Out and About…

Go west young man...

 

Well, went west, realised I ain’t young anymore, but struggled on anyway.

Two hours later and arrived at Chester. A small city with a large presence. Great place, and loves cameras. Easy journey from here as well.

Just before noon and the city welcomes me with loads of pomp and ceremony. (Er, made that bit up, actually got a few traffic lights that were green as I got to them, so that counts near enough for me as they usually turn red as I approach them). The car is happily lodged in Market Place NCP. The good news about this, Chester has a policy of free parking after 3:00 pm, so I only have to fork out £3.70 for as long as I want. Result. Memo to self, “Come here again”.

So out on the streets and the first call needs to be food and a cuppa. ‘Pret-a-Manger’ to the rescue. Lovely little place, with plenty of choice. One sarnie and a cup of cappuccino later and its back outside on the travels. First point of interest is the riverside. I could spend all day here, just lazily watching the boats and the ducks and snapping the odd pic now and then. Very relaxing and very peaceful, considering the city is quite busy. Loads of seating areas and places to get another cuppa, so even my decrepit old knees aren’t put to too much trouble.

Time to move on and not far away are the city walls. Up we go, more pressure on the knees, but I persevere. A leisurely stroll along the tops and more photo opportunities taken. Hardly a cloud, so the sun is very prominent, so out comes the ND and a polariser, more to stop the sky being burnt out than anything else, although, it does help with windows and water reflections.

After walking a good half hours worth of my slow amble along the walls, it’s time to descend to the masses again and pay a visit to the cathedral. Free entry, I like this. Regardless of your faith, you shouldn’t have to pay to get into any church. Make a donation, yes; pay a fee, no. The stained glass always takes my eye, not for any religious meaning, but just for the creative skill of the people who made them. The machinery goes into overtime mode, as I can’t resist taking pics of the windows. With the sun shining through, the windows to the rear of the church are a mass of colour.

 

The day went on and I ended up just strolling along some of the many cobbled streets, still part of Chester’s character.

All in all, a pleasant day out and a place I intend to visit again.

 
 

Mart.

 

Bank hols time already...

Life in the slow lane...

 

The weather is brightening up, with the regular appearance of a big bright shiny disc thing in the big blue patch (providing of course, you are actually looking upwards), so even more reason to get out and about with the machine. Hmmm, can see filters being needed. Suppose I better clean them.

The IKPS has already reared its ugly head and forced me into yet another couple of raids on the flexible friend. The next few days will involve much nail biting as I wait for various packages to be delivered by Postman Pat and to drop noisily through the letterbox. Where-upon, I shall endeavour to run down stairs (knees permitting) and tear at the brown paper to free the item trapped within (in all reality, very similar to a small child on Christmas Day). Some of these items might be extra equipment, some to be used with the camera, some to be used as extras alongside it. Occasionally, they might be nothing to actually do with the camera gear, but, as an idea or prop for delving the imagination into. All in all, I can’t wait.

But, enough of this trivia, and more about the outside world.

My favourite pastime is now at a time I can really enjoy. Sunset/sunrise chasing. I never tire of this, and as no sunset or sunrise is ever duplicated, then unique images can be taken every time. Finding locations can take a bit of time and petrol, but often is well worth it. Being around something as the light changes in the last hour before sunset or the first hour after sunrise can give some amazing colours and warmness. The time is called “The Golden Hour” for this reason. If you can’t calculate it yourself, there are plenty of programs or websites out there to help you along. I use this one.

 

http://www.golden-hour.com/

 

Just find where you are on the map and add your home coordinates, and hey presto, there you go. An all in one, easy to operate, calculator for some of the best views of the day. Then all you need to do is learn to shoot them. Small aperture, -1 on the EV, and decide where the focus point is going to be. Couldn’t be easier. Or you could just cheat and use the built in sunset mode and let the camera make all the worst decisions and still get it wrong. You could always add a polarising filter.

 

 

 

 

Mart.