DeeCeeiuk

Doncaster Pride

On the 6th of August Doncaster had a gay pride day with a march from the city center to a nearby park, I set myself up at the park entrance by the war memorial to try and get some thought-provoking images as the march walked by.

Canon 5D MK4

Been out with my forgotten Canon 5D MK4 around Doncaster with my friend Martin, the reason for this is I am doing some images for the stock agencies and it’s easier, as it has a 24/105 lens attached so I can get close-ups without moving.

Not very well.

As I was saying in the last blog I have not been feeling good, lack energy, and my walking getting worse, I have been to a specialist and been checked over, and he has said I have the start of Parkinson’s, so that’s a bit of a shock.

Doncaster Station.

Last week Martin and I had a few hours taking images on the Station, Martin used my Leica Q, and I used the Q2Mono. I took some good images for my project about the Station.

Latest images

Health.

Not been very well lately, just waiting for a brain scan, as my left side is weaker than my right, and it’s a real struggle to stand up after being sat down! Also no motivation at all! Only been out a few times with the cameras, as I tend to sit watching YouTube videos about photography, but don’t have any energy to go out and do real photography.

My walking is getting worse, I need to stop every 100 yards or so for a rest so not very enjoyable.

Apart from that, I am fine!

Projects.

My station project is not going to plan as I am just struggling to walk from the car park to the station, then walking around the station to get different images I’m finding very hard.

Sigma Lens.

I bought a radio scanner to listen to the planes that come and go from Robin Hood airport that’s about 5 miles away, my thinking is I will have drives out to different airports, and some RAF stations, and take some images of the planes when I’m there, I am also thinking of buying a long lens as the longest I have now is 200mm, so the Sigma 150/600mm looks good, but second hand there about £800 to a £1000 so not cheap just for me sometimes going to the airports. Is it worth it?

Latest images.

Leica.

I have the Q and very enjoyable it is to use, and I like Black&White photography, “I used to go under the name Monopics as most of the work I did was black & white” so I have only gone and bought the Q2 Monochrom. Just now getting out to use them! As I write this it’s raining and dark

Woodhorn Colliery, North East

Was worth a visit, Martin and me went to see the Mik Critchlow exhibition, black & white prints from the coalfields in the North East in the 70s, and it was fantastic.

We also had a walk around and took a few images I used the Q2 Mono, I need to practice with both Leica’s to get the best out of them.

Latest images

New monitor

My new 14in M1 MacBook Pro is great, now need a monitor for it, I have gone for a BenQ 27in photography one at £650 so relatively cheap as photo monitors go, what I have read about it it’s meant to be good.

Got it all set up in about one hour, then played with the settings, now happy with it. It looks good on my desk, and the screen itself is great the colours on it are brilliant.

The car

The Merc is fantastic it drives nice, just need an update on the radio and it will be perfect.

Leica Q

What a great camera it’s small light and the images from it are fantastic. I am glad I got the Q and not splashed out £4500 on the Q2 as the Q is perfect for what I do. At the moment!

Canon 5D mk4

I have not used it as much as I would have liked as I missed 2 weeks because I was laid up with a pulled muscle in my lower back so could not go out plus the weather has not been that good.

Went out on February 1st and only used the mk4 I had it set up basically like my old mk2 with back button focus but after using the Leica Q with focus on half-press of the shutter button, I must admit I struggled with it, so when I came home I reset everything on the camera, now just need to go out and retest it.

The latest images are here.

2022.

I have now sold my dad’s old place and been paid out, so that bit of my life is over. The family had a good Christmas and I am looking forward to 2022 which makes a change normally I hate the future and tend to look at my past but this year is all forward.

Leica Q

I have dreamed of owning a Leica since I started photography using film and I have one! A Leica Q I picked it up off eBay for a good price. What bit of time I have had with it I think I will enjoy using it.

New car.

I am going to have to stop going on eBay as I found one of my dream cars at the right price it’s an old car in the scheme of things a 2009 Mercedes Benz A 160 in black with 81 thousand miles on the clock and it drives and looks superb.

Street photography.

Been out around Doncaster with the Leica Q on a very cold sunny 5th of January, I managed to take 107 images with the new camera, and really enjoyed myself I took a lot from the belly and did not use the viewfinder.

