PPC Photonews - The Lockdown Diaries Vol 5

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members

The Lockdown Diaries - Vol 5

2

Lockdown Diaries - Volume 5 Welcome to volume 5 in the series of extra Photonews editions to commemorate what PPC members have been doing in Lockdown.

In the previous issue I used a picture of Harry relaxing in the pool and when Zac saw it he wanted to know why I hadn’t used the one with him in. So here it is Zac! Like the previous image it was taken with a cheap action camera, similar to the one Zac is wearing here, Zac’s cost me £13 in a oneday special on 7dayshop (other retailers are availabe) but these were shot with a £39.99 offering from a certain auction site that I’ve spent too much time on recently.

This edition features regular contributor Geoff Leah and also a Richard Walliker double-bill, so grab a cup of your favourite time-appropriate drink, pull up a chair and enjoy some time with Geoff, Richard, a macro lens and a Rolleflex!

Finally, these specials are only made possible by the support of members so as always my grateful thanks to all those who’ve allowed us a peek inside their Lockdown World. There’s another 80-plus members out there however so surely a few more of you have been making photographs during Lockdown?

I have templates ready for the next issue … they just need some content … yours?

All the best - stay safe!

Dave Whenham Editor email: davewhenham@aol.com

ON THE COVER: Orange Tip”

Page 4: Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear - Richard Walliker Page 16: The Sevenoaks Loupe - Geoff Leah Page 18: Time to go Back - Richard Wallker

“Female

A crop from the original, which can be seen on page 4.

3

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

Macro, or close-up photography, is something I’ve meddled with for many years, but I found the dSLR/macro lens and latterly the mirrorless combinations just too heavy, certainly for macro and I didn’t want the restriction of a tripod or monopod.

Macro and general handheld photography has become more restrictive as my shoulders begin to surrender to osteoarthritis.

However, all was not lost!

Until recently, I’d been using my Fuji X-T3 with the exorbitantly expensive 80mm macro lens priced at over £1100 and weighing in at 750g and it was certainly too heavy, although the results were stunning.

Late 2019 and due to camera weight considerations, I changed my wildlife kit to Panasonic micro four thirds and a suitable wildlife lens. Then I found the Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro lens and macrophotography became achievable because of the sheer lightness of the lens weighing in at mere 185g! Even better is the access to distance control aspects on the lens itself and not having to dive into menu functions. So, how would a lens costing 75% and weighing 80% less perform?

Our local camera shop, where I bought the lens, offer macro tuition courses but due to lockdown these had to be moved online. A two hour video with a few others gave me an important opportunity to get to grips with the subject. Our guide Paul used a dandelion clock, an LED light and a bunch of flowers as a background.

Female Orange Tip Fuji X-T3 + Fuji XF-80mm f2.8 macro 1/125@f8 ISO 500

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

4

Richard Walliker

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

5

Richard Walliker

Above: Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/100 @f11 – ISO 320 Opposite page: Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/100 @f11 – ISO 320

With all the new information I started to experiment. I used the dandelion exercise as a starting point. One important aspect was that I used a desktop tripod which enabled me to use the setup hands free. It took me a while to get the composition, focus and lighting correct, but as I had learned focus peeking during the seminar this was employed too. After many attempts I arrived at this first result (above).

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

6

Richard Walliker

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

7

Richard Walliker

I felt that the first image (see page 6) lacked punch, so I moved the LED to backlight the rear of the image whilst keeping the exposure the same. This pepped up the colours and the result is an image I thought was more artistic (previous page).

With my appetite whetted, I decided I would try handheld nature macro and close up photography.

Nature macro.

As I’ve known for a long time this was a whole different experience. On a leaf in the garden I found a tiny bug, I had no idea what it was, only that it stayed still! Setting the lens to the 0.19-0.4m setting and manual focus, I moved the lens until the focus peaking was established. I used f5.6 to give a reasonable DOF. I was pleased with the result, see above..

The bug, which I discovered is a Juvenile Robber Fly (Asilidae) and only 10mm in length, moved into an upright position and once again stayed still.

One problem I discovered was that the file size is extremely small as this is a considerable crop. I guess the only way is to attempt to get closer.

I bought myself some extension tubes and experimented with the Kenko 10 and 20mm extension set. I found using these exceedingly difficult and decided I’m not quite advanced enough to use these yet. Since these initial images, my garden has lacked any significant small subjects and although we have plenty of Flowers, Bees and Hoverflies seem to be our only visitors.

I am hoping when our wildflowers have grown this will give me more subject matter. However, it is a start and I will certainly be experimenting further.

Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/250 @f5.6 – ISO 200

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

8

Richard Walliker

Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

9

Richard Walliker

Blue-tailed Damselfly (male - immature) Rufescens Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/800@f4 – ISO 200

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

10

Richard Walliker

Blue Tailed Damselfly (female – immature) Rufescens Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/800@f4 – ISO 200

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

11

Richard Walliker

1:1 Flower Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/100@f7.1 – ISO 320

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

12

Richard Walliker

Variegated Sea Campion (Silene uniflora) Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/800@f4.5 – ISO 200

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

13

Richard Walliker

Bee on Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra variegata) Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/800@f3.5 – ISO 200 Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

14

Richard Walliker

Large Skipper - Ochlodes (1to1) Panasonic G9 + Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro – 1/320@f7.1 – ISO 640

Messing about with lightweight Macro and Close up photography gear.

15

Richard Walliker

The Sevenoaks Loupe When I was a little more photographically active, I was interested in close-up work, whilst more recently, I decided to have a go at video (it was called Super 8mm. last time I tried).

With both genres I was troubled with reflections in the rear camera screen (I also use Live View for close-ups, so the viewfinder became redundant). There are a variety of loupes that cover the camera's screen and solve the problem, but Hoodman etc. are a ridiculous price.

Searching through eBay one day I found the Sevenoak. It seemed to be ideal, so Father Christmas brought me one last year.

It is very well made, lightweight, and screws into the camera's tripod mounting hole (the Sevenoak provides another tripod mounting hole for regular use). It is fully adjustable to fit most DSLRs, and no horrible adhesive is used.

A large focussing glass optical assembly provides a slight magnification of the whole camera screen without cutting off any corners. A big super-soft silicone rubber eyepiece excludes extraneous light, and can be used even by specs wearers. The body of the unit hinges up, giving full access to the rear screen for cleaning etc.

The Sevenoaks Loupe

16

Geoff Leah

The Sevenoaks Loupe Once the unit is adjusted to the individual camera, it can, if required, be removed as a whole by simply undoing the screw from the tripod mounting hole.

I've checked on eBay, and cheaper versions of the Sevenoak are available from as little as ÂŁ25 whilst the Sevenoak sells for around ÂŁ45.

I hope this might solve a problem for some of our readers, especially for those who might struggle with vision problems. I found it to be very useful.

Cheers

Geoff.

Whilst Geoff bought his loupe on eBay it is also available from various other retailers and there are also a couple of variants of this loupe too for different purposes.

The Sevenoaks Loupe

17

Geoff Leah

Time to go back!

I was sitting in my office admiring my collection of Rolleiflex cameras, a 2.8f, one of the very last “T” versions and a Rolleicord db. Trying to remember when it was I last loaded a roll of 120 and actually used them. It’s a fact too, that until 2013 I’d never used a MF camera let alone a TLR. The reality is that it was February 2018 on a “Street” photography jaunt to London using Kodak Tri X 400. I remember because that was the last time I developed a film. So, I decided this is a good time to use the Rollei’s again. I selected the “T” from a weight point of view and hightailed down to our 13th Century Church.

It was a glorious late spring day with just a hint of high cloud and I didn’t even bother to take a light meter, but chose to use the “Sunny 16” rule instead and bracketed a stop lower. I didn’t even take a tripod either!

Goodness, how out of practice I am as I tried to compose the reversed viewfinder image and straighten the horizontals and verticals! I carefully rattled off 12 frames of Fuji Acros 100 and rather than bother with the home development malarkey, I despatched them off the AG Photographic.

The developed film returned a week later and I was delighted that most were well exposed, apart from one where it appears to be fogged. Perhaps the film roll was slightly loose. So, these are the scanned negatives and the only post processing was what would have been done in the wet darkroom, dust spots and a little light dodging and burning.

Time to go back!

18

Richard Walliker

Time to go back!

St Mary’s Church, Rhuddlan

19

Richard Walliker

A Parish Church is mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086. St Mary’s Church, Rhuddlan is located on the riverbank of Afon (River) Clwyd was originally founded in 1301. A second aisle was built in possibly the 15th Century along the West Tower. There were reconstructions in 1812 and, by the renowned architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, in 1868 and 1870.

Time to go back!

20

Richard Walliker

Time to go back!

The Afon Clwyd from the Churchyard

21

Richard Walliker

It was a pleasant way to spend an hour and learn some more about the Church too. Of course, taking the Rollei was a delight and next time I’ll take the 2.8f and perhaps photograph our 16th Century Castle across the road from the Church.

The question is will I regularly take film in the future?

I think I will, but digital seems to be the best medium for me especially now. I guess this makes me a philistine to some, but nevertheless it’s good to escape for a while and take time to use an analogue camera and have to consider the value the cost of every frame.

Above: The Memorial to John Lunt – Sculptor Right: The one that failed! This was the last frame and appears to be fogged.

Facing page: The west graveyard.

Time to go back!

22

Richard Walliker

Time to go back!

23

Richard Walliker

To view more of our images, learn about the club and for membership information, please visit postalphotoclub.org.uk

Photonews Celebrating the Postal Photographic Club and its Members

Photonews is published four times per year.

All rights reserved. All materials copyright The Postal Photographic Club and/or their respective authors. Any opinion or statement expressed by the author of any article published in this magazine does not necessarily reflect the views of The Postal Photographic Club, the editor or its members.