Wow my 50th post. I think I should have gotten to this amount a long time ago but I think I kind of gave up on my photography due to studying for exams. I don’t think 50 is that big of a milestone but it has seemed like a hell of a long time! Thanks a lot everyone for everything. You’ve commented, liked and even followed! I love being able to see what amazing things you have uploaded to WordPress too. Its inspiring, its amazing and extremely creative!
Thanks a ton guys!
I didn’t get a lot of good butterfly shots (two in fact!) as I don’t really have the correct kind of lens. That may be me just making excuses but anyways, But there’s the first photo I managed to get
Now this is a flower beetle I think… Well I’ve tried to find some more info on them and have found out nothing at all! Well I know they eat fruit as you can see from the photo. But If anyone knows about these mysterious beetles; please enlighten me! 😀
Despite being a butterfly farm. There was a ton of other stuff to see! Just like this chameleon here. I opened this up in photoshop, masked out the reptile, then added a black and white filter to the background.
It’s been a long time since I last posted. I’ve been focusing a lot on college and work for the past few months that I didn’t have time to relax! Well I got the chance this week to really get back into my photography so I took a trip down to Stratford – Upon – Avon. I managed to get loads of great pictures at the butterfly farm which is a mere 10 minute walk from the shakespeare theatre. Before that though we needed to get something to eat. So we decided to give this place called No.37 Café a try. This cafe is one of the best cafés I have been to, and the customer service is amazing! Definitely worth eating here if your passing by!
37 SHEEP STREET STRATFORD-UPON-AVON CV37 6EE
I really do love this picture. I took this a couple months ago at a nature reserve in the UK and initially didn’t upload it, due to a piece of grass going straight through diagonally left of the shot. Every time I’ve looked at the photo I kept saying to myself that I love this shot so much but the grass just ruins it! Today I just realised that I could crop the photo so that all you would see is the insect itself. Took me that long to figure out that solution, but anyway its finally here!
Another spider shot. A lot of you may be thinking that I’m a great fan of spiders due to the amount of pictures of them I have uploaded recently. But no I’m not a fan of spiders, its just that I love seeing the detail of them up close. Nothing like what we see when see them from a distance. As you can see the spider has something between its pedipalps. Not sure what but I’m guessing its a fly. RIP whatever you are.
The temperature outside today was surprisingly warm compared to the past few days. I have 3 new photos for you guys! I don’t think they’re the best of my photography skills, but I don’t even have much motivation at the moment as I am constantly worrying about my exams. Talking of exams, tomorrows exam has been cancelled! I was actually ready to take it but I suppose a few more days revision would be helpful, right? I guess so.
Other 2 photos will follow.
Enjoy!
This is a photo of a spider taken in a beautiful forest in the UK.
How did you get a black background?
Having a black background adds a dramatic effect to the photo and also focuses your eyes on the main subject. To get this effect you have to eliminate the flash from hitting the background. So In simplicity, the object must be far away from its background. You cannot have say; a spider on the floor, as then the flash would hit the floor, which would then illuminate the photo. For my photo however, the spider was in a web hanging from the tree. There were plenty of feet between the web and the tree in the distance, so that the flash would not hit the tree and ruin the shot. There’s also one more thing. The in-camera settings.
First you want to set your camera to the maximum sync speed (speed which your shutter and flash can work together. 1/200 for me). Next set your iso at 100. The last thing is to set your aperture. Start with a low aperture of say 5.6, take a picture (no flash) and see if the photo is black. If not, close down the aperture more. Say to 8.0. Keep stopping down the aperture until you manage to get a fully black photo. Once you’ve got that sorted, you can turn on your flash and your good to go.
It’s been so long since I had last uploaded a photo. I just don’t have the time anymore, which sad because I really do love taking photos and uploading them for you amazing bloggers out there. Maybe I will pursue my photography after my accountancy exams (One next week Friday and also another one right before Christmas). I was planning on going on a little adventure to a national park. Nothing like yellow stone but I sure should be able to get some great pictures wherever it is I plan to go.
Today I’m uploading two pictures. Not ones I’ve taken recently, but ones you haven’t seen yet. The picture above was taken when I visited Becky falls in the UK. I really love the long exposure effect on the water. Makes it look nice and smooth and really does enhance the overall picture.
