Category: Photography thoughts

General thoughts about photography by the author: John Hallett (and maybe some other general ramblings).

Posted on

Shooting cars

In a change from the type of car shots I have been known to take in the past, here are some automotive detail shots.

The subject of these shots is powered by a petrol-fuelled internal combustion engine (ICE), which, we are led to believe, is a dying breed, as we are shepherded to ditch them in favour of battery-powered vehicles. The ICE has been powering motor vehicles for over 130 years, ever since Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine” in 1886 and yet (suddenly, it seems) they are very ‘bad’ and must be replaced.

Battery-powered vehicles were actually developed at precisely the same time as their ICE counterparts, and yet, up to now, they have never been favoured (apart from niche applications such as milk floats) mainly due to their relatively short range and long recharging times. Of course, battery technology has advanced in recent years, particularly with the development of lithium-ion cells (although there are question marks over their environmental credentials and safety record), but the limitations of range and recharging times still apply.

This culture change being applied to motorists is being mirrored (excuse the pun) in the photography world as Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are being ditched in favour of mirrorless versions (which, coincidentally, rely heavily on a battery). The SLR camera has existed for 160 years, but the first commercial mirrorless camera was launched less than 20 years ago, and it has only recently gained huge popularity, probably due to some clever marketing.

In the case of car engines, we are being coerced into changing by the use of legislation – from electric vehicle (EV) targets issued to manufacturers to charges for using the roads (the recent ULEZ charge in London is a case in point). With cameras, the drive to change is from the manufacturers themselves and, it seems, from the photographic media. In both cases, the consumer (i.e., you and I) will make the ultimate decision by voting with our cash. Maybe this won’t be apparent in the short term, but it will be interesting to see how it pans out over the next few years and whether the tried-and-tested technology remains the people’s choice.

Posted on

Flypast

As part of the annual World War II weekend held at the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, we were treated to a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF); a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane flew in formation up the river Severn over the famous Iron Bridge, which conveniently meant that they flew right over our house. Here are some photographs:




And finally … the memorial flight gets photobombed by a crow:


Posted on

What a legend

Some time ago, I was contacted by John, the owner of Freemans Plant Hire, to carry out a photoshoot to commemorate the company’s 60th birthday. I met, with the Freemans team, at their site one Saturday morning with a series one Landrover called Lily, which the team had painstakingly renovated as part of the celebrations. Over a few hours I took photographs of the vehicle detailing and various group shots. The images were used in a magazine dedicated to the series one Landrover called ‘Legend’ and I was pleased to see that they had used 11 shots including a centre spread and the all-important cover shot.

Posted on

Lake Vyrnwy

I’ve had a week away from my ‘day job’ primarily to prepare the garden ready for the Winter months. However I did allow for time-out to take Mrs H and our dogs to Lake Vyrnwy, in Powys, some 60 miles in a westerly direction just over the Welsh border. Although it is called ‘lake’ it is actually a reservoir built in the 1880’s to supply the city of Liverpool with fresh drinking water.

Naturally I took a camera with me although experience tells me that trying to concentrate on taking photographs with three dogs in tow is generally a recipe for disaster. They do tend to get a bit impatient if I stay still for more than about a minute and so even though I take a tripod with me it rarely gets taken out of its bag. Here are a few that I did manage to take (hand-held!). The light was good with few hard shadows although the sky was overcast and a bit featureless.

It was good to take some landscape-type shots and I enjoyed looking for interesting compositions. I really must try and make the effort to take more.

When the reservoir is full water cascades down the wall from the crest beneath the arches but the long dry summer has depleted the water level
Continue reading “Lake Vyrnwy”
Posted on

Only in America (part 2)

Following my visit last Saturday to Oulton Park and the inaugural ‘U.S. Autoshow’ here are some more photographs of the cars displayed by their owners in the infield parking area. It was great to see the attention that they had been given to display them at their best – a credit to their owners.

First up is that fantastic feat of styling: the Studebaker. The Studebaker Brothers Automotive Company was founded by 5 brothers in Indiana in 1852. The Commander was a name used from 1920’s through until 1960’s and the Commander Starlight Coupe (seen here) was produced from 1947 to 1955. The tube attached to the passenger window is a car cooler which used water evaporation to cool air channeled through the tube into the passenger compartment.

And now a selection of other great American classics:

Continue reading “Only in America (part 2)”
Posted on

Only in America (part 1)

As a teenager in the 1970’s the television fed me a diet of America cop shows and movies – and with it their American cars. These seemed light years ahead of the cars in Britain at the time and absolutely huge – although they all seemed to have tremendous acceleration and handle like a sports car!

