March Of Rememberance

I was doing a little bit of window shopping in our local branch of London Camera Exchange at lunchtime, as they have quite a good selection of secondhand lenses, and I'm always on the lookout for something for my OMD. But nothing today.

Turning round, I saw a large bunch of people at the top of the street, so I went to investigate. They headed towards me and I could see that some were caring a big banner with a serious message.

20 years ago a million people were murdered in Rwanda, one of the countries in central Africa. The genocide took place against the Tutsi, one of the tribes that make up the population.

I had not read or heard anything about the parade, so I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, unfortunately not with the right lens on my camera, as I had decided to put my 20mm prime lens on, rather than my usual 12mm - 50mm lens. So the photo isn't as good as it could have been.

There are websites around that could tell you more about the history of Rwanda and the genocide that happened. I remember it being on the news, but I don't think I took that much notice, which I think was the same for the rest of the world.

Striking A Pose

A day off work today as I had a hospital appointment this morning for a chest X-ray. Nothing seriously wrong you'll be pleased to know, it's just that I've had a cough for several months now, and Gail ordered me to see the doctor, just to find out what was causing it.

I didn't have to wait long to be seen and was soon on my way back home. As the hospital isn't too far away, I cycled there, and so as it was sunny I decided to have a ride through Highfields for a spot of photography with my OMD.

I took some of the boating lake, sunshine through trees etc. Then I saw two squirrels playing with each other in the shade. So I thought that I would see if I could get a shot of them. As I approached, they stopped running about and looked at me. One then ran away, while the other actually headed towards me. He then climbed up the tree near me and sat down on a stump and posed for me. Anyone would think he wanted to be photographed!

He must have been there for about ten seconds before scampering off into the distance. I took several photos on my OMD. Wish I had had the 75mm lens, as I could have got a bit of a closer shot, but I am quite happy with this picture, and still can't get over the fact that sat there for so long without being frightened.

It Just Clicked

As Gail and I are still off work, we decided to return to the NEC in Birmingham for the last day of Focus on Imaging; the annual photography trade show, where you could see and try all the latest cameras, lenses and other photographical gadgets.

We thought we would sit in on a few of the seminars, talks and demonstrations today, instead of trying not to spend any money.

Firstly we listened to professional photographer Damian Lovegrove who demonstrated some lighting techniques and what difference just moving a light a little bit can make.

We then went to see another 'top tog' called Stuart Wood, who has shot a lot of TV personalities for magazine covers. He gave a very inspirational talk about his photos and how he achieved them. He is well known for only taking a couple of minutes to shoot a star, which is sometimes all the time he is allowed.

We of course had to look in on the Olympus stand, as we both have an OMD. We noticed that they had some different lenses to try out. So of course we had to test them. I took this one of the OMD promotions girl with a 75mm f1.8.  The lighting conditions weren't perfect, but it was a lovely lens to use. So much so, that we just had to order one.

Goodies, And More Goodies

Gail and I popped over to the NEC in Birmingham for the annual photographic extravaganza that is Focus on Imaging.

This is the third year that we have been. Last year my brother from Australia came with us, as he was over here on holiday at the time, so he was fortunate with the timing, as he enjoys photography himself.

As we are mainly using our Olympus OMD's at the moment, I had a couple of lenses on my shopping list that I wanted to try out.

The first was the Sigma 30mm f2.8. I am after a general purpose everyday lens, and this one just about matches the 'nifty fifty' prime lens that every photographer should own. And a bargain too at £95.

The other is a bit more exotic and fun; the Samyang 7.5mm f3.5 fish eye.  I was keen to try it, as another photographer that I am in contact with on Facebook, and is also an OMD user, has one and has been putting up some very nice examples of what it can do without the photos looking too silly.

There was a Samyang stand at the show, where you could try the lenses out. So of course I popped the one made for Micro Four Thirds cameras and gave it a quick go. As you can see it gives a slightly distorted view of the world.

I was quite impressed with it, so decided to spend my birthday money on one. So you can expect to see some weird and wonderful views of Nottingham in the near future.