. Occasionally I go even more lightweight (on a short walk for example) and just take the Sony A6300 camera, and the 16-50mm kit lens, which will fit in a large pocket of a coat.
Always think about the Who, What, When, Where, of photography.
Who - If I’m taking a portrait, the 18-135mm zoom lens will be with me, but I’ll also take the Sony 35mm, together with the Sony 50mm prime lens because of the f/1.8 widest aperture for low light situations, and I’ll take the light stand / diffuser / flash with me, I recently had the opportunity to have a photo shoot on a farm, in a barn, I predominately used the Sony 50mm lens, with the off-camera flash to give good results.
What - For wildlife I’ll take the Sony 70-300mm lens, plus the Sony 18-135mm. For landscape, or architecture I have the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 which is an excellent lens.
When – Time of the day, or season, the best times to shoot are around dawn, or sunset. The “blue hour” is that time just after the sun sets which is fantastic for cityscapes, just as the street / building lights are switching on. A cloudy autumn day can be good, less of the harsh shadows. A bright summers day can cause issues, as the light can be very harsh, causing shadows under the eyes in portraiture, use a diffuser over the subject, or shoot in the shade, turn the subjects back to the light, and use a reflector or flash to light the face.
Where – Primarily is the location, a busy street, top of a mountain, wildlife park, in a building, at a wedding / party, think about what gear to take for each situation.
Finally – When putting your gear away, I store my camera with the 18-135mm zoom lens, because I can use that lens for most situations, set the camera mode to Aperture, set to a mid-range f/5.6 - f/8, and ISO to Auto, that way you can pick the camera up, and start shooting within seconds.
The Louth Photographic Society will be resuming our meetings on the Wednesday 11th September, with a review / projects evening. Photography is a great hobby, and the Society always welcomes new members.
Article, and photos: Derek Smith
If you have an interchangeable lens camera, think about the lenses to take with you on any outing. On a recent Rhine cruise, I took my Sony A6300, the Sony 18-135mm zoom lens, and a Sony 35mm prime lens – very lightweight for the holiday, and it covered every situation. Occasionally I go even more lightweight (on a short walk for example) and just take the Sony A6300 camera, and the 16-50mm kit lens, which will fit in a large pocket of a coat.
Always think about the Who, What, When, Where, of photography.
Who - If I’m taking a portrait, the 18-135mm zoom lens will be with me, but I’ll also take the Sony 35mm, together with the Sony 50mm prime lens because of the f/1.8 widest aperture for low light situations, and I’ll take the light stand / diffuser / flash with me, I recently had the opportunity to have a photo shoot on a farm, in a barn, I predominately used the Sony 50mm lens, with the off-camera flash to give good results.
What - For wildlife I’ll take the Sony 70-300mm lens, plus the Sony 18-135mm. For landscape, or architecture I have the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 which is an excellent lens.
When – Time of the day, or season, the best times to shoot are around dawn, or sunset. The “blue hour” is that time just after the sun sets which is fantastic for cityscapes, just as the street / building lights are switching on. A cloudy autumn day can be good, less of the harsh shadows. A bright summers day can cause issues, as the light can be very harsh, causing shadows under the eyes in portraiture, use a diffuser over the subject, or shoot in the shade, turn the subjects back to the light, and use a reflector or flash to light the face.
Where – Primarily is the location, a busy street, top of a mountain, wildlife park, in a building, at a wedding / party, think about what gear to take for each situation.
Finally – When putting your gear away, I store my camera with the 18-135mm zoom lens, because I can use that lens for most situations, set the camera mode to Aperture, set to a mid-range f/5.6 - f/8, and ISO to Auto, that way you can pick the camera up, and start shooting within seconds.
The Louth Photographic Society will be resuming our meetings on the Wednesday 11th September, with a review / projects evening. Photography is a great hobby, and the Society always welcomes new members.
Article, and photos: Derek Smith
Louth Photographic Society
Good Morning All I was having my lunchbreak on the Wolds last week and spotted this tree in a field next to me, it does give the impression it's looking at you. I hope you're all enjoying the summer break, time does fly by and it's time to get ready for returning to the club on the 9th of September. We start with mini lecture, 15 minutes on what you have been doing over the summer. If you want to take part, please email me and we will see how many we have. The September PDI competition is coming up as well on the 23 rd of September, Objects in the air and open, Harry will now start taking your entries, three entries in each subject with an (R) after one of them to be removed if there are too many entries. Derek sent the N&EMPF Exhibition entry forms out; I will again act as organiser for our club. The standard is very high so it's one for your best PDI's. We will view some last year's PDI's that made the grade on the 16 th of September. Regards Graham
NELPS organised an outing to the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, there was some confusion with opening times, and a few of us arrived to find the gates closed, we went for a coffee!! Once inside and parked up we were welcomed by the volunteer staff, and began to take some photos around the site. A Grimsby trolleybus was running this morning, this bus had been painstakingly restored from a bare chassis, with great attention to detail, even down to sourcing the original moquette fabric to upholster the seats, it was great to be able to ride in a trolleybus again. Trolleybuses have a particular nostalgic memory for me, I lived in Uxbridge, on the outskirts of London, and the 607 trolleybus route ran past the end of my road, with a usual frequency of 5 minute intervals the buses were a common sight gliding along the main road. The 607 route was one of the longest in the country 11 miles to Shepherds Bush, taking about an hour for the journey. The trolleybus was whisper quiet, comfortable, and pollution free, and I took several trips on these. In comparison the conventional London bus the “RT” was not as quiet for longer journeys. The London trolleybuses, and eventually the London “RT” buses, were replaced with the iconic diesel fuelled Routemaster “RM” bus. I had an enjoyable visit, and many thanks to NELPS for organising the outing.
