Long Mynd Ponies

A handsome mare

Last week I posted some images I took up on Long Mynd in November 2011, but omitted a series of shots I got of some ponies we encountered roaming free on the moors. I thought I'd just publish them separately here since they're some of my favourite shots of the day.

Photographic Milestones

This is one of my personal favourites, it looks incredible in print.

Unless you've more money than sense then you shouldn't invest hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros/cowry shells in something like a DSLR and then fail to put in the effort to get reasonably good at using it. Whether photography is a hobby or something you aspire to do as an occupation, the more you do it the better you (should) get. Over the past couple of months I've been spending quite a bit of time looking through my back-catalogue and taking note of the images that I really like, or those I am quietly proud of. I've also been trying to work out whether you can see developments and changes in my images over time.

A Misty Morning

Sometimes simple is best. 

I love taking photos in fog. The soft, diffused light from the right kind of fog is incredible and can be used to limit the viewer's perceptions by isolating a subject in a dreamy haze, it softens edges and it can even be utilised as a back-drop to make strong colours really pop. A few weeks ago I found myself wandering in the woods with Mrs S and grabbed this nice set of images:

An Equipment Dilemma

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone but I'm going to buy myself a new camera. My 40D has been great - it's taken me all the way from digitally ignorant to vaguely competent, but there's no escaping the fact that it's getting towards the end of its useful life. It's taken a few knocks and bangs, has lost its USB and remote trigger ports (cameras are not footballs), and I'm aware that the total shutter-count is creeping ever upwards. For some time now I've had a plan to get a full-frame camera, I had the chance to spend 5 minutes with a friend's 5D MkII a while ago, and it really did start something. For some time I toyed with the idea of acquiring the 7D or similar but for the kind of photography I mostly do, a full-frame camera with its lower noise at high ISO and shallower depth of field has to be the way to go. Equally, I keep looking at the small interchangeable-lens options now available, but I'm still not convinced that the quality or versatility is quite what I need.

On Long Mynd

A nice view down the valley from near the summit. 

Long Mynd, is a large hill or small mountain (I know there's a word for one of these in Spanish - I can't remember what it is though) on the Shropshire/Wales border and above the town of Church Stretton. It's a really great place to go walking and is just about an hour from my home. The scenery just cries out for someone with a camera due to its rugged, bleak and harsh heather-strewn landscape, wind-blasted trees and sprinkled hikers. There's some great routes across the hill and even a gliding club if you need to get a look from higher up. I took a trip out here in November 2011, and a six-mile yomp was a perfect way to blow out some cobwebs. Also, I wanted to say thanks to all those people who took up the suggestion from Monday and subscribed to the blog - cheers all, subscription rates went up massively, if you haven't signed up yet, please feel free to do so, I'll endeavour to continue to supply more of the same! Meanwhile, for more images...

Some Notes About the Shotslot Blog

The blog's more than two years old now and over on Google Analytics I've been trying to work out what the most popular and visited parts of the site are. Lots of new visitors seem to drop in at the pages shown across the top of the page (just below the main banner), especially the 'my kit' bit - so much so that I've recently added a couple of lines to the effect that I manage to take a few reasonable photos in spite of my equipment rather than because of it.

Regular visitors may also have noticed the 'site of the day' link over on the right, about half-way down the page.  I'm still not convinced one way or the other about the usefulness of Entrecard as a way of increasing the number of visits to the site, especially since what I'm interested in is interaction rather than straight hits but hey, I'll give it a bit more time.

Meanwhile, I'd encourage readers with busy lives to subscribe via feedburner or the RSS feed (over there, on the left!) - it's easy to use, quick and means you'll never miss out on my pearls of ignorance - they'll be delivered straight to your in-box. I sincerely promise not to junk-mail anyone, or reveal anyone's address to others. That sort of thing drives me nuts...really...everything I have is plenty big enough, and I don't want to help out any poor but serviceably nubile heiresses if it's all the same...

A Look Back at Autumn

A Gamut of Colours.

Here's a few more images I shot back in the Autumn, by this time in the year a bit of colour's needed to cheer everybody in the Northern Hemisphere up a bit! You Southerners don't know how lucky you are!