tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35421706564980211432024-03-13T03:45:23.515+00:00Joshua Bull - The First 10,000 Photographs"The first 10,000 photographs are your worst." - Henri Cartier-Bresson.Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-16627413541446621642015-01-03T12:59:00.000+00:002015-01-03T13:01:28.842+00:00Scenes from Oxford - Christchurch College and Port Meadow<br />
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Happy New Year! I'm actually kicking it off to a good start by doing a blog post, so with any luck I'll manage to have a good year of photography both in terms of taking pictures and - the harder part - getting round to putting some of them online. Wish me luck.<br />
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Anyway, both of today's offerings are from just before Christmas, at the end of what's quaintly known as Michelmas Term in Oxford circles. This first one is from <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?ll=51.755515,-1.239738&iwloc=000452cb47b9c5cf22baa&ie=UTF8&msa=0&spn=0.148553,0.334053&z=12&hl=en&mid=z0nFLiwzFNIc.kMtasNg61-94" target="_blank">Port Meadow</a>, a large flood plain to the northwest of the city. I went for a wander with some friends of mine one crisp Sunday afternoon just before I went home for Christmas, and managed this effort of one of the friendly Port Meadow horses.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bg_EzPJotNw/VJbDKMzJT_I/AAAAAAAAAO4/Tw-klPRiqxk/s1600/Peckwater%2BQuad%2BChristchurch%2BCollege%2Bat%2BSunset%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWtCh6mp_yY/VJbDKsr4t-I/AAAAAAAAAPA/9WERwWPABhc/s1600/Port%2BMeadow%2BHorse%2Bat%2BSunset%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWtCh6mp_yY/VJbDKsr4t-I/AAAAAAAAAPA/9WERwWPABhc/s1600/Port%2BMeadow%2BHorse%2Bat%2BSunset%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a> </div>
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This also gave me the chance to practice using my shiny new graduated filter to bring out a bit more of the sunset - the attempts without it just caused a lovely silhouette, which didn't exactly do justice to Dobbin. He's still a bit shady for my liking, but beggars can't be choosers. Good model though, knew exactly how to pose.</div>
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Keeping with the theme (which I've literally just decided can be summed up as Sunsets at Christmas, for reasons that will become apparent) is another sunset taken over Christmas. (Told you it'd be obvious.) I decided to be a bit touristy and take the opportunity of Oxford being empty of students to have a look round <a href="http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Christchurch College</a>, home of <a href="http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/visiting/harry-potter" target="_blank">some Harry Potter fellow</a>. As I made my way out past the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in Peckwater Quad, I decided that a panorama of the gorgeous sunset was definitely needed.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bg_EzPJotNw/VJbDKMzJT_I/AAAAAAAAAO4/Tw-klPRiqxk/s1600/Peckwater%2BQuad%2BChristchurch%2BCollege%2Bat%2BSunset%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bg_EzPJotNw/VJbDKMzJT_I/AAAAAAAAAO4/Tw-klPRiqxk/s1600/Peckwater%2BQuad%2BChristchurch%2BCollege%2Bat%2BSunset%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" height="220" width="640" /></a></div>
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The trick with stitching photos together to make a panorama is to take portrait photos rather than landscape ones. It takes a couple more pictures to get the whole width of the scene in, but you maximise the amount of height that the final picture can get - which enables you to get the quad and the sunset in the same final merged product. I'm quite pleased with this one.</div>
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Anyway, hope yo had a great Christmas. I'm working again from Monday, but with any luck more photos will emerge. I got a lovely new set of ND filters and a camera bag for Christmas, so I definitely want to get out there and capture Oxford in the snow!</div>
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Now all I need is the snow...</div>
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<a href="http://joshuabull.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/fountain-and-new-lens.html" target="_blank">A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I'd got hold of a "new" Helios 44-2 lens</a> and that sooner or later I'd put some "Swirly Bokeh" shots up. Well, I finally took the picture that I'd had in mind ever since I first saw the effect! This is my friend Emma:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gnVtbWgrW1U/VJbDKab4MoI/AAAAAAAAAOw/b3QDpAYCZDc/s1600/Emma%2Bin%2BOxford%2BUniversity%2BParks%2B-%2BSwirly%2BBokeh%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gnVtbWgrW1U/VJbDKab4MoI/AAAAAAAAAOw/b3QDpAYCZDc/s1600/Emma%2Bin%2BOxford%2BUniversity%2BParks%2B-%2BSwirly%2BBokeh%2B-%2BBy%2BJoshua%2BBull.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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Emma came to visit Oxford recently and I had a great time doing touristy things with her - and taking my new lens out with me! Emma was kind enough to put up with me taking photos of her in the middle of the <a href="http://www.parks.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Oxford University Parks,</a> and this was the result. Ever since I first saw the mysterious swirly bokeh effect I wanted to use it as a portrait photography technique, and I pretty much had this image in mind. By standing in the natural light in front of a shadowy corridor of trees, the background fades away into darkness at the edges and Emma gained a lovely halo effect - kind of like the massively <a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/overused-post-processing-effects/" target="_blank">overused vignetting effect</a> you often see on Instagram pictures, only without being added digitally afterwards. I love the way the autumn leaves pick up the swirl - and help focus your attention on Emma. Which may or may not be something Emma regrets. Thanks again Emma!<br />
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The next photo, from later the same day, I absolutely love. We decided that, being in Oxford and it being a gorgeous sunny autumn day, punting was the thing to try. So punt we did.<br />
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I call this one "How do you steer a punt?!"<br />
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My favourite thing about the composition - with the exception of Emma's amazingly perplexed expression - is the way that the pole splits the frame in two. The left two-thirds of the picture set the scene, leading the viewer through where we've come from and the gorgeous scenery we've just passed. In the right hand third we get Emma, standing on the punt and looking quizzically into the future...what's she seeing? Nobody knows.<br />
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Especially not me, I was facing the other way taking pictures and hoping I wasn't about to get a clip round the ear from an errant tree branch. Between the two of us, we took an excitingly jagged route down the Cherwell.<br />
