Stewart-Net | Photography

Personal Web Site of Neil Stewart

Photography
Current kit List
Wish List
Cameras I have used and owned in the past
Current Cameras

Photography

I don't have a preferred style in photography but I do take more landscape and objects over other subjects. Shooting mostly in the RAW format with the DLSR and performing post processing in the “Digital Darkroom” with Adobe Photoshop and other similar software packages. I am experimenting with HDR processing as I like the way it captures the dynamic range for some situations but don't like them when over cooked.
I'm not a diehard amateur photographer but I like to use photography in aspects of day to day life and in other hobby's and interests. I don't spend days looking for subjects but if see something that triggers my eye I will take a shot of it with whatever I have to hand be it an iPhone or DSLR or photo mode of my Toshiba Gigashot GSC-K80HE camcorder. You wont find me stalking around with a bag full of equipment or cameras hanging around my neck I just don't get the time.

My first 35mm SLR was a Praktica Nova 1b with the prime lens and a short 135mm telephoto, I had this for some time and still do "in a box" somewhere! I then bought several compact/pocket 35mm cameras for the convenience of family holidays etc. (Olympus miu1). My first digital compact camera was the Olympus mju300 low resolution and it always produced good images. I usually have a mobile phone camera as a carry around for the "ad-hoc" shots or blogging on Facebook. I now use a Canon DSLR and I am adding to this kit on a regular basis. I post my shots on Flickr at: Neils_Pics

Current kit List

Camera: Canon EOS350D, Canon EF-S 18-55 (Kit Lens), Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Lens
Canon Speedlite 430 EX II
Canon Powershot SX720 HS
Toshiba Gigashot Digital HiDef video camera
Manfrotto 785B Modo Maxi tripod.
Manfrotto 790B Modo Monopod
Lastolite Lumen8 Studio Lighting (400w) Kit with Wireless Trigger
Sekonic L-308S Flashmate Light Meter,
Lastolite 95cm (38") Collapsible/Reversible Reflector, Sunfire/Silver
Lastolite 30cm Ezybalance Grey/White Card

Wish List

Upgrade to a Canon 50D (or higher), replacement of the Kit Lens, 200 - 400mm Telephoto like the "EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM" , Canon Wideangle EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Manfrotto 190XB Pro, maybe a Lastolite HiLite Illuminated Background or a Cube.

I was a member of the Wallasey Amateur Photographic Society for a time and enjoyed it very much. They are very progressive and friendly bunch of local photographers. I would liked to have taken my interest in photography further and work toward a recognised qualification like a distinction with The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) if time ever allows, but I don't think I will ever get the time it deserves. I had a picture on the local BBC Radio website BBC Radio Merseyside I named it "Wirral Way" this was a part of their "Breathing Spaces" project. I think that project on the BBC site has now been taken down.

Cameras I have used and owned in the past.

As a child I used to play with an old camera that belonged to my granddad. Little did I know at the time it was a Kodak Brownie (616 ?) a bit like the one shown opposite on the right. If only we had known that it could have become a collectable item in the future, to my mother it was just an old camera. She would often said "don't break it" as I opened the bellows in and out over and over again. I never knew what happened to that camera it just seemed to vanish.

Later when older I was given the Kodak Brownie 127 that used to be my brothers camera as my first camera, when my parents thought it would not be wasted. I remember opening the back to see if I could see the pictures on the exposed film. Whoops !
Guess what I didn't see any pictures then or after processing first lesson learned the hard way, especially after being asked by my parents "what did you do, did you open it?"
You can imagine the annoyance as they had paid to get some fogged film processed.

As my father changed and upgraded his cameras I was given the older ones to use. First the Comet and then the Koroll with the Koroll I was able to use transparencies for the first time.
Later I bought my first SLR and accessories from a friend who was upgrading his. So I acquired his old Practica Nova 1B along with a short telephoto lens and a light meter.

I then bought a compact 35mm for family holidays to silence the complaints of "your taking to long" and also for the lesser weight. Used this for a long time until t got dropped on a holiday and after the repair it was never the same. Then at Gatwick airport I saw an offer on the digital Olympus u300 and this opened the digital age.

Current Cameras

Then my dear and very generous wife bought the Canon 350D as a birthday present for me. The majority of the photos in my gallery to date are taken with this camera. I also use my iPhone and for holidays use a Toshiba Gigashot Digital HiDef video camera that takes very good still photos too. I find it very convenient for travel.
Very recently I have replaced the Nikon Coolpix S210 compact camera that had become unreliable with this new Canon Powershot SX720 HS and it has proved very useful as a carry around and look forward to more use of it.

© Neil Stewart.