Working in the oil and gas industry - Travel.

in ,
01 Waiting for the train that is never on time at train station with my north face luggage

Fuji film X-T1  f8 1/80 ISO200

Morning, 

I thought that it has been awhile since i have brought this blog offshore with me, and so today i am posting some pictures of the largest part of working away... The travel. 

Next week's post is from the North sea oil platform. 

I hope that you enjoy.

02 train has arrived at the station blackpool south lytham st annes

Fuji film X-T1  f4.5 1/80 ISO200

Train one of four.

03 female train ticket conductor collecting tickets

Fuji film X-T1  f3.2 1/125 ISO400

My largest company expense is travel.

Each year the prices go up, and the service goes down....

04 girl with her luggage at preston train station

Fuji film X-T1  f8 1/60 ISO200

Train two pulling into the station. 

05 train arriving at the platform Edinburgh Haymarket

Fuji film X-T1  f9 1/30 ISO200

Train number three

06 man with luggage walking along train station platform at Edinburgh waverley

Fuji film X-T1  f18 1/15 ISO200

Unknown back packers. All aboard train four. 

07 rail bridge man on the train in the shaddows Scotish scotrail

Fuji film X-T1  f9 1/30 ISO200

Crossing the forth rail bridge. 

08 lee ramsden wedding photographer editing professional photo while on the train

Fuji film X-T1  f7.1 1/125 ISO200

Trying to use my time productively and edit some wedding images. 

09 Aberdeen train station people elighting from a ScotRail train

Fuji film X-T1  f4 1/125 ISO320

Arrived Aberdeen station. 

10 Aberdeen Jet bus Airport city center cheaper than a taxi

Fuji film X-T1  f4.5 1/125 ISO320

Aberdeen has the most expensive taxis in all of Europe. Where you can use the Jet bus, it is cheaper. 

11 View from primier inn Aberdeen airport window airoplane close to the runway

Fuji film X-T1  f3.2 1/125 ISO800

They said that the hotel is close to the airport.... they are not wrong. 

12 Aberdeen premier inn room double bed with no Lenny Henry

Fuji film X-T1  f3.2 1/60 ISO500

Finally - 8 hours later, 4 trains and a bus i can get some sleep. 

And to be honest this is an easy journey. I spent 4 years where i had a train, 5 hours international flight, taxi and then a boat to get to the platform. 

13 Talisman Auk north sea oil and gas platform

Image courtesy google images

Please check next weeks post where i will display some images taken from the above platform.

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks  

Animated Gif - Cinemagraph

in
Canary Wharf London UK animated gif animation time lapse

Morning, 

I was recently having a play with some Cinemagraphs, Where a still image has some motion.

This post was an experiment on how they will display on this blog. 

As a reference for myself this is a 3.4MB file 1200x774px.

 

This video is a time-lapse that was shot of Canary Wharf, I think the technique is pretty cool and will shoot some footage to have a play with this again. 

 

Thanks

 

Lee 

Infrared black and white processing.

in

Morning, i thought id share a couple of images taken at the local using the infrared filter.

Above are two images, one was taken normally and processed to black and white, where as the other is an infrared image then processed to black and white. 

As you can see there is quite a difference. The infrared image was shot at a longer exposure and so the water will obviously look quite different but i do like what happens with the foliage. 

02 infrared leaves city park hoya r72 filter

Nikon D800 70-200@200mm f3.5 1/80th ISO5000

Leaves high in a tree. I liked how the light was illuminating a small section. This again is a processed infrared image. This is a noisy file due to the high ISO used. I was trying to gain a fast shutter speed to eliminate any motion from the wind blowing the leaves. 

04 infrared lake city park hoya r72 filter

Nikon D800  70-200@70mm f8 13th ISO800

I have noticed that along with the Sky, water goes blue also. 

 

Thanks

 

Infrared Tree.

in

Good morning, 

Attached is an image taken using an infrared filter. 

Now with taking a few of these i am slowly learning what to expect. 

So far i am liking images of trees against a sky background. The sky looks fairly normal and foliage looks interesting. I have learnt that if there is no sky and you fill the frame with only foliage the results are not that pleasing. I even had a play with a couple of portraits and skin looks awful. 

Infrared tree city park hoya r72 filter Potters bar Oakmere park

Nikon D800  70-200@75mm f5.6  6th ISO100

I hope that you enjoy these images and my thoughts and learning as i progress using this technique.

 

Thanks

Infrared lens hotspot.

in ,

Good morning. 

If you have purchased the infrared filter as i previously mentioned in a blog post couple of weeks ago, and have been shooting with it, you will have noticed the strange colouring that you have received. 