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I was going to put a couple of pictures up from my brief end-of-term touristy trip round Christchurch college which I took yesterday, but I'm going to head out for a run while it's still daylight, so I figure they can wait for another day.<br />
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Until then, have fun! And Merry Christmas in advance.<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-79259355613128791532014-08-24T12:08:00.000+01:002014-08-24T12:08:09.856+01:00Fountain and new lens!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's a familiar story when it comes to me and this blog: I've been a bit swamped finishing my MSc thesis recently, so updates have been less regular than desired! Never fear though: seeing as I've been doing plenty of Fluid Dynamics this week, here's a watery composition for you:</div>
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I wasn't feeling up to a ride on those standy-board things that morning, so I made do with sitting on the shore with my tripod. Upside: I got to experiment with silhouettes!<br />
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Downside: I never did get a go on the standy-board thing. It looks fun.<br />
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This is at Elveden forest Centre Parcs taken this time last year -
I've unearthed it now as I thought it'd go well as a competition entry
this week. <br />
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Exciting camera news though: I've got myself a new lens (Helios 44-2) this week after reading <a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/creating-swirly-bokeh-with-the-helios-44-2-lens/" target="_blank">this article</a> on DPS - I took it out this morning and had a great time testing out the "swirly bokeh" effect. The verdict: this could be really, really nice...it cost me a grand total of £24 from Oxfam online, including an adaptor to get it to work with my 600D. Bargain!<br />
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Expect photos soon!<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-47920045255652929712014-07-27T11:13:00.001+01:002014-07-27T11:13:19.009+01:00Rome at NightI managed to find some time away from writing my thesis at the start of July to take a little holiday, so I found myself on a cheap flight out of Newcastle Airport at 6am on a Thursday morning to the wonderful city that is Rome.<br />
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There were 7 of us altogether, and full credit goes to everyone else for putting up with me pausing for photos every 30 seconds. Especially with the following shot, of the Piazza del Popolo on the Saturday night before we flew home:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWUr9OAGII0/U9TLc80c8HI/AAAAAAAAANQ/voqAafsvu8E/s1600/Road+to+Piazza+del+Popolo+at+Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BWUr9OAGII0/U9TLc80c8HI/AAAAAAAAANQ/voqAafsvu8E/s1600/Road+to+Piazza+del+Popolo+at+Night.jpg" height="640" width="426" /> </a></div>
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We only took hand luggage to keep the price down, so my tripod was left under my desk in Durham a few countries away...fortunately I had my little <a href="http://www.joby.com/gorillapod/slrzoom" target="_blank">GorillaPod</a> with me (it really is awesome) which gave me the chance to do some long exposure shots. Unfortunately the perfect position for what I had in mind here was in the middle of a road to the Piazza del Popolo which, despite it being 11 at night, was still pretty busy...<br />
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It took quite a few rounds of diving in to the middle of the road, quickly composing, exposing, and running away again before I finally got the photo that matched what I seeing in my head - and an oncoming car at just the right time provided the icing on the cake in the form of that sunburst at the base of the pillar!<br />
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When everyone else finally dragged me away from the side road - which was seemingly never-ending, at least while we walked up it - in to the square at the end of the road, we were not disappointed:<br />
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Despite it being late, this was clearly the cool place to be in Rome on a Saturday night - the square was filled with locals and the odd tourist, with people playing chilled out music and generally enjoying the gorgeous summer nights. I found a nearby bollard which brought my GorillaPod up to a decent height, and opened the shutter up as wide as I dared. This was a 25 second exposure, which really gave time for the detail in the hieroglyphs to come through and let the milling people become a lovely indistinct crowd.<br />
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Just one more before I go, because it's compulsory to take a picture of the Colosseum when you're in Rome. It was about a 2 minute walk from our Hostel, but I couldn't convince a car to come round and leave me some nice light trails at the right time! I did have some more success elsewhere with light trails - but that can wait until next time...<br />
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Watch this space for more from the wonderful city of Rome next week...<br />
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Ta, <br />
JoshJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-15459041219353428772014-07-20T14:54:00.000+01:002014-07-20T14:55:27.136+01:00Sea FeverIn my neverending and futile quest to share my backlog of photos, I thought I'd take the opportunity to string together a theme for this week. So all three of today's photos have a slightly nautical theme going on. Unfortunately the identity of the third picture is Top Secret, so it's not here. (I've left my hard drive in Durham while I'm home for the weekend and the picture I want to share isn't on my laptop...typical! I'll add it in a later post.)<br />
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They're all from the last 12 months, But from different parts of the UK. First up, Tenby Harbour in Wales:<br />
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Tenby is somewhere I've been to quite frequently with my family; my Grandpa was born and raised there, and we've spent many (often rainy, but often gorgeous) summers there since I was young. Watching from the terrace of our holiday house, a break in the rain coincided perfectly with the return of this red boat and the vibrant rainbow overhead.</div>
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Unfortunately someone stuck a crane on the end of the harbour, which might well be a permanent fixture. You can't have everything.</div>
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I should also point out for the record: Tenby and South Wales are not permanently immersed in constant rain. Most of the time it's absolutely amazing, especially in the summer. Rain is not a prerequisite.</div>
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But, since we're in a week of heavy thunderstorms, let's have some more rain to finish off!</div>
