WATER: Paul's first pass

I'll post more later this month, but here's a small taster from my back catalogue. No PhotoShop^TM.

Goslings

Nikon F80
Nikkor 28-200
Scanned from a negative, so no EXIF data

Spring is here. This springtime shot of a Canada goose and her brood of goslings was taken in May 2001. Say, "Aaah." Located at Crofton Pumping Station, near the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon canal, I remember being distinctly cold and damp. The overcast skies are why the water is that foreboding gumetal grey. There was no heating in the boat, nor running water.

Reflections of Doha

Nikon F80
Nikkor 28-200
Scanned from a negative, so no EXIF data

At the time, 2001, this was called the Doha Marriott Gulf Hotel. It's now simply the Marriott. I was on the roof of one building, and happened to spot the reflection of the rig support vessels moored nearby.

"Whooo!" not "Whooom!"

Nikon D70s
Nikkor 28-200 @ 170mm, F/5.6
1/160 sec
Built-in flash

I promise this is the last of my 'Animals'.

Camera-mounted flash produced all kinds of red-eye problems, so I did the dirty deed with that Adobe software. Cropping, and shrinking aside, I also took Richard's earlier tip to boost the colours, just to see what would happen.

Off-camera flash might have been the way forward, but I didn't have the kit with me. It was a day trip to a theme park, falconry centre and petting zoo. The birds of prey were not part of the latter.

Actually, when zoomed into the original the detail isn't particularly sharp. I'm hoping that by reducing the resolution in an 800x600 no-one will notice.

LIGHT: Paul's offerings

I stopped off in Ajman on the way back from a Barracuda run. Having spotted the funfair, I went into the mall for a snack to kill time until it was dark enough for some photos of fairground machinery. Remembering to bring the camera was a good move; what was less good was forgetting a tripod. Therefore a lot of my photos were wobbly, and the offerings below, although strictly hand-held, were abetted by my leaning against solid objects. All of the long exposures involved multiple attempts at various exposures. Aperture priority throughout, cranked down to allow long exposures. Most success seems to have come with a stop or two of under-exposure.

Octopus Merry-Go-Round
Nikon D70S
Nikon 28-200
31mm 1/3sec F22
Hand-held

I confess to some use of the 'clone' tool in this one to get rid of a hideous light fitting. I rather like the hint of the Etisalat golf ball silhouetted against Sharjah's light pollution and picked out by red beacons. The curious coloured smears are the ride itself: a large grinning caterpillar snaking past.

Rollercoaster
Nikon D70S
Nikon 28-200
125mm 3sec F22
Hand-held

I remembered my tripod for this next one. Unfortunately a trip through Festival Centre mall was sufficient to chill the camera, and I spent half an hour in the humid Dubai evening waiting for condensation to clear from the camera's innards.

I rather like the blurred reflections, although it is of course impossible to get a ripple effect in the water and still catch the movement of the rides.

Funfair and Reflections
Nikon D70S
Nikon 28-200
48mm 3sec F27
Tripod

A bit of lateral thinking here. Light as in 'not heavy' rather than 'not dark'. Although the way the birds stuff themselves they're generally not very light! The three finches show successive stages of take-off.

Light as a Feather
Nikon D70S
Tamron 200-400
230mm 1/250sec F5.6
Hand-held