Hello and welcome to my photography blog. Photography has been a long-term hobby for me. I purchased my first Digital SLR camera – the Canon 350D – and started shooting in RAW in September 2006. I have always been a bit of a resolution junkie, and relish capturing highly-detailed subjects, such as cathedral interiors. While … Read full article
As described in my Guide to “New” or True HDR Photography, one of the greatest pleasures with True HDR Photography is that it can breathe new life into old photos stored in RAW format. While the purchase of a new camera or lens can only enhance photographs going forwards, True HDR Photography can also enhance … Read full article
In this article, I present an effective workflow for the editing, storage and sharing of True HDR photographs. As described in my article Navigating HDR Image File Formats from Abobe Camera RAW and Photoshop navigating the various files formats for HDR images for the various photo sites, applications and browsers can be very frustrating at … Read full article
This is the first of a series of articles featuring some of the world’s greatest churches and cathedrals, illustrated by my own photos in HDR format. For this article, I visited the vibrant city of Barcelona in Spain, to photograph the city’s most popular tourist destination – La Sagrada Familia. It is described by many … Read full article
Below are samples of true HDR photographs. True HDR allows photographers to display much more of the information captured by their camera sensors. Released from the limitations of conventional 8-bit JPEG and old, dim displays, images look more real-to-life. The gallery presents some of my true HDR photographs, using the next-generation AVIF format. Click on … Read full article
One of the most confusing aspects with true HDR photography is managing the different HDR image formats. This guide shows how to output the right image format for popular uses and applications, including websites, Google Photos, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Apple Keynote and Instagram. There is a somewhat confusing set of formats and file … Read full article
Apple definitely seems to be increasing the pace in the world of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging by launching an update to its Keynote application – and it has done a great job. Keynote now allows you to add HDR images with a range of formats, including AVIF (.avif), JPEG XL (.jxl), tone-mapped JPEG (.jpg) … Read full article
I have found that Apple’s screen capture utility on macOS to be extremely useful over the years. Amazingly, Apple has just introduced an upgraded version that allows a screen (or portion of a screen) to be captured in HDR (High Dynamic Range) format. This is a very welcome development as it provides a convenient method … Read full article
One current challenge with True HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography is displaying and sharing images in all their resolution and dynamic range glory. Effective ‘channels’ for this can be Vimeo, YouTube or your very own TV. Vimeo and YouTube have had the capability of streaming videos in high resolution and HDR for many years. Here … Read full article
On holiday, I met a fellow photography enthusiast. I was quite surprised when he told me that he shoots JPEG, following the online advice from Ken Rockwell. After we discussed the merits of RAW, I promised that I would publish an article on my blog. If you don’t shoot in RAW, you’ll throw away valuable … Read full article
I’ve been really enjoying photographing cathedrals and churches that I’ve seen with my own eyes. On a recent cruise, I met a well-travelled fellow photography enthusiast who proudly told me that he had photographed 100 cathedrals across the world. I love meeting passionate, enthusiastic people and he really enjoyed discussing which ones were his favourites … Read full article
In this article, I share my experiences with the cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphone and show sample photos. I believe this represents a substantial leap forward for some types of photographer, including landscape and travel photographers. My experiences with the iPhone 14 Pro Max have made me revaluate the value of a … Read full article
Having had the iPhone 14 Pro Max for some weeks now, I thought it would be interesting to directly compare the new iPhone 14 Pro Max 48-Megapixel camera with Sony’s flagship A1 50-Megapixel camera in good lighting conditions. I will be discussing results from my testing of the iPhone 14 Pro Max in different situations … Read full article
Back in January 2022, I wrote an article entitled Best Sony Mirrorless Lenses For 2022, in which I gave my view on the best Sony lenses based on my experience with many Sony lenses. I’d now like to add a new lens to this list – the Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens. This was … Read full article
During 2021, Sony released some amazing lenses for its full-frame mirrorless cameras. Apart from a missing 85mm F1.2 lens (which hopefully will appear in 2022), Sony now offers a comprehensive range of lenses with superb performance. I’m often asked for lens recommendations so, in this post, I identify my favourite nine Sony lenses and provide … Read full article
This year, I visited Wimpole Hall for its ‘Christmas at Wimpole 2021’ winter trail. I’ve not been to this annual event before but it is a major fundraiser for the National Trust. I was actually very impressed with what I saw and heard. With the National Trust requesting photos from visitors, I decided to take … Read full article
