Not been on here much lately, busy doing other stuff.  You know, that stuff that makes life “interesting”.  Photographically though I haven’t been doing much of that lately either. If you know me, I like to try out cameras in an effort to find one that can inspire me, is ergonomically a working tool, learn how to use it, and produces great photos too …. although of course any camera can do that, it’s the brain behind the camera that makes that difference.   So whilst away I had a dabble with a Sony A7Cii for about 6 months.  It was good, really good and technically was more than capable at just about everything.  But here’s the thing.  Technically there was everything there that you needed as a camera, as a tool.  In fact, there might have been too much if all you want to do is make photos.  It was nice and compact … although being full-frame it had to usually have big lenses.  And the size of gear (particularly full-frame lenses) was becoming a negative.  Also, it never felt right for me to quickly find my way round, to inspire me, to make me pick it up.  It […]

I think that’s a pretty efficient working setup. The key to it all is to have copious amounts of tea during the day. PS ignore the spaghetti under the desk. I’ve yet to sort it out, although having said that, the whole setup can run without any mains electric other than charging the laptop and the iPad. The portable monitor (in the middle) just uses USB-C from the laptop.

A wandering around Grantham capturing some record shots of buildings and other items. A town centre is always in a state of flux, so it’s important to establish some records of what may not be there in the future.

Nothing to see here, move along. Colourful and recording an element of history of times gone past. However, it is also typical of many cityscape features that might get removed tomorrow because of some bureaucratic process to remove or demolish, “improve” the area, or be subject to some sort of vandalism. So I think it’s important to capture these buildings and architectural features on film for future generations, whilst also appreciating the beauty and nostalgia of the past. But you know the saying “Nostalgia isn’t as good as it used to be”. So I might be wrong. #beauty #nostalgia #retro #sheffield #iphone #iphonephotography #history #architecture

I love my Nikon gear and was looking to upgrade from my more elderly Z6. So I was seriously disappointed when they started to come out with the bigger cameras like the Nikon ZF, the Z8 and now the Z6iii, with nothing small on the horizon. Camera manufacturers are just getting like car manufacturers, they all think we want bigger cameras and cars. No we don’t. With very few compact cameras on the market and whilst smartphones are very capable, there is definitely a need for an interchangeable lens camera and lens system that is small, without giving up modern features. So today I sold my Nikon Z6 and Zfc to fund the full-frame Sony A7cii, a small rangefinder style camera that when you couple it with one of the small Sony full-frame lenses like the 24mm, 40mm and 50mm f2.8 G lenses, you get a nice compact system that can fit in a coat pocket.  As per usual, it was a trip to Harrison Cameras in Sheffield, a camera dealer I’ve dealt with for many years.  They always tend to give a good price on trade-ins, and the experience is nice, easy and hassle-free compared to selling gear privately […]

You know, people can often be very reserved in giving praise where it’s due eg. where they’ve done a good job, or you admire their work and so on.  It’s also really difficult times at the moment so little things can really make a big difference to help everyone try and maintain a positive mindset. So go make a point of letting people know how positive you are towards them, it not only makes the recipient feel good but it could also be contagious.