Nature Reserve Bokeh

[Ian]

Popped back down to the nature reserve to get some inspiration for the current round of the CS photography competition and also to practice getting things right in camera as much as possible. So.. a lot of bokeh, but I've mixed a few more in for good measure. C&C welcome!
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Being watched from on high:

Thanks,
Ian
​

 

[The Boosh!]

A W E S O M E skills Ian!

Wish i knew how to take bokeh shots FFS

 

[Andy.]

Lovely shots. What lens were you using?

 

[clairemae]

This one is my favortire out of the set. Nice work Ian. :approve:

 

[Hixle]

Nice shots Ian, very sharp

 

[Paul.]

amazing

 

[Ian]

Thanks everyone.

Wish i knew how to take bokeh shots FFS

Which lens(es) do you have bud? If you have a 'kit' lens it should still be able to produce a bit of bokeh in the right conditions. I'd try stopping it down to the widest aperture and then make sure you're close to the subject with a decent amount of space to the background. Or if the Nikon costs the same as the Canon, then the 50mm is only ~£80 I think, cheaper secondhand.

What lens were you using?

Just the 50mm f/1.8 II / nifty fifty for most of them. One or two with the 70-200mm f/4L.

 

[Beef-Mc]

Nice.

 

[Nik.g]

Freaking Amazing mate. Love it! Where was this btw Ian?

 

[The Boosh!]

Ian can you link me to a 50mm lense for a nikon as i dunno wtf to look for with lenses

 

[clairemae]

Ian can you link me to a 50mm lense for a nikon as i dunno wtf to look for with lenses

cheapest you can get is the 50mm f/1.8 look that one up well worth it for the money. i'm considering selling mine.

 

[Needster]

Wow, Ian. Those are amazing. Such a great eye you've got.

 

[Ian]

Thanks again everyone. :approve:

Freaking Amazing mate. Love it! Where was this btw Ian?

Cheers pal - it's a nature reserve local to me called the Millenium / Davyhulme Nature Reserve. It's basically a strip of land that they've added some walkways to alongside the Manchester Ship Canal (at least I think that's what it is! .. how bad is that!). Owned by a water company I believe. Map link here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&s...462082,-2.385707&spn=0.00649,0.01929&t=h&z=16

From the Locks at Irlam down to the carpark off Daresbury Avenue.

Ian can you link me to a 50mm lense for a nikon as i dunno wtf to look for with lenses

I'd check with Chris, Ben, Dan or someone first, but I think it will be this one:

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod132.html

Bit more than I thought it would be, but I'm sure you could pick it up cheaper.

 

[Gaz.]

It doesn't AF with the D40 or D60 though.

Lovely shots Ian.

 

[Ian]

It doesn't AF with the D40 or D60 though.

Lovely shots Ian.

Cheers Gaz.

Ah yeah, forgot about that. Although tbh, most - if not all - of the wide aperture shots here were taken using manual focus. The DoF is so shallow that I didn't trust AF to pick up the right point.

Forgot to say as well, I was within a fraction of a second of getting a kingfisher shot - it was perched on a chain hanging down from one of the jetties, but as I clicked it was gone. Gutted. :dapprove: Got a load of seagull shots instead lol.

 

[BenWall]

quality shots Ian! Looking up at the tree leaves one is awesome.

 

[Feirny]

Absolutely amazing, you've got a brilliant eye for it mate, I'm quite jealous.

 

[Ian]

quality shots Ian! Looking up at the tree leaves one is awesome.

Cheers Ben! You spotted what's hiding up there amongst the leaves? Would lighten it a bit to make it more obvious, but the noise levels are a touch high.

Absolutely amazing, you've got a brilliant eye for it mate, I'm quite jealous.

Cheers dude. It's funny, I've spent the last few weeks looking at other people's photos and thinking the same thing. With the exception of a few (1, 10, 12, 13, 15), this set is a one trick pony really - nifty fifty - wipe open lol.

 

[Riad]

Wowww! Impressive ian!

 

[Tigger]

Excellent shots - ideas run wild with the camera and have served you well

 

[Paul_G]

Lovely set Ian.

 

[Revels]

Talent. You has it.

 

[Ribena]

Fantastic bit of work here Ian, favourite is 14...has a very pro look to it. :approve:

 

[Ian]

Thanks Riad, Tigger, Paul, Dan, Nick.

If anyone wants long exposures on the cheap, as with #13 (180 seconds), then have a look here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180400787417

Comes to about £2 posted lol, works well though. #13 Was my first try with it.