Very impressed with the speed of the focussing and the image quality even at high ISO. I used it at Chester zoo the other day on Shutter priority with auto ISO. I wanted to try it out and I am very impressed. Next testing is Manual and auto ISO. But the speed of focussing even with my 100-400mm lens was what really impressed.
New Camera
I have just updated my Canon 5D Mk II to a 5D Mk IV. I am still learning all the new options especially the Auto Focus. My first impressions are that it will be a real time saver when it comes to photographing anything that is in motion, especially wildlife.
I have already customised it three times, but I think I have it fine tuned for me.
The really impressive difference for me is that I can auto focus with my 100 to 400mm Mk 1 plus x1.4 extender and it tracks quickly.
Time to try it for real
Repair and Retouching
I have been spending some time recently refreshing and practicing my Restoration and retouching skills using a workflow that starts and finishes >in Adobe Lightroom with a visit to photoshop in the middle. check out www.stevepeacock-photography.com/ to see samples of my work.
Commercial Photoshoot
I have just completed a small commercial photoshoot for an excellent restaurant in Bowness On Windermere. They have just completed a refurbishment and redecoration making the atmosphere much more relaxed. They wanted new images for their website. They required a range of images of the establishment from outside and inside, some of the plated dishes on the current menu and of the staff.
To see a sample of the images please visit my website https://www.stevepeacock-photography.com/galleries/commercial-photography/
To visit the restaurant please see their website at Porto Restaurant
A few new photo additions
I have just added a few new wildlife photographs taken at RSPB Leighton Moss late January 2017. These can be found on my website or the home page of this blog via the Wildlife Photography link at the top of the page.
Nothing exciting just a few photos of old favourites, especially Robins as they often perch right next to you as if they are shouting “photograph me”
Bootstrap 4
I use the Bootstrap framework to layout my websites. Currently I use V4 which is still in the development stage. Although not yet recommended for production sites I decided to use it for mine so that I can learn as they progress through the Alpha a Beta stages. This involves looking and incorporating changes as they add them.
Currently Alpha 6 as recently been released. This is large change as they now use Flexbox as the default. I decided earlier on to use the flex option as my basis even though it restricted me to newer browsers. This has resulted in the implementation of Alpha 6 being somewhat easier. But each page still has to be checked and tested so my live site will be updated in the next couple of weeks.
Camera Trap
Well Christmas brought me an HD camera trap. So keep your eyes open for anything interesting I capture. The first task to to identify the cat (I think) that keep sneaking through our cat flaps an pinching Maisie’s (our cat) food from her bowl.
Economy Portable LED Light Source
Daylight LED lamps. Many of these are daylight rated that is 5500-6000K. I have just purchased two portable 23W/1400Lumen ones from Screwfix. Taking the base off and mounting them on flash stands (need to buy bits and pieces from Amazon) has given me a cheap way of adding support lighting to my 580EX II flash which I also mount on a stand with a diffuser and remotely trigger using hahnel Tuff TTL triggers.
Although not as effective or powerful as professional LED lights they are much cheaper at £30 each. They recently solved a problem at a wedding which was in a barn. They allowed me to take wider shots by mounting a light source either side of the small groups. Being portable they let me move them around quickly and not have trailing cables. I also have a 30W mains powered unit and find them all a lot more convenient at this type of even than my studio flashes.
Finished WebSites
For some weeks I have been working on my websites to make them mobile friendly. I am using Bootstrap 4 framework. As it is still an Alpha release so there may be changes but I did not want to use V3 and then change in a few months.
For my photo albums I use The Turning Gates new Backlight with the Client Response Gallery and Theatre plugins, as these link to my main image management software Adobe Lightroom
I have finally finished (if it is ever finished) and my wedding shoot on the 3rd September will be my first live trial, other than my hobby nature site that has live images already.
www.stevepeacock-photography.com (my main website)
nature.stevepeacock-photography.com (my image gallery of wildlife, landscapes etc.)
wp.stevepeacock-photography.com (my wordpress blog and information site)
to make thing easier they can also be accessed using sp-photo.eu , nature.sp-photo.eu, wp.sp-photo.eu
Wedding Anniversary Celebrations
Great weekend in the lakes sharing 40th wedding anniversary celebrations with very important friends.
Slideshow video produced using Photodex Proshow Producer all I have to do now is produce a book of the day using Adobe Lightroom and Blurb Books.