New lens for the collection

Well, after much deliberation, I finally took the plunge and bought myself a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR lens.




It is something I've been considering for quite a while and after saving up, I decided to go for it. The lens arrived yesterday and it certainly is a big beast! Weighing in at just under 1.5kgs it's probably not the sort of lens I'll be carrying around with me day in and day out but for those occasions where it does get used, it's going to be a cracker.


I've only managed to have a quick play with it but initial results are that the speed of focussing and image quality are superb. Having the f2.8 aperture available throught the zoom range will allow for some great creativity with the depth of field.


The lens should compliment my Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 lens and I'm hoping that the extra low light performance will add a new depth to my photography that has been harder to achieve in the past.

Check back soon for some test shots when I've had a chance to get out and about with it.

Sarah's maternity shoot

Following on from the trial run back in November, I had the main pregnancy shoot with Sarah at the weekend. We set up the 'studio' in her conservatory and spent a good couple of hours shooting different poses and set up.


I ended up with some great shots that I'm working through at the moment but have been very happy with what I've done so far. As usual, Sarah was game for a laugh and we got some fun shots of her in her partner's Liverpool football shirt along with the more classical shots taken during a preganacy shoot.


The shot below is just a quickly caught portrait from the session and hopefully once Sarah has seen the final images she'll be happy for me to post some of the bump shots so you can see the finished results.



One prop I did find really useful during the shoot was a couple of lengths of voile fabric which allowed Sarah to remain covered up but with careful positioning let us catch the real magic of her pregnancy.


With more and more women wanting to capture memories of the wonderful changes they are undergoing during their pregnancies, this is an area of my photography that I hope to expand into when potential clients see what can be produced.

Thanks again to Sarah for the fun shoot - am sure you're not going to be disappointed with the results.

SWPP Trade Show

Last Friday (16th Jan) I attended the SWPP Trade Show at their annual Convention in Hammersmith, West London. The show filled 2 halls of the venue and had a really good mix of quality photographic trade suppliers on hand demonstrating and showcasing their products.

It was a very useful day for me and I made good contacts with several suppliers and discovered organisations that will be of use to me and my photography. I was able to get hands on experience of some of the dye-sub printers I have been investigating and also met up with some quality printing and framing companies whose products were very interesting.

I was also lucky enough to get some time to do a mini-shoot with one of the models (Jade Cartwright) who was on the Photomart stand. The session was being run by pro-photographer Jon Gray and was being used to showcase Bowens lighting equipment. I got a good selection of shots, some of which should be appearing on my flickr pages soon.

Another successful evening

Ucluelet Fishing Boats
Originally uploaded by John Wood Photography

Well I had a fantastic evening last night at XRR's 3rd print competition of the year. My shot of the Ucluelet Fishing Boats was chosen as the photo of the night after scoring a 20 out of 20 earlier in the evening. The judge, Dr Robert Mathie FRPS, DPAGB liked the print commenting on the bold colours of the boats and the tonal quality of the shot overall.

The photo has done really well for me in the competitions this year and it certainly is one of my personal favourites at the moment. The HDR technique gives it an added boost on what was a dull and dark early evening in Ucluelet last year. I had always wanted to get some shots of the North American style fishing boats and this location provided the perfect setting for me. It was a shame that we only had a couple of hours at this location on Vancouver Island.

Another of my shots also scored the maximum 20 points last night - this time for the set subject of Person(s) at work or play. My entry was of one of the Covent Garden street entertainers who was performing for the crowds on a tall unicycle whilst juggling a set of clubs at the same time.

All in all it was a very enjoyable evening and the overall standard was again very high.

Nikon Expo - London

Last week, Nikon held their 2008 Expo at Olympia in London. This was the third one I had attended and it was another good day. There was a good selection of things going on and whilst I felt that there weren't quite the number of exhibitors there as last year, what was on show, was interesting.

There were several 'Action areas' as in the past with events such as fashion photography, wedding portraiture, Chinese circus acts and ballet all throughout the day with the opportunity to try out Nikon's new cameras or even shoot with your own. I picked up some useful tips during the day so it was certainly worthwhile attending.

The range of talks this year wasn't quite as good as last years - given that I think I spent around 3 or 4 hours in sessions last year, I only went and saw just the one at this event. I guess it was down to the topics covered.

I did get to have a go on the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lens which is likely to be my next purchase so that was good. It certainly is a fantastic bit of kit - pin sharp, solid and dependable. the only downside is the weight (and the cost!!). I think it's one of those things where when you've decided to take the plunge, you'll never look back - well I hope so!

I'm sure I'll go again next year - assuming the event is run again. I think the funniest sight this year was a guy wandering round with a Canon camera hung round his neck. Wonder if it was a dare?!?

Selena

Selena
Originally uploaded by John Wood Photography

After the maternity shoot with Sarah a few weeks ago, it was back to more regular portraits and this shot is one from a session with a couple of my wife's university friends.

I caught this when Selena wasn't expecting me to take a shot and I like the way it leaves you thinking about what was going through her mind at the time.

I post processed the shot in Photshop CS3 and ran it through the Nik Silver Efex Pro plugin which I'm using more and more for my black and white work these days.

First maternity shoot

I had my first maternity shoot at the weekend - courtesy of Sarah. It was really good experience, no doubt aided by the fact that Sarah is a very good friend of ours and was happy to try out lots of poses.

We set up in a small area and made the most of natural window light with a small bit of fill in flash through a Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe to light up any shadows. I mainly used my Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens at it's widest aperture so sharp focussing was key.

Here is an example of one of the shots from the session:



I'm really pleased with the results and I hope Sarah will be too when she sees them all. Thanks for letting me capture you at your finest at this special time. Am looking forward to our main session in late January.