I can easily remember:

  • Starsky & Hutch – Starsky’s red Ford Gran Torino / Hutch’s battered Ford Galaxie
  • Cannon – Frank drove a Lincoln Continental befitting of a high-end private-eye
  • The Dukes of Hazzard – Bootlegging in a Dodge Charger
  • Duel – A Plymouth Valiant chased by a psychopath in a Peterbilt tanker truck
  • Charlie’s Angels – Jill Munro had a Ford Mustang
  • Kojak – The bald-headed cop drove a Buick Century
  • Shaft – He drove a Dodge Charger in the series
  • The Streets of San Francisco – Lots of Ford Galaxie’s (Ford sponsored the series)
  • The Rockford Files – Jim Rockford’s Pontiac Firebird
  • Hawaii Five-O – Mercury Marquis / Chevrolet Camero / Ford Mustang
  • Mannix – A Plymouth Barracuda (convertible)
  • Bullitt – A Ford Mustang on San Francisco streets
  • Ironside – Usually in a van, for obvious reasons

So when I found out that Oulton Park were having a new event devoted to American motoring (called U.S. Autoshow) it was an opportunity that I couldn’t miss. Maybe I could get photographs of some of those cars from my teenage memories.

Here are a few tasters from the day and I’ll upload a further gallery shortly.

A Ford Gran Torino – much larger and unwieldy-looking than I anticipated
Ford Galaxie – part car, part ship 🙂
Continue reading “Only in America (part 1)”
Posted on

‘Super Flood’ report

Living next to the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire, I am more than used to the annual floods when it bursts its banks causing misery for those living within the flood plain. However for many, many years the fact that it could rise so high as to cover the road in front of our house was only an anecdote supplemented with a small, grainy, black and white photograph taken by my Grandmother in 1947.

1947 floods at The Lloyds in the Ironbridge Gorge. The chain fence is at the side of the pavement of the road.

It wasn’t until the year 2000 when I actually saw it for myself and remember gingerly driving my car through the deepening water to try and get it back onto our drive after finishing work.

Year 2000 floods taken with a very early digital camera.

But then it happened again in 2020, again in 2021 and now again in 2022. The indications are that these ‘super floods’ are occurring more often. Global warming? Building on flood plains? Natural weather cycles? Who knows – and I suspect it will take a few more years to be truly certain whether this is the new ‘norm’.

Anyway, here are a few photographs from the February 2022 ‘super flood’ in the Ironbridge Gorge. The first outdoor shots with my medium format camera.

Posted on

Some new camera gear

For some time now, I’ve been pondering whether or not to upgrade my studio camera (a 35mm equivalent DSLR). And now I’ve done it – and purchased a medium format body & lens.

Medium format cameras have long been used by professional photographers mainly for landscape and studio work, and the perceived benefits have been the subject of great debate on internet forums – even more so with the advent of mirrorless cameras. The main selling point of medium format is the size of the photosites on the (larger) sensor that captures those all-important megapixels. The bigger the photosites, the more light (or data) the sensor collects.

Some say that medium format has a ‘look’ that makes it distinctive and refers to aesthetic qualities such as depth-of-field, sharpness and colour – but this is all subjective and is difficult to prove given the inherent variations in comparative camera systems.

This is all something that I’ll be investigating over the coming months. I have used 35mm cameras (film followed by digital) ever since I became seriously interested in photography in my teens. Medium format was just a dream because of the relative expense of the systems. Now it’s time to fulfil that dream, and I’ll report back with my thoughts.

First shot out of the camera 1/320s, f/4.5, ISO2500
Posted on

Day at the museum

Every once-in-a-while the nearby attraction “Blists Hill Victorian Town” opens its doors for free for local residents to visit and see what it offers. I last went a number of years ago and it was only relatively recently I recounted to a colleague that these ‘open days’ used to occur. It was coincidental therefore that last Monday I became aware that it was happening again and so on Saturday I made the one mile trip to the venue for a photographic morning.

The main reason for my visit was to take some background and texture shots to use in my forthcoming still-life project. Images of some of the attractions such as shops and toolrooms to act as a backdrop and textures such as timber cladding, brickwork and iron plates. It was good to go with a purpose but with the added benefit of taking some atmospheric Autumnal shots should they manifest themselves. I was aware that all of the entrance allowance had been taken up and so it was likely to be crowded; I therefore made sure I was early (doors opened at 10am) and that I was travelling relatively light so that I could squeeze into tight spaces when required.

All-in-all a great morning out. I was there for over 3 hours and managed to take a good quantity of images that I can use. Here is one of my favourites:

Posted on

Bank Holiday walk

It was a rare Bank Holiday in that both Mrs H and myself were at home and so we decided to make to most of it and take the dogs for a change of scenery. We went on a dog-friendly walk close to Dudmaston Hall, just outside Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where there was a small (free) car park and the start of the walk was just over the road. It led around a large field down to a couple of ponds in the woods, around which was a well-kept pathway. The dogs certainly loved it (particularly the two who went swimming!) and it was pretty quiet so we will visit again when we get chance.

Posted on

Bird of prey

Seems that we have a new inhabitant in the garden. I first saw it on the roof of one of my sheds this morning – and then later on a telegraph pole in front of the garden. A buzzard ??