Author: phillipwatson
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Dabbling in Film Photography
I have had an interest in film photography for years now, I love the idea of it, the process of it, and the perfectly imperfect results. However, the cost and impracticality are what have always held me back; I have previously bought cameras with the intention but then never carried through. This time, though, I…
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Llyn Brianne Dam & Reservoir
I’ve not been out and about with the camera as much as I would have liked so far this year, so when we went on a camping holiday to the Brecon Beacons(Bannau Brycheiniog), I made sure to plan days visiting spots that I had bookmarked in Google Maps as photo locations to visit. Having visited…
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First trip of the New Year to the Lake District
I have not visited the Lake District since last year, all the way back in December. So after such a disgustingly long absence, my joy to be back in the fells again was significant.In my opinion, winter is the best time of year to visit. The conditions can be so varied and beautiful, snow-capped peaks,…
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Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
The Palm House at Kew Garden is set to close for 5 years for renovations in 2027, I have been meaning to visit for some time but this deadline gave me the push needed to finally make the visit a reality. The gardens are expansive, filled with a collection of beautiful Victorian cast iron and…
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Cornwall on Samyang’s 35mm and 21mm primes
Cornwall is an area of the UK that I have wanted to visit for many years, mostly due to it housing The Eden Project. However geographically it has always been very distant from me, both when I have lived in Suffolk and in Yorkshire. So up until now I had not got round to making…
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Samyang 12mm f2 appreciation
I have owned the Samyang Samyang 12mm f2.0 NCS CS Lens for around 5 years now and while 12mm (18 full frame equivalent) is not a focal length that I use often I always carry it with me. Such a wide focal length is difficult to use, it requires very specific scenes and compositions to…
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Photographing Snowdonia – Glyder Fawr
Back in september I decided to go to north Wales for a long weekend in the last weeks of the years camping season. The weekend served as a trial by fire test run for a new tent because as seems to be usual for me the days chosen were at the tail end of a…
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TTArtisan 500mm F6.3 Review
Following on from my previous blog post about my experience using the samyang 500mm f8 lens that I had picked up for just £40, I developed the upgrade itch, I wanted more but I did not want to pay 20x more than I paid for the samyang.Enter the TTArtisan 500mm F6.3, a manual focus telephoto…
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7Artisans 35mm F1.2 Mk2 thoughts and impressions
Earlier this year I saw a used copy of the 7artisans 35mm f1.2 mark 2 for Fujifilm X mount. It only cost £70 and so curiosity won the battle over my wallet that day.I have previously tried their f1.4 35mm lens that retails at roughly half the price of this one and while I was…
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Experimenting with a retro 500mm lens
Wildlife and birds are not my main areas of interest in photography however I happen to live within walking distance of an RSPB site, so on a nice evening or when I have nothing better to do I find myself taking a walk down with the camera to pass the time.My only telephoto lens is…