There were plenty of bees today on the ivy bush in the garden, to make a good “photo of the day”.
Today there are three photos as I could not choose between them.
These shots were made using my iPhone 5 and the Camera+ app, set to macro mode. It works very well when you get in close to your small subject.
I am very pleased with these photos.
you can click on the above images for larger versions
Close up bee photos using my iPhone Read More »
Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features and book-length manuals, and cars with dashboard systems worthy of the space shuttle.
James Surowiecki
Although the weather and being on holiday with Diana, rather than in an adventure trip, meant that I did not walk much in Scotland this year, I did get one day out in the forest.
I took my Sea to Summit day pack, which was large enough for the day’s food, drink and gear.
* waterproofs
* cooking gear and windshield
* 2l of water and food
* plastic sit mat
* first aid kit
* emergency gear, extra warm clothing and glucose tablets
* Head lamp
I had planned three brew stops, breakfast, lunch and an afternoon break.
Breakfast – Pop Tarts and coffee
Lunch – mackerel in spicy sauce, crackers, cereal bar, banana, instant mocha coffee
Afternoon break – tea and cake
As usual my MSR titanium mug with the lid made a perfect small pot for use on the Alpkit Kraku stove – with this set up I use a heavy duty aluminium wind shield. I made my hot drinks in a plastic beaker to keep the pot clean.
The elastic strapping worked well to carry my wet rain coat – however it was difficult to remove the jacket at the end if the day as the thin elastic cord got tangled. I have since replaced it with thicker elastic cord which works better.
I have recently added two loops of cord with cord grips to attach a walking pole to the pack – in the photo I am using it to hold my Square Jellyfish camera mount.
This is an excellent gadget for holding my iphone steady for those HDR or low light photos. I have been really pleased with it as it has assisted in making some stunning images.
The image of the iphone and mount above was taken using my HTC phone that I now use as a PDA/MP3 player – more details here.
I bought this direct from the manufacturer in the USA and have been using since setting out on this trip. My first impressions are it is an excellent vest.
One picture so far showing a few of the 26 pockets!
* Concealed outside chest pocket – I keep my iphone in here, so it is always at hand, in another pocket inside this one.
Inside pockets
* MP3 player with the head phones routed inside the vest and the ear buds in a pocket in the collar.
* pen and torch pocket
* sunglasses pocket
I am going to write about this new vest more when I get back from this trip.
My old cricket hat has been retired – it is as old as Jeremy and has been worn on most of my walking trips over the years. I wear it to keep the sun off my head and face and for comfort under my rain jacket hood. But it is wearing out.
In Forres Diana and I discovered a traditional Army Surplus Shop and they had a selection of bush hats among lots of other things. I wanted a dessert camouflage version but the only ones they had in my size were the woodland DPM.
It came with an elastic chin strap, I changed that for a length of light cord, which I think works better. the cord loops up onto the back of the hat, out of the way, when not in use.
Having worn it on several walks the wide brim (wider than my cricket hat) keeps the rain off and it fits under my rain jacket hood. I can’t yet say how it works in the sun.
Gear in use – August 2014 Read More »
This evening as I was driving back from a call out in Retford there was a huge “Lincolnshire skies” sunset. I had to pull over on the A57 to photograph it.
First in one way, for the classic sunset with clouds:
and then from the opposite direction. A reflection of the sunset.
As the sunset was developing I was looking for somewhere to stop that was open,and was lucky to come across the perfect layby that gave me nearly uninterrupted views to the horizons. I was very careful to steady myself against the car as I used the HDR Pro app on my iPhone 5, so I could retain some detail in the land but still record the dramatic colours.
HDR Pro is my “go to” camera app for many of my landscape photographs. To get good results you must hold the camera very steady, but when you do the results are spectacular.
Lincolnshire skies Read More »
click on the above image for a larger version
I was setting a network up today, for a client in Newark. As the office was near to the river and the castle it was a good opportunity to go out after the job was finished, to get the “photo of the day”.
I took a variety of shots, both normal and HDR to try and balance out the heavy shadows. But I chose this shot of Newark Castle and the river, taken using the Apple camera app and HDR. The boat was in just the right place to balance out the dark shadows in the bottom left hand corner.
The new iPhone bracket I had ordered from Square Jellyfish the US, arrived this morning.
Click on the above image for a larger version
The bracket from Square Jellyfish, holds my iPhone securely on the small tripod above. It can be rotated for both horizontal and vertical shots.
This is the second device I have bought to hold an iPhone onto a tripod. The first one only fitted on my previous iPhone 4. This one is universal, so it does not matter if Apple changes the size of the iPhone 6, I will be very unlucky if they make it bigger than this bracket will cope with. (See the Square Jellyfish website for the specifications – it is called a Spring Tripod Mount.)
I use the above mini tripod, strapped onto a walking pole when walking, converting it into an effective monopod. The Velcro strap is quite long so it is possible to use it fixed to a fence post, branch or some other pole.
I have a soft plastic case on my iPhone (in the photo above) which gives excellent protection when I am using it outdoors and everyday. If I had bought an iPhone 5 specific bracket it would not have fitted because of this case – and not having a case is not an option when using my phone when camping and backpacking. So I was looking for a universal tripod solution.
I had been looking for several months before finding this Square Jellyfish spring tripod mount – I eventually found it because it showed up on Pintrest.
Weights
Here are the all important weights for when I am lightweight backpacking:
Pocket tripod 47g
Square Jellyfish Spring Tripod Mount 43g
Details of my 2014 Backpack Gear and Backpacking Gear itemised spreadsheet
The photos today were taken using my iPad Mini.
iPhone camera bracket – Square Jellyfish Read More »
