Andrew Lennie Photography

Greenwich

2012-01-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

Taken on a trip to Greenwich - 15 January 2012

Home for the Holidays!

2012-01-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

Had a great time back in sunny California for Christmas and New Year, where it was unseasonably warm - a welcome break from the UK. So nice to see family and friends and to have had so many fun times!

A few new photos!

2011-12-22T00:09:00.000-08:00

More night cityscapes from the weekend

2011-11-13T04:59:00.000-08:00

Went down for a walk around St. Paul's just after dusk to see the tent city protestors and took the following snaps.

Hope you enjoy.

The BIG switch!

2011-11-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

At long last I have decided to upgrade my DSLR. After 3 years with my Nikon D90 I have switched systems and upgraded to a Canon 5D Mk II. I love my Nikon but wanted to get to know Canon as well.

I have quite a bit to learn with this new setup but am looking forward to learning a whole new system - here are the first 2 and 1/2 weeks of photos, hope you enjoy.

Great post from NY Times Lens blog:

2011-08-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Coverage of a book by James Mollison, Where Children Sleep in Lens by the NY Times - the photos need very little commentary aside from names, ages and locations. Absolutely fantastic work.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/where-children-sleep/

http://www.jamesmollison.com/wherechildrensleep.php

Canon s95 - A fantastic point and shoot

2011-06-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

I just bought a Canon PowerShot s95, and so far I am incredibly impressed with the results. In terms of size and function the s95 packs an impressive punch for what seems to be a fairly small and understated high-end compact.

What I like most about the camera so far it its ability to give varying levels of coverage to different types of users. If you want an excellent point and shoot that requires little to no thought, the s95 has the standard auto settings, but if you want to put more thought or control in to what you are shooting there are a whole host of priority auto and priority manual modes to choose from as well as a fairly comprehensive set of scene modes for the artistically inclined. Some of the scene modes are a tad on the gimmicky side (eg. poster effect) but others are pretty robust and again have several subsettings that give users even more artistic choice for creative shooting (e.g. the sub film types on the 'nostalgic' scene mode)

As many of the other reviews have said, the trick to the s95's image quality is in the large sensor and f 2.0 lens that allows the camera to suck in and process available light (see the shot of the pint below in a dimly lit Cotswold pub). For a dyed in the wool DSLR convert (and admitted micro 4:3rds skeptic) the image quality and size benefits of the s95 have made me reconsider what makes a camera 'good'.

The s95 certainly is not perfect and cannot fully replace a DSLR enthusiast's go-to equipment, but its results do make a compelling argument about placing more reliance on the high-end compact on a more regular basis.

The Canon s95 has made me seriously reconsider the logic of lugging around sacks of lenses and camera equipment. With a bit of creativity and effort you can get high quality images with a camera that fits in your pocket.

Photos below and more to follow

Sunday Walk

2011-05-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Managed to make it out to the country this weekend, which was a welcome break to revision!

Lost and Found: Kenya + India

2011-01-22T06:56:00.000-08:00

Was digging around and was able to get the photos off of my point and shoot from India and Kenya (as well as a few from Tresco).

Christmas and New Year's photos

2011-01-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

B&W Portraits of India

2010-09-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

These were taken during my summer trip across the North of India from Kolkata to Delhi. The first three portraits come from the Mathieson Music School, located just south of Kolkata, where my girlfriend and her brother taught this summer. The school is a great opportunity for the children to learn and develop academically and musically; have a look at the School's website and all the great work that is being done there. Many thanks to all of the directors, teachers and children of the Mathieson Music School for being so kind and welcoming!

Anamika, Mathieson Music School

Sunil, Mathieson Music School

Mathieson Music School Guard, Kolkata

Silhouetted boy on bike, Varanasi

Street vendor, Varanasi

Auto-rickshaw driver, Varanasi

Ganga Sadu No. 1, Varanasi

Ganga Sadu No. 2, Varanasi

Royal Enfield, Varanasi

Guard, City Palace - Jaipur

Gem workers, Jaipur

Auto-rickshaw driver, Udaipur

Camel driver, Udaipur

India/ Kenya photos up!

