getting out and about and shooting.......at last

It's been quite a while since I last updated my blog, I've not been out much with my camera so that's my excuse. I've mainly been sat in my living room hunting cars down on the internet for my project instead. But this weekend I'm off for the first shoot, I'm going to a Porsche 924, can't wait.

My Next Photography Project - 50 'Crap' Car

I’m ready  to launch my latest photography project, this one I’m basing it on a book called ‘Crap Cars’ by Richard Porter (link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0563522100) In the book he lists 50 cars that he believes to be the 50 worst cars ever made. Now this is this opinion, but I think there are many others who disagree with him and love these cars.

So my project is to meet 50 people who love these cars, one for each car and tell their story, I’m hoping they’ll be quite interesting. I’ll find out why they love them even though for others they aren’t exactly their dream car.

Some of the cars on the list are going to be quite difficult to track down – according to the website howmanyleft.co.uk, there are no Alfa Romeo Arnas left on the road in the UK. Also there are only four Subaru XTs left and I’m a bit worried about finding a Hyundai Pony – there must be somebody out there who loves this car enough to have looked after one? The scrappage scheme will have taken quite a few of these off the roads making the whole job that bit harder.

This is the list of cars

50. Lancia Monte Carlo

49. Porsche 924

48. Ford Scorpio

47. Cadillac STS

46. Renault Safrane

45. Jaguar XJ40

44. Ford Escort MK1V

43. Yugo Sana

42. Mitsubishi 3000GT

41. Rover 800

40. Volvo 340

39. Delorean DMC-12

38. Vauxhall Belmont

37. Triumph TR7

36. Rolls-Royce Carmargue

35. Talbot Tagora

34. Suzuki Wagon R

33. Volvo 262C

32. Subaru XT

31. Nissan Sunny Coupe

30. Skoda Estelle

29. Renault 9

28. Maserati Biturbo

27. Daihatsu Move

26. Alfa Romeo Arna

25. Hyundai Pony

24. Fiat Strada

23. Subaru Justy

22. Austin Maestro

21. Toyota Space Cruiser

20. Fiat 126

19. Daihatsu Applause

18. Ferrari 400

17. Austin Ambassador

16. Yugo 45

15. Datsun Sunny 120Y

14. Aston Martin Lagonda

13. Susuki SJ

12. FSO Polonez

11. Seat Marbella

10. MGB

9. Trabant

8. Reliant Robin

7. Bond Bug

6. Nissan Serena

5. Lada Riva

4. Morris Marina

3. Suzuki X90

2. Austin Allegro

1. Volkswagen Beetle

I’ve setup a Facebook page for this project - http://www.facebook.com/garydavidsonphoto. Since everybody is on Facebook, it will give me quite a decent platform for explaining the project to people.  Also it might help me track down some of the rarer cars.

I’m also setting up a Kickstarter project to raise funds for a self published book – here is a link to the Kickstarter project - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1228736198/1918719728?token=133b23dc- it’s not gone live yet so this is just a preview

Canon Pixma MG2150 printer review

I have bought this printer for use at home, basically for general use at home rather than photo printing. I normally send out for my prints but I've decided to run a few off and compare the quality I get here versus lab prints.

I bought the printer for £25 so it really is a budget choice. 

Ink cartridges 

It takes two different cartridges, black & colour. These are available in two different sizes - standard and XL. The cartridge codes are 

Colour CL-541

Colour CL-541XL

Black PG-540

Black PG-540XL

on the first print I have two issues

issue 1 - the colour is off - and I mean way off, this is a photo of the output and the lab print, the lab print is the larger of the two. This can be fixed by getting the printer colour calibrated, I didn't expect it to be spot on but I thought out of the box it would be better than this.

issue 2 - there are marks being left by the printer on the print - these look like they are being caused by the rollers in the printer as it feeds the paper through. This is a deal breaker for me, Canon in their marketing blurb claim the printer can produce lab quality prints - if any lab sent me prints with these lines on I'd return them demanding re-prints or a refund.

I'll upload some photos showing these issues when I get a chance.

So for £25 does it do the job I need it to? Yes - I only need it to copy things and for general printing. If you want to do any photo printing then don't get this printer.

Michael Freeman's Digital Photography Reference System

I have bought myself Michael Freeman's Digital Photography Reference System. It is a set of 7 different items that are aimed at helping an enthusiast photographer improve.

the items are
a book covering the Art of Digital Photography - this is the main book. it contains 4 different chapters - composition, colour, light and subjects & styles. this is where I feel I'm learning the most from this.

a digital camera handbook - a handy little guide to digital cameras and what the different functions are used for.

digital photography workflow - I'm always interested in different peoples workflow, not just for tips on how to do things easier but also how they make sure everything is backed up. Also, how they keep track of their files so they can find them again easily.

a book on image editing and special effects - a very handy book that covers the basics of digital photo editing and some more advanced things to try as well

a shooting tips pocket guide - worth a read but I found that I knew most if not all of this already. It's probably more suitable for a beginner.

a shooting tips wallet guide - contains an exposure table and an ISO table plus some basic hints and tips. I would have liked a hyper-focal distance chart as well in here.

a DVD with 50 mins of video

It all comes in a metal presentation case and the RRP on this is £59.99 but you should be able to pick this up a bit cheaper.

I have learned quite a lot from this so I can quite happily recommend this to somebody who has progressed beyond a beginner and still wants to learn. It will also make an excellent gift for somebody, it's very well presented in the case and the books have that quality feel to them.

366 challenge day 366 - 31st december

This is my final photo from my 2012 photo a day project, a self portrait.


366 challenge day 366 - 31st december, a photo by garyd155 on Flickr.

Hahnel Triad 90PG tripod review

I have been bought the Hahnel Triad 90PG tripod as a Christmas present, i'm not sure what was paid for it but they are selling for between £75 and £100, I'm reviewing it as a £75 tripod.

The basics
It's a three legged tripod (you can get 5 legged ones, and I know tri = 3)
There are two adjustable centre columns - long and short
It has a pistol grip ball head - you squeeze the trigger when you want to move the head.
It also has a hook on the bottom of the centre column that you can attach a weight to increasing stability in windy conditions.
It also comes in a fairly robust case with shoulder strap

I have used this with a Sony A450 and a variety of lenses. the heaviest so far being the Tamron 10-24, the tripod had no problems with this, it's rated at being able to hold 7kg and this camera/lens combination weighs about 1.5kg. 7kg is quite some weight, considerably more than I will ever need to put on it and more than most tripods in this price bracket are rated at.

Overall I'm very impressed with this tripod, it's very well built, sturdy and holds the camera very still. I would very happily recommend this tripod, not just to those on a budget.

I'll add more to this review over the next few months including some photos.

december 2012 mosaic

Here is my last mosaic from my 2012 year in pictures project

december 2012 mosaic, a photo by garyd155 on Flickr.