Fixed Focal Length

So far I haven't posted the exercises for my evening photoclass in any particular order, something I'll rectify in future - you may have read some of my previous posts on some of the other exercises in the last couple of weeks. So for now, its back to the initial exercise for this post - "Fixed Focal Length". Most of us in the class (me included) were using a variety of lenses where the photographer can vary the focal length, raher than using a prime lens. The idea of this exercise was to set the lens at one focal length and stick with that same length for the entire shoot.- you may walk backwards or forwards if you have to, or even choose compostions which work ....

Anyways I put a 70-210mm on my camera and headed for nearby Richmond with the idea of taking some pictures along the Thames riverfront. When I got there I set the focal length of the lens to 85 mm.. Unfortunately for me the light was poor and flat that day and so, while I took many pictures, the results when looking at the screen on the back of the camera looked uninteresting. They can often look better on a larger computer screen later but I wasn't optimistic. And walking backwards and forwards isn't necessarily a good idea beside a river, or in some cases possible !

I like picture with bold (often primary) colours, and some colour in a side street leading away from the river caught my attention - a large fence painted mainly bright yellow but also with some red.  So the pictures just taken of the riverside were quickly forgotten, in favour of these -

All the pictures were taken with the lens at 85 mm, and its relatively easy to walk to and fro in a side street, dodging the occasional van or bicycle.

The results, whilst not brilliant. I seen and done a lot worse. Preferred my texture pictures, in the previous post.  There are some texture to be seen here, which better (side) lighting would have brought out. I'll go back there again when the light is better, and if the fence is still coloured, I''ll re-shoot.

I had these pictures here (amongst others) printed (6" by 4" size) by Tesco by their in-store one hour photo service, in order to show the prints in class. What a waste, am not sure if I'll use them again . They don't seem to know the difference between Yellow and Orange, the delivered prints were distinctly ORANGE.