Maclean Communications

Picture of the Week: The Eiffel Tower in Mono

2012-03-01T08:14:00.000Z

At the start of February I started a new job as the Media Delegate for the FIA World Endurance Championship which has meant travelling to France for meetings once a week. One of the benefits of this is I've had to opportunity to stay in Paris and see the sights at night. On the last trip I walked to and from my hotel past the Eiffel Tower and was able to capture some nice images of one of the world's iconic tourist attractions. Of course I tried to take something slightly different from the picture postcard view and here are my efforts in B&W.

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Ladybird Closeup

2012-02-27T11:09:00.002Z

The warm weather we've had in the UK recently has meant that some insects that would normally be dormant at this time of year have become active. I was out in the garden and spotted a group of Seven Spot Ladybirds (coccinella septembpunctata), which are native to this part of the world.

I borrowed one of the group for a quick photoshoot, using a flowering orchid as a prop. I used my Nikon 60mm f2.8 Micro, which is one of the sharpest lenses on the market, and a ring flash to provide the light.

I spent about 15 to 20 minutes taking photographs before returning the Ladybird to where I found it in the garden.

Nikon D300S - Nikon 60mm f2.8 Micro - Delta Ring Flash - 1/60 @f22

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Picture of the Week: Launch of the Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 GTE

2012-02-25T08:40:00.000Z

In my capacity as the Media Delegate of the FIA World Endurance Championship I had the pleasure to attend the unveiling of the Aston Martin Vantage V8 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London on Friday. The car, resplendent in the famous Gulf livery, was flanked by Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke and Adrian Fernandez, the three drivers who will compete in the LMGTE-Pro class in the FIA WEC this season. The first race of the year will be at Sebring in Florida on 17 March.

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Into the Vale of Belvoir - Stathern

2012-02-20T07:02:00.000Z

Following on from last week's blog post we packed up the equipment at Redmile and decided to travel five miles to the ridge above the village of Stathern, which on the OS map looked like a likely spot for some shots of rolling hills.

We parked up and walked the last mile to a snow covered valley with the tower of the local church poking through the trees in the distance.

The Church at Stathern
Nikon D300S - Sigma 50-500 f4/6.3 at 500mm

The weather continued to be kind and the sun broke through the clouds to provide some dramatic light as the afternoon wore on.

As we walked back to the car the low sun across the fields provided us with a couple of opportunities with the rutted track we were walking on.

A very productive day in the snow covered Vale of Belvoir, a place we'll return to in the coming weeks as winter finishes and Spring approaches.

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Picture of the Week: Paris at Night

2012-02-16T07:24:00.000Z

I was in Paris this week for a meeting at the FIA and was able to head out to some of the famous sights around Paris at night. This shot taken from across the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower was a favourite shot from the evening.

Nikon D300S - Sigma 10-20 F4/5.6 at 20mm - 30s at F11

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Into the Vale of Belvoir - Redmile

2012-02-13T08:00:00.002Z

As a motorist I hate it when it snows but as a photographer I love the effect that the 'white stuff' has on the landscape. Last week, after some snow had fallen two days before, I took the opportunity to head off into the Vale of Belvoir and started at Redmile, just 5 miles from Grantham.

Things didn't start so well as the Vale was shrouded in mist and the light was grey and flat. Walking along the Grantham Canal I decided to look for some details to focus on while I waited for the fog to lift. I spotted some footprints in the snow left by a Moorhen or Coot that led through the reeds to the frozen canal. Putting the legs on my Slik tripod on their lowest settings I was able to get a series of shots looking along the line of footprints.

Nikon D300S - Sigma 10-20mm f4/f5.6 at 14mm - 1/25 @ f11

Meanwhile the mist had begun to lift and the church spire at Redmile could now be seen. I set the tripod up with the canal and reeds in the foreground and a ND grad filter to tone down the brightening sky.

Nikon D300S - Sigma 10-20 f4/5.6 at 10mm - 1/25 @ f16

As I headed back to the bridge and the car I spotted some very bright coloured Lichen on the fence and on a tree in the hedge. Out came the 60mm macro lens and a series of close up shots were taken, recording the detail and colour of the lichen 'Xanthoria' including this shot which is my personal favourite from the sequence.

Nikon D300S - Nikon 60mm f2.8 Micro - 1/160 @ f8

As these shots were being taken, a inquisitive Robin decided to sit on the fence just beyond the effective range of the lens I was using so a quick change to the 50-500 telephoto but the Robin flew off before I could take a shot. However a few minutes later he was back and three shots were taken before he was off again. However, I forgot to increase the ISO rating on the camera and the shutter speed was at a lowly 1/80s and when I looked at the pictures all but one of the shots were blurred. However luckily I braced myself against a tree and this shot was perfect.

Nikon D300S - Sigma 50-500 f4/6.3 at 320mm - 1/80 @f6.3

I headed back to the car to drive to the next location I'd picked out on the map at Stathern, but more on that next week. Here is a selection of the other images I took at Redmile

Nikon D300S - Sigma 10-20 f4/5.6 at 10mm - 1/100 @ f16

Nikon D300S - Sigma 10-20 f4/5.6 at 10mm - 1/500 @ f11

Nikon D300S - Nikon 80-200 f2.8 at 160mm - 1/200 @ f11

Nikon D300S - Nikon 60mm f2.8 Micro - 1/250 @ f8

Nikon D300S - Nikon 60mm f2.8 Micro - 1/60 @ f5.6

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Glorious Sunset

2012-02-11T11:27:00.006Z

I love sunsets but last night the one over snow covered Grantham was one of the best I've ever seen. After a large snow fall the night before I grabbed the camera bag and headed up the hill above Grantham Cemetery to get some snow covered Grantham images for my portfolio. The sun went behind some clouds as it began to set and I was about the pack up and head home when I noticed a break in the cloud below the sun. Low and behold the sun reappeared with cloud trails across its face.

With the camera fitted with the Sigma 50-500mm telephoto I framed the shot with the tower of St John's Church in the foreground. The advantage of using a telephoto lens is is compressed the perspective and makes the sun appear very large in the image.

This shot is as it happened and is not an HDR or composite image. I used a neutral density graduated filter on the camera and in post production I darkened the sky further and boosted the contrast. However the image is essentially as I saw it on the hill.

The three shots also demonstrate the pulling power of the Sigma 50-500mm lens with the shots being taken at 135mm - 320mm - 500mm respectively.

Nikon D300S - Sigma 50-500 at 135mm - 1/250sec @ f8

Nikon D300S - Sigma 50-500 at 320mm - 1/40sec @ f8

Nikon D300S - Sigma 50-500 at 500mm - 1/1000sec @ f8

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Picture of the Week: Lone Tree in the Vale of Belvoir

2012-02-09T08:00:00.001Z

This shot was take on the recent trip into the Vale of Belvoir (more about this on Monday). I spotted this lone tree on the hillside, backlit by the sun that had just come out from behind the clouds. A perfect subject for a Black and White image.

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Snow Transforms the Dullest of Scenes

2012-02-06T08:00:00.003Z

We've just had our first serious snow of the winter and I took the opportunity to grab to get out and about with the camera. The weather was far from perfect, with Grantham covered by a grey mist, so landscapes were not the order of the day. We live near Grantham's cemetery and the area closest to the road contains the oldest headstones, dating back to Victorian times.