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This is Sidmouth in Devon; by happy coincidence, my Grandpa's current home. It's an absolutely lovely town which is often bathed in glorious sunshine.<br />
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Honest.<br />
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During a little wander in the rain on the beach, this boat gave me a chance to take a picture of the seafront a little bit differently to how it's often seen. I regret to this day that I don't have a really wide angle lens that I could have used to get the same picture from the <i>other</i> side of that irritating little shrub. No matter where I moved, it was there. I think it might have been following me.<br />
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That's all for now; once I get back to my hard drive I'll start posting some more. Watch this space!<br />
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And you might even get to see the other sea picture if you're good. Now there's an incentive.<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-31574905432945295852014-07-14T15:41:00.000+01:002014-07-14T15:41:34.467+01:00Return of the Blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you may or may not know, I've had a busy couple of years since I last posted here. They sort of mysteriously petered out around the time I started my MSc up at Durham, which, I now know, coincided with a tumour growing on my pituitary gland getting big enough to start having an impact on my memory! Don't worry, I'm absolutely fine - but it did make it a bit difficult to do anything. Including keeping up with blogging.</div>
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When they started treatment last summer, I decided to experiment with having a proper website. It was nice, but expensive, and the year is now up - and with it, I'm letting my subscription go. Which means that I'm back here! Hooray!</div>
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I'll start posting here regularly again now - hopefully at least weekly, but it does depend on timings. I'm starting a PhD at Oxford University in October, so it's likely that periods of free time will be few and far between. But never fear, I'll do my best to keep up!</div>
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In the meantime, I've got some fun images which haven't really made it to public consumption. So here's two of my favourites from about this time last year.</div>
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The image at the top of this post is my current home, <a href="http://www.ustinovgcr.com/" target="_blank">Ustinov College</a>. I've been living here for nearly two years now, and it's a fantastic and unique community. Not to mention in an absolutely gorgeous part of the world on the outskirts of Durham. I took this photo last September when I moved back in after a summer at home. It's one of my personal favourite images of Durham, mainly because I felt so happy to be back!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fw1RKal_fMY/U8Pmd1AJrLI/AAAAAAAAALw/cwVnXYsoYDw/s1600/Clouds+Over+Caldey+Island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fw1RKal_fMY/U8Pmd1AJrLI/AAAAAAAAALw/cwVnXYsoYDw/s1600/Clouds+Over+Caldey+Island.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is also from a place very dear to my heart, though for completely different reasons! It's a footpath on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldey_Island" target="_blank">Caldey Island</a> off the coast of Tenby, Wales. My family has very old roots in Tenby, and we find ourselves going back there again and again. Visiting Caldey Island is something that never changes - it must be 23 years or so since I first visited (OK, maybe 20 or so since I've been old enough to remember what's going on), and it seems just as I remember it the first time.<br />
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And it's gorgeous.<br />
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Anyhow, there's many more brand new photos waiting to make their way up here - why not put your email address into the box on the right and you'll get a message when I post them? Don't worry, it won't be anywhere near frequently enough to clog up your inbox, but it will mean you won't miss a post...and we wouldn't want that now that I've started again, would we?!<br />
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Thanks for sticking it through to the end,<br />
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JoshJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-68551870705771216342012-07-08T21:48:00.000+01:002012-07-08T21:48:45.246+01:00A Taste of the North... (part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I felt it in my fingers. I felt it in my toes.</div>
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The Lake District was all around us...and it was indeed Wet Wet Wet...</div>
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Well, welcome back to my Lake District recap. As you may remember, in <a href="http://joshuabull.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/taste-of-north-part-1.html" target="_blank">part one</a> of this epic photoshoot of almost holiday like proportions, we had some very nice weather for the first half of our stay. Very nice weather. Suspiciously nice weather.</div>
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The more astute among you may have predicted a slide into a torrential rain for the second half of our trip. Well done - you're quite right!</div>
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The plus side of torrential rain is that you can take photos like this, with lovely clouds lurking menacingly over the top of hills:</div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;">Corking stuff there taken from the Ullswater Steamers. I am definitely getting ahead of myself, because before we decided to spend our last morning safely ensconced in the floating bar of the Ullswater Steamers (The good ship "Raven", for anybody that happens to be interested), we thought we'd head back out in the hills for our final full day.</span><br />
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The hills, fortunately or unfortunately, looked like that. A beautiful sight for a photographer, a not so beautiful sight for a hillwalker. Who am I kidding, that stuff's AWESOME! Unfortunately the rain did have the ide effect of getting my lens very wet - I might put some failed photos up here soon to show just how blurry some of them got! Fortunately for me, my favourite setting came out reasonably unscathed - although there are significant rain blurs, they stayed out of the way of the important elements! Here it is, a little gateway on top of a big ridge:</div>
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Now that's my kind of photo! I had a version with a nicer composition (where you could properly see the path running along the ridge through the gate), but unfortunately it got rained on, so this was the best surviving copy - I'm still pretty pleased with it, especially the whole atmosphere...gloomy, wet, and windy, but most importantly isolated, mysterious and ... well, a picture speaks a thousand words and all that. But it was epic on that hill, so there.</div>
