The Diary Of An Amateur Photographer
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 31st, 2010 in Equipment.
As I’ve just put my Panasonic Lumix LX3 up for sale on eBay, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at some of the photos that I’ve taken with it over the last 18 months.
And here is the beast itself … the Panasonic Lumix LX3.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 31st, 2010 in Cardiff, Glamorganshire Canal, Modern, Photos, Shoot.
Seen in the alleyway beside the Atrium in Cardiff.
Copyright (c) 2010 Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all).
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If you’re reading this in the RSS feed, my original blog post also includes a Google map showing where this photo was taken. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the map to appear yet in the RSS feed, so for now you’ll have to click through to my blog if you want to see the map. Sorry.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 30th, 2010 in News.
Sometime on Friday, my Flickr account passed an amazing milestone: 250,000 views of my photos, sets, collections, and my photostream as a whole. In the scheme of things, I don’t know how 250,000 views compares to others on Flickr, but it’s certainly an achievement I never thought I’d reach when I posted my very first photo.
Here is that first photo (one of my favourites, I have to admit), uploaded on 30th June 2006, taken with my Nikon D100 on Machrie Moor, Arran, Scotland.
And one month short of four years later, here’s the last photo uploaded before the 250,000 views milestone was reached. It’s also one of my favourites, taken with my Nikon D300s at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
I was never considered artistic in school, and I’m sure that if you’d told any of my teachers that one day I’d produce photos viewed by many thousands of people (these 250,000 views can’t all be my Dad), they would have laughed you out of the building. It certainly gives me the confidence to keep clicking away.
So “thank you” to all of my readers. I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at my photos to date as much as I’ve enjoyed taking them.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 29th, 2010 in Photos, Shoot.
Last weekend, with the promise of blue skies and late-spring sunshine, Kristi and I headed down to Cornwall to make our first return trip to the Eden Project. A lot has changed since our original visit – Kristi has gone Canon and I’ve revamped all of my Nikon gear – and we were both eager to enjoy explore some of the parts of the Eden Project that we hadn’t seen last time.
We had expected packed roads on the way there and back, and heaving crowds at Eden; it was a delicious surprise to run into neither. It made for a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and for some unexpected photography opportunities. In particular, I would never have expected to have been able to take a shot of the WEEE Man sculpture plus his surrounds just before noon with not a person in view (although if you look closely, you’ll see a few folks in the Mediterranean Biodome behind him).
We practically had the place to ourselves after 4pm, which led to an amusing chat when I worriedly went up to one of the Eden staff wondering whether or not the place had actually closed and I’d not noticed! Apparently, everyone prefers to go to the beach on sunny days, so there you have it: if you want to explore the Eden Project with your camera, pick the sunniest day going.
If you’ve never been to the Eden Project, do go. It’s a unique blend of art, science, education, incredible engineering and culture, and the result is something very special indeed. You don’t have to be interested in plants – I’m not – to be utterly captivated by the place.
And did I mention that it’s a great place to explore with your camera? 🙂
… and here, as a bonus, are my photos from my first visit to the Eden Project, all the way back in 2007!
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 29th, 2010 in Photos, Shoot.
Last weekend, with the promise of blue skies and late-spring sunshine, Kristi and I headed down to Cornwall to make our first return trip to the Eden Project. A lot has changed since our original visit – Kristi has gone Canon and I’ve revamped all of my Nikon gear – and we were both eager to enjoy explore some of the parts of the Eden Project that we hadn’t seen last time.
We had expected packed roads on the way there and back, and heaving crowds at Eden; it was a delicious surprise to run into neither. It made for a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and for some unexpected photography opportunities. In particular, I would never have expected to have been able to take a shot of the WEEE Man sculpture plus his surrounds just before noon with not a person in view (although if you look closely, you’ll see a few folks in the Mediterranean Biodome behind him).
We practically had the place to ourselves after 4pm, which led to an amusing chat when I worriedly went up to one of the Eden staff wondering whether or not the place had actually closed and I’d not noticed! Apparently, everyone prefers to go to the beach on sunny days, so there you have it: if you want to explore the Eden Project with your camera, pick the sunniest day going.
If you’ve never been to the Eden Project, do go. It’s a unique blend of art, science, education, incredible engineering and culture, and the result is something very special indeed. You don’t have to be interested in plants – I’m not – to be utterly captivated by the place.
And did I mention that it’s a great place to explore with your camera? 🙂
… and here, as a bonus, are my photos from my first visit to the Eden Project, all the way back in 2007!
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 28th, 2010 in Desktop Wallpaper.
Download the full-size picture to use as your desktop wallpaper.
It’s almost the bank holiday weekend, yay! British weather for these weekends is traditionally disappointing, so just in case last weekend’s weather turns out to be a fluke, I’m bringing this week’s Eden Project theme to a close with this uplifting photo of the flowers that sit outside The Core’s entrance.
I hope you enjoyed my desktop wallpaper choices this week. If you’d like to see more photos from the Eden Project, you can find the photos from our first visit back in 2007 in the Eden Project set on Flickr … and tomorrow I’ll publish all of the best photos from last weekend’s return visit on my photography blog.
Have a great weekend, and I’ll be back on Tuesday to share my desktop wallpaper choices with you.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 27th, 2010 in Desktop Wallpaper.
Download the full-size picture to use as your desktop wallpaper.
My desktop wallpaper today is this beautifully detailed macro shot of one of the flowers in the Mediterranean Biodome at the Eden Project, taken during this weekend’s visit. More tomorrow!
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 26th, 2010 in A470 Trunk Road, Cardiff, Historical, Modern, Photos, Shoot.
The Vulcan Hotel has to be the most famous pub in all of Cardiff. Built in 1853, it is one of the oldest pubs in Cardiff, but for several years now has been under threat of closure because it is standing in the way of planned developments in what is becoming prime real estate in Cardiff.
With the current landlady leaving at the end of May, 2010, and (at the time of writing) no news about her successor, fans of this old-fashioned pub are very worried that the pub will finally close for the last time. If it does, the Welsh National History Museum out at St Fagans has previously offered to move this pub to their site.
I, for one, hope that the pub does stay open. A walk through Cardiff today is, imho, a walk through a total planning mess. Too many flats standing empty, and lots of modern buildings that don’t fit style-wise either with each other or their older neighbours. I think it would be nice for the planners (for once!) to see a bit of sense, and do something to preserve what little is left of old Cardiff before it is all lost forever.
Copyright (c) 2010 Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all).
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If you’re reading this in the RSS feed, my original blog post also includes a Google map showing where this photo was taken. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the map to appear yet in the RSS feed, so for now you’ll have to click through to my blog if you want to see the map. Sorry.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 26th, 2010 in Desktop Wallpaper.
Download the full-size picture to use as your desktop wallpaper.
My choice of desktop wallpaper today is another shot from this weekend’s visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall. It’s a fantastic place to visit, even for someone like me who has no real interests in plants and flowers! It’s hard to describe, really – it has such a fantastic atmosphere and vibe.
More from my Eden Project visit tomorrow!
Posted by Stuart Herbert on May 25th, 2010 in Desktop Wallpaper.
Download the full-size picture to use as your desktop wallpaper.
My choice of desktop wallpaper today is another shot from this weekend’s visit to the world-famous (and deservedly so) Eden Project in Cornwall. I’ve no idea what this particular plant is, but you’ll find it right outside the Link Building. I love all the little hairs on the leaf, caught by the sunlight.
More from the Eden Project tomorrow!