The snow had transformed the whole area and looks so different from it does normally - it is quite magical. Here are a few shots I took during my walk -

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Picture of the Week: Laburnum in full Bloom

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000Z

As we sit in the depth of winter and a cold wind is blowing in from Russia, my thoughts turned to spring this morning and I remembered some pictures I took last year of the laburnum tree in the garden in full bloom. Each year the tree is a riot of yellow flowers for a few weeks and attracts numerous insects. Just over two months before it blooms again!

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Megapixels Aren't the Only Factor

2012-01-30T19:34:00.005Z

It seems that megapixels has become the byword for better in photography; the more megapixels your digital camera has the better it is, but is it? I have been a Nikon user for 16 years now and a Nikon DSLR owner since 2006. Then it was 6mp and everyone was happy. Then 12mp became the standard for Nikon with the D3S / D700 / D300S / D90 (the D3X has 24mp) range of cameras, and this only changed with the 16mp D7000 in 2011, but Canon went one better with 18mp across the board, while the other manufacturers pushed the range even further.

However Nikon stuck with the 12mp and worked on keeping digital noise in check. Nikon have become the leader in high speed sensors that have pushed the boundaries of shooting in very low light. Now Nikon have launched their latest flagship DSLR in the shape of the D4, which 'only' has 16mp, which is still smaller than the offerings from Canon and Sony (24mp), and the replacements for the D700 (D800?) and D300S (D400?) are almost certain to follow suit. Is this a mistake? Personally I don't think so. The D4 has so many more attributes other than less megapixels and Nikon professionals have all placed their orders for the new camera.

Yes, the more megapixels you have the bigger the prints you can produce. But how many A3 or bigger images do you print every year? Personally I only print a few (my last being a 75cm x 30cm panoramic) and my 12mp Nikon can produce quality enlargements to rival the larger sensor cameras, so I don't really feel the need to have more. I'm not knocking Canon or any other offerings from the main stream manufacturers but I feel that people have got hung up about the size of their sensors without looking at the 'bigger picture' if you excuse the pun.

The same thing happens when people look at cars. They see a big power figure and top speed but that is only half the story. If the handling is rubbish and the car wont corner, then what is the point of all that power. You only have to watch Top Gear to see exotic, high performance cars get slated because they just wont go round corners. If we lived in Roman times with straight roads we wouldn't need cars that go round corners but we live in the real world and while on paper certain items stand out, it is when you use it everyday you find out what is really important.

It is the same with cameras and there is so much more to how it operates in the real world than the number of pixels a manufacture can pack into a sensor. Nikon produce cameras that I like to use and produce the images of the quality I expect. I look on with interest how the Nikon D4 shapes up when the pros get their hands on them and start using the camera in real life situations. Me? I'm eagerly waiting for the D400 - please can we have some news on a launch date soon Nikon?

UPDATE: Since I wrote this article Nikon have launched the D800 with 36MP, which I don't think many people were expecting. While this doesn't detract from the reasons for my article it will remain to see if this new camera can cope with that many pixels and still retain the Nikon trademark noise quality. Personally I think Nikon will have tested this camera to death before its launch and I'm confident it will live up to the launch hype. Will I buy one? Probably not because of all the extras that I'd have to buy to run this camera, not least a more powerful laptop to cope with the new file size. However is this the shape of things to come in DSLR technology? I wait for the launch of the D400 with baited breath.

Picture of the Week: After the Rain

2012-01-26T17:01:00.001Z

This weeks pictures are from a visit to Calke Abbey, a National Trust property in the Midlands. Calke Abbey is renowned for its gardens but when we went it had been raining heavily for most of the day. Luckily is stopped for a while and I was able to grab some flower shots with a difference.

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Bokeh

2012-01-23T09:05:00.000Z

Sometimes phrases or meaning come into general use almost by popular consent or by accident and photography is no different. One word that has been used more and more in the past 10 years is 'Bokeh'. So what is Bokeh?

The term comes from the Japanese word boke, which means "blur" or "haze" and in photography, bokeh is the blur,or the aesthetic quality of the blur,in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."**

Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting—"good" and "bad" bokeh, respectively. Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.**

So is that clear now? This technique focuses the viewers attention on the subject and I use a wide (f2.8 - f5.6) aperture on the long lenses (80-200mm / 50-500mm) or on the 60mm Macro lens Here are a few of my images that demonstrate bokeh.

** source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

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Picture of the Week: Antarctic 100 Memorial in Cardiff Bay

2012-01-19T08:00:00.002Z

100 years ago this week Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team reached the South Pole only to find that a Norwegian team had already beaten them to prize. Scott's ship the Terra Nova set sail from Cardiff Bay in June 1910 and a memorial to their endeavour can be seen in Cardiff. The Antarctic 100 memorial is situated next to the Norwegian Church on the harbour front on Cardiff.

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Keeping it simple

2012-01-16T11:22:00.000Z

Sometimes less is more in photography. On our recent trip the weather was typically Scottish and kept me on my toes to come up with a photograph despite the inclement weather that we were experiencing. On one of the shoots I decided to keep it simple and photograph a single tree or rock in mono and see what I got. The results were rather pleasing with a single tree on Loch Na Keal and a rock in Salen Bay providing the focal point.

Lone tree at Loch Na Keal

Rocks in Salen Bay

On New Years Day I tried this technique again when we visited the windswept beach at Calgary Bay. The sun was breaking through the clouds and part of the beach was lit by the weak sunshine. Focusing on a piece of seaweed on the edge of the surf I capture this very moody image of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. A far cry from the blue skies and white sand images I usually take here.

Calgary Bay on New Years Day

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Picture of the Week: Neist Point, Isle of Skye

2012-01-12T08:00:00.005Z

click to enlarge

Another shot from the archive, this one of Neist Point on the Isle of Skye in August 2009. The lighthouse at Neist Point is one of the most photographed part of this Scottish island and so I tried to find a different view from the 'picture postcard' snapper. As I walked down the hill I saw the sun coming through the clouds over Benbecula on the horizon and stopped to take the image with my 80-200mm f2.8 with the lighthouse silhouetted against the sun dappled sea.

The shot was always envisaged as a black and white, even though it was originally taken in colour.

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Otter Sighting on Mull

2012-01-09T08:00:00.018Z

While we were on Mull for New Year we were lucky enough to spot plenty of wildlife, including deer, sea eagles and buzzards but the highlight of the week was an encounter with a wild otter on Loch Spelve while we were on the way down to Loch Buie. We saw the famous 'Elvis', who was a resident wild otter in Tobermory harbour in 2009, but he was a performer and was easy to spot and photograph. Unfortunately Elvis died in 2010 and we'd never seen an otter anywhere else on the island as they are a very elusive creature.

The otter in Loch Spelve

Travelling down to Loch Buie by car, a shout from my wife in the passenger seat, who had spotted something in the water, had me pulling over to see what it was. Suddenly a head popped up and this brown shape started to swim across the water. It was an otter.

The otter brings up a crab for lunch from the bottom of the loch

The otter enjoys its meal on the shore

Using the car as a portable hide, I started to snap away with my 500mm lens but it was very long distance and with a lot of cloud cover and showers, the light wasn't very good. I decided to move the car back up the road hoping that the otter was used to cars travelling along this route and wouldn't be bothered by our presence. Luckily I was right and the otter completely ignored us.