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Nearly done now, honest. But in honour of the fact that East Bergholt STILL has bunting up everywhere, despite the Jubilee being weeks ago, Eurovision being well over, Andy Murray being out of Wimbledon and England's abysmal Euro 2012 performance - here is a flag.</div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;">Don't you dare say I'm not patriotic. Ish.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;">Even more finally (honest), here's Ross and Thomas. I've been blithely typing "we" throughout this - except in the cases where I really meant "I" by "we", they and me were "we". Apologies to any English language students who have just collapsed. Anyway, first a damp Ross, and then an "artistically" blurred (read: water on the lens) shot of Thomas with a wonderfully Rossy foreground. Stunning.</span></div>
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Anyhow, thanks for sticking with me. Anybody reaching this far down the post is fully entitled to reward themselves and brag about it by posting a link to this page on Facebook. Who says I never give you anything?!<br />
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Proper finally - thanks to the aforementioned "we" (i.e - Ross and Thom - let's not get into that grammar malarky again!) for making it a great trip - let's do it again sometime, yeah? Great.<br />
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Ta ta for now,<br />
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J</div>Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-91895126571715166582012-07-03T21:31:00.000+01:002012-07-03T21:31:50.745+01:00A Taste of the North... (part 1)Me again, hello!<br />
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So, as you may or may not know, in October I'm going to become a temporary Northerner when I go to study at Durham University. In a desperate attempt to acclimatize myself to the incessant winds, constant blizzards and eternal twilight that comes with going further north than Birmingham, I thought I'd go to the Lake District for a few days with two of my friends, Ross and Thomas (Hi!).<br />
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Get that name dropping - not only do I have friends, I have more than 2 of them! Bet you're jealous now.<br />
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Anyhow, when we turned up the Lake District was, miraculous, not only sunny but HOT, SUNNY and even NICE WEATHER. I was pretty sure it was just a ruse. Anyhow, we used out first full day there to go for a brisk walk, up <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvellyn#Striding_Edge" target="_blank">Striding Edge</a> on a small hill called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvellyn" target="_blank">Hellvelyn</a>.<br />
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Yup. He looks about how I felt, standing at the start of Striding edge. It's very much an edge. Badly named though, because Striding is a bit hard. It's more...well, climbing really.<br />
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Ross and Thom there, taking centre stage.Thanks guys.What you can't see is the VERY steep, deep and ... fleep ... drop that they're looking down! Here's the ridge from a different angle...</div>
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Yup. Remind me not to do that on a windy day...</div>
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Anyway, here's the view from the top. With Ross trying to work out the name of EVERY peak within sight.</div>
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That's a nice looking tarn. Not very red, which is strange if you know that it's called "Red Tarn". Here's a barefoot man on a rock, waaaaay down below.<br />
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That's right - it's Ross and his friendly reflection. I should probably rotate it so that the horizon's straight, but I've already put the picture up now so I won't. You live and learn. Finally, for now, here's the way back down - we chose Swirral edge, a much less scary (but still steep) walk:</div>
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Very nice.</div>
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Anyhow, you may have noticed the GORGEOUS weather...suspiciously gorgeous. Ominously nice. Beautiful. SURELY there couldn't be any surprises on such a short gallivant*. Surely...</div>
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TO BE CONTINUED...</div>
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*Pretty sure this counts as a real word. </div>
<br />Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-9121891937609079652012-06-18T12:13:00.000+01:002012-06-18T12:13:43.081+01:00A brief Jubilee recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now that Jubilee fever appears to have passed safely, I can put up some photos from East Bergholt's bunting heavy diamond jubilee weekend celebrations! Although the first one is mercifully flag free: it's my mum with an umbrella!</div>
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Corking stuff. It was certainly raining enough.<br />
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Every year on the bank holiday Monday, East Bergholt hosts the annual pram race, in which teams of people dress in various outlandish costumes to run around the village in prams for charity. I love the countryside. Anyway, here's a line of bunting, and my mum again - this time on the wall outside my house, with added centurions.<br />
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Fortunately most of the bunting appears to have passed...there was DEFINITELY an excess of it though. In tribute to the bunt skills of the East Bergholt residents, here's another line of bunting, this time leading to the village sign itself. Don't say I never get you anything!<br />
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I think I might enter that one in the most hotly anticipated photographic competition of 2012: The East Bergholt Horticultural Society Photography competition. Literally several people are likely to enter, and this one passes for "an East Bergholt scene". It's certainly a representative amount of bunting.</div>
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Ta for now,</div>
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J</div>Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-26243090034253554442012-06-12T18:00:00.000+01:002012-06-12T18:00:06.175+01:00Sidmouth!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hello!</div>
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I'm in Sidmouth staying with my grandparents, for a very short holiday indeed. It is, however, a short holiday with a tripod - I did some tripoddy things (technical term): here they are.</div>
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Tripoddy thing number one (above) is something I'll try and replicate next time it rains...actually I didn't have a tripod for this one, which meant I had to use a much faster shutter speed than I'd liked. I would also have liked the people to be much closer to me on the prom, but unfortunately they were going the other way...what I do like is the reflected light from the lamps on the floor, which is why I couldn't replicate the shot the next day. Here's hoping for some rain! (**5 minute break while Josh hides from the Devonic lynch mob**)<br />
