Wellcome Allotment : March 2014

Monday, 31 March 2014

A trip round my garden with a macro lens

I love macro photography I get to see detail that I wouldn`t otherwise notice with the naked eye, I have a lens that is dedicated to give a 1-1 or full size image at very close range, a few centimetres in most cases. The following is a small selection taken on a nice evening. The lichen and mosses are a fascinating subject by themselves

Picture are at their best viewed full screen

Selfheal. grows as a weed on my lawn border

Ceanothus flower

Pulmonaria (Lungwort)

Apair of daffodils

Rosemary flower

Lawn Daisy

Pieris forest flame

Anemone

Daffodil centre

Horizontal moss

Vertical moss

Moss

Lichen on the apple tree

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Nikon Coolpix 3200 3.2Mp in exchange for some flower seeds

Camera has gone and I have some seeds on the way

I obtained two of these for a few pounds a few years ago mainly to use on the allotment plot on the basis if they got wet or I dropped them it would hardly be a distaster, well neither event occurred so I am going to give one away, although working perfectly they have hardly any resale monetary value, sadly that is the nature of older digital cameras of today that then get put in a cupboard to retire. I believe Flighty still uses one of these cameras for his blog.
If the recipient would like to send me a few flower seeds they have harvested themselves eg; pot marigolds, limnanthes, sunflower, cornflower etc, for sowing on my new allotment plot I would consider that a fair exchange.
All that will be needed for the camera is a couple of AA batteries a small SD memory card at some stage (the camera does come with a small internal memory) that`s it. I will send it free P and P and it has a fitted case.
Tech. Info. The screen is not easy to read but it has a viewfinder and a good flash range the rest is easy.
In my opinion 3.2MP is ample for simple photos
The Panasonic Lumix camera shown is not part of the swap
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Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Canon Digital Zoom Lens or Panasonic FZ72 Bridge Camera?

I have been toying with the idea of buying a Panasonic FZ72 digital bridge camera, Sue Garrett from Our Plot on Green Lane Allotments has one and Mark Willis from Mark`s Veg Plot has just received one also. Sue`s pictures are particularly good and I look forward to seeing Mark`s
The idea of a pretty massive zoom lens appeals to me for wildlife photography my birthday is in May so maybe I should start hinting.

A decent sized zoom lens for a SLR digital camera will cost about the same as a complete Panasonic FZ72 bridge camera which is light enough to use as a walk around camera for general use saving the weight of a camera and seperate lenses.

I will consider the options after a review from Sue and Mark in the meantime I got out my old Canon 300mm zoom lens which has no image stabilisation so has been relegated to the back of the cupboard dusted it off put it on a Canon 20D body and took the following pictures with it. I had forgotten just what a good lens it is very sharp with good contrast and superbly built, like a tank compared to the modern plastic I.S. versions.

The drawback is that a really steady hand (or a tripod which I want to avoid) is needed at 300mm in poor light and that may be something to consider when making a decision.

All pictures taken at the maximum 300mm setting.
Footnote about the seagull picture. My first photo against the grey sky showed how filthy the sensor was on my old 20D showing up as black specks, a quick clean with a cotton bud and all was well.

Sunday, 23 March 2014

Quiet after the winter storms

Our coastline in Sussex has been affected by the severe winter storms along with many others thankfully we have not been flooded.

This used to be a sandy beach

Beachy head lighthouse I would not stand this close now a lot of cliff is crumbling away we have had 7 years of erosion in 2 months of the winter storms