The bright red file is normal, Prior to shooting setting a custom white balance is recommended. A lot of advice i have read is setting it again green grass or foliage. For the below image being a city scape there wasn't much grass around, so i chose to shoot in RAW and play with the white balance later in post. 

One thing i have learn is the visible hot spot in the centre of the image. I shot this using Nikons 24-70mm f2.8 and lens hot spots are a most common problem encountered when shooting infrared light. They usually manifest in the form of a bright circle, sometimes in the shape of aperture leaves directly in the center of the image. The problem is exaggerated as you stop down (increase f stop number), with the spot becoming more prominent and defined. 

Hot spots can be caused for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is the coating on the inside of the lens barrel being reflective in IR light. Another frequent reason is light interaction between the coatings of the lens elements. A less common reason is light interaction between the lens elements and the imaging sensor(usually the micro-lenses) in the camera. In this case using the lens on one camera model may have no hot spot issues and on another model there could be prominent hot spots.

Unfortunately, if your lens has this issue the only solution is to simply use a different lens altogether. Fortunately the majority of lenses don’t have this problem or the problem is very minor and normally not visible in images.

Once i find a suitable lens and am happy with the results ill report back. 

If you have any suggestions to use on a Nikon body id like to hear your views. Feel free to use the contact page.

I hope that you enjoy these images. This is a new technique and something i am enjoying playing with. 

 

Thanks

Infrared Black and White. London

in ,
<img src="Black and white morelondon" alt="lack and white monochrome morelondon infrared hoya R72 filter The Shard vewing gallery town hall Lee Ramsden">

Nikon D800 f8 3min ISO400 24-70mm@28mm

 

Morning, 

Here is a Black and White processed infrared image of London's MoreLondon area, with the town hall and the Shard building. 

My next blog post on Monday i will be showing the out of camera file compared to the processed colour version. And explain why there is a visible hotspot in the centre, due to the choice of Lens. (This won't happen again, i am enjoying the learning curve with these.)

 

Thanks

London early morning.

in
<img src="morelondon" alt="The Shard greater London city ong exposure Lee Ramsden river Thames">

Nikon D800 f14 60sec ISO100 24-70mm@28mm

Good morning, 

An images taken from Tower bridge at 04:35hrs. I shot this purposefully knowing that the sun will rise behind me. Some times shooting towards the sun isn't always the best option. I wanted to illuminate the buildings and not cast them into silhouette. As the sun raised it lit up the buildings perfectly just as i wanted. 

This concludes the two weeks of colour London images. 

I hope that you have enjoyed my colour London photos as i have sharing them with you. 

Next week starts 10 days of Black and white images of London. 

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

First infrared image. London.

in
<img src="Infrared.jpg" alt="London River Thames morelondon Infrared colour processing landscape image IR blocking filter Hoya R72 Lee Ramsden">

Nikon D800 f11 120sec iso200 24-70mm@36mm

Morning, 

Thought i would share this image of the Shard building with you. This is a first for me, using an Infrared filter. I ended up purchasing a Hoya R72 filter and am quite enjoying the outcomes. 

There are somethings i need to take into account, the flaring is becoming an issue and the lens hotspot. But with more practice I'm sure ill find a decent work around. 

I am not posting just yet on how i processed this, with this being my first, id like to shoot a lot more and so have a greater understanding of how they react under different lighting circumstances. 

Once i am happy ill write a post on what photoshop process i go through. 

In the mean time i hope that you enjoy this image, 

 

If you would like to purchase the filter that i used, i would be grateful f you use the following link, it will not cost you anymore, but i get a few pence to help feed my family :)

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Canary Wharf sunrise, London.

in
<img src="Canary Wharf.jpg" alt="Canary Wharf colour finanacial district HSBC Barclays office building river thames dock isle of dogs Lee Ramsden">

Nikon D800 f8 1/20 ISO100 24-70mm@24mm

Good morning, 

 

An image of Canary Wharf with the sunrising between the buildings. 

 

Canary Wharf is a major business district located in Tower Hamlets, London. It is one of the UK's two main financial centres – along with the traditional City of London – and contains many of Europe's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest in Great Britain, One Canada Square.

Canary Wharf contains around 14,000,000 square feet (1,300,000 m2) of office and retail space, Around 105,000 people work in Canary Wharf and it is home to the world or European headquarters of numerous major banks, professional services firms and media organisations including Barclays, Citigroup, Clifford Chance, Credit Suisse, Infosys, Fitch Ratings, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, KPMG, MetLife, Moody's, Morgan Stanley, RBC, Skadden, State Street and Thomson Reuters.

Canary Wharf is located in the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in the Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. The West India Docks once formed part of the busiest port in the world. After the docks were closed in 1980 the British Government adopted various policies to stimulate the redevelopment of the area, including through the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation in 1981 and granting the Isle of Dogs Enterprise Zone status in 1982 In 1987 the Canadian company Olympia and York agreed to construct a major office development on the Isle of Dogs, with construction commencing in 1988.