2010-09-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Have had a bit of a backlog recently with moving back in and starting up with work, hope you enjoy two galleries from the summer travels: India and Kenya.

India!

2010-08-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

I am in India for the next two weeks, and am then off to Kenya! Keep watching for more photo updates when I can find an Internet cafe that doesnt suffer from random power cuts!

Yellowstone album updated

2010-07-28T13:59:00.001-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/alennie/YellowstoneFinal#

On the way to Yellowstone

2010-07-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

6 am start on the road for a 580 mile first leg to Yellowstone. Sacramento to Twin Falls, Idaho in about 10 & 1/2 hours or so with a few stops. Pretty interesting changes from lush Northern California to sage covered Nevadan basin and range.

New Lens! Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro

2010-07-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

I found a great deal on second-hand Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro while in California. So far I am really happy with the results, great clarity and some really sharp images!

Bluebottle fly

macro flame

honey bee in sunflower pollen

dandelion - great macro, it was just a bit bigger than a postage stamp!

Watt bridge and the American River

American River parkway

America and 4th of July photos

2010-07-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Maisie the labradinger

Aaaahhhhmmmmerriiiicaaaa!!!

Fireworks on the roof!

Tresco

2010-06-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

St. Martins from helicopter

Land's End

St. Agnes

Sikorsky helicopter

View out to the Atlantic

Puffin takeoff

St. Agnes strawberry

Queen's Birthday Parade

2010-06-13T03:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I found myself in London amidst the growing ferver and build-up to England v. USA in the World Cup. There has been a good deal of chat about England not being too concerned about maintaining that "special relationship" with America, at least on the pitch. A 1-1 draw bodes far worse for England than it does for the US, still though the match really shows how far football in America has come in the past decade.

So there I found myself, in World Cup terms, within the belly of the beast. London, the Mall; watching of all things the Queen’s birthday parade. Yet if anything, the ‘Trooping of the Colour’ reminds us that modern English culture is much more than football and lager (or bitter depending on your preference). Going back to the mid 1700’s yesterday’s event was a reminder of the dual role that British combat troops play today, balancing ceremonial responsibility with the reality of front line deployment. The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards trooped the colour this year, after having only returned from active duty in Helmand Province six weeks ago. Yesterday I was standing about half way down the Mall where the Irish Guards lined the procession. I took a few photos, and hope you enjoy (and no I've not gone turncoat or Benedict Arnold, I'm still rooting for the US in the World Cup)!

The return of the TZ3!

2010-06-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

After a long and drawn-out hiatus, I finally got my act together and bought a new charger for my Panasonic TZ3. Although its about 3-4 years old, I still think its one of the best point and shoots that I've ever owned. Leica lens and good color grading make for some solid results from a dated compact.

Finally an update!

2010-05-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

Apologies dear followers, what with the impending summer, a turn to brighter weather and a busy spell at work, I have yet to update ye olde photo blog in quite some time. But amends is nigh and photos are here, so fear not and rest your wholesome peepers upon yonder snaps. These were taken over the pre bank holiday holiday, and I hope you enjoy.

New York Times blog Lens feature

2010-05-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

To my amazement, a photo that I took at 14:00 GMT on May 2nd just outside of Cirencester in the Cotswolds was included in the Lens blog piece "A Moment in Time". I am very grateful for all of the kind comments and recommendations my photo has received. More importantly however is the photo feature itself, showcasing over 10,000 images taken around a single instant and producing an amazing view of the earth. Excellent work from the Lens team at NY Times in collecting and collating such an amazing range of images.

Desmonds and the Hyde Estate

2010-05-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

More photos from this last weekend!

Natural History Museum

2010-05-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

Took this as we zipped by the natural history museum last week...

Thou Art only one week away!

2010-05-08T04:25:00.000-07:00

For anyone who has not yet heard of this latest artistic triumph by Jessamy Irwin-Clark, Thou Art is "part exhibition, part concert, part festival: a whole celebration of creativity and its source,". It is a fantastic amalgamation of so many people and things in one place that you will never really know quite what to expect. It looks fantastic, and I recommend any in the London area on Saturday 15 May, to come along, as I will also be exhibiting some of my photography! For more information, visit Thou Art at: http://www.thou-art.org/

Bank Holiday in Gloucestershire

2010-05-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

I was in Gloucestershire for the weekend, which was sadly not as sunny as it should have been. Fortunately Monday turned out to be very nice. More photos to come.