Peterborough Cathedral provides a wonderful location for enthusiast photographers since it is such a lovely building and photography is permitted. I attended a Christmas carol concert there in December 2021. The concert featured Peterborough Male Voice Choir, Peterborough Voices, Peterborough Youth Choir and Peterborough Festival Brass. It also featured mezzo soprano Karen England, who was … Read full article
Earlier blog posts providing sample photos with various Sony lenses have proved popular, so here I continue with another great lens – the Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM model. In an earlier blog post, I provided sample images from the superb Sony 14mm F1.8 GM lens, which has just won DPReview’s 2021 award for “best prime … Read full article
Two years ago, when I set myself the photography challenge of capturing as many Cambridge colleges as I could, I hadn’t bargained for coronavirus and the length of time that many colleges would remain closed to visitors. Recently, I had the opportunity to take some photographs of St John’s College. Very few people would disagree … Read full article
During 2021, Sony has been on a roll with the launch of some outstanding lenses, including the Sony 50mm F1.2 GM and the Sony 14mm F1.8 GM lenses. Well, Sony has done it again with the updated Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II lens! With its latest-generation GM lenses, Sony seems to be able combine superlative … Read full article
With an estimated 100,000 war memorials in the UK, memorials took place up and down the country on Remembrance Sunday to remember the fallen. In my local village, over 90 villagers gathered round the war memorial to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom. You can view the photos here: Remembrance … Read full article
The Sony 100-400mm GM lens has quickly become one of my very favourite lenses, and in this post I provide some sample images taken in the last few weeks with this superlative lens. Paired with the Sony A1 camera, its amazing autofocus performance means that you can capture fast action easily, and sharpness is superb. … Read full article
Last weekend, I attended the Battle of Britain Air Show at Duxford, and it was absolutely brilliant. For the air show itself, I used my Sony A1 camera with Sony 100-400mm GM lens, and this combination produced superb results. I could easily use this set-up handheld, and autofocus was exemplary. To photograph the rest of … Read full article
Living in rural Cambridgeshire, I have enjoyed visiting places across the county and taking photographs. However, despite living relatively close to Norfolk, I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I’ve rarely visited Norfolk, apart from day trips to Hunstanton and Norwich. Well better late than never! My friends Nick and Raine (shown above) adored the North … Read full article
As with most people, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with holidays and trips, and photography opportunities have been dramatically diminished. While we are still far from ‘normal’ (with the wearing of masks indoors, for example), it’s been nice to visit more places and take more photographs. Recently, I visited Cambridge, enabling me to add … Read full article
I live near the beautiful city of Cambridge, which is one of my favourite places to photograph (when it is not too busy). I have now photographed many different parts of the city, although I have many more images to take on my ‘wish list’. In contrast, Oxford has received much less photographic attention from … Read full article
Although photography is strictly a hobby for me (as being professional would take out all the fun of photography for me), I’ve ended up photographing a number of weddings over the years for family and friends. I have often complemented the professional photographer by taking candid shots. Recently, my next-door neighbour Mick asked me to … Read full article
Seizing the opportunity to try out the Sony A1 camera with the Sony 100-400 GM lens, I visited Woburn Safari Park. This is a perfect lens for zoos and wildlife, although it is relatively heavy when carried around all day. It is, however, significantly lighter than the longer 200-600mm lens. With the 100-400mm lens, autofocus … Read full article
A visit to the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix gave me the opportunity to test out my new Sony 100-400mm GM lens. Last year, the Silverstone race was run without fans so it was wonderful to see Silverstone full to the rafters, with huge support for Lewis Hamilton as well as the McLaren team. As well … Read full article
Making the most of the nice weather, I took along my new Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lens to Ickworth House, in Suffolk. This lens has very quickly become the lens that I put on my Sony A7R IV camera the most. It’s pretty light and small (for what it is) and is very versatile as … Read full article
I visited Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, which is owned by the National Trust. I took my Sony A7R IV camera with Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lens. The lens proved a very useful walkabout lens with exceptional sharpness, but really excelled in the quality of portraits due to the buttery smooth bokeh at F1.2. This is … Read full article
Sony has been on a roll recently with the introduction of several groundbreaking lenses. Following quickly after the amazing Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lens, Sony has introduced its ultra-wide-angle 14mm F1.8 GM lens. Just as with the Sony 50mm F1.2 lens, it is astonishing how much performance Sony has packed in to such a small, … Read full article