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That was from Sunday night when I first arrived here...I went back again on Monday to try and replicate it, and found not only that it wasn't dark but also that it wasn't wet. Shocking. But I had my tripod, so I thought I'd do some photos anyway, because that's the way I roll. Here's a landscape taken with a telephoto lens:<br />
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Not the most groundbreaking shot ever perhaps, but I think it has a certain charm to it. Something with much more potential is image number three below:<br />
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It's far from perfect, but you can see what I was trying to do with the first photo...combine these two and you'd have what I was going for. This time the couple are just where I wanted them - nice and prominent, heading blurrily down the prom. Unfortunately, it falls down on all the other fun points. Even though I took them at the same time, the rain clouds yesterday meant it was much darker - which meant the lights were on. As well as that, the floor in the first picture is soaking wet, which gives a lovely lot of fill light and some nice pools of light against the blacker background.<br />
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My aim is to come back another night this week and achieve that - I know what I want to do, I've just got to do it!<br />
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So let's hope for some rain...<br />
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<br />Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-56650439258390286222012-06-11T22:48:00.000+01:002012-06-11T22:48:12.709+01:00A Triumphant Return...?Hello you.<br />
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Guess what...blog's back! Bring out the champers!<br />
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And yes, that is my own champagne. Consider my student loan thoroughly blown (Big discounts at Sainsbury's - thanks to HM for having been married a long time the same weekend I had my final exam). Yes, after a long exam break, I'm announcing that I hadn't forgotten about this place at all! It may be a month since I last put any pictures up, but never fear - you can subject yourself to many more of my photos over the next few months! Altogether now, Three Cheers...!</div>
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I don't hear cheering. I'll let you off.</div>
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This time.</div>
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Anyway, seeing as my exams are gone now, you may have guessed that I've finished at Southampton University - awesome place, it must be said, and many thanks to the awesome people who awesomeised my time here. Awesomely. Ta very much.</div>
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Next year brings pastures new up north int' Durham...until then, lots of photo time awaits...get in. Meanwhile, here's a tribute to Southampton, and 60 years of having done something - I really should find out what all these posters dotted around are...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyQ3hUlK2SE/T9ZlVKUepyI/AAAAAAAAAHU/IAvIi6pP7Tw/s1600/103436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyQ3hUlK2SE/T9ZlVKUepyI/AAAAAAAAAHU/IAvIi6pP7Tw/s640/103436.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div>
Enjoy. More to come tomorrow from Sunny Sidmouth.<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-87270684232713034622012-05-01T21:56:00.000+01:002012-05-01T21:56:01.406+01:00"Wildlife" Photography<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In between finishing my dissertation and panicking about my Hilbert Spaces coursework, I took some photos! Whilst in Thetford Forest with assorted family, family friends, family friends families and so forth, I thought I'd get some nice shots of the local wildlife.</div>
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Firstly though, the lesser spotted "Liverpool Street Pigeon"...it took a fair while to get him to stand in the right place so that the tiled floor pulled your eyes into the picture, but there were enough chips lying around on the floor to use as bait.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GTdld8zOal8/T6BJt-T5bwI/AAAAAAAAAGo/rx5Hl6PCKr0/s1600/103146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GTdld8zOal8/T6BJt-T5bwI/AAAAAAAAAGo/rx5Hl6PCKr0/s640/103146.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And some more London dwellers: Portrait style. Although I still think it counts as wildlife photography...sorry Rach!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMLPlzK7DOw/T6BJu7jqr2I/AAAAAAAAAGw/Ka2FVNFUCxw/s1600/103160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMLPlzK7DOw/T6BJu7jqr2I/AAAAAAAAAGw/Ka2FVNFUCxw/s640/103160.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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One more for luck - this one works best with Madness singing "It Must Be Love" in the background...it's difficult to get a more soppy picture! I didn't do the soft-focus on purpose, it was just that somebody had decided it was a good idea to relocate the entire North Sea to Norfolk all at once. Wet is not the word.*<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6SxixHiMTM/T6BJwEDdRUI/AAAAAAAAAG0/cS1UwjE-k8c/s1600/103244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--6SxixHiMTM/T6BJwEDdRUI/AAAAAAAAAG0/cS1UwjE-k8c/s640/103244.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anyway, I did get some proper wildlife, but I'll save that until after the Hilbert Spaces deadline.<br />
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Ta ta for now,<br />
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J<br />
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*Wet is, in fact, the word.Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-60062598440077028262012-04-27T00:11:00.000+01:002012-04-27T00:11:02.886+01:00Spring has Sprung!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Evening all,</div>
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Just a quick one tonight - I've just submitted my dissertation, so some celebratory sheep are clearly in order. Also tulips - who says I never get you anything!</div>
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These are both from before I came back to uni last week - it's been so hectic I haven't been out with my camera. Never mind though, I'm off to Thetford Forest this weekend so will make sure I get some pretty pictures for you...whoever you may be!</div>
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Anyway, sheep:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PU3BiYa3EwA/T5nU_LzVjgI/AAAAAAAAAGU/6oetPJadF5I/s1600/102928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PU3BiYa3EwA/T5nU_LzVjgI/AAAAAAAAAGU/6oetPJadF5I/s640/102928.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Aw, isn't the little lamb lovely! As for the tulips in my front garden:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_XGeJtmipKI/T5nVAExEVsI/AAAAAAAAAGY/u-spw58pj_M/s1600/103068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_XGeJtmipKI/T5nVAExEVsI/AAAAAAAAAGY/u-spw58pj_M/s640/103068.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ta da! Anyway, I'm going to bed. Night!<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-31708120238363759272012-04-18T17:30:00.000+01:002012-04-18T17:30:00.953+01:00Lines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Everybody likes lines. Here's some partly imaginary lines with things at the end!</div>