The latest images are here.

Not doing a lot.

The weather has not been that good over the past few weeks so not a lot accomplished no walking or taking images! Just being lazy (So not good) December is here so what has it got to offer? On 02/12/21 I went to Retford to do some street photography I managed to take over 100 images but had to stop as the cold got to my fingers and I could not operate the camera.

You can see some of the images in “Latest images”

Dreaming.

I had a dream the other night, that I bought a Leica Q2, and it took me a week or two to get used to it. When I did I was getting some good images so I put some of them on the Leica Fotografie international website and had 2 selected for the Leica Master Shots “which is nice” Then the Leica store in Manchester had one of my images printed and put on the wall in the shop. Then I woke up! But it was one of the better dreams I have had.

Amazon Prime

I have been a prime member for about a year and a half and not bothered with the free photo storage in the cloud, so for the last few days I have been uploading my 2019 images, I have found that it likes the Canon raw CR2 files and DNG but does not like the XMP sidecar file for CR2 so I have been in Lightroom converting my raw files to DNG, and it seems to be working.

Other news

Well, nothing much has happened, to be honest, been walking a bit, but not as much as I should. Been out with Martin a few times this month for the autumn colours by a canal, and some street photography in Doncaster.

I have put 3 images from the Doncaster trip on Flickr, one has gone mad and it’s only a shot of some high chairs with some nice light on them, Martin saw it first, and I liked the look of them, he shot in colour and I shot in B & W and cropped it square, with over 3,000 views and 80 odd faves, but a big mistake by me, I did not put a link to this site with it. So a missed opportunity!

Link to chair image on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/deeceei/51635845155/in/dateposted-public/

Things I have forgot.

I had a print excepted in D31 art gallery in Doncaster, last month that was nice, up on the wall for all to see for a few weeks, just need to do more.

Stock/Website

I have sold 7 images on stock over the last 2 months and made a fantastic amount! Let’s buy a Leica! $2.56. And I have about 10 or so images to put through Lightroom, and make them look good, then caption and keyword to put on stock, so you are looking at about 10 minuets per image! Is it worth it? It’s like this website and blog, I only get about 4 or 5 visits a week, it should be 40 to 50 per week to make it worth it? But I know I would have to have an interesting life and share it to get a good following. But I enjoy doing them both and at the moment I have plenty of time.

Leica, WSBK.

I have been thinking of buying a Leica Q2 M when I get the money from my dad’s property sale, also I have been thinking of going to do World Superbikes over the next few years before I get to old! But I did not get what I was told I would from the sale, so it looks like only doing 2 or 3 rounds a year. So it looks like Assen, and Magny Cours.

Last thing. My dad’s property sale fell through, so it’s on sale again. Just hope it sells before winter hits.

October

I hope to get out more ( I know I say it every month! ) But this month I will!! Good news I have sold my Dad’s place, I didn’t get as much as I had hoped, now just waiting for the contracts to be done.

WordPress

I am going to be using a WordPress site linked to my main site for the blog, as Photoshelter don’t have a blog set up, and they say use WordPress.

Just have to learn/remember how it works to set one up! If you are reading this hopefully it’s on the new site.

Projects

I need a new project but what! I did enjoy going to RAF Waddington to watch the planes, so aircraft might be one, also I enjoy doing street photography, but need to get close to people and ask permission to take there portrait,

August.

Did not go to plan, the weather was not very good also I could not find the motivation to find anywhere to drive to most of the time. I did three shoots that I managed to get some images from, one a Dawn shoot at Hatfield Main that was enjoyable even at 5am, the next two were at an old world war two Hangar on what was RAF Finningley now Robin Hood Airport, the first was on a sunny day and I was just driving a round looking for something interesting and found the Hangars the one I shot is being used on the Airport but you can get to it with out going on site. It looked really good so I went back a few days later at dusk and shot it as it was getting dark.

Grimsby.

On the 2nd of September I did my print talk with Martin to help, Fluke and Flaw in front of real live people! At Grimsby camera club that I enjoyed when I got started, but was very nervous all day leading up to it.

September.

What have I got planed! Well nothing! We will just have to see what happens I know I need to get out and exercise more, and try and be more motivated.

I have been out I went to RAF Waddington to see some planes, only saw 3 and one was a large drone.