Heading back out to find more food

We spent 30-minutes watching this graceful animal swim out, pick a meal from the bottom of the loch and head to shore to eat. One thing we noticed is it is very well camouflaged amongst the seaweed that lines the sea loch and to spot an otter is very difficult.

back to shore with more food

We hope to go back to the same point in the summer to see if we can spot the otter again. Mull is renowned for its wildlife and it was good to know that there are still plenty of opportunities during the winter months as well as the summer.

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Picture of the Week: Snow Covered Mull

2012-01-05T08:06:00.008Z

click to view large image

This is probably my favourite picture of the week we spent on Mull over the New Year period and it is also the final shot I took as we were on the ferry heading back to Oban.

The picture shows the snow covered mountains of Mull as the clouds broke to produce a wonderful light that lit the scene. On the right you can see Duart Castle, the ancient seat of the Clan MacLean, that guards the approaches to Mull from the mainland.

The image is actually four pictures put together in Photoshop to produce a panoramic.

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The Long Exposure

2012-01-03T10:11:00.005Z

First of all Happy New Year and I hope 2012 is kind to each and everyone of you. I'm sorry I haven't posted over the Christmas period but this was mainly due to a lack of internet access where we were staying on the Isle of Mull for the past week. Despite some very stormy and wet weather I managed to squeeze in some time for photography during our break and I will post some of the images I took from Mull over the coming weeks.

Calve Island, at the entrance to Tobermory Harbour

With the light being so poor most of the time, the choice was either to crank up the ISO or get the tripod out and go for a long exposure. Luckily most of the subjects I choose to focus on suit the long exposure method.

After a stormy ferry crossing from Oban to Mull on Boxing Day (26th December), the weather on the morning of the 27th was very kind and I walked down to Tobermory harbour in almost perfect conditions.

The first shot of the harbour front was taken with a 30 second exposure at f11 and the effect of the long exposure was to smooth out the sea in the foreground with some movement recorded in the clouds.

Swinging my lens around I recorded the sunrise over the boats in the harbour. The scene was also captured with a 30 second exposure, using an ND8 neutral density filter (+3 stops) to allow such long shutter speeds. The danger with using a long exposure with objects such as boats is they can move due to wind or tides during the exposure. If you look closely some of the masts are blurred, but the overall effect of the image is pleasing.

The waterfall image was taken down at Loch Na Keal and is an 8 second exposure at f14. Again long exposures are perfect to capture the movement of the water over the rocks.

The final shot was taken at midnight on Hogmanay and shows the firework celebrations in Tobermory to mark the start of 2012. A 5-second exposure captured the explosions and the lights in the harbour. Stupidly I had left my tripod at the cottage and had to resort to holding the camera on top of a fence. Not the ideal solution but when needs must!

Tobermory Harbour

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T06:24:00.000Z

Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope 2012 will be enjoyable and successful for each of you. Thank you for reading my blog this year and there will be more to come in 2012 and also from our trip to Mull next week.

Picture of the Week: Mansell Family Collection

2011-12-22T10:47:00.004Z

One of my favourite images from 2010 showing Nigel Mansell's famous helmet colours alongside the variations on a theme adopted by Leo and Greg. This was taken during the first test of the Beechdean Mansell Motorsport Ginetta Zytek in Portugal.

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What a Year

2011-12-19T09:45:00.006Z

This is the time of year we all look back and take stock of what we have done. My overriding memory of 2011 was the different places I got to visit thanks, in the main, to my job in motorsport but also for family time when I was at home. When working I did manage to squeeze in some time to take photographs as well.

In 2011 I visited - United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Slovakia, The Netherlands, China, Argentina, South Africa, Scotland and, of course, new places in England.

There is still one more trip to make in 2011 and that is back to the Isle of Mull on the 26th December for the New Year celebrations.

Here are some of my photographic highlights of the year -

Monza, Italy

Navarra, Spain

Sound of Mull, Scotland

Cape Town, South Africa

Southern Right Whales, Hermanus, South Africa

The Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Grid Girl in Mongolian National Dress, Ordos, China

The Great Wall of China

Ashness Bridge, Lake District, England

The pitlane at Potrero los Funes, Argentina

Potrero los Funes, Argentina

Fountain's Abbey, Ripon, England

Sunrise in Haarlem, Netherlands

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Pictures of the Week: York Minster

2011-12-15T10:08:00.007Z

Last April we visited York for the first time in many years. A trip to York Minster is a must and these two mono architectural shots of the West Front and Main Entrance show the details of this magnificent building.

The Rose Window and Main Entrance, taken from Minster Gates

West Front of York Minster

The York Minster website can be found HERE

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Mono-tastic

2011-12-12T08:43:00.004Z

Black & White photography is a bit like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it. However in some pictures the colours are a distraction and as a mono image it becomes something more dramatic and interesting.

I've always been a fan of the Black & White image and when I am out and about I always look for pictures that will look good without colour. Having said that I have learnt to take the picture in colour and convert it to mono in Photoshop rather than switch the camera to mono mode (which in RAW keeps the colour data anyway).

As someone who worked in a darkroom, 'dodging' and 'burning' to produce the perfect B&W image, altering images in Photoshop is much easier and any mistakes are easily rectified.

Here are a selection of mono images, with the original colour files, that were taken specifically with the final image as a B&W in mind -

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Picture of the Week:The Streets of Pompeii

2011-12-08T06:52:00.006Z

A shot from the archive from a visit to Pompeii in 2007. A truly awe inspiring place and it's almost as if you have stepped back in time. The pictures on the walls, the shop counters, the mosaic floors, all are still visible and just as they were when they were buried under lava and ash in 79AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted. This shot shows some of the stones used to line the streets and you can see the grooves that were left by the cart wheels that ran up and down this road 2000 years ago. In the background you can see Mount Vesuvius.

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North Lincolnshire Coast - Part II

2011-12-05T17:34:00.003Z

Confession time now. I've lived in Lincolnshire since moving here from the North of Scotland in 1990 and I have to admit that, photographically, I find the county very uninspiring. I like mountains,lochs and dramatic bays nestling amongst the cliffs. Lincolnshire has none of these things; it is flat and the landscape seems to go on forever.

In my quest to stop putting areas into photographic pigeon holes, we decided to visit the Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes nature reserve on our way back from photographing the seals at Donna Nook. Saltfleetby is another Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust reserve and covers a total of 1377 acres.

This important reserve contains tidal sand and mudflats, salt and freshwater marshes and sand dunes. On the foreshore, accreting mud and silt flats and saltmarsh in the north give way to a narrower sandy beach at the southern end.

We decided to head out and see what we could see. It was very flat but there was an abundance of low lying vegetation and a small lake that formed a focal point for the first picture taking opportunity.

We then headed to the beach and was faced with a wide area of sand and mudflats. Two pieces of driftwood provided the second picture stop and mono pictures were the preferred media for the final images from this flat, desolate but strangely beautiful place. A flight of Bewick Swans had the camera lens pointing skywards as they flew directly overhead and into the setting sun to the west.

We headed off and stopped as the sun started to set behind one of the many on shore wind farms that dot the Lincolnshire coast.