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First up, a field.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--NhckyH66R0/T4s9TFJXpGI/AAAAAAAAAGM/qDPKdCzsuFc/s1600/103016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--NhckyH66R0/T4s9TFJXpGI/AAAAAAAAAGM/qDPKdCzsuFc/s640/103016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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OK, there's nothing especially interesting going on here, I just liked the repeating pattern of the furrows. They do give the picture a real sense of depth though, as your gaze is drawn from the front of the image <i>into</i> it to the houses in the distance. If there's a vanishing point, it's on roughly the top right third where the lines seem to be leading - I was trying to get more of a glint from the car parked there, but as it is there's just a highlighted spot. On the other hand, the next photo has a lot more going for it, photographically speaking...</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H5HrdN_L_u8/T4s7gmbAzhI/AAAAAAAAAF8/LsomGphZYoE/s1600/102685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H5HrdN_L_u8/T4s7gmbAzhI/AAAAAAAAAF8/LsomGphZYoE/s640/102685.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Yes, it's a ladybird! And it's not just a ladybird, it's clearly a ladybird that's going places. When you first see this picture, you're drawn to the contrast of the red insect against green tree, and that's exactly where all the lines are leading. I took this as an attempt at seeing different ways of guiding where whoever's looking at the photo (that's you) looks. In addition to the contrast in colour, if you look at the out of focus area, you'll naturally be drawn back towards the sharp area on the top right third. The strongest line in the photo is that of the branch, and the eye follows it from bottom left upwards towards the ladybird...it gives a real sense that that's where it has come from, and that this is an insect on a journey. It's not quite Everest, but to the ladybird it could be something close...<br />
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Anyway, work time.<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-39272594062980056722012-04-15T22:16:00.000+01:002012-04-15T22:17:06.843+01:00Some Unusual Cropping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Evening.</div>
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The more observant of you might have noticed that most of the pictures I post are in the same aspect ratio, and those of you with rulers and way too much time on your hands might know that it's 2:3. That's the ratio my camera takes photos in, and I tend to not stray too far from this. Here's a bit of an experiment - a few birds in some funny aspect ratios.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sYVU8kK5Xyk/T4s4eF4Ne0I/AAAAAAAAAF0/3hl-VxtYaZM/s1600/101475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sYVU8kK5Xyk/T4s4eF4Ne0I/AAAAAAAAAF0/3hl-VxtYaZM/s640/101475.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This photo looks almost as though it's 4 shots of the same bird at different points in flight. Unfortunately I'm not that clever - it's just that there were A LOT of birds about at the time. I have no idea of this particular aspect ratio - I just chose it because it fit the birds in.<br />
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Finally, one of the girls - I'm never short of an omelette when I'm home in Bergholt for a holiday. This one had a bit too much white garage on the right hand side for my liking, so I changed to a 4x5 crop. Partly because it worked, and partly just because it's a nice combination of numbers that I've wanted to try for a while.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNxiDK_bVqg/T4s3cPam7WI/AAAAAAAAAFs/QXSwQW5PSew/s1600/103028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNxiDK_bVqg/T4s3cPam7WI/AAAAAAAAAFs/QXSwQW5PSew/s640/103028.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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There won't be many posts over the next few weeks - too much work and revision to be doing for a while, so I probably won't be out with my camera much. I'll write a few now though, and then stick them on a timer. Ta ta,<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-22682515022728026562012-04-04T11:38:00.000+01:002012-04-04T11:38:43.532+01:00A Very Desaturated RecapSo, following yesterday's horsing around one of my friends suggested trying the second, very mediocre, horsey picture in black and white as a high contrast thing. I don't want to give away names, so I'll call him "Mr. Wood". No, that's too obvious. "Callum", that's better. Well I thought I'd give it a go and here's the result:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c3pkcct_Zy4/T3wg2YB6D-I/AAAAAAAAAFc/ybZzXS1K7nc/s1600/102398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c3pkcct_Zy4/T3wg2YB6D-I/AAAAAAAAAFc/ybZzXS1K7nc/s640/102398.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you missed the first attempt, you can see it <a href="http://joshuabull.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/one-for-horse-lovers.html">here</a> (hopefully.)</div>
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It's still not amazing, but I think it works better than yesterday. Obviously the main difference is the colouring, but to be honest that bright grass only pulled the eye away from the horse. Now it stands out boldly against the darker trees, but the cloudy sky has gone from overcast to white. Nice. Thanks "Callum"!</div>
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I thought this might be a good opportunity to go back and look at some other mediocre shots to see what I could do if I blackandwhiteised them. Yes, that is a word.</div>
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First, <a href="http://joshuabull.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/trains.html">this shot</a> from the New Forest back in march. This DEFINITELY works better in black and white - I'd kept it in colour before because of the movement captured in the red flash, but actually if anything the train looks even faster in B/W, probably because the door and windows are all less defined.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kMLplluIxE/T3wg0HxVjFI/AAAAAAAAAFU/Xzrr0rHG2Ls/s1600/102357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kMLplluIxE/T3wg0HxVjFI/AAAAAAAAAFU/Xzrr0rHG2Ls/s640/102357.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Finally, the rubbish <a href="http://joshuabull.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/misty.html">boy next to a lake on a misty day</a>. I tried this one in black and white at the time, but wasn't a big fan because of the way his jumper contrasted with everything else. This time, rather than going for full black and white I figured I'd try just desaturating everything apart from the red. It definitely brings out the contrast a bit more, but I left a hint of colour still which you can in his skin tone and in the grass. The heavy mist stops the trees on the other side of the lake looking coloured, as they were fairly desaturated anyway. So still not a stunning image, but better than before I think.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dicMMffYXFQ/T3wgyHW-avI/AAAAAAAAAFM/bZo2FPWG3ZQ/s1600/102185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dicMMffYXFQ/T3wgyHW-avI/AAAAAAAAAFM/bZo2FPWG3ZQ/s640/102185.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
