Now Etta James was considered one of the greats when it comes to female singers, and is one of a small number of blues and jazz singers who are used for comparison. One recent artist who has been compared favourably to Etta is Imelda May. Imelda gave me goosebumps when I first heard her and this mystery singer falls into that category too. When you bear in mind, it was recorded with a very basic (i.e. camera) microphone, you have to wonder how she would sound with better recording equipment.

It all started on the third print. The first two prints were from an old box of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl, my paper of choice for most printing. Then I had to start a new box and that was where the problem started. The printing process would get to the last half an inch or so, then there was a loud clacking noise, followed by a bang and then the paper would suddenly jump towards the left hand side of the printer (the top of the print). This caused a misalignment of about quarter of an inch, which was of course very obvious in the final product and completely unusable. When I examined the paper, the bottom right hand corner of the print was bent, as if it had been hit by something.

The cause was simple, as was the solution. It seems, that it is a problem that tends to occur mostly with Hahnemuhle paper. Something I have noticed, but not been too concerned about before, is that Hahnemuhle paper is curved towards the printing side. It just so happened, that the offending box was more curved than usual and it must have been this that had worsened a problem that was already there, but not causing noticeable effects. The solution was to flatten the paper. Before printing, I placed the sheet inside the polythene wrapper and rolled it in the opposite direction to the curve, as suggested on one forum. I then used the rear paper feed, which I had never managed to get to work properly (possibly it seems due to the curve) and the printing went without a single hitch, gone also was the alarming clacking noise I’d always had. So something to bear in mind if you get similar printing problems.

See the images for yourself:

http://blog.apertureacademy.com/2012/01/canon-200-400mm-and-600mm-prototype.html

or read the discussions:

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,2963.0.html

Having had some time to digest the available information, the following summarises the salient facts.

1. Pentaprism size suggests larger than APS-C, perhaps full frame.
2. Some of the visible buttons might suggest high speed shooting.
3. Button layout is a combination of 1D-X and 7D.
4. Longer format rear screen might suggest greater emphasis on video.
5. Lack of Creative Auto setting on mode dial – departure from both 5D and 7D lines.

So, lots of ifs buts and maybes, that don’t really do much to answer the questions. When the specifications of the 1D-X were released, some of them had me interested, for example, the better low light and overall image quality. However, the price is out of my range and the move to full frame would lose me “reach” over the 7D, which would be the obvious camera to replace. The thought of a possible small format version of the 1d-X (with its cheaper price point) does interest me and if it just happened to have  1.3x crop (i.e. the now supposedly defunct APS-H format) and around 22MP, so that it would offer improved image quality over the 7D, then I would probably be planning on a purchase in the future. Even full frame at around 25MP if it had improved image quality, better tracking and improved dynamic range and sensitivity over the 5D MkII would spark interest, as I could then keep the 7D for when I need the reach and use the new camera for all other circumstances, effectively replacing the 5D MkII.

Time will tell in the end and ultimately, we just have to wait for the announcement. The Camera and Photo Imaging Show starts on February 9th in Japan and with Focus on Imaging a month later, it is an ideal time coming up for Nikon and Canon to make some high profile announcements.

While I was photographing the first of my chosen views, a dog walker stopped to say hello and mentioned that they were showing the canal on Countryfile on BBC1 later that evening. We chatted for a while, with him stating that he hadn’t seen them filming, but I thought it was slightly ironic, that I’d chosen that evening to photograph the canal.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got my chance. I only arrived back on Monday, in the early hours, so the photos are only just ready, but I was able to spend six days in Tromsø, in the far north. Because it’s so far north of the arctic circle, the sun doesn’t rise for almost two months, giving a strange pale blue light (when it’s clear) during the day. At this time of year in early December, it lasts for around two hours.

Unfortunately however, we arrived to rain and strong winds, which pretty much lasted for the first four days. The chances of seeing the lights didn’t look too promising, but by the thursday, the day that had been booked, the forecast was for clearing skies. Just as we left though, the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse again, with a heavy downpour. Not in the slightest bit perturbed though, our guide headed east, towards the Finnish border, where the weather should be clearer, due to the shelter of the mountains. We had booked our trip with Kjetil Skogli, the man who took out Joanna Lumley during a British television production a few years ago. When I mentioned in the Visit Tromsø information office who I’d booked with, the response was “He’s the expert, you’ll definitely see them”, which was encouraging. Our first stop was just over an hour away from Tromsø and the skies looked a lot clearer, with increasing glimpses of the moon. As we came off the main road near Seljelvenes, towards the northeast, the sky looked to be glowing. After waiting for some time, the glow came closer, eventually forming distinct bands of white, against the dark sky. Light pollution was non-existent, allowing the best views of the stars and the moon was behind us, well away from the aurora that was forming.

