Adrian Brown Photography

Winchfield Training - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Back in September, I went along to a private battle and training event with my friends from the re-enactment group.

As well as falling over a tree and injuring my back (which still aches now and then), I got a few half decent shots :)

Gallery: Winchfield Training - 2009
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A Weekend to Porlock and Exmoor

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Myself and two friends spent a nice long weekend in Porlock, just on the Exmoor border, last week.

During this photography marathon we did a single day catching a sunrise and the sunset, and 3 other locations (plus the hotel bar) in between! I nearly broke my camera when the stones beneath the tripod shifted and toppled the whole lot onto rocks. No damage was sustained at all fortunately. And we got caught out by the tide flooding the fields behind the beach on the Saturday evening, making the walk back to the hotel 2 or 3 times longer than our tired legs were expecting.

As well as Porlock, we visited Porlock Weir, Lynton, Watersmeet and a stop off on the moors of Exmoor. And on the way back, we dropped into Dunster Castle near Minehead.

Oh...and the Cream Teas were excellent!

Gallery: Porlock and Exmoor 2009
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War on the Line - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:52:00 +0000

This last weekend was War on the Line weekend on the Watercress Line. We had a good number of people turn out dressed up in '40s gear, and a good number of "MOPS" (Members of the Public) come and see us. It's a good day out!

I spent the Saturday on Photography duties. I normally do reenactment photos in Black and White, as it suits the period more (though obviously colour was about). This time however I've decided to go Colour. I'm quite pleased with the results. I'm also really chuffed with the 5D2 camera, the sharpness and detail is awesome!

Gallery: War on the Line - June 2009
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Abbotstone and Frensham Ponds

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:34:00 +0000

Did my first macro trips this weekend, the first to Abbotstone on a Friday evening. The second to Frensham Ponds on Saturday afternoon.

I decided to try out my Canon 5D Mark II. I'm unsure whether it will make a good Macro camera. My 40d may be only 10 megapixels compared to the 20 on the 5D2, but it isn't a full frame camera and has built in "crop". That essentially means that I can get tighter shots on the 40D than on the 5D2. Then again, as the 5D2 has those 20 mega pixels, there is a huge amount of room to crop in photoshop!

As it turns out the results are more than passable for a first attempt. However I'm still unsure which will turn out to be my macro camera of choice. The experimentation will continue!

Gallery: Abbotstone and Frensham Ponds
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Bluebells in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Here are a few shots I got of a wood full of Bluebells earlier this year.

Gallery: Bluebells in 2009
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Rural Life Centre - Tilford 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:03:00 +0000

Every May, Tilford Rural Life Centre holds a reenactment event called "Tilford, A Village at War". A number of reenactment groups, British and American, take over the open air museum and attempt to depict what life might have been like for a Village in the second world war with army units posted nearby. Obviously because of the scenario, no Axis reenacters are to be found at this event.

I spent an afternoon there getting some pics for the gallery.

Gallery: Rural Life Centre - Tilford 2009
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Gunpowder Mills VE Day - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:58:00 +0000

This May Day bank holiday was the annual VE day celebration event at the Royal Gunpowder Mills near Waltham Abbey. A fair few reenactment groups went along to provide the entertainment.

I went up on the Sunday to take some pictures, and had a good time snapping away. I think I got some good shots, have a look and see for yourself!

Gallery: Gunpowder Mills2009
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Clandon Park - April 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Clandon Park is home to the Queens' Royal Surrey Regiment Museum. Since the re-enactment group I do photography is a recreation of the Queens Regiment in the Second World War, they attend an event here, along with another re-enactment group who portray the same regiment, just about a hundred or so years earlier.

Gallery: Clandon Park - April 2009
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Screaming Eagles Training in the Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:26:00 +0000

This Sunday I got the chance to spend an hour taking a few shots of the Screaming Eagles Living History Group training in the snow.

The Screaming Eagles 'preserve the memory, deeds and sacrifices of all the young service men who served with the 101st US Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Easy Company during the Second World War'.

Gallery: Frensham Vale - February 2009
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Around Hamble-le-Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:58:00 +0000

A friend and I took a trip yesterday to the area near Hamble-le-Rice, which is on the East side of Southampton Water. It was quite a nice day for going out with the cameras, the sun was shining, but the light wasn't harsh, and we got a good sunset too!

I'm still mastering the art of using grad filters on landscape (or waterscape) pictures, and I know I need to get some "hard" grads as all I have at the present are soft. I also need to get a non grad ND filter to allow me to "stop down" to get longer exposures. Netherless I think I got some good shots of the sunset, including a quite nice HDR image.

Whilst we were out, my new Canon 5d Mark II arrived at home (with the 24-105mm lens). Looking forward to trying that out, it supposed to be rather good at landscapes!

Gallery: Hamble January 2001
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The Light Lounge - 8th Jan 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:38:00 +0000

This Thursday (8th Jan 2009) I popped into the Light Lounge in Basingstoke at the suggestion of a friend of mine. He is the sound-man and compère for "Three on Thursday", a gig consisting of three bands, and he thought I might like to come along and take some pictures of the bands performing.

The first of the three were a little too loud for me. They like to play really hard and loud (amp set on eleven!), but with out ear protection, I couldn't get close enough to get some pictures of them.

The second band, The Mundane Mondays, were much friendlier on my ears. They kicked out some great up-tempo guitar driven tunes, and at one point showed versatility by the singers excellent version of the Run DMC hit "It's Tricky".

The third and headline act was Kingston based Cats and Criminals, who were very slick and had a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm in their performance. Catch some of their tunes at their MySpace or Facebook pages:

http://www.myspace.com/catsandcriminals
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cats-and-Criminals/33218975595

All shots were taken with my Canon 40d at ISO 1600, with a f1.8 50mm lens. Noise at that ISO is acceptable, though I am hoping to upgrade to a 5d Mark II later this year which should allow me to get better shots in low light.

Gallery: The Light Lounge - 8th Jan 2009
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Christmas Leave on the Line

noreply@blogger.com (Wivelrod) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Saturday the 27th of December 2008 saw the annual "Christmas Leave on the Line" event at the Watercress Line in Alresford, UK.

I and a few friends went along for the day, dressed up in 1940's clothing. Though my Canon 40d did not look particularly "period" - but then nor did the plethora of digital camera's used by many of the participants. One of my friends did take along a period camera for the day, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the results once he gets the film developed.

I took just over a hundred shots on the day, all with the 40d and a f1.8 50mm prime lens.

Gallery: Christmas Leave on the Line
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