Hi
I said last week that I would report after seeing the results from
a roll of film exposed largely with my new toy.
The results clearly told me that I have a lot to learn but I got
useful pictures which I would not have got with a shorter focal length. In
particular, my current expertise in fast focussing at relatively low light
levels (exposures 1/30-1/125s at 200 ASA) is really inadequate for
photographing lively small birds like blue tits, while a lunar eclipse was
also challenging for me.
Most of my pictures were taking from within the house through
windows, sometimes open, sometimes closed, and I was surprised that the
results of resting the camera + lens against a window frame are often at
least as good as when I used a tripod. In particular, I suspect that I
learned the hard way that pressing on the shutter release by hand (or using
'B' ) instead of using a cable remote, or the timer, is not always a good
idea when the tripod is standing on carpet. I got a picture of the almost
eclipsed moon showing the deep red colour but it looked like a double
exposure (grrh).
Someone on this group once said that the technical perfection part
of photography was the easiest part - maybe, but some of us would like to
consistently achieve that stage!
One consolation is that the eclipse photographs clearly confused
the automatic printers in the processing lab that the local chemist uses -
the photographs exposed using spot/manual with my OM2SP have been printed
as a very bright moon on a pitch black background and I will have to see if
a more professional lab can produce prints which reveal some of the surface
detail that was clearly visible to the naked eye when I took the
pictures. However, I did get a clear record of the eclipse with images of
the moon which are 21mm diameter on 6inch by 4inch prints without any
enlargement.
Lots more to learn by practice and from the gurus on the list (I
have already bought faster film)!
Brian
PS: On pressing send Eudora told me that the above was liable to offend
readers. I don't see why. Let me know if you do.
UK
brian.gray@xxxxxxxxxxx
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