Bluebells at 14:00 GMT (as per)

The Coln

Black and White Part II

2010-04-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Continuing with this week's theme I thought I would post some additional B&W photos that I've worked with this week.

Black and White

2010-04-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have recently been working on how to replicate the tone, contrast and white balance of black and white film with digital via photoshop. The main method that I found to work is using a combination of channel mixing, contrast editing, curves and adding various filters.

Saturday Beachy Head photos

2010-04-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

Went to Beachy Head on Saturday and took the below.

Photos from the weekend

2010-04-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

A bit later than expected, but here are some photos from last weekend.

The Bristolian

Results of the Icelandic ash cloud

Mrs. Duck

Spiderweb and hot air balloon

Swing and daffodils

Sunset thanks to Iceland on Sunday

Gordon Brown going down?

TED talk: Jonathan Klein of Getty Images

2010-04-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Klein is co-founder and current CEO of Getty Images one of the world's largest stock image providers. In this short TED talk he offers his perspective on the merits of photography in modern life with a presentation entitled "Photos that Changed the World", discussing points in history in which specific images became history in their own right.

May 2nd @15:00 GMT: Collaborative Photography project sponsored by the NY Times

2010-04-21T03:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s post was certainly ash cloud and Lens oriented, yet to risk a recurring theme this week I thought I might let readers know about Lens’ innovative photo collaboration taking place on Sunday May 2nd at 15:00 hours in Coordinated Universal Time or U.T.C., the contemporary equivalent of Greenwich Mean Time.

The plan is for people to take a photograph framing “A Moment in Time” (a bit of a cheesy title yes but still novel).

Great NY Times article on the Eyjafjallajokull volcano

2010-04-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

If you have not yet heard of the NY Times photoblog Lens here's your chance.

iPhone photography

2010-04-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

I've recently found myself getting a tad over-obsessed with camera technology. New lenses, updates to DSLRs and an ever increasing propensity towards 'keeping up with the Joneses' can take the fun out of photography sometimes. Thats why I took a step back and had a look at my iPhone's camera roll. At the end of the day a camera phone isn't going to deliver the same quality that a hugely expensive professional camera can, yet that doesn't necessarily mean that the photos are any less evokative or meaningful.

“All flights in and out of the UK and several other European countries have been suspended as ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moves south”

2010-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

By now, most people have heard the woes of the Northern Hemispheric air-transport at the hands of Volcanoes, Icelandic curses and micro glass particles. Now here’s your chance to see it from space (Link Via the BBC) in an image taken with NASA's Terra Satellite at 11.39 GMT Thursday April 15, 2010.

House finale to be filmed with a Canon EOS 5D

2010-04-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

While Nikon's D90 was the first DSLR to shoot full HD video (albeit in 720p), it certainly is far from the best. That current honor may just go to the higher-end Canon's such as the EOS-1D Mark IV and the EOS 5D Mark II. Most amatuer and "pro-sumer" photographers are happy snapping away and taking the occasional short video, yet director of House, Greg Yaitanes announced via Twitter this week that the show's season finale (airing May 17th in the

) would be shot entirely with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Not bad considering the camera retails for around £1,600 in the

and considerably less in the States. Gadget blog Engadget broke the story and has some solid links to sources around the story.

Op Ed: The Value of Micro Four-Thirds Cameras

2010-04-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

I recently came across an excellent article by Rik Fairlie of The New York Times that offers a good explanation of the major differences between point and shoot, the new “micro four thirds”, and digital SLR cameras. The article comes complete with a camera comparison feature and a side-by-side image gallery showing the results from each camera.

In the past few weeks I have had a few questions from friends and family who have an interest in the new micro four-thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus. I have only been able to use some of the early cameras from Olympus (E-P1& E-PL1) and Panasonic (GH-1 & GF-1), but was generally impressed with the level of sophistication each was able to offer. Reviews of the newest incarnations in the four-thirds camp have only underscored that each generation of these pint-sized DSLRs continues to improve.