A great day for photography. North Lincolnshire still isn't my favourite place in the world for photography, but it wont be another 20 years before I visit again.

The next trip will be back to the Isle of Mull on the 26th December until 2nd January. That is the one place in the world I don't have any problem getting photographic inspiration!

CLICK HERE to visit the LWT website page on Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe reserve

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Picture of the Week: Misty Start

2011-12-01T07:16:00.003Z

An early start in Cape Town and a shot taken across the bay with the mist still on the water and the hills beyond.

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Photographing the Seals at Donna Nook, North Lincolnshire

2011-11-28T21:18:00.008Z

In February I wrote about not ignoring opportunities on your own doorstep and while the North Lincolnshire coast can't really be classed as the doorstep to Grantham (75 miles / 120km) it is a part of the same county I've lived in for 21 years that I've never photographed before.

I had the opportunity to visit the Grey Seal colony at Donna Nook (Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust) near Louth and along with John Rourke (http://www.johnrourke.net/) set off from Grantham at 7am. Following the Sat/Nav north we arrived in the well marked car park next to the beach, which only had 12 cars parked up, but that didn't last long.

Suited and booted against the elements we set off and were amazed to find that just beyond the car park was a fenced off public viewing area and in front of this were seals of all shapes and sizes as far as the eye could see. There are over 2000 seals, including over 800 seal pups, on the beach.

A mother and pup were just beyond the fence, and we'd walked less than 200 metres from the car park. 80-200mm f2.8 lens fitted and images of mother and baby duly taken, along with a bull that decided to defend its territory from another younger male that had strayed into its domain. The first thing that struck me was the speed the bulls could actually move and I was actually glad we couldn't stray onto the beach area.

A Bull Common Grey Seal. They could move surprisingly fast when defending their territory

A little further along there was a young pup lying close to the fence line and we decided to see if we could get some wide angle shots without getting too close. I placed the camera, fitted with a 10-20mm f3.5/f4.5 lens (set at 10mm) on the ground between the inner and outer fence and used the live view to set the framing. I made sure the camera lens didn't go beyond the inner fence and I kept back beyond the outer fence with just my right hand on the camera. One of things we had to careful of not getting too close to the pups because human smell on the pup might mean the mother rejecting it and the pup would then die.

Seal Pup - this was the picture of the week last Thursday but I am very pleased with this image and have used it again

The seal pup was curious and I was able to shoot five frames, with the best one being cropped slightly to remove the fence that was showing in the final image. All in all the best picture of the day.

We moved along the fenced area taking shots on the long telephoto lenses of the interaction of the mother and pups, the 'face-offs' between mothers as they defended their pups and fights that broke out between various young bulls and dominant males.

A dominant male chasing off a young bull trying to move into its territory

After 2-hours we moved back along the fence line towards the car park and we noticed that a lot move people had arrived and it was becoming quite crowded along the beach. We decided to head off to another area of the Lincolnshire coastline (more on that next week) but not before visiting the wardens hut in the dunes to make a donation to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, to help in the great work they do here and other parts of Lincolnshire.

For more information visit www.lincstrust.org.uk

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON FLICKR

Picture of the Week - Grey Seal Pup

2011-11-24T21:33:00.002Z

This is a wild Grey Seal pup, taken today at the Donna Nook seal colony on the North Lincolnshire coast.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON FLICKR

Water, Water Everywhere

2011-11-21T10:09:00.001Z

What is it about water that attracts photographers? Whether it is streams, rivers, lakes or the sea, water features a lot in my images. Is it a very British thing as we are essentially islanders and are never far from water or is this the same for photographers the world over?

I love to feature shorelines and running water as the major part of my pictures whenever I can and here are a few examples -

Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy

Loch Tulla, Rannoch Moor

Ashness Bridge, Lake District

Tobermory Harbour, Isle of Mull

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Picture of the Week - Rain Drop

2011-11-16T09:01:00.001Z

This weeks picture is of a rain drop that was sitting perfectly on the leaves of the Eucalyptus tree outside our back door at home. The picture was taken with a 60mm f2.8 Micro Nikon lens and ring flash, which brought out the colours and reflections. The most mundane things can also be some of the most beautiful photographically.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON FLICKR

The Low Down

2011-11-14T08:25:00.001Z

One of my favourite places to take pictures is on the floor. Honestly, this isn't a joke.

Where do most people take pictures from? Eye level, standing up, is the correct answer. Most of the time this is the best angle but getting low (or high up) can give the picture a much better perspective and more drama to the image.

Here are some examples of getting the low down.

Swans on Round Pond, Kensington Gardens, London

The old banked track, Monza

A stream in the Lake District

Bassenthwaite Lake, Lake District

All of these images were taken by laying on the ground. By filling the foreground with the subject the eye is led into the image. If you don't fancy laying down put the camera on the ground and use the view screen to line the shot up. This method is a bit more hit and miss but it still works.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON FLICKR

Picture of the Week - Albert Memorial, London

2011-11-09T08:33:00.001Z

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

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Big Sky

2011-11-07T15:30:00.004Z

I'm a huge fan of big skies in landscapes or pictures of interesting skies in their own right. It could be pictures of interesting cloud formations or sunrise / sunset pictures but the infinite variety means no two pictures will be the same.

Here are some examples -

Sunrise in Argentina

Audi A4 3.0 TDI Avant Photoshoot on Mull

Sunset off Cape Town, South Africa

Boats on Bude Beach

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

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Picture of the Week - Sunset at Potrero de los Funes, Argentina

2011-11-03T13:12:00.000Z

Getting a lot Closer

2011-10-31T07:01:00.003Z

My favourite style of photography is the majestic wide angle, usually panoramic, view, taking in the landscape with big skies, sweeping mountains, and long sandy shoreline. However I also love getting in close and capturing the detail in a scene whether it is people, landscapes or automobiles.

The following shots were all taken using a telephoto zoom, invariably on my trusty Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, a lens I've owned since 1996 and is a must when packing my camera bag. I've also used a Nikon 18-105mm f3.5/f5.6 and a Nikon 70mm-300mm f4/f5.6, both good lenses but not up to the same standard (or price) of the 80-200.

The first shot was taken during the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run International Concours held in Regent Street, London. The event celebrates a country of vehicle manufacture from the early 20th Century and this particular year the celebrated country was Belgium. The Band of the Royal Forest St Hubert provided a colourful and tuneful centre piece to the event and I decided to focus on a close up of the hunting horn and the red jackets. With all shiny objects the trick is to make sure you don't get your own reflection in the shot and standing further back with the 80-200 certainly makes this a lot easier.

The second shot from the same event is of a very colourful door on a pre 1905 veteran car.

The next two shots are close ups of the buildings and kerbs at the Potrero de los Funes circuit near San Luis in Argentina. After getting plenty of wide shots of the mountains and the lake, it was time to focus on the beautiful colours the buildings had been painted in.

The next shot is of the bow of a fishing boat moored in the harbour in Limoni on Lake Garda in Italy. Again I'd spent a lot of time getting wide angle views of this most beautiful part of Northern Italy and decided to concentrate on the closer views as well.

The final shot is of some oak leaves in the Lake District, a place the wide angle lens was made for. However this shot works works just as well.

