Baggers 2012's photostream  

It was very windy today, so decided to visit Wrest Park to try and get a shot of the Pavillion with nice blurry clouds. This was something of an experiment to get a really long exposure without stopping down too much (and hence losing quality). The shot is the result of averaging 12x8s exposures, giving the equivalent of 1x96s at F9 (10mm).

This is a diversion from my usual kind of shots, so comments and critiques very much appreciated.

Thanks for visiting.

Last time I shot this location I ended up surrounded by a dozen or more teenagers on BMX's, whizzing around me shouting obscenities. This time Liesel accompanied me and the experience was altogether more pleasant.

I've included another shot from the same location below. The sky is more even in the top shot with less flare due to a larger aperture (F13 top vs F16 below). I would be really interested to hear which you prefer and why?

Tech Stuff: 25mm, 15s @ F13. Metered on sky and underexposed by 1 stop. Processing is minimal, sharpen and slight gradient on sky.

Stinky was wandering the streets one night and followed us home (seriously!). We put up posters and reported her as missing but nobody claimed her. When she first came around she'd not been eating well and to say the least was rather smelly! Fortunately she no longer smells and we've formally adopted her, but we kept her name 'Stinky' as it's kind of endearing :-)

Tech Stuff: Samyang 8mm Fisheye at F8, with off camera flash, from about 4 inches away. Even then it's a shameful crop, but I couldn't realistically get any closer and achieve even light across Stinkies face. I used the fisheye as it makes her face look larger in relation to her body, bringing her personality into the image...

I guess getting an original take on this iconic bridge would be a tall order, so here's my variation, during the blue hour. Thanks Liesel for waiting around in the freezing cold whilst I faffed around taking this shot :-).

I tried a few compositions during daylight then we returned at dusk. Unfortunately, when we got there a guy was setting up his tripod exactly where I wanted to be. Luckily he moved on after about 15 mins. I'm planning on taking more shots of London this year, so this was a bit of a practice run...

Finally, thanks Tamara for the title :-)

It amazes me that this stunning market place sits near the centre of Londons Financial District. This is another shot taken with the trusty old Samyang 8mm, Fisheye. Can't believe I nearly sold it a few months back!

This is one of those shots that looks a lot better large.