Category Archives: Photo-Technique

Flying Feet.

Isn’t it great when you shoot them and they have both feet off the ground. Incidentally, this image was made at a distance of around 150 yards from camera position.

For those who like to know these things, the image was shot at F=290mm, f/5.6 @ 1/500th second on ISO500. The aperture was wide open to allow a shallow depth of field, hence the bokeh (the fall-off in focus) visible on the ground, while the faster shutter speed froze the feet in a fraction of a second – a moment in time. The ISO was set at 500 to achieve a 1/3rd stop over-exposure, and CLICK.

Fujifilm Neopan Acros Black and White Film,

I’ve been trying out a new-to-me Nikkor lens on the Nikon D100, using Fujifilm Neopan Acros Black and White film, – old stock dated July 2013. I’ve never developed Acros myself before, (although Acros Film Simulation is one of my favourite shooting modes on the Fujifilm digital cameras).
I have to say, I really like this film. It has a beautifully soft grain, and gives great depths of contrast on the digital scanner.

Continue reading Fujifilm Neopan Acros Black and White Film,

TT Artisan Lightmeter

My Nikon FM2 film camera has no meter, for the battery connection is broken and I can’t find anyone willing to fix it. “It’s too old, – it’s not worth it…’ etc etc. But I bought this great camera back in 1987, and it’s been like an old friend. I can’t just throw it away. I’d tried using it with a Sekonic analogue meter attached, but the numbers are too small now, for me to see them!

But there may be a solution, the TT ARTISAN LIGHTMETER.

Continue reading TT Artisan Lightmeter

Join the Brownies!

Another in my occasional series featuring cameras in my rather eclectic collection. Here’s my Brownies! (For those of a more recent generation, – Brownies are NOT a crumbly dark confection!)

The earliest Brownies were made by Eastman Kodak in the first years of the 20th century, and production continued right up to the 1950s. My maternal grandfather, the late Bob Kirk owned one of these in the 1960s, and I can well remember family caravan holidays in Millisle, and lots of photos being captured with the ‘Box Brownie.’

Continue reading Join the Brownies!

Ballylaggan Church

Ballylaggan Reformed Presbyterian Church lies close to Agivey in the district of Aghadowey, on Curran Road, the road between Kilrea and Coleraine.

I often pass this church on the journey from Randalstown to Portrush, and I’ve often wanted to make a photograph of it. Its austere architecture denotes its Covenanter / Presbyterian heritage and its rural location gives it an attractive surround. But we’re always in a hurry, and I’ve never had time to stop…

Continue reading Ballylaggan Church

Feehogue Terrace, Randalstown

In September, 2023 I visited the Belfast Book Fair, held this year in Methodist College (Methody) at Stranmillis. There was little in interest this year, by way of books, (mostly Irish history etc), but there were a couple of dealers selling antique postcards, and I spent quite a time trawling through them – with no intention of buying, of course, (some of these antique postcards can be rather expensive), despite the enthusiastic sales techniques of one of the vendors, who mistook my prolonged browsing for a potential sale. I was looking for photographic inspiration! Actually, I was sorry I hadn’t taken a notebook and pen! 

Continue reading Feehogue Terrace, Randalstown