The main reason for something like this is the fact that I haven’t really consciously taken many personal picture in the past few years, and I really miss that. Finding the time is still a concern, which is why it’s looking like this is now turning into an iPhone project. I did have lofty ideas of taking ‘proper’ pictures (and who knows, I might surprise one day!), but after discovering the Photo 365 app, which sends my daily pictures straight to my 365 set on Flickr, it all just got so much easier. Besides, I always have my phone on me, so this way the probability of me completing this year’s project goes up pretty drastically.

I know these are not great art, and that’s not the point. The point is taking pictures just for the fun of it, for myself, not for a client. And who knows, maybe one or two iPhone masterpieces will sneak in at some stage. :D

I can’t quite believe January is already complete!

What I enjoyed most about the day was getting ready for the do with the lovely Emma.

Cameras used: Holga, an Ikoflex TLR (operations of which the eBay seller described as ‘esoteric’, and he wasn’t far off!), Polaroid Spirit and of course my iPhone.

Enjoy!

I must admit that when I received the Canon Powershot S90 for my trial, I was initially a little bit disappointed that it wasn’t, say the 1Ds MkIII, and kind of cursed myself for saying that I’d be happy to trial compacts as well. But funnily enough, within 5 minutes of playing with the S90 on Christmas Eve when I (quite fittingly!) received it, I did a complete 180 and was absolutely blown over.

As it happens, only a little while back I purchased the Powershot G11. I really wanted a near enough compact sized camera, which I could carry around in my pocket and take to music gigs etc, which would have full manual control and the capability to shoot raw. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t really know that there were other options out there than the G11 (and the previous models) for what I wanted, so I didn’t really even look around for anything else. Well as it happens, the S90 has exactly the same sensor as the G11, only everything is packed into a smaller body (nearly as small as my Ixus), and the lens is faster at f2 compared to f2.8 on the G11. The question I’m asking myself now is: how did I not even know this camera existed?

Obviously being smaller in size, there are less controls on top of the S90 than the G11 (and lets be honest, it’s these controls that are like a siren call to us photographers looking for a compact). But all that is forgotten once you discover the two click-stopped direct control rings on the S90, one of which is at the base of the lens and is SO very satisfying to use – from setting the aperture to any other functions you might want to assign to it. Now, after having used the S90, I feel a little bit at loss with the G11 without the nice ring around the lens, what a silly thing to omit from that particular camera.

There is really no difference in the quality that these two cameras produce. I like to shoot wide open where ever I can, and both of these cameras allow for me to do that, but the faster lens on the S90 does make a huge difference to me. It also means that it doesn’t really matter that much that the ISO range isn’t as wide as on the G11. The only ‘negative’ on the S90 I can think of is the shorter zoom at 3.8x as opposed to 5x on the G11.

Unfortunately I don’t have very many ‘proper’ samples of photos from the S90, as for some reason the battery charger was omitted from my box – and the battery didn’t fit any of my other gazillion canon battery chargers. I did have the camera with me in Finland, and the battery lasted approximately 2 minutes outside in -16C. (So it’s safe to say the camera/battery is not really the best option for ‘extreme’ conditions).

I did manage to snap a few pictures on New Year’s Eve though. The picture below was taken nearly at midnight. It was pitch black, apart from the street lights, but the S90 didn’t really have a problem. These sort of conditions also show what a difference the ability to shoot raw on a compact makes.

In conclusion, and I REALLY hate to say this, I would recommend the sleek S90 over the bulky G11 any day (not to say that the G11 isn’t a GREAT camera – it is, I just prefer the same greatness in a smaller package). If you are looking for a properly compact sized compact camera, with full manual control and raw ability, this camera is pretty perfect. I really wish I would have known about it before I bought the G11, and am now secretly kind of hoping I could exchange the G11 for the S90… :D

Autumn was pretty much all about the engagement shoots!

Starting with Anna & Chris…

… Erin & Ben…

… Sam & Adam…

… Katie & Sam…

… Fiona & Peter…

… Erika & Jon…

… Simona & Dan…

From early December it was back to weddings, starting with Emily & John.

And last weekend I did a family shoot with the Bennetts.

There’s still one wedding to go until I wrap up 2009. My calendar for next year is looking crazy to say the least, which is a good, if slightly daunting, thing. There are so many lovely weddings ahead though that I can hardly wait to get stuck in!

Yes, yes, will do something about the Cornwall pictures at some point when I have a minute… :P

Recently I was invited to attend a round table discussion with Canon UK, which was organised by Canoncamerabuzz. It was an opportunity for me and a few other professional photographers to see the whole lineup of Canon’s DSLRs (including the brand new 1D MrkIV, which started shipping this week) in the same room, and hear about some of the processes behind developing new bodies and lenses.

