Sam and Amy

A very late posting I’m afraid - even later than usual ……

In a ‘feast or famine’ lifestyle, this week is leaving me distinctly over-full. I know I should be pacing myself, but I think the oncoming Christmas period has concertinaed social engagements into a pre-December gap. Tuesday’s Manchester trip was a late addition, an opportunity too good to miss, but it’s added to the pressure of an already busy week. 

So today sees another lunch engagement, a catch-up with a friend who’s been very supportive through my illness. Then tonight there’s a Camera Club portraiture workshop which is good but - for me at least - exhausting.  

I’ve often described myself as an eclectic photographer, but probably portraiture features least in my current ‘portfolio’. I do enjoy it, but I’m happier wandering around taking unposed shots than engaging with a model. We each have three minutes with four different models in a sort of speed dating format, and I think many of us feel a little awkward - as do our models. 

The other problem comes with my camera controls. I’ve yet to fully explore the myriad settings on my R7 - it’s all on a ‘need to know’ basis like moving into focus stacking last week. So I’m more than a little lost when I’ve successfully set up controls for the flash set-up around  our first model only to find I can see nothing through the view finder. I’m told  I need to enable ‘exposure simulation’, but can’t find that on my menu. Other members are always very helpful,  but of course, each camera’s different. Eventually, we get there, but not before I’ve made the whole thing worse by transferring my menu to the viewfinder …… Then a flash remote won’t work on my camera, though I does on everyone else’s ……. To say I’m stressed is an understatement, but at least I manage to get some half-decent shots - certainly better than I’d expected considering the plethora of problems! 

My favourite shots are those I took of our lovely models Sam and Amy - first a mono back-to-back pose, with another softer one in extras.