While the display wasn’t the best, as solar activity had been low since the beginning of October, it was certainly an experience. They didn’t quite look as I’d imagined though. You see all the photos and imagine that the aurorae will be a mass of greens and reds, perhaps mixed in with some purples and blues if you’re lucky, but they were essentially white. I could just about make out some red colouration, but the greens just weren’t visible with the naked eye. Of course, again, had I thought more about it, I would have remembered that the human eye is pretty poor at distinguishing colour in the dark. Some people have better colour perception in the dark than others and one of the others could make out a slight green tinge. Had the display been stronger, then there would have been a greater chance of seeing the colours, but I was able to get a couple of useable photographs. Judging by my settings and comparing them to other photos, I would estimate, that a strong display could have been as much as ten times brighter. It wasn’t long before the skies clouded over again though and each of the subsequent stops failed to reveal any better displays before the clouds caught up with us.

Mildly satisfied that I’d at least seen them, I now hoped for clearer skies during the day, so that I could photograph Tromsø in the best light possible. Friday was a complete washout though with heavy rain and more strong winds, which later turned to sleet with occasional snow flurries, resulting in a spattering of snow on Friday night. Saturday was another story however. The skies cleared, with much colder weather, resulting in some of the best light I’ve ever seen for photography. It’s difficult to describe, but the closest I can come, is by describing it as a turquise blue light, tinged with pinks and purples, as the invisible sun reflects off the few clouds. As dusk approaches in the afternoon, the colour darkens to give an even stranger, almost surreal light.

All in all, my trip to northern Norway was a success, but I know want to try seeing a stronger display and especially perfect my technique of photographing the Northern Lights, which left a bit to be desired.

The book itself, charts my experiences while tavelling and watching the natural world, starting in Nepal and following my journey in Scotland and Somerset.

Why not consider it as a Christmas present?

A Journey with Nature by Richard Winn | Make Your Own Book

I will be adding some example photographs, with explanatory captions to the article in the coming few days.

While there were a lot of shots I wasn’t happy with (there always is), thanks to two participants, I was able to get some of my best ever carnival photographs. The first performer from Vagaonds Carnival Club turned to the camera to do her routine, while glaring intensely at the camera, perfect for the tone of the cart. While that was good, perhaps even more surprising was the performer from Centurion CC, who gave a brilliant smile. Many not familiar with carnival may not find that very surprising perhaps, but Centurion is a tableau club, where the participants stay frozen for the whole procession, but again, it fit in well with the theme. My sincere thanks must go to both of these two performers. Carnival photographs are always going to be dynamic by their very nature, but it isn’t always possible to capture the atmosphere. I felt that the relationship between them and the camera really lifted the photographs to another level. I’m not a portrait photographer normally, so it is probably one of the few occasions where I have had a buzz from photographing people, normally it’s confined to my nature photographs, when I get what I was looking for.

Like last year, I had taken note of some of the features of the carts that I had wanted to photograph, so I concentrated more on different angles (mainly portrait formats of the carts), portraits of the performers and closeup and detail shots. Not all of them were successful, as many of the performers were in higher positions than last year, which caused focusing and depth of field problems that had to be overcome. Again, this is something to note for next year.

Despite some failures, overall it was a success for me and as usual, plenty of money was collected for local charities, although not as much as you might expect, given that there are usually around 50,000 spectators.

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As I was walking up through St Mary Street, I was approached by a large boisterous group, it was Black Sunday after all, so I couldn’t really expect anything else. Anyway, after a quick chat and change of lens, I took a couple of photographs. I promised to send the images to one of the group, but unfortunately, the e-mail address I wrote down, doesn’t seem to work. If anyone from Wick or Pentathlon Carnival Clubs remembers having their photo taken, then please contact me and I will forward on the promised photos.

The carnival itself put on its usual show of bright lights and entertainment. While I don’t think it lived up to last year’s standards, it still provided plenty of entertainment and better still, it remained dry throughout, a welcome relief after the afternooon. For me, the strongest and most original entries were in the Tableau Class, which was won by Overthrow of the Tsar, built by Pentathlon Carnival Club, with last year’s winners, Huckyduck Carnival Club coming second with Way out West. However, yet again, the overall winners were Gremlins, with their entry Jungle Drums. While it was still impressive, I don’t think it matched last year’s entry.

The squibbing display was cancelled, due to the previous sad events, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

And one final photo of Wick Carnival Club’s 2011 entry, Inca, having met some of them and some members of the Pentathlon Carnival Club this afternoon, as I got caught up in the Black Sunday celebrations.

http://heikoworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/bridgwater-carnival-2011/

http://heikoworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/bridgwater-carnival-2011-part-2/

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