I didn’t really have any expectations for the evening, apart from getting to fiddle with the 1Ds MrkIII (which was very satisfying indeed – I still definitely cavort over it more than the new 1D MrkIV). What I came away with was a clearer understanding behind Canon’s decisions for their line-up and who the average end user actually is (i.e. not me). As professionals, we tend to have a bit of a skewed perspective on what the next camera models should do and what kind of features they should, or shouldn’t, possess. Add to that the fact that for someone like me, coming from a film background, it’s hard to get my head around the fact that the majority of dSLR consumers these days have never even used film, which was kind of clarified to me when I was questioning why the 1D MrkIV isn’t full frame. As it goes, the market for full frame isn’t as big as I would have though. For me, it’s the only sensible thing to do but, as product specialist Mark Burnhill from Canon UK explained, the majority of dSLR users are of an age that have always shot with a crop sensor, and that’s what they find ‘normal’. To me, that seems completely perplexing! When I started my move to digital, via an EOS 350D and 20D, I felt restricted, not only in what I saw through the viewfinder, but in the fact that I couldn’t use my lenses to their full effect. So when I finally got my hands on the 5D, and subsequently the 5D MkII which I now use, it literally felt like I could breathe normally again. Until I now heard Mark rationalise the issue for me, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why someone wouldn’t want a full frame camera.

The other interesting fact was how infinitely bigger the market is for the lower end models, the pro end of the line is practically a drop in the ocean when it comes to Canon’s dSLR sales. Obviously that is going to have an affect on what the development efforts will be concentrated on. Interesting no? Perhaps this has always been obvious to everyone else, but I’ve never really even considered all of this when scratching my head about why there are so many crop sensor models, and a dizzying amount of different lower-end models with only marginal differences, about. A shocked shiver went through the room when Mark asked us what we thought of the possibility of coloured dSLR bodies, apparently that’s the latest demand from the Japanese market. Uh huh. Give me a pink Ixus to slip into my pocket any time, but please leave that sort of gimmicks out of the ‘proper’ cameras I say!

After all these ‘revelations’, my position hasn’t really changed. Ever since I started using SLR’s in the early 90′s Canon has, and always will be, the manufacturer for me, and in my opinion their lenses are head and shoulders above the rest. And the fact that even after looking at the realities of ‘where the real money is’, they keep on developing new and exciting pro gear for us to play with is a testament to Canon’s dedication to quality picture-making.

How was that for sounding like a real Canon fan girl (which of course I am)? :D

I know, I know, I need to blog about what’s been happening on the house-hunting front, about Cornwall and all the other stuff that I haven’t had time to blog aboout. Soon, I promise. Well, perhaps not a firm promise, but at least a promise to attempt!

I am pretty amazed and happy about what I have managed to accomplish in just a year, and how quickly I seem to have established my business. I have a healthy amount of weddings booked for next year, and currently get more inquiries than I am able to accommodate. People keep telling me how ‘lucky’ I’ve been, getting my business established and actually making some sort of profit so quickly (I did make a pretty big loss in the first financial year, mind). I do believe you make your own luck though, by trusting your gut feeling and your abilities, being honest about who you are, and by working bloody hard. Luck alone gets nothing done unless you put the hours in.

At the moment I find myself in a bit of a slump. I think it’s because I’ve just realised that the summer just whizzed by without me even noticing. We’ve also started looking around for somewhere to buy, which is demoralising to say the least. Prices are astronomical, and no amount of working or saving seems to get us anywhere closer to a deposit for anything decent. I’ve just moved from searching for two bedroom sh*tholes onto searching for one bedroom sh*tholes. Cheery. I miss our flat in Finland.

I guess there’s nothing else to do than to keep your head down and plough on, and hold on to the faith that it will all be worth it in the end.

And since it’s become a bit of a routine, here are a few images from last month.

Magali & Jeff got married.

Had a blast shooting Sophie & Henry‘s engagement photos.

I made a bit of a departure by doing a jewellery shoot for Melanie Eddy.

Trinh & Alastair got married.

Had an engagement session with Heather & Mark.

Took baby portraits of Jodie…

…and Alice.

Right, what has happened in the last month then. Well, S and I celebrated 10 years together (I say celebrated, we got chinese take away :P), which is another perplexing time vacuum conundrum in itself. I think the rest of the month will be explained via the images below. Very sorry to re-hash content from the other blog, but have no time to take other photos at the moment. Hopefully I will get to do some personal projects again in the winter months.

Eleni & David got married on my birthday. (Oh and someone asked me what I do with my t/s lens, so here’s one example.)

Baby Lucinda was born.

The first couple to ever officially book me (back what seems like a lifetime ago), Sarah & Dan, finally got married.

I did an engagement shoot with Ana & Alan for charity.

Carolyn & Marc had a kick-ass wedding at Leadenhall Market.

And finally, I got to return to The Garden Museum for Claire & Ben’s wedding.

Oh completely forgot to add Georgina & Mark‘s engagement session on the last day of August! :D

So that’s August pretty much wrapped up. It’s been hectic to say the least, but has also included some real high points of the summer. Tonight Sooz is dragging me to Westfield for a ‘mini makeover’ of some sort. Let’s see just how small they manage to make me (it was a bad joke the first time round and hasn’t really improved, sorry).