Friday 28 February 2014

Tanfield and old trains


We both love going to see steam trains and the volunteers at Tanfield work enthusiastically to restore the engines and carriages which fill the sheds and yard.  Me, I like the small details and try to capture some of the decay and rust before the restoration starts.  The first image was an old can which appears to have been burnt at some stage but now has grass growing out of it.  The second image is more poignant - the original number of the train is just visible beneath a layer of paint.  So much work went into these old engines and it's a shame that some of it is lost for ever.

Thursday 13 February 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

I found this white cup in Sainsbury's supermarket and thought I'd try to do something with it for the 14th.  I've used one of Kim Klassen's small heart brushes along with a fabric background fastened to the wall.

This was a similar 'studio' set up with the window on the left and the camera screen flipped out.  Using the live view meant that I could use the cable release and the lens would focus in by itself, as it were (very technical as you can tell!).  It's really useful when you want to capture something low down - it's not a problem getting down to do this but I might not get up again!

Saturday 8 February 2014

Still growing!


The orchid is still producing flowers much to my amazement!  Thought you might like to see the set-up which is very basic.  Crumpled tissue paper fastened to north-facing window (first time I've tried this), kit lens on tripod.  On the right you can just see my home-made reflectors made of white mount board and silver radiator foil.  No texture on this image.  The 'studio' might be in a different place next time!