Cameras – Page 4 – Shaun Madill Photography

My Best Photo of 2022

It seems a bit vain to choose what I think is my best photo of 2022. So, I’ve chosen this based on the number of likes my photos have gotten on Social Media platforms that are generally used by other photographers (Vero, Flickr, the M43 Reddit Sub), and this one was miles in front of the others.

The fact that it’s one of my most recent photos’ is pleasing, as I feel it shows that I’m getting better. It also shows that getting up early and a bit of planning really does pay off. I really took my time with this one and waited until the mist had cleared enough that the foreground was clear, but there was enough remaining in the distance to add another texture and mystery to where the line leads the eye. Well, in my mind anyway. I also worked to get into a position where the sun was behind one of the trees so that it didn’t over expose the top left of the image. I actually took two versions of this. One was a five stop bracket, and the other just a single exposure. This version is just the single exposure. The G9 did did a great job of keeping the contrast in the whole image, and the detail is amazing. One for printing and framing I think.

That’s it for this year. I’m really looking forward to 2023 and all of the trips we have planned. It’s going to be an exciting one.

Out in the Cold

I finally got to take my new G9 this week. I had to wait longer than I’d like after having steroid injections in my eyes, but it paid off as winter has finally arrived.

An afternoon where the temperature didn’t get above -4oC meant the frost was around all day, and a clear sky meant I could see if the G9 stabilisation was as good as I hoped. It didn’t disappoint, as I didn’t need to get my tripod out until sunset (except to try the high resolution mode). I am loving the G9. What a great camera Panasonic have made, except for the flipping shutter button. Why did they make it so sensitive? If nothing else it’s forced me to finally get used to back button focusing.

Things I’ve learned this week

Bracketing – I need to do less of this and just focus on one photo.
Peak Design Tripod – I need to use this more. It weighs more than my other tripods, but it works better and the ball head can’t be beaten.
Going to the same place repeatedly- is worth it. I’m still finding new compositions and obviously places change with seasons.
The value of backing up – my Mac Mini died this week. Thankfully everything was backed up onto an external drive, Creative Cloud and iCloud. New one us coming on Monday!

Winter has been good for photography so far. It’s important to go out prepared though. Always take tea!

I didn’t have to go far for this one. Just the landing window, my little G100, a 45-150 lens, and a Gorillapod. Really pleased with this one.

This version is a low res j-peg, but the original is a massive 140mg high res from my G9. Taken from about 500m away at 300mm. Not a great composition, but an amazing exam of what the camera can do.

I bought another camera….

Yup. Another camera, because two wasn’t enough. So, I got my dream camera the LUMIX G9. I’ve looked at this camera for a long time, since it first came out in 2018 but it’s always been out of my reach financially. There I was browsing the Black Friday sales and I found the body on sale at £700. I didn’t have £700 for another new camera so I closed the browser and got on with cleaning my camera shelves – where my unused DJI Mavic Mini 3 was sat gathering dust. Since I lost the vision in my right eye I’ve never felt safe flying a drone for photography, and I’m not sure I ever would. Anyway, lightbulb moment…..sell the drone I never use, buy the camera. So, I did. Part exchange, straight swap.

After a faff around with deliver due to postal strike (posties have my full support), it arrived yesterday. It’s huge, and heavy compared to my current bodies, but not in the grand scheme of cameras.

Unfortunately, my eyes are painful so I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, and I’m in hospital next week. Hopefully I’ll get out with it before Christmas.