Towel

Multicoloured tea Towel:

This was a tea towel bought for us by my wife's grandmother, from the Lake District. I was in the kitchen (almost my favourite room in the house!), and I had put this on the sideboard after doing the dishes. I don't know why, but I looked at it closely, and something about the texture of the cloth mingled with the array of colours deemed it, in my eyes anyway, pictureworthy. So, I heaved out (okay, not really heaved) the trustworthy Nokia N95, and let Carl Zeiss do all the hard work. What do you think?

Date Taken: 03/10/2008 17:36

Image Size: 2592 x 1944

File Size: 1.14mb

The Dead Bee

On the pavement:

This is an atrociously grainy image - obviously not taken in Close Up Mode and therefore not really worthy of being in this blog - but I still posted it. There was something about seeing that bee lying there, on it's back, dead - and yet I still wanted to keep my distance - just in case. Quite sad, really.

Date Taken: 25/08/2008 12:33

Image Size: 2592 x 1944

File Size: 717kb

Any comments?

HDR Images Using the Nokia N95

Alrighty There People!

For some time now, I've been wanting to take some HDR images with the N95. For those of you that are not sure of what an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image looks like, check out these Google Image results:

HDR Crane

HDR Car

HDR Sunset Over Fields

Now, I've worked out the process, and I can manage the beginning of the process, and the end of the process, but I can't do the middle...

Here's what I've got.

HDR images are obtained by taking the same shot but at different exposure levels, then flattening them into one image, so that your final image of the shot contains the brightest brights and the darkest darks. Okay.

Now, the N95 has the capability to change the exposure levels, from 2+.0 right down to -2.0, at 1/2 intervals.

It would therefore simply be a case of find your shot, take the picture at +2.0 exposure, then change the exposure to +1.5, then +1.0, etc until you are down to -2.0.

Then upload the photos to the PC, and using any of the various software packages available (ie, Adobe Bridge can convert multiple images to HDR), convert the five or six images into 1 HDR image. Sorted.

Problem: The camera has to stay absolutely still during this process.

There are two ways around this.

Method One: Obtain a bluetooth keyboard, and wirelessly change the settings between shots. Slow, arduous, and requiring a bluetooth keyboard.

Method Two: Obtain a script, which, upon exection, takes the shot, changes the exposure, and repeats until all the exposure levels have been captured. Now this is the method for me.

Problem: I have no experience of writing scripts.

Now, apparently, the firmware on the N95 allows for a script to change these exposure levels... so now we need to wait for someone clever to come along and actually write the script... any takers?

Comments, as always, below...

Out of Focus Iguana

Alrighty There People!

Another Tenerife shot coming up - this one taken in Loro Parque, the parrot sanctuary. I spotted this Iguana, sunning itself right against the glass.

I couldn't get a very good angle on it, then I forget to adjust the settings, and then there is the glare of the glass - all in all, I thought it would make for a rubbish picture. But when I got back, I was mildly surprised with the outcome. True, the Iguana is out of focus - but I think that that enhcances the image. I love it.

What do you think?


Image Details: Name: Tenerife 56.jpg
Date: 25/09/2008 13:39
Dimensions: 2592x1944
Size: 816kb

Comments, as always, more than welcome.

Hadrian's Wall: North and South

For our anniversary, my wife and I went into Northumberland. We went to a few places - the grounds of Slaley Hall, a De Vere hotel with two 18 hole golf courses and it's own Japanese garden - it was beautiful, despite the fact that it was chucking it down with rain.

We also went to Allen Banks and Staward's Gorge, photo's from which I have posted earlier in this blog. From there, we headed North to Hadrian's Wall and Housesteads Fort. It was a bit of a disappointment really - and the weather was naff to say the least.

But we paid the money, and walked into the little museum/information centre to learn all about why the wall was built, and then moseyed on out to the ruins of the fort. There was just little low walls running everywhere, which had been marked as sleeping quarters, dining area, galley, etc etc.

Then this little scene caught my eye - it's the view North and the view South running along one of the boundaries of the Fort, and, crouching down, I pulled out the N95, and snapped these two shots.


This image is looking North

Image Details:
Name: 11072008188.jpg
Date: 11/07/2008 16:21
Dimensions: 2592 x 1944
Size: 0.98mb


This image is facing South

Image Details
Name: 11072008189.jpg
Date: 11/07/2008 16:21
Dimensions: 2592 x 1944
Size: 978kb

So what do you think?

The Penguin

During my holiday in Tenerife, I had the pleasure of going to Loro Parque, initially a parrot sanctuary but now a full blown animal sanctuary/zoo, complete with Orca whales, dolphins, gorillas, tigers, and, of course, plenty of parrots. It also had a penguinarium, with many species of penguin.

I shot lots of pictures and video in the penguinarium, but the most striking, in my opinion, is this:


They way the penguin was coming straight towards me, the way you can see above and below the surface, the way the water is churned up in the background - for me, this is my favourite picture from Loro Parque. Your thoughts?

Image details:
Name: Tenerife 44.jpg
Date: 25/09/2008 12:16
Dimensions: 2592 x 1944
Size: 673kb

Water Droplet On A Flower

Alrighty There People!

