How to Improve the Pictures on Your Blog
How to Improve the Pictures on Your Blog
Some months ago regulars will remember I got more involved in photography and went on a mission to improve the picture quality on the site.
That involved buying a proper Canon DSLR camera and the has expense continued ever since in terms of lenses and accessories 
I hope most people will agree the pictures have improved a great deal - to that end on Monday I went to Lincoln and bought an even better camera !
Whilst I may now be considerably poorer I hope you will be the richer for it !
My aim is to deliver some really good images, I’m getting to grips with the new machine now having been out all day in the glorious sunshine
Firstly Bradley Woods where I saw this fella high up in a tree
The Latest Effort as of Today ~ A Blackcap
I’d be more than interested in any feedback on the picture - good or bad ( just don’t tell me it looks the same as the others 
)
I moved onto Cleethorpes Country Park after visiting Tetney Blow Wells a great day and interestingly you’ll see the Cleethorpes Country Park link shows my original camera’s pictures, Tetney shows my last one and the above is the brand spanker !
Some time ago I moved over to all original images, the only time you’ll see a picture not taken by me is if it’s, sadly, Pamela Anderson or some other such famous person.
I think good quality original images lift the credibility of a site such as this and credibility is something very important to me.
It’s why I go and visit an empty field before I write about the monastery that once stood on it etc - I hope, and believe, it’s worthwhile and comes across to those that visit the site either for a single visit or to those who are/become return viewers.
I won’t bang on about the new equipment as it bores everybody but my brother and I, I only mention in the interests of passing on what I do and what I’m up to - also because I was worried you wouldn’t notice any difference
I am now very keen indeed on photography and I owe a huge debt to my brother for getting me started on this path - it’s lead me in many directions and the things I photograph have expanded into several new areas as well - it’s become a major part of my life now.
If you’ve any suggestions for things I should photograph and subjects I should cover then please do let me know - likewise what you think of the picture situation and how it has evolved.
Shutter Speedingly Yours
Rod
Annie Flinn-call sign "Redstar" said,
May 19, 2010 @ 7:26 pm
Rod,
The sharp details of this first picture absolutely amazed me. I think I can even count the flighty bird’s feathers. You and LB are not the only ones interested in the camera info. Please enlighten us!!!
Thanks for sharing your adventures and expenditures!
Annie
Rod said,
May 19, 2010 @ 7:55 pm
Hi Annie,
thanks for that, very much appreciated he was right on the top of a very big tree as well - no hides, with tripods and pics taken 3 metres away here
Here’s a blue flower, not sure what it is but it was at Tetney Blow Wells nature reserve.
It’s probably 2 or 3 times actual size - only reasonable though as I don’t have a dedicated macro lens - something that needs addressing
Best
Rod
Unknown Blue Flower / Plant
Cid said,
May 19, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
Rod,
Nice new toy, glad to see you are putting your spare time to good use
That flower may well be a Bugle…. they grow in woodlands and in gardens too.
Alan Titchmarshly yours,
Cid
Amiguru said,
May 19, 2010 @ 9:53 pm
Rod,
New camera is the business; pictures much crisper. I bet the original size image is stunning!
Would be interesting to give a little info on the new camera model and the lens combination.
Spot on Cid! Ajuga reptans they flowering currently in my garden, next to woodland! You’ll be getting extension tubes for macros next Rod, I believe that would give you more DOF
Regards,
Neville
History Hunter said,
May 19, 2010 @ 10:12 pm
Clarity is great. What would be a good thing on your blog would be the ability to click on the photos and view them at their original size and dimensions.
Rod said,
May 20, 2010 @ 7:43 am
Cid,
many thanks for the id, much appreciated - I knew it wasn’t a Bluebell and that was as much use as I was !
Best
Rod
Rod said,
May 20, 2010 @ 7:50 am
Neville,
the originals are incredible - the flower picture full size was 5184 x 2456. Looking at the average file size they tend to be about 10mb ! That’s in Jpeg as well - raw even bigger.
The camera will shoot 8 frames per second as that size as well - I had to be a special memory card to be able to cope with it.
I do need a proper macro lens Neville, I’ve got every mm covered ranging from 10mm up to 500mm (the 500mmm is actually 800mm in real terms due to the crop factor) so a macro lens is dare I say it - vital
Best
Rod
Rod said,
May 20, 2010 @ 7:54 am
HH,
that is a very good point - I did do a little of that once but the reason I don’t do it is because of the load it puts on the website.
Big pictures are big files and we get a lot of visitors here so I have to balance the load so things run smoothly.
Thanks for bringing it up and giving me a chance to explain
Best
Rod
AnaVar said,
May 20, 2010 @ 9:20 am
Your photos are amazing! They were before too, but now I stay wordless! I wish I had your skills and equipment to take a photo of my non-stop moving bunny!
Rod said,
May 20, 2010 @ 9:29 am
Hi AnaVar,
thanks for leaving a comment - much appreciated.
Good of you to take the time - it’s also nice to hear they look OK as so many people have different computers and monitors etc you never know how mny people see what I see
All the best
Rod
Jordan said,
May 20, 2010 @ 10:56 am
Rod
Great pictures.
I am greatly worried on the amount of spending of late that you appear to be doing. It would deemed by many to be quite frivolous by your own standards.
There is no mention of the kitchen garden. I hope with all your expeditions and jaunts out you haven’t been neglecting it, the slugs and caterpillars will be having a field day!
Jordan
History Hunter said,
May 20, 2010 @ 12:41 pm
Have you thought about using Flickr for your photos so the smaller ones on your blog can be linked to them when clicked on. Having just had a sneaky peeky on flickr i see a certain Mr Amiguru uses it also. Ask him if he finds it helpful
Rod said,
May 20, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
Jordan,
many thanks and you’re quite right about the expenditure - I’ll have a lie down and try to get over it
The KG is due for an outing any day now, I’ll be buying all the seeds this week. I’ve waited because we’ve still had some very cold days which will kill the seeds off.
Reports coming any day now !
Best
Rod
Rod said,
May 20, 2010 @ 1:27 pm
HH,
It’s a great idea and I did actually do that, I also have a proper gallery I link to which I host on one of my other sites.
It’s taking people away from the site etc.
I’ll review all the options and see what’s what
Thanks for the ideas
Best
Rod