 

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

Tower Bridge, London

in
<img src="Tower bridge moon.jpg" alt="river Thames luna night scene Lee Ramsden blog">

Nikon D800 f11 13sec ISO100 24-70mm@45mm

Another image of the World famous Tower Bridge in London on the River Thames. Taken at 04:24hrs with a prominent Moon showing. 

 

Tower Bridge (built 1886–1894) is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England which crosses the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name, and has become an iconic symbol of London.

The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tensional forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. Originally it was painted a mid greenish-blue colour.

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

 

 

London Eye, South Bank river Thames, London.

in
<img src="Big Ben.jpg" alt="big ben London eye river thames london bridge long exposure lee filters lee ramsden">

Nikon D800 f8 30sec ISO100 24-70mm@28mm

An image of the London Eye. 

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. Also know as the Millennium Wheel, its office name was originally published as the British Airways London Eye, Then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye, then the EDF Energy London Eye. Since Mid-Jan 2015, it has been known in branding as the Coca-Cola London Eye, following an agreement signed in Sep 2014.

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

Big Ben on the river Thames, London

in
<img src="Big ben colour image.jpg" alt="London Bridge River Thames City of Westminster capital government Lee Ramsden">

Nikon D800 f13 5min ISO100 70-200mm@100mm

Morning, 

Following on from yesterdays post, this image was taken at 05:20am (the official sunrise time.) As you can see it was an overcast murky looking morning. But there is something i like about this print, the colour tones are what we normally see on a day to day basis. 

This sums up what i love about Landscape/cityscape photography, where it is a gamble. I edge my bets by checking weather reports the night before, i turn up at the location at least an hour prior to sunrise, but you just never know how it will turn out. Some mornings fog comes in and you see nothing, or its overcast and the sun doesn't even make an appearance. 

Not all was wasted though as while i am trying to make portfolio pieces, i am also shooting with the intention to create stock images. An image like this has more financial value as stock than an art worked piece with a dramatic sky. 

 

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower.

The tower is officially known as the Elizabeth Tower, renamed as such to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II (prior to being renamed in 2012 it was known as simply "Clock Tower"). The tower holds the second largest four-faced chiming clock in the world (Minneapolis City Hall being the first). The tower was completed in 1858 and had its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place. 

The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom and is often in the establishing shot of films set in London.

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

London Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster on the River Thames. London

in
<img src="London river Thames.jpg" alt="Big Ben Westminster houses of parliament government Lee Ramsden capital city london bridge clock face">  

Nikon D800 f11 5min ISO100 24-70mm@50mm - taken 04:46hrs

<img src="Big ben.jpg" alt="westminster river Thames London Bridge houses of Parliament reflection long exposure lee ramsden">

Nikon D800 f8 30sec ISO100 24-70mm@50mm - taken 04:33hrs

A couple of images taken from Jubilee bridge in London of Big Ben, westminster and London bridge on the river Thames. The difference to the colouring is not photoshop, it is time. 

From checking the META data to these files there are 13 minutes difference from when they were taken. Its amazing how fast the sky changes and it can dramatically change the feel to your image.

Alarm set at 3am, drove into London and set up for 4am. 0520hrs sunrise time, my fave time to shoot is just before sunrise, and the time on the above files are 0433hrs and 0446hrs. 

For long exposure images like this, i use Lee Filters. Either the big stopper which is a 10 stop filter or the 0.9 Neutral density filter. 

 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks


Unknown photographer

in
<img src="unknown photographer.jpg" alt="unrise sunset london city moreLondon tower Bridge office building reflection clouds Lee Ramsden">

Nikon D700 f18 1/160 ISO3200 21mm

Another crazy ISO3200 frame from a recent timelapse made in London, with tower bridge in the distance, taken on moreLondon property, dodging the security guards... 

I have no idea who the silhouetted man is, but it was a stunning sky and so why not capture it on your phone on the way to the office. 

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks

Tower Bridge at Sunrise.

in
Tower bridge landmark famous world river Thames sunset sunrise moreLondon orange glow Lee Ramsden

Nikon D800 F8 1/13 ISO200 24-70mm@48mm

Another 3am start to get into London and set up ready for the sunrise. 

Here is a shot of London's tower bridge reflected in a shop window to try and give some symmetry. 

I adore Tower bridge, it is a wonderful looking structure. And is classic iconic London landmark.  As you can see from the below iPhone image, it is easily visible even by plane.

 

iPhone image london river thames iPhone iPhoneography nightscape from a plane lee ramsden

iPhone 4S f2.4 1/15 ISO800

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

 

Thanks