Just Grass

Further adventures in Zeissland with my 50/1,4 Planar. My decision to limit myself only to a single prime lens is beginning to pay off.

Not only am I starting to take the kinds of pictures I’ve always wanted to take, but I’m beginning to understand my equipment a lot better too. Something I’ve always taken for granted.

Click on the photo to see it full-size, or buy a print (from only £1.51)

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 1/1250sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Summer Portrait

Candids are just as tricky as expected with a manual focus prime, but I’m getting better at it. It’s like learning photography all over again!

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 1/2500sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Salt Lick

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EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 1/3200sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Nom, Nom, Nom

My nephew Cameron enjoying an ice lolly at the English Civil War Re-enactment at Hylton Castle.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.4 : 1/6400sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Miniature Tomato Plant

A couple of weeks ago, I took the plunge and sold all of my zoom lenses, replacing them with a single Carl Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 prime. It’s manual focus too, so it really is as primitive as it gets.

And this is key to the idea; bereft of any convenience, I am now forced to consider each and every moment, which is changing the way I take pictures.

For the better, I hope.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.4 : 1/8000sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Horse

A horse enjoying the magic-hour sun at Beamish.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 1/800sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Gowalla checkin API for developers

The cupboard-dwelling nerd in me was genuinely excited to read about location-based social networking platform Gowalla making their checkin API available to third party developers using OAuth.

I found this particularly encouraging, since it significantly increases Gowalla's chances of gaining traction in the market, given Facebook's plans to add location-based services to its feature-set a couple of months ago. This is extremely important, if we are to avoid the space being monopolised by a single leviathan platform.

Recipes for the visual thinker

How recipes should look by Starsammy, on Flickr

This visualisation of a recipe by Starsammy tickled me so much that I had to share it. Inspired design!

The Role of Social Networks in Buying Decisions

I was a little disappointed when I read about Gartner's report on the impact of social networking on consumer buying decisions. I had hoped for an incredible insight into consumer behaviour that would revolutionise e-commerce as we know it, but it did little more than confirm what Gladwell had already observed in The Tipping Point.

Air Harmonica

I’m falling in love with this lens. Manual focus is taking some getting used to, and rules out certain types of photography, but the colour rendition compared to my Canon lenses is incredibly accurate. Little or no correction required.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.4 : 1/3200sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4

Should-be iPhone Killer

Technology just doesn't last like it used to. Take my iPhone 3GS for example; it's less than 18 months old and already it's a doorstop. Upgrading to the latest iOS pretty much ground it to a halt.

Trying to send a quick text message this morning, it took 21 seconds for the keyboard to open! I'm no Scrooge McDuck, but I would have expected such an expensive gadget to have lasted a little longer. Paying premium money for disposable goods just isn't on, so I'm looking elsewhere for my touchscreen fix.

Touchscreen vs Mouse

Mashable are running a poll to find out which user input device is most popular: Touchscreen or Mouse. When I posted my vote the mouse was blazing ahead, which seemed a little ironic to me.

Carl Zeiss 50mm Planar T* f/1.4 Test Shot

First test shot with my new Carl Zeiss 50mm Planar T* f/1.4 prime lens. It’s got real character that I haven’t seen before on Canon lenses. It’s manual focus, which is taking a little getting used-to, but I love that bokeh!

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 1/800 sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4