Some amazing celebrations going on here in spain after the euro 2008 football finals. Fireworks, dancing in the streets, people flying around on little motorbikes waving flags, cars tooting their horns. Great fun 
Just wish I was able to post a few pics.....
Here's some of the pictures I took when Chelby came along to a 'studio night' at the Bpic camera club. Although we had studio lights, some of these are taken just using the light from a window (others with the studio lights and some with a combination of the two).
Chelby is a great model and lots of fun to work with...
Haven't been doing many photoshoots lately but am hoping to arrange some soon - especially now that the weather is starting to warm up a little!
Typical! After arranging to do some photos this evening with Chaz, the day started grey and overcast with the occasional heavy downpour thrown in for good measure! By lunchtime, things had only got even worse - continuous rain and a strong wind to add to the misery. So I phoned Chaz to say the smart thing to do might be to forget about photos and stay indoors. However, she wasn't having any of it! It will brighten up, she predicted.
So - a little reluctantly as I was thinking that both myself and my camera was about to get thoroughly soaked - we agreed to meet at a park in Belfast thinking there might be some nice colours starting to appear at this time of year.
My spirits started to improve somewhat because as the afternoon went on rain eventually faded into showers and the weather did actually start to brighten up a little. When we arrived at the park, however, another setback was waiting. There was some kind of garden event taking place and it was closed (well, I guess we could have got in by buying tickets for the garden event).
A quick change of plan later and we went around the back of Queens and eventually started taking some pictures. It wasn't all plain sailing - there was some kind of open day in progress and lots of people around. And, tes, there were showers (fortunately Chaz had the foresight to bring an umbrella). I was having to use my shirt to wipe raindrops off my lens, and the wind caused a few problems blowing her hair about, but areas such as doorways were reasonably sheltered. Guess what - I've gotta say I really enjoyed the evening! We had to cut it short as Chaz had to leave to start work at her evening job, however she didn't seem in the slightest fazed by the rain, wind or closed park so full marks to her for that.
I'm just after having a look at the shots and am pleased with how they turned out. Apart from a few where the raindrops on my lens were showing up, it looks a much better day than it really was. Here's a few sample shots - more to follow later...
Hmmm... Take the camera on holiday or just leave it at home?
This is the question I always ask myself every time I get a chance to head off for some sunshine (in short supply here at the moment). Yes, I want to get some pictures while away, but on the other hand, as someone who likes to travel light, the hassle of packing and carrying camera gear - not to mention the risk of loss/damage/sand/salt - usually makes me think twice. In the end I nearly always decide to take it anyway. So, when heading off a couple of weeks ago, I packed my trusty 20D (and Tamron 28-75mm lens which is small, light and covers nearly all situations).
Shooting pictures in bright sunshine is very different from the type of grey and overcast conditions we normally get here. In one sense it is easier in that slow shutter speeds are rarely a problem, but extra care is needed to avoid harsh shadows and prevent burnt out areas. One thing I found very useful to deal with both these problems was the little built-in pop-up flash. It packs more punch than you might imagine, and used up close does a great job of reducing contrast and making the light more even.
While away I shot nearly all jpegs so my memory cards didn't fill up too quickly. And, although I mostly only took pictures around the hotel, and didn't bother carrying the camera around during the day, I ended up with nearly 150 shots I'll want to keep.
As examples, here are some of my two-year-old. Afraid he is not a very cooperative subject, and is always on the move, so these were mostly grabbed when his attention was on something else. Quite a few were taken on a fire escape at the side of the hotel, which proved a good place to do pictures as he didn't seem to notice the camera much while racing up and down the stairs!...
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