Anyway, now I should really do some dissertation. More photos soon - feel free to stick your email address in the box on the right hand side if you fancy getting a wonderful automated email after the morning after I've posted something. There are worse things to wake up to, honest! It's near the top on the right somewhere, if memory serves.<br />
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Right, work.<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-24483270472417065772012-04-03T22:25:00.000+01:002012-04-03T22:25:13.977+01:00One for the horse lovers...Laptop is back in action, so more photos again today. It's a compare and contrast - one corking photo of a horse (makes a good desktop background, by the way) and one incredibly mediocre one.<br />
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First off, the cracking horse (in Suffolk, of course!):<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-56scIPu5VZo/T3tpDsA22CI/AAAAAAAAAFE/yHAP7ARZA68/s1600/102856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-56scIPu5VZo/T3tpDsA22CI/AAAAAAAAAFE/yHAP7ARZA68/s640/102856.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm liking that one...different to the standard "horse in the middle of a field, placed in the bottom third, edge of the field running along a third, horse miles away in the distance" type photo you often get. Probably in the New Forest.</div>
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Oh.</div>
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Well, it's OK. But nowhere near as much spark as the first one. Frankly, the horse looks bored. I don't blame him. He's probably seen the photo.<br />
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Anyway, now that Laptop is alive, there will be more photos to come soon...spoiler alert: probably not horses.<br />
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Have a great Easter,<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-84447139336643155382012-03-30T10:46:00.005+01:002012-03-30T10:46:51.601+01:00Don't Panic!Don't Panic! My laptop may have stopped working. Slightly. Just a bit. Well, totally.<br />
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So no new photos until at least next week when I can get a good look at it...maybe one that I find lying about on my hard drive if you're (un)lucky. Sorry!<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-12416050398590829252012-03-25T21:23:00.000+01:002012-03-25T21:23:42.038+01:00East Bergholt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
More countryside shots of East Bergholt today - got to love that rural feeling. Here's the Donkey Track again:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YLlLaYakOQw/T298DK9XwgI/AAAAAAAAAEs/0fOzzrMg6Lk/s1600/102467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YLlLaYakOQw/T298DK9XwgI/AAAAAAAAAEs/0fOzzrMg6Lk/s640/102467.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Gorgeous evening sunlight could make a cracking shot out of pretty much anything, and Constable Country is pretty picturesque anyway to be honest.<i> </i>I like the way the trees look red, almost autumnal. Definitely summer today though - my flip flops prove it. Anyway, here's some primroses:</div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bJgJ9-rjJWU/T298E1kDRoI/AAAAAAAAAE0/yo13CnuoR4s/s1600/102653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bJgJ9-rjJWU/T298E1kDRoI/AAAAAAAAAE0/yo13CnuoR4s/s640/102653.jpg" width="640" /></a>Now you know it's the countryside - look, trees in the background! Wild flowers! The singing of the birds in the trees! Small woodland creatures singing songs and holding hands in the undergrowth!<br />
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OK, one of them may have been made up. Not telling which.<br />
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I had a few goes with different apertures to experiment with how focused I wanted the trees in the background to be - at first they were too blurry and there was no context whatsoever. I like to think I found the pleasant middle ground.<br />
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I'll take some more exciting photos soon, I promise - I'll take loads of photos when I go on holiday somewhere exotic...which may be a while. It may have to be East Bergholt again - maybe some portraits, or a photo of an escaped puma...<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-75461555982584130322012-03-22T12:06:00.000+00:002012-03-22T12:06:20.291+00:00Bright Colours! Must be Suffolk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
What's that you say?! A picture which isn't a dismal train under overcast skies?! Well, it can only mean I'm back in Sunny Suffolk, surely!</div>
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That's right. For those of you haven't guessed from all the bits about Suffolk in the previous paragraph/title, I'm back in East Bergholt - and where there's East Bergholt, there's sun! Sometimes. OK, quite rarely. Anyway, here's some flowers:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TWJJP4l6L_U/T2sTMesCiQI/AAAAAAAAAEc/9mWhjkAvJAg/s1600/102419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TWJJP4l6L_U/T2sTMesCiQI/AAAAAAAAAEc/9mWhjkAvJAg/s640/102419.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
These are the flowers my Nana got for Mothers' day - I took this photo on Monday. Unfortunately, that afternoon she was admitted to hospital with a suspected minor heart attack - don't worry, she seems better than ever now, although they are keeping her in for observation until after the weekend. So the photo of these flowers doubles up as a tribute - get well soon Nan!<br />
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I also wanted to show you this shot of THE donkey track, iconic East Bergholt icon since ever. I am still yet to see a donkey on it though. It took me sodding ages to get the starburst effect coming off the sun, so I hope you appreciate it!<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0MmUcG08flQ/T2sTPFugdrI/AAAAAAAAAEk/fOruqgNHqXs/s1600/102572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0MmUcG08flQ/T2sTPFugdrI/AAAAAAAAAEk/fOruqgNHqXs/s640/102572.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
That one was taken yesterday afternoon, and I've got a few more from the same shoot that I'll upload in the next few days. Until then, I need to go and write about why Husserl is wrong. Which I should be doing now. Can I count this as part of my essay?<br />
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No? OK then. In that case bye for now,<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-900885086893107262012-03-18T15:30:00.000+00:002012-03-18T15:31:04.432+00:00Trains<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I went to the New Forest on Friday, partly in the hope of getting some stunning pictures and partly in the hope of getting a stunning pub lunch. At least one of these things happened...</div>
