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
The end of 2021 was tinged with some sadness as Bethany Heath and I undertook our last photography assignment for youth theatre Spotlight Productions. We took photos of their Christmas ‘Magic of the Musicals’ production. We have supported Spotlight in different ways since 2014, when we photographed the dress rehearsal of Les Misérables (photo shown … 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. You can view sample images in my Sony 50mm F1.2 GM Gallery and Sony 14mm F1.8 GM Gallery. Well, Sony has done it again with the updated … 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
The introduction of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) – often known as ‘Full-Fibre Broadband’ – in my local area will kickstart the production of lots of new content on my Increase Broadband Speed website. My new article (below) details what’s involved in an FTTP installation, with lots of photographs. An FTTP installation is usually relatively straightforward and quick, and … 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
Sony is intent on maintaining its global number one position in mirrorless cameras with the launch of its new professional flagship camera – the Sony A1. As well as providing incredible capabilities for capturing still images (taking up to 30 50-megapixel images every second), it also provides the ability to capture video in 8k resolution … 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
The Sony 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 lens is a popular choice among wildlife photographers. As a personal photography project for the rest of 2021 (and to make full use of my new Sony 200-600mm lens), I have set myself the challenge of photographing birds in my garden. I want to see how many varieties I can capture … Read full article
Despite the coronavirus lockdowns, camera manufacturers have been hard at work developing new cameras and lenses, with a major battle between Sony and Canon. Sony has just released its first every lens using an F1.2 aperture, which many in the industry said would be impossible. Pre-ordered many weeks ago, my new Sony 50mm F1.2 GM … Read full article
What better way to test my new Sony 200-600mm lens than with the Moon? The photo above was taken on the 19th April 2021. The Sony 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens was paired with the the Sony 1.4x Teleconverter lens, giving an effective focal length of 840mm. The Sony A7R IV camera was used. I … Read full article
It definitely feels like spring, with daffodils flowering and temperatures rising. I cannot believe that it is nearly a year since I took photographs of a deserted Spaldwick in lockdown. As shown above, the A14 was empty. View the photos of Spaldwick in spring 2020. One casualty of the last 12 months has been the … Read full article
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the world, England entered its second nationwide lockdown on the 5th November 2020. The lockdown is planned to end on Wednesday 2nd December. Remembrance celebrations across the country were unable to go ahead in their normal form. Here are some photos I took of the war memorial … Read full article
With all the restrictions associated with coronavirus, our trips out have definitely been curtailed over the last few months. While I don’t particularly like wearing a mask for long periods of time, we decided to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. I took along the Sony A7R IV camera with the Sony 24mm f1.4 GM … Read full article
On Saturday 15th August 2020, my daughters shouted that I should look out the window as a convoy of military vehicles were passing – clearly on the way to some VJ Day celebration. I grabbed the Sony A7 III camera (with the Sony 135mm f1.8 GM lens attached) and took some photos of the vehicles … Read full article
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, VE Day was a somewhat different affair to the one that may have been envisaged many months ago. However, despite the restrictions currently in place, villagers where I live made a tremendous effort decorating their homes to commemorate VE Day. On the 8th May 1945 – 75 years … Read full article
One of the most popular, and beautifully romantic, organ pieces is ‘The Swan’ (or Le Cygne) by the French composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, who composed the piece as part of his Carnival of the Animals in 1868. Apparently, The Swan was the only movement from The Carnival of the Animals that the composer allowed to be … Read full article