That said however, I still remain skeptical of the whole four-thirds principle. The original logic behind four thirds was for a camera to produce DSLR type images with a significantly smaller “footprint” (i.e. no more lugging around heavy lens kits and giant bags). However I must admit that my personal misgivings on micro four-thirds systems are largely due to my bias towards DSLRs. I bought a Nikon D90 because I love taking photos, wanted improved control over a camera, and to produce great images all for a reasonable price.

It seems prima facie that you should be able to accomplish all of this with a micro four-thirds kit (and you certainly can, looking at all of the positive reviews coming in). The main difficulty I see here is that you can do all of this for around the same price with an entry level DSLR, like the Nikon D40x or D3000. All major manufactures offer kit ranges in the same price range as their micro four-thirds competitors, but in my opinion the four-third’s images just don’t come close.

In reality I think the deal breakers are the lenses. If you choose to compromise the size and weight of micro four-thirds systems for the picture quality of DSLRs, then you have the instant advantage of a budding lens collection. Lenses are, as any DSLR owner knows, the real collector’s obsession when it comes to photography kit. And paying just as much for micro four-thirds lenses, when you can get high quality glass from Canon, Nikon or whichever manufacturer you choose, just doesn’t seem like a viable option.

With all of this said, I have to admit I do see the attraction. The styling of the Olympus micro four-thirds E series is second to none (also having Kevin Spacey hawking your gear doesn’t hurt either). Perhaps even the best digital camera ever (according to some), the Leica M9 could even be considered in the same size range as the new four-thirds cameras…but its not exactly in the same price range for $5,000 sans lens.

So what's the conclusion then? If you want a challenge (and to start a lens collection) go for a full-size DSLR, if you want a new and possibly more compact photographic medium, go for the micro-four thirds cameras, and lastly if you've got some serious cash to splash, go big, go Leica and go home.

Spring in London!

2010-04-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Good news for anyone in and around the London area, the weather's been improving over the past week since Easter and we ended up at a 14 (57 f). That doesn't sound like much to anyone on the West coast in the States, but for the UK (given this winter especially) its been a heatwave.

Here are some photos I've taken during the past few days of sunshine.

Two from Kew Gardens on Sunday. The top is from the Tree Walk and the second is from just next to the side entrance by the Japanese pagoda.

And keeping with last week's theme on macro work with flowers...

and magnolia trees in Kew Gardens on Sunday:

And the amazing railing on the Sackler Crossing in Kew:

Bumblebee in a Putney garden on Saturday afternoon in the sun:

Last but not least, while in Kew Gardens on Sunday we happened to come across two Golden Pheasants

More photos to come from Kew, but thought that it would be better to keep with a theme on this post.

Radcliffe Camera

2010-04-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago I was in Oxford booking my flights for my summer trip and had 45 min or so to spend around the centre of town while the sun was going down. I snapped this picture of the Radcliffe Camera as the light came down Brasenose Lane. I had seen the Camera once before, on a very rainy day in September 2008 and decided to do a bit of reading about the history of the building.

I happened to be re-reading Tolkien's The Hobbit and read that Tolkien took inspiration from many of the buildings around Oxford for buildings in his stories. Apparently Toliken based one of Sauron's temples on the Radcliffe Camera.

Narcissus obvallaris

2010-04-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

The Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG was one of the first lenses I bought for my Nikon. The logic at the time was, buy something cheap and upgrade at a later date. Up until very recently I had not been that happy with the results from this lens, that was until Monday afternoon.

In the year or so since I've owned this lens, I have somehow neglected to find the Macro switch, that puts the lens into full manual, halving the lens' minimum focusing distance and allowing for much more detailed macro work.

This daffodil was lit by partial sunlight and the shot was handheld (balanced on the back of a chair). This once 'cheap' lens has turned out to be a bit of a bargain after all.

Tree stump outside of Daglingworth, near Cirencester.

2010-04-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend meant a somewhat sunny walk on Monday morning. I caught a glimpse of this old stump in a wood not far from Daglingworth in the Cotswolds.