So the next time you are out and about have a look at the finer details when looking at the screen or through the view finder, you'll find some interesting compositions if you get in close and personal.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

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Picture of the Week: Sunset over Brighton Pier

2011-10-27T08:03:00.002+01:00

One from the archive. Taken in November 2006 just after the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run had finished on Madeira Drive in Brighton. It had been one of the warmest November days for years, 17 degrees, which had brought out record crowds to watch the 110th anniversary of the world's longest running motoring event.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

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More Speed

2011-10-25T11:15:00.009+01:00

For those of us who started in photography before digital cameras came on the scene, high film speeds were usually shunned unless we wanted to use them for a specific purpose. High speed colour films produced muted colours while the results were grainier than the lower speed emulsions. Film speeds were rated in ISO (or ASA) numbers, with 50 and 100 being the standard. 400 and above were considered high speed, with 1000 + producing very grainy images and were usually to domain of the arty black and white picture.

In digital photography the ISO number has become the standard measurement of the sensitivity of the image sensor, where a higher number indicates higher sensitivity. A higher sensitivity allows photographers to take pictures in low light without using flash. However, this gain usually comes at a price: as the light signal is amplified, the noise signal is also amplified, and high ISO images are usually more "noisy" than low ISO images.

The problem for photographers like me who were weaned on low speed films (Fuji Velvia 50 and Provia 100 slide films) the idea of pushing the speeds higher is not something we consider doing easily. However today's digital SLR cameras can handle high speeds easily and Nikon is renowned for its high speed image sensors. This year has been a revelation for me and I now push the ISO rating higher rather than risk losing a shot through camera shake and the results speak for themselves.

CHEETAH PROFILE
The following shot of the Cheetah was taken on Safari in South Africa this summer. The light was very poor and my Sigma 50-500mm f4/f6.3 shoots better images at f8. I decided to set the ISO to 2000 on my Nikon to keep the shutter speed above 1/500 of a second.

FINGAL'S CAVE
The second shot was taken inside Fingal's Cave on the island of Staffa on the West Coast of Scotland last year. The cave was very dark and much too big for my SB600 Speedlight to make an impression, so I decided to push to ISO to 3200 and rely on daylight coming from the mouth of the cave. The result was a very usable image and it can be enlarged to A4 without any real loss in image quality.

Another advantage of digital over film is you can change the ISO rating for every shot where with film cameras you either had to change films mid roll (which was a fiddly and frustrating task at the best of times) or have two camera bodies with different films in each.

I still leave the digital camera set on 200 ISO, maybe moving up to 400 if the light isn't so good, but now I have no problem pushing the ISO to 1000 and beyond if the need arises and using a tripod isn't practical.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

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Picture of the Week - London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

2011-10-19T17:39:00.001+01:00

On Sunday 6 November the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run will start in Hyde Park and finish on Madeira Drive in Brighton. This event is world's longest running motoring event and celebrates the Emancipation Run that took place on the 14 November 1896. Over 500 pre 1905 veteran cars take part in the event.

This image was taken at the start line last year and features one of the 18 steam cars that take part.

The Panoramic View

2011-10-17T17:30:00.003+01:00

Sometimes a photographic situation calls for the end product to be a panorama, which can be a ratio from 4:1 to 10:1 rather than the standard 4:3 or 3:2 of a regular rectangle image. There are two methods that can be used to produce a long, thin image.

The first is taking the original image and cropping the top and bottom to give you the desired effect. An example of this is the following picture, which was taken in the Netherlands last weekend. As you can see the sky in the original shot was cropped to give the required panoramic ratio and produce a stronger composition.

Original image of the sunrise in Haarlem

The final panoramic image

The second method is to use Photoshop's Panoramic Merge function, which knits together a set of pictures into one. I usually take four or five images of a scene, taken in sequence across the scene, and then use the photomerge function to produce one image. This works very well and the results are usually seamless. It can be fooled if you have a crowd of people who are moving around, you sometimes find that people have heads missing, so I usually stick to static subjects.

The following shot was taken in Limoni on Lake Garda in Italy and is a merge of four individual shots. As you can see, once the images are merged you still have to crop the left and right edges. One of the advantages of using this method is with four High Res images, the resulting panoramic image file is much larger than the cropped image above and can produce much larger prints as a result.

The final image, which is a Photoshop merge of the following four pictures

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

MORE EXAMPLES OF PANORAMIC PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE ON FLICKR

Picture of the Week - Salen Bay, Isle of Mull

2011-10-11T18:28:00.002+01:00

This week's choice is an image taken last year on a trip to the Isle of Mull. Salen is on the north side of the second largest island in the Inner Hebrides and this picture was taken on a still evening in August 2010.

A choice of a wide angle lens (10-20mm f4), neutral density grad. filter, tripod, small aperture (f22) and slow shutter speed (1/8s) produced this pleasing image.

More pictures from Scotland are available on Flickr

Looking for a Different (wide) Angle

2011-10-10T17:15:00.003+01:00

When you visit well know tourist attractions it is very easy to go for the 'picture postcard' view when you pick up your camera to record your time there. Personally I try to find a different angle (though I do take the tourist shots as well), looking for something out of the ordinary to focus my lens on. This is where my 10-20mm wide angle zoom comes into it's own. With this lens you have to get in close and find a different perspective.

Below are some examples taken on the recent trip to China during a visit to the Forbidden City. I spent a lot of time looking for a different perspective on the very worn tourist trail around the World Heritage site. The situation wasn't helped by the fact the sky was very overcast, caused by the air pollution in Beijing.

The first image is of the Gate of Supreme Harmony and was taken from a very low angle at the bottom of the carving that led to the doors at the top of the steps.

The Gate of Supreme Harmony
Taken low down looking back up the carving leading to the top of the steps

The Meridian Gate is the main entrance the Forbidden City. A sequence of three shots become one thanks to Photoshop's panoramic feature.

The Meridian Gate
Not one but three wide angle shots and then stitched together as a panoramic

Another technique is to get in very close to capture detail. The brass carvings on the massive doors were a suitable subject to capture on a wide angle lens

Detail on one of the carvings on the doors

More pictures from China can be found on FLICKR

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky

2011-10-05T09:34:00.004+01:00

The best landscape photographs are invariably planned. The right location, the right time of day, the right lens, it's all down to planning. But sometimes luck plays a part as well, which was definitely the case for this picture taken at Lake Garda.

After a frustrating day for photography as the lake had been covered in mist, we had returned to our apartment to get changed before heading out to Malcesine for dinner. Suddenly the mist started to lift and the clouds parted. Luckily I learned very early on in my photographic career the golden rule of keeping my camera ready, but there was still only time to grab five or six frames from the apartment balcony before the light was gone again.

A magical moment captured and completely unplanned - very lucky indeed.

More pictures from Lake Garda can be found on FLICKR

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

Shooting The Light Fantastic: FIA GT1 World at Night in Beijing

2011-10-03T18:01:00.009+01:00

On our recent trip to China, the FIA GT1 World Championship held a demonstration at the Olympic Park in Beijing. We had held Rounds 8 and 9 of the World Championship on standard race circuits in Ordos (Inner Mongolia) and Golden Port (Beijing) but this was an opportunity to take the cars into one of the most visited areas of the Chinese capital city and let the locals see the cars in the 'flesh'.