When we see a photograph what do we actually see? Does the image grab our attention? Does the image tell a story, or do we have to fill in the blanks with our own memories, and experiences? If we see a complete picture, or just a detail, which stirs our emotions most? At a recent competition a print was shown of fishing boats pulled up on the beach at North Landing, Flamborough, it was an excellent print, but the judge remarked “it’s just boats on a beach”. Do we feel the same emotion with a “normal” view, or do we want more, a storm raging, or fishermen launching the boats? Anyway, here are a few of my “abnormal” photos, first up a rusted bolt, you see I ask “who put that there?”, “what did it once hold?” Second, a vehicle excise disc, surely that stirs memories? Thirdly, a stone carved column, who carved the details? Was it shaped according to an architect’s brief, or a stone masons pattern? What emotions were felt by the stone mason? Lastly, a door handle. Where does this lead? How old is it, and how many hands have opened this door? Finally, I think that I’ve got my “mojo” back, I’ve been out more with my camera, and enjoying the experience, and surely that’s what photography is all about, the joy of capturing an image that pleases me.
The Exhibition will be in place from 10th - 29th September 2026
I was scrolling through the archives yesterday, and found these "Still Life" images. Still Life is an interesting photographic genre that requires good lighting, and compositional skills, but the results can be amazing. Here are four images of the genre, "Breakfast" showing cereal falling into a bowl, "Four Candles" (no not the ones from the Two Ronnies sketch), the moody "Decaying Tulip", and the simple but effective monochrome "Opener". Perhaps these images might give you some inspiration.
I joined the NELPS outing at Chambers Farm Woods on Wednesday. The NELPS visit to Chamber Farm wood and butterfly garden was well attended, with several members from NELPS, Grimsby, Dunholme and Louth, kind thanks to all that came, although it was very hot the butterfly garden, being rather full and slightly unkept did not let us down with butterflies, two less common were seen, a Comma butterfly and a humming bird moth, with loads of very lively common blue butterflies. Most of the insects in the butterfly garden were highly active, and by the time an insect was spotted, it was off!! I managed to just about get an image of the Comma butterfly, and nobody stood a chance with the humming bird moth, it was too fast. The dragonfly was more accommodating remaining fairly still posing for us. The next NELPS outing will be to the Peoples Park in Grimsby on Wednesday 19th, I'm busy on that day, but I will be attending the meeting at the Sandtoft Trolleybus Museum on Wednesday 26th. Many thanks to NELPS for organising these outings, it was a thoroughly pleasurable morning.
A visit to Whitby for a sunset picture didn't quite go to plan. Unknown to me today is the last day of the Whitby Regatta. Whitby in the summer is usually busy, but today it rivaled Time Square in New York. My planned shoot of the East Pier was a non-starter because for tonight only there's a fun fair along West Pier where I planned to shoot from. I had to re-think and resort to plan b, which was also a non-starter because the East Pier was closed as it was packed with fireworks. Plan c was OK though and I got an image I'm pleased with.
I've been up to RSPB Bempton Cliffs this week, and have taken some excellent photographs, the weather was fine, and the lighting was less harsh than usual. This pair were on the cliff top, obviously well established, and saw off this interloper trying to muscle in on their space, those beaks look very vicious. I hope that everyone else is having a productive summer break.
For club interaction, we are invited to these NELPS photo shoots. So lets start this club interaction, NELPS are now on there summer break, but it does not stop there. The NELPS club president has put together some outdoor photo shoots:- Lincoln 5th Aug meet at the Cathedral 11am Not forgetting the photo exhibition by Lincoln Camera Club in the Usher Gallery! Chambers Farm Wood & Butterfly Farm 12th Aug meet at 10am. Peoples Park Grimsby 19th Aug meet at 10am. Trolley Bus Museum Sandtoft 26th Aug meet at 10am Cadwell Park 10th Aug motorbikes, 24th Aug cars and both are track days so free to get in.
Sutton & Trusthorpe Camera Club have their annual Exhibition at the Meridale Hall, Sutton on Sea, on 29th / 30th August. Drink and a Home-made cake only £3!
