High ISO jpgs and a story of cute kittens and kids

Last year we were on holiday inTurkey and like every good resort the hotel had some cats. This particular one we called Griffen. At least, the child called it Griffen.

We explained Griffen was a stray and just lived around the pool relying on guests bringing it food. The child asked “if it doesn’t have a house where does it keep it’s toys?”

Learning the cat didn’t have its own toys, Penny offered it the chance to play with her little Kitty toy, but Griffen quickly became a bit TOO fond of Kitty and I had to wrestle her out of Griffens claws.

Penny melted our hearts by asking “Can I use some of my pocket money to get a toy for Griffen?”

That’s how a little stray called Griffen got his first toy. No, I don’t know why that toy is a blue flamingo.

For the camera nerds – these were Fuji X-T2 SOOC jpgs shot at ISO 12800 – XF 35mm f/1.4 – Pro Neg Std with Strong Grain and a little extra contrast

Sure, these images are noisy and that sacrifices a little detail, but what’s a little noise if it means the difference between getting the shot and not?

Views from a sofa #2

Rain outside/lazy arses inside. A camera on the sofa and lots of shit lying around.

…you know the drill…

P.S. I don’t know why there is a stick in the bathtub.

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A few hours on the streets of Glasgow

I hadn’t been out shooting street for a long time.

The new (to me) Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 pancake was my weapon of choice. The film? HP5 pushed 2 stops of course.

Yes, I shot a disembodied hand.

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Lockdown Diaries #5 (a tale of two cameras & two gardens)

June was fast. Like, real fast. Like, where the hell did June go…. FAST!

June 1st was a scorcher in Central Scotland and we spent the day in my sisters garden where my brother in law put on a cracking BBQ.

I shot that day with two rolls of Rollei Retro 400s, the Chinon CE Memotron and a Super Takumar 55mm f/2

The nice weather continued interspersed with the odd downpour of rain (we’re still in Scotland after all).

If you’ve been paying attention on here you’ll know I mostly shoot film nowadays and keep the digital for grabbing the odd shot if the film camera isn’t loaded or isn’t loaded with something suitable.

Taking the digital out for a day of shooting isn’t something I’ve done for the best part of a year but I took the chance to do so whilst spending an afternoon in mums garden.

Although I prefer a wide angle, anything from 24mm to 35mm, I used a standard lens again to maintain social distancing.

People speak of different approaches to shooting when using film or digital but I didn’t find that to be the case. In the course of an afternoon I shot the equivalent of two rolls of film and found the results and number of keepers to be very similar to what I’d get with film.

These were shot using the X-T2 and the magnificent 35mm f/1.4. If you’re a Fuji shooter and haven’t tried this lens you’re really missing out.

I hope you enjoyed the images and feel free to let me know if you did or didn’t, I can take it, I’m a big boy.

Lockdown Diaries #3

Month 3 – it came quicker than month 2 and if I’ve being honest, I’m pretty much used to it now. I’ve settled into home working, I’m watching lots of old films and shooting when I feel like it. The urge to document has passed; I reckon I’ve done that already and everything else is just material for the appendix or fluff to bulk up the special edition.

The time has been spent mostly trying films I haven’t shot before and I’ve been getting used to shooting 28mm. For a while I’ve liked the idea of 35mm being my only lens but often I’m left wanting wider.

So, that’s my month. Let me know what you’ve been doing and don’t hold back any critique you have.

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P.S. I convinced my wife to shave my hair off and my 6 year old went straight for the camera like a good little documentarian so I can’t claim credit for all these shots

Lockdown Diaries #2

The days roll on. Routine is starting to set in and the days lack their earlier length. The family are becoming increasingly comfortable/irritated with camera. I try to distance myself mentally and treat the documentation of these times as a job.

I have moments when I think there is nothing left to shoot but then I remember the old adage about photos only being important years later. So I focus on the what, not the who, we already know who THEY are. The WE in question being US; I’m not churlish enough to think anybody not at the Xmas dinner table will care tomorrow.

And so it is I click on; frame after frame, roll after roll, SD download after…. well, you get it.

Until next time, adios.

P.S. Did you spot Big Arnie in the gallery?

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Less face/more story

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you’ll probably have spotted a trend of late; I’ve been attempting to document my family life but with less faces in the photos. This isn’t due to any notion of privacy but an attempt to tell more stories with my work.

When we photograph those we love we tend to have them look at the camera and grin, and although this may produce some excellent images it often fails to tell a story. What I’ve been trying to do is focus on what the subject is doing and if their face ends up in the photo then that’s fine and if it doesn’t, that’s fine too.

What I’ve found is the images I capture conjure more vivid memories of where we were and what we were doing and isn’t that why we’re making images in the first place, memories?

This may seem a little alien at first but if you consider the audience for your family photographs I think you’ll find they can all recognise those in the pictures without their faces being included.

This may not be for everyone but I think if you try it for a while you may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

As always, I’d love to hear any thoughts you have on this subject.