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If anybody wants to know a brilliant food pub in Brockenhurst, do let me know.</div>
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Unfortunately this isn't a blog dedicated to the amazing Ringwood beer-batter, so you get to see some patchy shots of a train instead. Sorry! </div>
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I was trying to do clever things with perspective, especially with converging lines. There weren't an awful lot of bright colours about as it was a dull, overcast day, which sort of knocks out my default photographic position - which is basically to get pictures of brightly coloured things. I had a fair amount of success from the various paths snaking through the forest before we came to a bridge over the mainline from Bournemouth to London. Fortunately, in the ten minutes or so that we were sat reading a map at this bridge there were at least five trains, two of which you can see now:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0XW8PBS1le8/T2X8S-8m7gI/AAAAAAAAAEI/y7nTsaXqet0/s1600/102349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0XW8PBS1le8/T2X8S-8m7gI/AAAAAAAAAEI/y7nTsaXqet0/s640/102349.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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This first picture has a real sense of movement about it - obviously any shutter speed slow enough to get a sharp picture on an overcast day like last Friday is guaranteed to give some motion blur on something as fast as a train. I like the way all the elements of the photo radiate out from the centre, but it still feels like a bit of cliche to me. My second attempt is probably very deep and meaningful:</div>
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This is clearly a statement about how the daily commute to London imprisons people, or how the rural delights of the New Forest are closed to those people who spend all day zapping between cities. Clearly. Well, no. Actually, there was just a barbed wire fence in the way and I figured rather than try and work round it, I'd just include it. Lines are lines are lines, and by aligning the train track with the wires I hoped I could get a bit more of a sense of movement...unfortunately (or fortunately, if you liked the whole commuters-don't-get-to-see-the-countryside angle) the barbed wire was a bit more prominent than I was hoping for.<br />
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Either way, it seems to have come out as an interesting image. Hopefully.<br />
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More New Forest exploits soon, unless I get some nice photos of Suffolk that take priority.<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-64833734101658907272012-03-12T08:30:00.000+00:002012-03-12T08:30:00.052+00:00More Suffolk Publicity ShotsOK, these are actually Essex, but taken in the general direction of Suffolk. It's the thought that counts.<br />
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These are the last photos I'm going to put up from my first weekend with my camera last October, at least for a while. New stuff coming soon, honest! At any rate, these shots are of the Stour Estuary at Manningtree in the early morning. Well, it was about 7.30, which is early for me! They're more about me testing the settings on my camera than about anything clever compositionally, but I think they've both got a certain charm to them.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g5O3FGZjNnw/T1ZH72vhsyI/AAAAAAAAAD4/E474dJyhOFI/s1600/100175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g5O3FGZjNnw/T1ZH72vhsyI/AAAAAAAAAD4/E474dJyhOFI/s640/100175.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OJRpFmZkB50/T1ZH94phQpI/AAAAAAAAAEA/boqfAxGyckE/s1600/100224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OJRpFmZkB50/T1ZH94phQpI/AAAAAAAAAEA/boqfAxGyckE/s640/100224.jpg" width="640" /></a>One day I'll go to this river and there will actually be a decent level of water in it...I've been assured that it does fill up, it just never seems to do so when I'm there!<br />
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See you soon,<br />
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J<br />
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<br />Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-24193332873513652762012-03-10T08:30:00.000+00:002012-03-10T08:30:00.515+00:00A Close Knit GroupOK, I know. No bad puns as blog titles. I'll try and remember in future, although I'm definitely not making any guarantees...<br />
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Being as we're a mere nine months away from Christmas, here's something to get you in the mood. I don't really think of this a Christmas picture anyway, which is my excuse for putting it up here. I just like all the contrasts - soft and solid, old and new, austere and playful. Where there's a contrast, there's a photo.</div>
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At any rate, it always makes me smile. And if that's not a good reason to take a photo then I don't know what is.</div>
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J</div>Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-2457810400417043462012-03-08T19:26:00.000+00:002012-03-08T19:26:00.087+00:00A Brief Stroll in the Country, part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is another photo from that same shoot when I first road tested my camera. I like the subtle flash of colour in the clouds, and the reflection in the lake. Minutes after I took this the sky lit up with a gorgeous sunset, but this shot's nicer - no whopping great tree branches in the way, for a start.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-An_JEjmzH2o/T1ZEKHpSsZI/AAAAAAAAADw/lTmN7Y9k6hs/s1600/100171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-An_JEjmzH2o/T1ZEKHpSsZI/AAAAAAAAADw/lTmN7Y9k6hs/s640/100171.jpg" width="640" /></a>Basically, Suffolk is awesome. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.</div>
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P.S - This post is in no way sponsored by the Suffolk tourist board. Although if they're out there, I'm more than open to offers...</div>Joshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3542170656498021143.post-15330175455821381082012-03-07T19:30:00.000+00:002012-03-07T19:30:02.805+00:00A Brief Stroll in the Country, part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I figured that we needed some colour after those dull, misty, things last weekend, so here's Sunny Suffolk! These were taken last autumn on the first weekend that I got my DSLR - they mainly work because I was in the right place at the right time for the light! Beautiful countryside though.<br />
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More to come later - thought I'd heighten the suspense with the old shots while I go and take some more photos...<br />
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JJoshua Bullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07217638636443274603noreply@blogger.com0