The cars from Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini and Nissan wowed the thousands Chinese visitors who came to view the event and clearly demonstrated that a street circuit race could be held here sometime in the future.

Exim Bank Team China Corvette Z06

While the day light runs were colourful, the event took on a different light when the sun set and the floodlights came on. The light from the Bird's Nest Stadium and The Water Cube also added an ambience to the event.

On the Grid - Young Driver Aston Martin DB9 and Exim Bank Team China Corvette

Personally I love taking pictures in these conditions, setting the Nikon Speedlight to rear curtain sync and the camera to a slow shutter speed. The cars speeding past are caught in a stream of light trails and then frozen as the flash fires. This is an easy and very effective technique to use in these conditions.

MORE PICTURES FROM CHINA ARE AVAILABLE ON FLICKR

All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Lamborghini Murcielago

On the Grid - The Chinese Flag leads the way in Beijing

The Water Cube

Lamborghini Murcielagos in the Paddock

JRM Nissan GTR

Belgian Racing Ford GT

JRM Nissan GTR

The Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

For more infromation on the FIA GT1 World Championship visit www.gt1world.com

Picture of the Week - The Great Wall of China

2011-09-28T11:32:00.002+01:00

The Great Wall of China is one of those amazing places that actually lives up to the hype. I got the opportunity to visit the Great Wall on the recent trip to China with the FIA GT1 World Championship, travelling 2-hours outside of Beijing to a 20km stretch of restored wall with some of my work colleagues from SRO and several of the GT1 drivers.

The guide on the trip started throwing some amazing statistics into her introduction. Parts of the wall date back over 2500 years and at one stage was 10000km long (yes ten thousand!), which makes Hadrian's Wall look a bit of a poor relation. We spent the morning on the Wall in 30 degree heat, with some steep climbs and steps that changed pitch at irregular intervals (this was a defence mechanism to keep attackers who gained a foothold on the wall off guard). The climbs and heat certainly gave us all a work out which came as part of the entry price.

An amazing place and very pleased we got to visit.

Ph..Ph..Photograph a Penguin

2011-09-26T18:13:00.009+01:00

Penguins - cute, flightless birds that live in the Antarctic, right?

Well, yes, this is correct on the whole. Most people think they are cute, and penguins are definitely flightless, but not all wild penguins live in the cold Antarctic, there are colonies of penguins that live further north, some in South Africa and South America. One of these is the colony of African Penguins at Boulders Beach near Simons Town on the Cape peninsula in South Africa.

On our recent trip to Cape Town we put it on the agenda to go to the Cape of Good Hope and on the way we decided to visit Boulders Beach. This turned out to be a great choice as we've never seen wild penguins before. These are wild penguins but they are used to thousands of visitors that travel to Boulders beach so aren't in the slightest bit bothered by the human presence. To keep humans and penguins apart there is a series of wooden walkways that have been built above the beach.

You arrive and pay the entry fee to the colony, at 35 Rand for adults, 10 Rand for children - 80 Rand, or £8, in total for the three of us - it is a bit of a bargain. Once you are in you follow the boardwalk to the beach. We arrived at the end of the breeding season and there were plenty of fledglings in evidence around the reserve. I'm used to seeing penguins on TV that are swimming in frozen seas or standing on frozen wastes and it was a bit surreal to see them amongst the sand dunes or waddling across the white sandy beach in 22 degree sunshine.

The middle of the beach was a crèche of fledgling penguins, guarded by adults while some of the other adults were off fishing for food in the surf.

African penguins are also known as Jackass Penguins and the reason for this name became clear very early on. The noise is just like a braying donkey and is very loud.

We stayed for a couple of hours before carrying on toward the Cape. Our visit was time well spent and gave me another card full of images to sift through. Would I like to go further south and photograph penguins in the colder parts of the world – possibly. However the Boulders Beach colony beats taking pictures of penguins at London Zoo every time!

MORE PICTURES AVAILABLE ON FLICKR

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

Whale Watching in South Africa

2011-09-20T16:28:00.009+01:00

Many moons ago back in the late 1980s we bought, (or were given – I can’t remember which) a book detailing the best places around the world to watch whales. Top of the list was a place called Hermanus in South Africa, a place where you could watch whales from the cliffs and we made it our goal to visit Hermanus at some point. Fast forward to August 2011 and we decided to visit Cape Town for our annual holiday. August is at the end of the South African winter and while the average temperatures aren’t as bad as cold, rain swept Britain, there was an even better reason to go – it was the start of the whale season at Hermanus, which was just 120km from Cape Town.

Hermanus

Twelve hours in the cheap seats of a South African Airways Airbus was soon forgotten on arrival at our hotel in Cape Town, which was basking in unseasonal 20+ degree sunshine. Trips were planned for the 9 day stay and top of the agenda was hiring a car so we could get to Hermanus.

Car was duly delivered and off we set on the fast South African roads. On arrival in Hermanus we parked up and lo and behold we spotted our first whale within 5 minutes of parking up. A Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) mother and calf were swimming just 100 metres from the cliffs, with plenty of people with cameras and binoculars taking in the scene.

Southern Right Whale Mother and Calf in the bay

Hermanus boasts a 'Whale Crier' who announces where the whales can be spotted

After having a picnic on the cliff top and spending the time whale watching we decided to go out on one of the many boats to see if we could get a better look. The 2-hour trip was scheduled for 2pm at a cost of 1300 Rand (£125) for the three of us and after the usual pep talk by our guide off we set with 20 other whale watchers .

Southern Right Whale breaching

The boat headed across Walker Bay and after 45-minutes we were starting to wonder if we had wasted our money. However we needn’t have worried because just as the diesel engines slowed a Southern Right breached 200 metres right in front of us, quickly followed by a second and third whale leaping from the water. Nikon motordrive on 4.5fps and images were duly captured.

The Classic Whale Shot

Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better the three whales did the classic tail out of the water pose followed by a sequence of fin slapping. We had to remind ourselves that these were not performing animals but wild whales but it was as if they heard to boat approaching and went into a routine of breathtaking moves. It didn’t matter; it was one of those magical moments that you will always remember. We went whale watching in Quebec in 1993 and there the whales also seemed to know when the boats were around and ‘performed’ accordingly – perhaps it is something whales do naturally?

Three Southern Rights just 20 metres from the boat

The three Southern Rights then cruised around the boat for the next 30-minutes and there was plenty of opportunity to fill two memory cards full of images. The adult whales were huge and were around 50 feet long.

Close up shot of the classic V blow of a Southern Right

After 60-minutes the skipper headed back to Hermanus and we saw two other whales breaching in the distance as we left.

We decided that our third day with the hire car would be spent back towards Hermanus but this time we headed to the Walker Bay Nature Reserve. Picnicing on the beach we were given another display of whale acrobatics ending a magical whale watching experience.

Walker Bay Nature Reserve

Having been on whale watching trips in Canada and off the West Coast of Scotland Hermanus is justly deserving of its reputation as the whale watching capital of the world. My only disappointment was not seeing a Humpback but we were a month too early for that – maybe on the next trip!

