Back from a wonderful weekend photographing in Suffolk.  The light was sublime and my camera was spoiled for choice.  This is Maggi Hambling’s stunning sculpture The Scallop on the beach at Aldeburgh.  Some love it; some loathe it.  I find it very moving.  Raised in tribute to Benjamin Britten, to whom this wild seascape was such a rich inspiration, the sculpture is built in uncompromising steel and stands 4m high on an otherwise empty stretch of the beach.  The edge of the scallop is pierced with the inscription “I hear those voices that will not be drowned” which comes from Britten’s opera, Peter Grimes.  Here and upwards in the series, for more shots from the same trip.

I was honoured to be asked to take the photographs for the book and it was such a pleasure to photograph Alex as he worked in the kennels (painting the walls, making up the food), walked the dogs or just enjoyed some quality time with his favourites among the hounds.

Equipment needed – flashgun (built in will do at a pinch), tripod, kitchen tap … that’s it!

Fill the kitchen sink till the water is nearly overflowing (so that you can mount your camera at near water level).  Use a long lens (the longest macro in your bag will be ideal, a telephoto is a good substitute). Set the camera on a tripod at near water level.  Then set the tap to drip very slowly.  Hold the flashgun off the camera – 45 degrees or so works nicely.  And just fire away.  You are aiming to catch the moment when the water droplet hits the water, or just before, or just after.  Almost all of the shots will be nice in one way or another.  That’s it!

Opinion is divided about whether you want to photograph in low lighting so the flashgun does all the work or to have some ambient light in there too.  I took the example below in the middle of the day with lots of ambient light.  I used a gel filter on the flash to get the gold colour on the water and the ambient light mixes in some of the colour from my stainless steel sink rather nicely I think.

I probably should have used a lower ISO – click on the picture below to see the full size image in all its grainy glory.

Photographic notes:  Nikkor 105mm macro, f32, 1/60s, SB-800 with orange gel filter, ISO 1000, D700.  Here for full EXIF and more details

On the new FX format (or rather the old FX format which is now back in vogue again) it is quite another story.  It’s found the camera body it was made for and it just sings!  

This lens is absolutely sublime wide open, with lovely bokeh and creamy out of focus backgrounds.  It has dramatically shallow depth of field and can create some stunning effects.  

Stop it down just a little bit and it’s one of the sharpest lenses you’ll ever put on your camera.  

It’s great for indoor work.  You can put that nasty flash away, open up to f1.4 and photograph hand-held in natural light in almost all conditions.

Optically, it can hold its head high with professional lenses costing over £1000.  But because it’s a humble prime lens it retails for a mere £200 or so.  

Or get yourself one of the new G versions of this lens if you are feeling rich, and you can enjoy the added refinement of the Silent Wave Motor (SWM) enabling smooth and quiet autofocus, and still walk away with change from £300.  Always assuming you can find one – there’s been a run on the new lens and most shops are out.  

I’m happy with mine and not in a hurry to upgrade!

Photographic notes

Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-D used above at full aperture.  Click here to access full EXIF data and see larger sizes of the image (click the “All Sizes” tab).  The focus is slightly soft but that’s probably my shaking hands rather than the lens’ fault.  Hand held at 1/400s.

My assignment has been to take the pictures for the cards.  Much harder than it sounds.  It’s a piece of cake to do a nice photo for the Bedding gift card.  Treats are also pretty photogenic.  But whatever do you do for the sawdust photo?   Ideas gratefully received! 

I’m about halfway through the project now, having done all the easy shots.  I feel today is a day for doing Collar and Lead (£15 so this needs a really classy shot!)

The scheme will be offered through Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare – it’s not on their site yet but keep checking.  Meanwhile here’s an example of the photos so far (Bedding  at £10!).  And if anyone has some good ideas for how to make a Vaccination look photogenic, please speak up!

Photography footnotes:  

For most of these kennel shots I use one of my cheaper lenses – the Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5/5.6 VR.  It’s nice and light (some would say plasticy but that doesn’t trouble me); the longer focal lengths and wider apertures isolate the subject beautifully and make everything look pretty (a big advantage in a busy, working kennels); and best of all, I really don’t mind to much if I get a wet snotty dog nose straight in the lens (it happens!).  It’s my dog lens.

But for the tearoom shots I needed a faster lens so Kenny got treated to my mid-range zoom workhorse.  Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8.  Sharp as a whistle, sometimes cruelly so, but I think it was fairly kind to Kenny’s grey hairs.  Ken Rockwell says forget the mid range zoom and settle for a 50mm prime (because of cost).  I say hang the cost, I’m worth it.

Ken Rockwell says, these ultra-wide angle lenses are emphatically not about “getting it all in”  - unless of course you like boring photos with your subject lost in an expanse of nothingness.  The trick seems to be to use the foreground to background distortion to create weird and wonderful effects,  And to get in close, check the viewfinder, then get in even closer.  Watch the edges of the photo for extraneous detail  - you’ll get used to shouting at your family and friends to get out of the frame and you’d better warn them right now it’s nothing personal.

You’d also better get used to being very, very careful with handling if (like me) you were born with the clumsy gene.  The curvature of the front element means you cannot mount a filter.  The lens comes with a tough, built in lens hood and you are going to need it.  Keep the lens cover on all the time you’re not shooting.

As all the reviews say, this is a real corker of a lens, sharp way out into the corners.  You need a full frame lens to get the best out of the lens, and it feels balanced and right on my D700.   We’ve been together for just over a month now and I know I’m going to love and learn so much from this lens.

Check out Ken Rockwell for some great tips on using this lens and similar ultrawides, and for some inspirational examples of their use.

Or click here to see the image full size