Have you ever watched Bear Grylls and seen the kind of stuff he does? Im not even going to talk about the food he eats let alone what he drinks when he cant find water. Anyway I thought I could at least try one of the things he does on his show, and that was trying to light a fire with a flint and steel. So I purchased a magnesium flint and steel striker from Ebay and as soon as it came through the mail I went straight to the garden to give it a go. 1 minute later I had a fire going….. Ha! 1 hour later more like. Its so hard for the sparks to catch onto the tinder (dry grass). In the end I grabbed a tissue and wow how quick it took then! I bet the boy scouts and people who go to summer camp are probably laughing right now. But the time was worth it. It kind of feels like I gained half of a achievement I guess.
This shot was taken shortly after I managed to cheat my way into lighting a fire. I then opened the shot up in Adobe Photoshop, added a black and white adjustment and masked out all colour but the flame itself.
This is my first photo of a Dragon Fly taken with the Nikon D3200. And I know your thinking “Another macro?” yes indeed. Ive been focusing a lot on macro photography lately, theres always bugs out and about for me to take photos of. Now its starting to become winter ill have no choice but to move onto doing other types of photography.
Other than that I had a go at making stop motion videos with lego mini figures. I don’t know how you stop motion guys do it! Its so long winded just to make the figurine look like he’s walking. But I must say the videos you make are amazing and so creative.
I start college on the 9th (I’ll be doing an AAT Accountancy Course) which means ill be working less and earning less. I currently work at a local convenience store which in fact i love doing. But anyway my hours are going to be way less as I’ll be at college so… Ive decided to sell digital downloads of my photos for a small price. For only £0.50 Im selling my photos full size in which you’ll be able to use as your desktop wallpaper or you can print them up to size A0 without loosing a hint detail! Tiff files can be provided if needed.
Download the Dragon Fly photo for only £0.50 here or here: http://mydgs.co/oPkUPW
Thanks!
Lately I’ve been taking a ton macro shots. Its amazing how compatible lenses can be with all cameras. I received an old macro lens which is built to fit a Contax camera (I have a Nikon) And yeah I was gutted to find that it wouldn’t fit a Nikon camera but i thought somehow there must be a way that I could miraculously fit it on. Anyway i done a little research and found out you can buy these mount to mount converters which cost about £12/$18. I bought one and have never complained since I’ve had it. Yeah it sure does have its knock backs such as you can’t use auto focus, but with macro that isn’t a problem anyway.
I dont think this spider was expecting the paparazzi to be taking pictures of him. This little fella was found by my little sister aged 8 who started screaming at the site of the spider and ordered me to “Kill him”. I thought thats pretty cruel as the spider was in its own environment and was doing no harm. I ran inside and grabbed my camera and then disembarked on a quest to find the now scared spider who had decided he didn’t want to stick around any longer. In the end I found him and got some great shots before returning him back to his web safely and not as my sister ordered: “kill him”
May was a great month for me with my photography. I managed to get tons of great macro shots but I just haven’t had the time to edit and upload them yet but I’ll get onto it.
“Life isn’t always amazing; there will be times of trial and times of struggle along the way but don’t give up, be strong, believe in yourself and show life that you are going to make it no matter what it throws at you”. ~ Unknown
– Salim Willshire
Its been ages since I last uploaded a photo. I just haven’t had the time to sit and edit my photos I have taken due to major exams I was studying for. Now that they’re all over and I’m free (until college) I will begin uploading again. A big big thanks to everyone who has supported me with my work since the start of this blog. I would not have continued taking photos and enjoying photography if it weren’t for your kind comments and constructive criticism.
“The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” ~ Paulo Coelho
– Salim Willshire
While on holiday at devon I was given some old photography gear by a great man called Alan so thanks a lot for that Alan, I really appreciate it. Although the lens’s were for a Contax SLR, I purchased a Contax to Nikon mount off eBay. These lenses work great for macro work with extension tubes like the shot above. I had to use a rolled a piece of paper attached to the top of the lens to bounce the flash light onto the tiny fly. I don’t actually own a flashgun yet but plan to buy one soon. I just use my popup flash which I have learned, has it’s limits. If anyone else has any other methods on how they light their subjects in macro work, please comment as I love learning new tips and tricks that will help me progress my knowledge of photography. Thanks
A little twist to the waterfall shot taken at becky falls.
Becky falls is a great place to go if you’re interested in trying to get a waterfall shot with that silky smooth water look. Beautiful waterfalls but too bad about the admission costs. Well i guess £7.49 is alright to get into such a scenic place…
Haytor is one of the most visited locations in Dartmoor. At high altitudes it is blisteringly cold and nearly makes it impossible to hold your camera still, without shaking. Luckily i managed to get a nice panoramic before making a dash back to the warm car.
Salim Willshire Photography 