MORE PICTURES FROM SOUTH AFRICA ON FLICKR

Fin slapping on the water

Another shot of the classic V shaped blow of a Southern Right

Sievers Punt - Hermanus

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

Picture of the Week - Table Mountain and Cape Town

2011-09-20T08:02:00.003+01:00

The last two months have seen me visit Belgium, Slovakia, France and two weeks in China with the FIA GT1, GT3 Championships and the Blancpain Endurance Series. During this time we also managed to grab a 10-day family holiday in Cape Town, South Africa. What a place! There is so much to see and do and I will post some of the pictures and stories from our stay in this fantastic country at a later date.

The picture of the week is a shot taken of Table Mountain and Cape Town from across the bay on Robben Island, the site of the prison that held Nelson Mandela and the other political prisoners from the Apartheid era.

No Such Thing as Bad Weather for Photography

2011-06-01T09:09:00.004+01:00

Some photographers wish for clear blue skies and perfect conditions but, while I agree with this to a degree, there is nothing like the light just before or after a spell of bad weather. This was the case on a recent trip to Oban in Scotland where the West Coast was being battered by waves of rain fronts coming in off the Atlantic. The weather could be described a typically Scottish and made for some dramatic images as the rain approached, went through and then the sun would break through the clouds to spotlight areas of the wonderful scenery.

The most important thing to remember is to be prepared for the worst that Scotland's weather can throw at you. Wear the correct clothing and protect your camera gear but most importantly don't put yourself in a dangerous position whether on the coast or up a mountain.

You also need to work fast. The sunlight on the waves breaking at Seil Island lasted a few minutes before the rain clouds closed in. See the picture and anticipate the light. It doesn't always happen, that is the frustrating thing about landscape photography, but when it does.....

Here are some of the shots that were taken on the trip to Oban -

Waves breaking at Seil Island as the storm clouds approach

Seil Island, Argyll and Bute

Rain clouds over Kerrara

...and then the sun breaks through

Sunset over Lismore Lighthouse, Sound of Mull

Oban Harbour

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

Back Garden Safari

2011-05-01T09:39:00.005+01:00

Armed with a macro lens your own garden can be a fascination world to discover at this time of year.

Insects and flowers are photographed life size or even bigger and details that are almost invisible to the naked eye suddenly come to the fore.

The biggest problem is subject movement or camera movement. The ideal solution is to put the camera on a tripod but for high speed subjects such as bees I found this impossible and had to hand hold the camera to allow freedom of movement. Wind can also be a problem and a windbreak was set up for some of the flower images to stop the wind causing movement.

All these images were taken on a Nikon D90 with a 60mm F2.8 Micro Nikkor with a Delta TTL ring flash to provide illumination. The lens was stopped down to f29 or f32 and a flash sync speed of 1/125 or 1/200. ISO was set at 200.

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

Fountains Abbey

2011-02-25T12:48:00.002Z

Finally after ages of grey and damp horrible winter English weather we finally got a half decent day to get out for a family day out. We chose Fountains Abbey near Ripon, which is owned by the National Trust and is a World Heritage Site. Beautiful scenery and the remains of the Abbey that was founded in 1132. Well worth a visit.

Fountains Abbey is approximately two miles outside of Ripon and is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in the country. More info at http://www.fountainsabbey.org.uk/

Picture of the Week - Norfolk Broads Sunset

2011-02-22T10:55:00.002Z

This image was taken at Thurne on the Norfolk Broads at the end of a short boating break. The weather had been typically British but as we moored up for the final evening the sun came out and I managed to capture this picture of the sun setting behind the windmill on the other side of the river.

Ignoring Opportunities on Your Doorstep

2011-02-16T22:58:00.003Z

Why is it when we visit places it is usually away from your own local area? I am as guilty as most when it comes to photographic locations; I'd much prefer to be up in the Highlands of Scotland. Well I've decided that it is about time I started exploring the surrounding areas of Grantham where I live so I have set myself the weekly task of visiting somewhere within a 10-mile radius of Grantham and come back with at least one decent image.

The first place on my list was the Vale of Belvoir (well the area around Belvoir Castle) so with the sun shining I set off for a couple of hours to see what I could find. First up was one of my favourite haunts from years ago, the hill above the village of Woolsthorpe by Belvoir looking across the valley to Belvoir Castle.

I then moved to the other side of the castle to Jubilee Walk where I came across a Monkey Puzzle tree and some very unusual sheep - white heads with black wool - which I later found out to be the Herdwick breed of sheep.

The next stop on this whistle stop tour was a group of trees near the village of Knipton that I knew would look fantastic as a black and white image.

As the clouds started to come over I headed back to the office, very pleased with my first efforts to document my local area. More updates in the coming weeks.

More images on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/macleancomms/

Picture of the Week - Argentine Lightning Strike

2011-02-14T16:21:00.004Z

The picture of the week was taken at Potrero de los Funes, near San Luis in Argentina during a thunder storm that was one of the best I've ever witnessed. Potrero de los Funes is situated on a lake in the middle of the crater of an extinct volcano. The image itself was quite easy to capture. I set the camera on a tripod and pointed it across the lake towards the town and then opened the shutter on a very long exposure (30 seconds) and waited for the lightening to fork across the sky. It was a bit hit-and-miss but I got this image on the fifth attempt.

New Photo Website is Launched

2011-02-07T14:25:00.003Z

The brand new MacLean Photographic website home page

The new website for MacLean Photographic was unveiled at the weekend after several weeks of behind the scenes work. Websites are difficult things to quantify but one thing is clear, in this day of instant communications your website is the shop window for your activity, whether it is business or pleasure.

I have been a professional photographer since leaving the military in 1996. While the vast majority of my income now comes from MacLean Communications (ie the writing and organisation side of the business) being a competent photographer has enabled me to secure work over other highly experienced PR professionals. It certainly doesn't hurt to have that extra string to the proverbial bow.

Websites are also a personal thing that reflect your business and brand values. I had investigated the template website option that are available from some very good and reputable firms. While they offer a quick, easy and very effective solution, I couldn't get the look I wanted from the template solution. Then it dawned on me I already had a solution in my existing MacLean Communications website, which was launched in 2009. I used the existing site the template for the new MacLean Photographic site. As adding several extra pages for galleries and other information, I linked the two sites directly, giving a seemless transition when moving between them. The colour palate used was slightly different between the two sites, enabling visitors to quickly know they were on a different website but still under the MacLean Communications brand. A new MacLean Photographic logo was designed, using an image of a soaring White Tailed Sea Eagle I'd taken on Mull in August 2010, but kept the same font to tie the two areas of the business together.

All in all I'm happy with the look of the two websites but, as with all things, I will modifying, tweak and evolve the sites as we move forward into 2011, with the first job to add an eShop to the photo site.

The MacLean Communications home page

Audi R8 V10 Road Car Test

2011-02-07T11:13:00.000Z

The FIA GT3 European Championship features race cars that are based on a road going production model from each of the brands taking part in the twelve race series. What is it like to drive the road going version of one of these fire breathing feats of automotive engineering? Jeff Carter had the pleasant task of finding out when he drove the Audi R8 V10 FSI quattro.

