I emailed the others and used the name Charter Photographic Society.  James’s name for it?  Charter Ring of Amateur Photographers…  The consensus was that we could start with some lunchtime meets and, once the days got longer, arrange for either morning or evening shoots.

For our first trip out we popped down the road to the local graveyard.  Wandering around I found I was looking for shapes and/or patterns whilst James and Stephen said they were both looking for detail/macro shots. 

After a few shots I put the nifty fifty on in order to try and achieve really narrow depths of field.  This seems to be something I’m very keen on.  Not entirely sure why; possibly just “because I can”!  In the shot below, I’ve actually focused a couple of gravestones in, hoping to get blurred ones before and after.  Hasn’t really worked, has it?!

When reviewing the above pic on the camera I could see that the DOF wasn’t nearly as “strong” as I hoped given that I’d shot it at f/1.8.  I mentioned it to Stephen and he very helpfully explained how the distance you are from the object you’re focusing on affects the DOF.  He then told me to get physically close to a gravestone and focus on the first letter of the word.  And bingo!

You’ll have noticed that I’ve converted two of the above photos to black and white.  I found that it vastly improved the pictures, turning something fairly dull and ordinary into something a little more interesting.  Plus it seems to match the subject quite well.  The picture below is my DOF experimental picture straight from camera.  

All in all it was a great way to spend a lunchtime whilst working so in honour of that I’ll finish with my fave of the set. 

There are a few more pics (and larger versions of the above) in the gallery.

Pretty much as soon as I decided I would enter I came up with an idea for the composition. Rather than shoot the fork as a whole I wanted to focus on the tines and have the rest blur out behind. As I don’t have a macro lens I had to rely on my geniusness (AKA recently gained knowledge). The longer the focal length, the shorter the depth of field. So I set the fork up on one side of the room, the tripod on the other, took a few test shots to make sure the idea worked, and it did. I then began a cycle of taking some pictures, checking them on the computer and changing an element of the composition or exposure. It was this that I found to be surprisingly enjoyable.

So, Neil, thank you. I don’t know that I’m finding forks any more interesting, but I have discovered that still life photography can be fun!

I enjoyed taking part because not only did it give me a nudge to try something different with a familiar subject, but it has the added bonus of seeing other people’s pictures and their “take” on it.

Neil’s next project however… Iron Chef Photography – it’s currently got me completely stumped and I’m not sure whether I’ll take part. I’ve already committed to entering the Photo Excellence Awards competition and that’s using up what little creativity I have! But… I did like the whole “taking part” aspect, so what the heck, I’ll see what I can come up with!

I’m in at the deep end though, as the first month’s subject is food I’ve always maintained I have zero levels of creativity so this could be interesting

The big question is, does anyone fancy joining me in this? Dad? Scott? Stephen? Be brave!

As I prostrated myself I remembered a project I’d seen on Neil Creek’s blog: Project – The View From Below and decided to see if I could capture a suitable image. I lay on the up-slope of a slight undulation and tried to “arrange” for the hounds to come over the top in front of me. Honestly, I don’t think the resulting shot is a model of obedience, more sheer good fortune! But I’ll accept that.

The larger version can be seen here.

And yes, I have read the Terms of Entry!