Of all the pictures that I have taken so far, this is my ultimate fave. I was in a National Trust garden (again!), on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We had been to Scotland for the weekend, and were heading back home when we spotted this Trust garden, and parked up and popped in. There were some lovely flowers around, which will be added to this blog in due course, but this one was a beauty.

I have no idea what it is called, but the way that the water was hanging on the flower, about to drop, really caught my eye. I waited as long as I dared, as I didn't want to the water to drop off.

I grabbed the N95, changed it to close up mode, and snapped it.

Everyone - yes, everyone - who sees this photo says that it is gorgeous.

What do you think?


Image details:
Name: 03.019.jpg
Date: 10/08/2008 15:33
Dimensions: 1944 x 2592
Size: 678kb

Waterfall at Allen Banks & Staward Gorge, Northumberland

Alrighty There People!

In July, I was traipsing along a muddy track, when I came across this small stream. I followed it down a steep slippery slope, and looking back up, I saw a fantastic sight. I whipped out the N95, and the following two images were the result.

This was at a National Trust site in Northumberland, on a particularly drizzly day - so bad, in fact, that I was wearing my wellies. But this view up the tumbling water was so impressive that I just had to capture it - and I think that the images are pretty good, even if I do say so myself! Image details:


Name: 11072008163.jpg
Date: 11/07/2008 13:29
Dimensions: 1944 x 2592
Size: 758kb


Name: 1072008164.jpg
Date: 11/07/2008 13:32
Dimensions: 1944 x 2592
Size: 833kb

Please do feel free to comment on the images, link to your images or blog, or contribute in some other way! Thanks!

Dawyck Botanical Gardens - Pillar

Alrighty There People!

I snapped this image on the N95 when I was in the fabulous Dawyck Botanical Gardens of Scotland in August.

I particularly loved the way the stone and the moss intertwined, and it looked fantastic against the backdrop of the home.

Image information:
Name: 01.012.jpg
Date taken: 08.08.2008
Time: 16:15
Dimensions: 1944 x 2592
Image size: 1.22mb




More images from Dawyck will be posted shortly!

Welcome to my Nokia N95 Photography Blog!

The Nokia N95 is a marvellous piece of technology, least of all for its amazing camera. According to the Zeiss.com site, "the Nokia N95 offers a powerful 5 mega pixel camera with a Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/5.6 mm lens, auto focus and flash which allow you to spontaneously take high-quality photos. Your pictures can be brilliantly shown on the impressive 6.6 cm (2.6 inch) display. You can then upload your photos directly from your camera phone to the Flickr online photo community and make your memories available to others. At 30 frames per second, you can easily capture moving objects." The camera on the Nokia N95 has a number of settings:

• Auto: Ideal for everyday photography - all camera settings are adjusted automatically
• User Defined: Create personalised settings for instant retrieval - adjust and keep your personalised settings
• Close-up Mode: Ideal for capturing intricate detail of small objects - use between 10 and 60cm
• Portrait: Ideal for shooting better portrait photos
• Landscape: Ideal for shooting distant scenery and skylines - enhances sharpness of distant objects and allows focusing through glass
• Sports: Ideal for fast moving subjects - use to capture moving objects in sharp detail
• Night: Ideal for taking pictures in low light without flash - enhances detail in dark conditions when flash cannot be used
• Night Portrait: Ideal for taking portraits in low light with flash - enhances detail in dark conditions

There are four flash options:

• Automatic
• On
• Red eye
• Off

The self timer can be set to Off, 2 seconds, 10 seconds or 20 seconds - ideal for the group shot that you want to be in! There is a sequence mode, which settings are:

• Burst: Capture 6 images or hold the key down to capture until the current selected memory runs out
• 10 Seconds: Capture an image every 10 seconds until the current selected memory runs out
• 30 Seconds: Capture an image every 30 seconds until the current selected memory runs out
• 1 Minute: Capture an image every 1 minute until the current selected memory runs out
• 5 Minutes: Capture an image every 5 minutes until the current selected memory runs out
• 10 Minutes: Capture an image every 10 minutes until the current selected memory runs out
• 30 Minutes: Capture an image every 30 minutes until the current selected memory runs out

The colour tone can be changed to normal, Sepia, Black and White, Vivid and Negative

The white balance can be changed to automatic, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent and Fluorescent

The exposure compensation settings are 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, 0.0, -0.5, -1.0, -1.5, -2.0

The sharpness can be set to Hard, Normal and Soft

The contrast settings can be changed, as can the ISO settings.

In short, there are plenty of settings to fiddle around with to perfect the photos that you are taking!


In the photos that you will see posted on this blog, I generally use close up mode, landscape mode, portrait mode, or automatic. For night time shots, I invariably use the night mode.

I hope you will enjoy this blog as much as I enjoy snapping the images.

If you have any comments, please feel free to make them. If you would like to link to your blog, images or site, please do so.

One link that you may find interesting is this - a how to guide to build a simple tripod for your Nokia N95. I haven't got around to doing it yet, but it looks very easy and very effective.

There are loads of accessories available for the Nokia N95 - check out the links on this page.

If you would like to purchase prints of any of the images on this blog, or would like to use any of the images without the watermarks, please contact me to discuss this further.

So here's my first image that I would like to upload - me, in Tenerife in September 08, eating a fantastic ice cream:


And finally, if you haven't got yourself a Nokia N95 - now's the time to do so!