Audi’s motorsport pedigree certainly ranks amongst the world’s best when it comes to building championship winning cars. Audi have won at almost every level from the Le Mans 24 Hours, World Rally Championship and in Touring Cars both in DTM and the Super Touring era worldwide including the BTCC; the German manufacturer’s trophy cabinet is bulging at the seams. In 2009 Audi added the FIA GT3 European Championship to this roll of honour when the Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS powered Christopher Haase and Christopher Mies to the Driver’s Title in the car’s debut season. This made the Audi R8 Coupé the car of choice for 2010 and four two-car teams are currently racing the Audi R8 LMS in the FIA GT3 European Championship – United Autosports, Sainteloc Phoenix Racing, Black Falcon and Team Rosberg – with the later notching up the car’s first win of the 2010 season at Jarama in Spain.

So what about the road going cousin of the race winning Audi R8 LMS? Whatever angle you look at it the Audi R8, in race or road trim, is a beautiful car and the blue example that was delivered to my door for the weekend was a stunning example of Audi’s finest. The visual differences between the road and race car are obvious, with the road version missing the huge rear spoiler, the bonnet air vent and it sits higher off the ground. Personally I think this makes the car look even better, especially the rear of the Audi, which now looks in proportion with the rest of the car having lost the ‘boy racer’ appendage. The R8 still has a small spoiler that keeps the back end firmly planted on the ground at speed and rises automatically at a set speed.. The mid mounted 5.2 litre V10 engine is on show to the world through the rear window and so it should be. It is a visual, and aural, work of art – but more of that later.

The looks extend to the interior, which is to the high standard that we come to expect from Audi. This is no stripped out race car for the road, this is Grand Touring luxury with the “hard core” lightweight and more powerful GT version set to appear on the road next year. Leather abounds in every corner of the sculpted cabin with cruise control, Sat-Nav, climate control, a Bang and Olufson sound system, bluetooth phone connection all adding to the luxury car feel. I have to be honest at this point, I have never driven, or been driven in, the Audi R8 LMS race car but I’ve been in enough race car cabins to know that the driver’s environment is purely functional, stripped out to the bare essentials to save weight, hot and very noisy. The road car couldn’t have been more different.

So what’s it like to drive? Sitting low down in the leather seat, which is adjusted by electric controls on the driver’s right hand side, you have the analogue instrument binnacle directly in front of you through the steering wheel, with the centre console dominated by the screen that controls the Sat Nav, entertainment and phone. The aluminium control knobs are machined and have a tactile feel. This also extends to the six speed manual gearbox that is a joy to use.

A quick flick of the key (no gimmicky engine start buttons here) and the V10 fires into life and produces a glorious sound from the twin exhausts. Supercars have a reputation for being difficult to drive around town, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the Audi R8 easy to steer around town. With the sports suspension switch set to off the car didn’t crash over the typically British pot holed tarmac, it was very smooth and composed. The same could be said about the engine, it was extremely easy to drive at 30mph in the start-stop morning traffic.

However, once out of the town traffic, the car came alive as the horse power was now unleashed.

On the open road you know you are driving Audi’s finest as the V10 suddenly came to life and produced a sound that set the hairs on the back of my neck tingling. The acceleration is extraordinary; the gear changes from the 6-speed manual ‘box slick and precise and the power delivery is poised as it is sent to all four wheels rather than just the rear wheels as in the GT3 race car. But it is the soundtrack from the V10 that was the best bit, it made you want to rev the engine just to hear the noise from the power plant that was situated just a few centimetres the other side of the bulkhead by your left ear. I mentioned earlier that the car came with a Bang and Olufson sound system and in any other car I would have been making the most of this. However B&O hardly got a look in as the V10 was the soundtrack of choice every time I drove the car. On the way down to South Wales I have to admit to a bit of over indulgence. When travelling through tunnels the windows would be wound down, the gearbox would be selected to 4th and the right foot was planted to produce a glorious sound that would rival the acoustics at the Albert Hall.

On the motorway the Audi R8 Coupé is the consummate cruiser; a pure Grand Tourer. At 70mph on cruise control, with sports suspension off, you could be driving any big engined Audi. The wind noise was maybe a little higher than you’d find on an A4 or A6, but it was still excellent. In cruise mode the R8 just eats the motorway miles while you travel in comfort and you arrive at your destination relaxed.

Off the motorway the R8 becomes a completely different car. With sports suspension set to on and the twists and turns of Welsh A roads gave me the proof that this is certainly a car that makes the best of both worlds – a comfortable GT cruiser that also holds impeccable supercar credentials when called upon. The Audi encourages you to push on but you do have to watch your speed because it would be very easy to lose your licence in a very short space of time at the wheel of this car. However in its natural environment the Audi R8 reminded me why I love driving and it had me grinning like an idiot for mile after glorious mile – I certainly didn’t want to stop.

The downsides of the R8? Well there are a couple. Luggage space is a bit of a problem if you wanted to use this car as a Grand Tourer. There is room for a small case under the bonnet and there is a shelf behind the driver and passenger seats that would take a couple of overnight bags, but that’s it. The other is the fuel economy but then you don’t purchase a 518bhp GT car and expect it to be economical. Having said that I was pleasantly surprised at the 19.1.mpg the car returned at the pump, especially after the uneconomical way I had been driving at times. If you can afford £105,000 for this car, fuel economy isn’t going to be top of your priority list but at least it is better than most cars in this class.

My conclusion after a weekend with the Audi R8 V10? I always knew Audi built great cars, but this is on another level. This is no stripped out, lightweight road going race car. The Audi R8 is an extremely fast Grand Tourer that can cope with every type of road condition with ease and, in my opinion, could certainly be used as an everyday car. It is comfortable to drive around town and certainly is a head turner. If I had one Pound for every person that nearly twisted their head off looking as I drove past, well, I could afford to buy an Audi R8 V10. This is a 5 star offering from Audi and is certainly worthy of the many motoring accolades it has won since its launch. I will certainly be watching the R8 LMS version on track in the FIA GT3 European Championship in a different light.

	Audi R8 LMS	Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro
Engine	V10 5.2 Litre	V10 5.2 Litre
	4 valves per cylinder,	4 valves per cylinder,
	Petrol, direct injection,	Petrol, direct injection,
Drive	Rear Wheel Drive	Four Wheel Drive
traction control (ASR),	Yes	Yes
Power	Approx 500 hp (reduced power).	518bhp
Gearbox	Sequential pneumatic activated 6-speed sport gearbox with shift-paddles	Choice of 6 speed manual or R tronic sequential gearbox
Weight	1,320kg	1620kg
Body	carbon-fibre composite/ aluminum bodywork	Aluminium (ASF)

First Post

2011-02-05T21:05:00.002Z

Welcome to the new MacLean Communications Blog.

I will endeavour to keep this blog current and interesting as we move into 2011. Work travel plans include 17 events this season and I'll be travelling to Abu Dhabi, Portugal (Algarve), Spain (Pamplona), Italy (Monza), France (Marseilles, Nevers and Paris), Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps and Zolder), Germany (Sachsenring and Dusseldorf), China (Ordos), Brazil (Curitiba), Argentina (San Luis), Russia (Smolensk), The Netherlands (Zandvoort) as well as visits to Silverstone, Thruxton and Croft here in the UK. On top of this trips to the West Coast of Scotland are planned and I will be endeavouring to add more images to the MacLean Photographic archive on the local area of South Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire / Rutland.

All feedback is welcome and thank you for reading this blog.