I have to say, last Wednesday was definitely a very productive day; photographically speaking. Not only did I have a very successful night out with Phil, but I also managed to get some great results at the other end of the shutter speed spectrum. The image to the left is the most successful of a series of attempts I had to capture a nice, clean “cookie splash”. I came across the idea while searching around on Flickr a while back, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to give it a try myself. I’ve done a fair amount of long exposure/slow shutter speed in my time, but this was something pretty new. As you can see, the idea is to freeze the action of a cookie falling into a mug of coffee, and capture the resulting splash in mid air – a pretty simple concept, yet still quite tricky to execute.

The shot(s) were taken in the kitchen of our flat. My camera was mounted in a tripod, with a remote shutter cable attached. I was using my 50mm prime lens set to an aperture of f2. I had the shutter speed set to 1/2500th to freeze the splash and the camera was set on ISO 1000 (it can get quite dark in our flat in the afternoons, so the high ISO was a necessity to expose the shots correctly). Even with those settings, things were still coming out a little dark. I set up a couple of angle poise lamps on either side of the mug, which helped brighten the shots up, without causing any really harsh shadows.

Once the set up was in place, it was time to begin the fun! I really had no idea how this was going to work out, so went for it and hoped for the best! The process did become quite time consuming, as after every attempt I had to clean up the mess, get rid of the of cookie filled coffee, wash the mug and make a new brew. Also, my aim wasn’t always the best, so there were a few lame splashes, or even times when I totally missed the mug altogether. There was also some tweaking around to be done after each sequence, to get the best composition and to adjust the lighting to get it in the right place. The final photo (posted here) was part of the last sequence of shots I took. By the end I had ironed out many of the kinks, but more critically, I was running out of cookies! As I was shooting in rapid fire, I was left with a really interesting triptych of shots which shows the action of what I was doing rather nicely:

Cookie Splash Sequence: Click for a larger view…

So, there you have it. It was all a pretty simple set up, but it was a lot of fun to do, and I was really pleased with the results. Like I said, it was pretty messy though, and I’m glad I made the most of it as when my girlfriend reads this I’ll be banned from doing anything like it again! I’d definitely be keen to try more fast shutter experimentation in the future though (although it may have to be outside), particularly as the summer will (hopefully) be rolling around soon – The sun being the best angle poise lamp of them all. Or something.

If anyone reads this and is inspired to give it a go themselves; please let me know! I’d love to see how you got on.

Heart, originally uploaded by Ben Grubb.

You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart…

Happy belated Valentines day. Here’s a random shot from Borough Market. I was really happy with this shot – I really like the mix of colours, tones and textures. It’s always cool to find a random little detail which can make a really interesting photo.

Canary Wharf & The O2 Arena, originally uploaded by Ben Grubb.

Well, last night out with Phil was far more successful than the previous week. I was determined to get the shot I wanted (see above) of Canary Wharf and the O2 together. We both did some research this time and ended up in the right place instead of being stuck behind a seemingly never ending series of dead ends and locked gates. We actually ended up in a spot which I’d been to before but for some reason couldn’t make the shot work, and chalked it up to being in the wrong place. Also, it was a lot drier last night which made everything far more clearer. No evening out with Phil ever seems complete though, without us climbing out onto/over/along some rickety looking jetty, above the freezing cold Thames. Last night was no different. We cautiously picked our way across the banks of the river to get steps leading up to the first one, being as careful as possible in the dark (with no torch, yet again). I thought I was on fairly safe ground, until the ground I thought was fairly safe began to creep up my leg and into my shoes. Twice I have been down to the Thames Barrier and twice I have come home covered in silt. Bloody stuff.

My shoes after yet another silt based incident…

Anyway, the shots were worth it, and continued out towards the Barrier, stopping again briefly for Phil to engage in some comedy stylings, in the form of him not being able to climb over a fence due to his skinny jeans. I told you no could can come of them. Just say no kids. He finally managed to lollop himself over and we were out onto the second jetty of the evening, which offered us a slightly less cluttered view of Canary Wharf and the Dome. I was a happy boy! A few photos of the Thames Barrier later and we were toasting our victorious evening in the pub with a well earned pint and warm whiskey! It’s always a satisfying experience to have a successful night out with the cameras. I’d definitely like to head back down that way again in the summer as, although I got the shots I wanted, it did still seem annoyingly hazy – hopefully a warm summer evening will sort that out. Now we just have to plan our next trip…

Hello all. Sorry it’s been a while. A lot’s been going on with me recently which is good! Also, I was computer-less for a while. My PC picked up a rather nasty virus which it is still recovering from, and had to undergo some particularly nerve wracking open hard drive surgery! Luckily, we found a suitable 1TB donor and the operation seemed to be a success. There’s still some way to go until full recovery though. Huge thanks to master surgeon Dr. Ben Sales for all the help. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without him and would be a jibbering wreck on the floor by now. More than normal I mean, obviously.

Also, my MacBook had to go in to the Apple Store to have it’s fan and top case replaced (which they did for free, bless ‘em) and is now back to it’s full glory and looks all cleaned up and handsome again. Wonderful. It’s good to be able to actually do work and things again.

Anyway, techno geekery aside, I have some exciting news: I have started to write and photography shows for my friend Matt’s music review site Call Upon The Author. The very same site which I designed a banner for last year. I’m working towards getting together a decent portfolio of concert shots, and Matt’s the man with the contacts, so I thought we could help each other out. So far, so good. I went to my first show as a “reviewer” last week, and to start things off, I was lucky enough to see Paul Murphy’s (of Wintersleep fame) side project Postdata at The Borderline. He (or rather they, as he was joined by fellow Wintersleep band mate Tim D’eon on keyboards) are doing a short European tour opening for David Bazan (of Pedro The Lion). Both were rather enjoyable, and I certainly enjoyed Postdata! The review is done and up on Call Upon The Author now is you want to have a look. There’s also a small selection of photos on Flickr. Definitely check out the album as well – it’s marvelous. I have a few more shows lined up over the next few months which I’m looking forward to, and I hope you’ll check out my post gig ramblings. I’ve got a few other exciting things in the pipeline as well which I’ll no doubt talk about on here in due course. As the weather starts to brighten, so to does my year! Good times.