Cloud 23

My daughter took me for afternoon tea at Cloud 23 in the Manchester Hilton.

Not only was I fascinated to find out what all the queuing was about but I also fancied seeing the Manchester City skyline from that height.

She knew I wouldn't be able to resist taking a few pictures too.

It was all very posh to me, being a commoner, but the staff were great and this is probably as close as I'll get to a taste of the high life.

Of course the atmosphere and service were excellent but I loved the views and all the tables are next to full length glass.

I took along my Pentax K10D and the DA 35 f2.4 lens as well as my DA 18-135 zoom. I didn't actually move from my seat at the table. Plenty to look at and interesting nibbles.

I was very grateful for the chance to take pictures previously denied me and it was a total treat that had me itching to go back and try out some more architectural photography at a later date.

At one point I gave my daughter my compact camera, the Pentax MX-1, and she got this cracking picture from inside the ladies bathroom.

I'm not sure a window transfer of a suicidal woman is in the best taste but it did make for a great picture.

We went midweek and she had booked in advance. It came to about £50 for the two of us. A great experience if you get the opportunity.

There are a few more pictures in my Flickr Album - Cloud 23

Steve
Audacity Imaging

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If you have need of a Photographer for an event and you like my pictures, send an email and I'll get back to you.

And please be sure to check out my latest uploads in my General Flickr Pictures.

That Wedding Thing.

Ok, I'll bite the bullet and talk about Wedding Photography.

What a nightmare for people planning the perfect day if they know nothing about photography.

Check out the listings for Wedding Photographers and you're suddenly amazed at how many there are.

The other surprising thing is the price variation. I have seen budding photographers offering to do a Wedding for £50 and I watched a Youtube guy who charges $15,000, and he's probably not the dearest.

They say "You get what you pay for." but I disagree. You could get a great, unknown photographer for next to nothing. You could get an awful photographer for a King's Ransom. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that personal recommendation will be a great thing to start with.

Having had a recommendation take a look at their photographs and decide if you like them.

Photography is an art form and each artist has their own style.

Don't get me wrong, anyone who has experience working with cameras and photo editing software can pretty much emulate a style you like but it's probably best you like their pictures in the first place. The photographer will not enjoy the editing process if it's a "look" they don't like and if you don't enjoy the processing it shows in the final product.

The other important thing about a recommendation is that you don't want someone who isn't punctual, isn't organised and is generally unreliable.

If the best photographer in the world happens to not show up how do you fix that? You're only getting one shot at this.

Which leads me on to what I charge.

I had to consider what my time is worth, considering a full day of running around, the equipment I have to use and the week of editing that inevitably goes into a couple of hundred photographs. I often have to factor in an assistant. It quickly adds up.

After the big day and you're enjoying the Happily Ever After think about how much you'll wish to look back and remember with fondness the romance, the tears and perhaps the little hiccups that weren't quite so funny at the time but make you smile later.

This is what you are worrying about when choosing your photographer; losing a piece of those memories.

So take the worry out of the equation. If you get a recommend that's great. If you like their pictures that's another tick in the box and if you're happy to work with that person...outstanding.

If you wouldn't buy a used car off them you probably shouldn't be risking your memories to them either.

I'll update this as it goes along but currently £500 is what I charge for a Wedding shoot. That's a fairly reliable figure but not set in stone. It would have to change if there was a need for extra expense such as driving to Cornwall, staying over at an hotel etc.

By all means use my figure as a yard stick to judge others by and if you are soon to be married...Congratulations x

Steve

PS. A full album will usually be around 200 pictures. If you wish to flick through some more pictures from one wedding there is a small group of pictures I have shared HERE

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Ouch! A couple of days after posting this blog a rather timely disaster story in the Mail

Couple's big day is ‘ruined’ by an amateur photographer who turned up 45 minutes late then spent more time taking photos of HERSELF leaving them with just 15 pictures of their reception Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3535498/Couple-devastated-big-day-ruined-amateur-photographer-turned-45minutes-late-spent-time-taking-photos-HERSELF.

I had better mention that many photographers will want their payment up front. I do not condone this. In my case I ask for £150 deposit, that ensures my attendance, and then final payment upon receipt of photos you are happy with. I don't see any reason for life to get any more complicated than it is.

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Also check out my latest pictures on my Flickr Album https://flickr.com/photos/steboardman/

Mold Ex-Servicemen's Club

Saturday night my wife had a singing gig at Mold Ex-Servicemen's Club and I went along as "Roadie" and took the camera.

I'll get my excuses out of the way first and point out that many Live performances will have the benefit of spotlights. They make a photographer's life easier and do a great job of isolating the subject. It's rare that I am so fortunate and Saturday was no exception.

She takes a LED light stand that flashes in multiple colours to the beat of the music and that was the only light for the pictures on this occasion. 

Guessing the lack of light I took along the K-5II camera, which is a very good high ISO performer, and a trio of fast prime lenses. They were the DA 35mm F2.4, tha DA 50mm F1.8 (which are both modern auto focus) and a 1970's M85mm F2.

In a Working Man's Club venue I don't often have opportunity to wander around getting in the way and I was sat so that the 85mm was going to be the best lens for the job. It also meant that I had no modern conveniences and had to manually focus and set ISO, aperture and shutter speed. The saving grace being the back screen that gives you a quick look at how you're doing.

I ended up with some shots I was pleased with, although my wife has almost never liked a picture I have taken of her. For that reason I am left with this obscure corner of the internet to share them.

f2.8 @ 1/125 ISO800

Part of the challenge is getting a flattering expression whilst the light from the LED's is shining at a suitable colour. Green's and purples don't really work unless you're going for psychedelic but this moment worked for me.

One of the other bonuses, that I hadn't mentioned, with the Pentax is the "Catch in Focus." It's not fool proof but the function is a bit of crutch in so much as it will allow the press of the shutter but not fire unless the image is in focus.

Pushing my luck a little I decided to open the lens up to it's maximum F2 aperture. Although I can now increase the shutter speed or lower the ISO it has the down side of having a smaller Depth of Field. 

In this next instance I have taken advantage of the wider aperture to increase the shutter speed to 1/250 which reduces the chance of motion blur.

f2 @ 1/250 ISO800

The final point from this little record of the event is that when you do get a picture you like but the light colour wasn't favourable you can always go monochrome. In the old days you would have to add a coloured filter to your camera to alter the resultant image but with digital and computers you can emulate this old tradition.

The following picture was not a flattering colour being emitted from the LED but I liked the pose. To rescue it I went mono and chose a flattering filter in post processing. I also happen to like mono which is a good thing for me in this instance.

f2.8 @ 1/160 ISO800

So that's what I wanted to share from Saturday's outing. I would add that I have no problem putting the camera in "machine gun" mode so that I increase my chances of getting the right moment. Without the consideration of film limitations I think it's better to have the option of choosing from several images than to miss the right moment.

I'll just leave a few more of the pictures I liked from the gig.

Until next time...

Steve

Also check out my latest pictures on my Flickr Album https://flickr.com/photos/steboardman/