Paris

Had a lovely weekend in Paris and it really is a really beautiful city.  I took with me my Nikon D90 with 18-105mm lens.  I fully charged my battery and took a spare memory card.  It was very bright and sunny but with the tall buildings and trees it made many areas shaded so the camera controls had to be constantly changed for the correct exposure.  I read before I went that the best settings for a bright sunny day for street photography is for the aperture to be set at F8 and the shutter to be 1/320.  These setting worked very well in most cases so I left the setting at this in the hope of capturing a moment.

Capturing images of random people on the streets can be quite a daunting experience but I definitely feel that towards the end of the weekend I was definitely improving.  I shot a few images on the metro and at night which I had to adjust the ISO settings and although I did not have my tripod for the slow shutter speed they turned out quite nice.  I was really hoping for some rain, to capture some reflections and patterns and textures that can be captured after the rain and to clear the streets a little because the street of Paris are really busy but the weekend was very bright and sunny.

Safety Considerations

Whilst in Paris I was always aware of the safety issues involved with being in a city that I had never been to before.  I firstly obtained a map to ensure that I would not get lost and to guide me round the city with ease.  This ensured that I stayed around major city sights as cities can be dangerous places if you should venture into unsafe areas.  I ensured that I was aware of the roads and the way the crossings operated as they do not make a noise like the crossings in this country so you have to check that the green walk sign is on.  There are high volumes of traffic in the City of Paris and I always ensured that I used the crossings or subways provided.  Whilst using the Metro system I always considered the safety considerations of being close to the tracks and how quickly the doors on the trains open and close.  Reasonable care was always taken whilst around the main monuments as there are high volumes of people around and whilst in the Artist Quarter we were made aware of the pickpockets that operate in the area.

Contrasting my work with researched photographers




Image by Eric Kim




1/160 F6.3 ISO 200



Image by Andre Kertesz



 

1/320 F8 ISO 1000

Image by Eric Kim

 

1/125 F5.6 ISO 200

People, Portraits and Reportage

At the weekend we went to Buxton for the day and I took my Nikon D90 and used my 24-105mm lens to take some shots whilst walking around.  I did not use my Macro Nikkor 105mm lens I did not have my tripod and was not looking to shoot any close up shots.  It was a very bright and sunny day and the camera controls had to be changed constantly while walking from shady to bright areas. 

We also visited some caves which I altered the ISO and then forgot to alter it back again once outside, so some of the shots were shot on the complete wrong ISO but came out really nice.  I did not take my tripod but I did not need it as the bright sunshine ensured that a really fast shutter was needed.  I charged my battery fully and had a spare memory card.

I have converted the images to black and white in post production and added sepia tones to some of the images.  I have also used the history brush to colour parts of black and white images like the Telephone Box, Rugby shirt and No Entry sign.

1/400 F7.1

  

1/60 F 5.6  ISO 400



 

1/640 F9 ISO 400



1/200 F6.3 ISO 400



1/125 F7.1 ISO 200

1/160 F7.1 ISO 800

1/200 F9 ISO 400

Safety Considerations

Whilst walking around Buxton I considered all safety aspects and ensured that I was careful around roads using pedestrian crossing where they were available.  I also ensured that every care was taken whilst shooting near water so no accidents occured to me or my children as they often played near the water.  I was careful whilst walking around the park and ensured that I respected the plants, trees and flowers making sure that I did not damage anything.  It was a really hot day and we all had drinks and refreshments to ensure that we stayed hydrated in the hot sunshine.  Suncream was applied to eliminate the risk of sunburn.