Garden Photographers

27 Comments

Comment by Philip Voice on April 26, 2008 at 2:24pm

I can start the ball rolling.

I like to take shots with the sun coming towards me and maybe just obscured by a tree, leaf or solid object to the point where just a chink can be seen.

I like the effect that the rays give and the silhouettes it can create.

I know that the majority like to have the light but not direct.

What are the preferences?

Comment by Neil Bromhall on April 30, 2008 at 11:44am

I'm a wildlife Cameraman / photographer. I worked as a freelance cameraman for the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol. If I can offer any advice then please feel free to ask away.
I've always had a keen interest in Natural History so wildlife filming was the perfect career for me.
I was lucky enough to visit many parts of the world and record some of the fascinating wildlife behaviour from coral spawning in the Great Barrier Reef to salt mining elephants in Africa.
Getting in to the BBC is the hard part but once your in the opportunities are endless.
I specialised in macro work and time-lapse.
My career was cut short after falling from a platform and breaking both legs and my right arm. No longer able to follow chimps etc from dawn to dusk carrying the heavy film gear, I decided to take any easier option and photograph plants and make an interactive plant selector and pruning guide CD-ROM. I've now got about 10,500 images of which 9,000 are on my latest CD-ROM.
Last year I reluctantly changed to a Nikon D200 Digital camera but still use my old Nikon and Olympus when I want to use film.

Comment by Philip Voice on April 30, 2008 at 12:13pm

Hi Neil

Breaking your legs and arm sounds horrible!

Thank you for offering help and advice, I am sure it will be appreciated by new members who want to learn.

Comment by Philip Voice on May 5, 2008 at 8:59pm

Congratulations to Richard for the recognition he has received from the Garden Photographers Association for Snakesheads in the snow

http://www.gpauk.co.uk/

Comment by Andrew Fereday on June 11, 2008 at 9:11pm

I've not gone digital yet but am finding it fun to play around with some old classic cameras - I'm mainly taking pictures with an Olympus OM-1 or and Olympus OM2-SP. The OM-1 is really my favourite and takes some very good pictures. It's really easy to use and I just love the feel of it. Lenses and accessories are very reasonable both in my local camera shop (when they have anything in) or on ebay. I'm looking to pick up a film scanner at some point this year so I can scan the negatives onto the computer. It's a long-winded way of getting digital but still cheaper than the cost of a new camera.

As for photography, I'm no expert. I like the way photographers 'cheat' at getting the right exposure by bracketing. I've found that I can get reasonably good close up portraits but haven't really found my feet in terms of capturing good shots or vistas. Having only a very small garden, I don't really get vistas!

Comment by vhowe on June 27, 2008 at 8:45pm

I would be kidding myself on if I thought of myself as a 'garden photographer' but I do like to dabble in it. Digital has been a bit of a learning curve as technology and I are not really comfortable partners but I do find it fascinating when you have time (not very often) to play around with effects. Point and shoot philosophy so hoping to pick up some pointers from this group.

Comment by Shaun on February 8, 2009 at 9:22pm

For my type of work I use a G9 canon camera. I also use a canon 400D for landscape. I’m thinking of going up the ladder to a canon 40 or the new 50 canon, any views?

Comment by Philip Voice on February 8, 2009 at 9:32pm

I have recently purchased the Canon G10 - the quality is awesome. I hope to be able to get to grips with all the settings through this year.

Comment by Richard Loader on February 8, 2009 at 9:46pm

Shaun - I use a Canon 1Ds and a 40D
The 40D is a fine piece of kit, and it cost about one seventh as much as the 1Ds. The 50D has a few extras but the reviews say the high ISO performance is not as good as the 40D
Once the bugs have been ironed out the pro camera to have will be the Canon 5D2 bit it will be around £2K
If you can get a 40D at a good price then it's worth looking at.
The Canon outlet shop on eBay is a very good place to pick up bargains........especially for models that have been around for a year or so.

The G10 that Phil has is getting very good reports and those that have them are well pleased....I'm envious.

Comment by Shaun on February 8, 2009 at 9:52pm

Many thanks Richard. I have heard some good reviews on the 40D.
I will check it out.

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