This Christmas marks 10 years since my beloved Canon EOS 1100D camera first came into my life. My brother and sister-in-law had been using DSLRs for a couple of years and after seeing how great their photos were I wanted to play too!
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| Christmas Day 2013 |
I'm not going to give a great long history of how I learned to use the camera as quite frankly I didn't 😆 For years it's been completely on 'Auto' or 'Sport mode' for airshows and I'm only just starting to use the manual settings .....
Instead I want to share some of my favourite photos I've taken over the years (they aren't all of planes I promise!) and why I like them so much.
Sunset Blossom Spring 2014 -
Sunsets and blossom are two of my favourite things to photograph and when they combine it makes Jen happy! This was taken on a slightly chilly April evening at a local park and was probably the first photo I'd taken on the camera that I was really happy with.
Autumn Leaves September 2014 -
Despite being a bit of an Autumn-phobe I do love the colours involved and the particular light that the season has. By this point I was used to crouching or crawling around on the floor to get a decent photo (and yes I still carry a plastic bag in my camera bag to kneel on) and I managed to get down to 'leaf level' for the shot.
Sheffield Park Autumn 2021
Whilst we're on the subject of Autumn light I really like tree and rushes being backlit. I also like the red of the leaves that have dropped onto the white of the rushes as it makes a nice contrast. Sheffield Park is famous for it's stunning Autumn colours and I love going there each year to snap photos.
Shooting Star Summer 2017 -
To be upfront I take absolutely no credit for this photo despite it coming from my camera. A bit of a back story, Chris, Vana and I went out to watch (and photograph) the annual Perseids Meteor Shower that happens in August each year. We went down to Norman's Bay as the darkest location near to us and it was such an amazing evening. We saw so many shooting stars and Chris set my camera up so that all I had to do was hold down the button for as long as I wanted. Hence him getting the credit for this lucky photo 😅
Fireworks July 2017 -
On the theme of things in the night sky I managed this shot of a fireworks display. I haven't managed a decent fireworks shot like this since but I can always hope!
Raindrop August 2014 -
I've always had a thing about waterdrops despite being a very rain-averse person I love watching rain drops and photographing them. I like how reflective they are and despite being small they still have so much detail to offer. This was taken whilst I was stood at the end of the road waiting to watch the Typhoon during Airbourne 2014.
Bluebells May 2022 -
I'm lucky to live near one of the UK's most famous Bluebell Walks at Arlington and I love going every year with my camera in tow. I chose this photo because of the way the light is only hitting the bluebells and branch in the middle and keeping the others in the shade. It makes it look even more magical and I can imagine fairies peeking out from the shadows at the passers by.
Barn Owl in Stratford-Upon-Avon September 2018
Back in 2018 my best friend Helen and I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon for a few days (you can read the full blog here) and I absolutely loved Mary Arden's Farm (cute animals what more could I ask for). One of the highlights of the day was watching a falconry display which featured this beautiful Barn Owl. I had the camera on the aforementioned 'Sport Mode' and was able to get it mid-flight heading towards us.
Animals In Vienna Zoo - November 2019 & November 2023
Both times that Mum and I went to Vienna we visited it's famous zoo (you can read about both visits here (2019) and here (2023)) and I took the camera along to photograph the animals. With the zoom lense I was able to get some decent photos when the animals were further back in their enclosures. The Leopards and Panda are from our 2019 visit and the Spectacled Bear below is from our visit last month.
Also after seeing the Spectacled Bear's 'resting bear face' I can see where Michael Bond got the inspiration for Paddington Bear's "special hard stare".
Starling Murmuration February 2023-
During the winter we get some spectacular Starling Murmurations at the pier and the camera was able to take these lovely photos of the birds against the sunset. I also have a video of it below-
Harvest Moonrise, Port Grimud September 2022-
Using the zoom lense and the 'no flash' setting I took this photo of 2022's Harvest Moon rising over St Tropez reflecting the sunset. This was probably the best 'moon rise' I've ever seen (you can read a blog about the holiday here) .
Ok guys you've avoided them until now..... here come the planes!
Red Arrows 'Diamond 9' & Vulcan XH558, Farnborough Airshow, July 2014 -
As soon as I got my camera my thoughts turned to getting a zoom lense so that I could finally take decent photos of aircraft. The lense got it's debut on a blisteringly hot day at Farnborough Airshow 2014 and I was overjoyed with the results. The photos came out clear and crisp and even on auto the shutter speed was able to snap the aircraft's movements instantly rather than taking a moment like my 'regular' digital camera.
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| In action with my beloved camera and zoom lense at Airbourne 2018 |
Red Arrows Close Pass, Airbourne 2014 - August 2014
Nowadays I'd be slightly cross at how dark this photo is (I'm starting to learn a tiny bit about ISOs) but I was, and still am, so pleased with this lucky shot of the Red Arrows 'synchro pair' performing one of their close passes. The shutter was playing ball and I got them just as they crossed.
Vulcan XH558 Over Boats, Airbourne 2015, August 2015
When we found out that Vulcan XH558 would be appearing at Airbourne for the final time Dad and I decided to watch her from Beachy Head to get the best view possible. Of all the many photos I took of her that day this was one of my favourites where she's framed by all the boats gathered to see her with the bay in the background. You can read about the airshow here.
F16 Dropping Flares Airbourne 2017, August 2017 -
Sometimes it's nice to zoom out a bit like this photo of the epic Belgian F16 dropping flares. I like that it's got the movement of the plane and the flares exploding.
Blackjack Lighting Up, RIAT 2022 - July 2022
The zoom lense and 'sport mode' did their job when the RAF's Typhoon 'Blackjack' shot low over the campsite. It was able to catch the afterburners' path as it streaked over our heads. You can read all about RIAT 2022 here.
RAF Tornados Inbound, RIAT 2018 - July 2018
Tornados are my favourite ever aircraft and I'd never gotten a really 'decent' photo of one until RIAT 2018 when I got this nice, clear shot of this RAF pair en route to thunder over Fairford's runway. You can read about RIAT 2018 (with a bonus cute Esme photo) here
Vapour, Duxford Flying Finale 2022 & Airbourne 2023 - October 2022 & Airbourne 2023
The Typhoon performed late afternoon at Duxford's Flying Finale in 2022 (read about it here) and the autumn air threw a cloud of vapour behind it. At Airbourne this summer (read about it here) the Typhoon was silhouetted against the blue sky which would normally annoy me as you can't see it's paint scheme but here it allows the white vapour to 'pop'.
Red Arrows Passing, Duxford Battle Of Britain Airshow - September 2023
It took me another 9 years to get a decent 'Red Arrows passing' photo. This time the lighting played ball after a cloudy, drizzly start to the show. By this time I'd learned to manually set the shutter speed to it's fastest setting to catch the moment they passed. You can read about the show here.
'Rathausplatz Markt', Vienna - November 2023
I've been learning how to take photographs in low light and it's been quite hit and miss so far. The markets in Vienna are beautifully decorated and lit beautifully and I used a low aperture and slower shutter speed to get the gold and purple lights with a bonus appearance by a nearly full moon.
Thank you for revisiting my photos with me, I'm looking forward to finally moving onto camera settings other than 'auto','no flash' and 'sports'.
Love Jen
XxxX
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