FSB Networking Seminar

Just back from the FSB Networking Event at Costco... well done to the FSB for organising this event.  To be honest I wasn't sure what it would be like as I had never been to one before, I was definitely impressed and will be present at the next one.  Whilst next time I will speak to the FSB about having a stand there instead.

To all the great people I met and did the old business card swap with, if there is anything I can help you with, please get in touch it would be great to do business with you.

My website is being updated at the moment so the prices on there aren't current, if there are any you need clarification on please get in touch.  The new website will be live by the end of the week and will have some great offers on for existing and new business ventures.  Business start up stationery packages, new business website packages etc etc

Thanks again for taking the time to chat tonight, I got a lot from it and hope you guys did too.

Regards

Kev Woodcock

Aviation Photography Workshop 1st December 2011

Hi Everyone

Well, it happened, Coral Inspire's first Aviation Photography Workshop, what an excellent day.  The weather forecast was bad for the day and upto Wednesday evening I thought I would have to cancel it.  But the day dawned and the sky was mainly clear, so with camera bag packed I was off and collected 2 of  the workshop participants en-route.  Chris was to pick up the third and we would meet at RAF Coningsby some 1.5 hours later.

We went in to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for the 11am tour and had a very informative 1.5 hours.  The BBMF museum is not actually run by the RAF, its run by Lincolnshire County Council which I wasn't aware of before going in.  More info here... http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/visitorscentre/  

We were shown the Lancaster Bomber and introduced to the loneliest place on earth, the position of the rear gunner.  Basically if you were in that seat and the plane was shot down, thats pretty much it, you would have 17 seconds (if you chose) to try and unbuckle, climb through a hatch, through another door, get your parachute on and make it down to the door to escape.  Now given that the plane corkscrew's down because of the shape and dynamics, that the fuselage would be full of smoke rendering it pitch black, that the plane was nose down so you were trying to walk down vertically that wasn't an option.  Most of the rear gunners we were told either stayed with the plane or spun the turret and hit the buckle falling to their deaths, given that their average age was around 24/25, that was a chilling moment of thought for me.

We then headed out to the Park and View area, a space specifically for aviation enthusiasts to go to photograph the jets moving around on the base, from here I was able to talk the 3 participants of the course, John Palmer, Stuart Dobson and Alan Janaszek through the first basic steps of aviation photography.  We broke at 2pm for lunch, lunch was at the White Bull Inn at Coningsby, the food here and hospitality was excellent http://www.bedandbreakfastdirect.co.uk/show_cotdetails.asp?cid=1112

Here I am pointing out a couple of Typhoon lining up to take to the air

Alan Janaszek working with his camera to set it up with the most appropriate settings possible

Here, Alan is just checking over the settings before the noise starts

During lunch we took the opportunity to look through the images that the guys had taken and I was able to offer some corrective advice, critique on framing the jets and composing the shots, I also briefed them on what the afternoon session would include and we headed for the back of the base where we could capture the jets landing and taxiing.

From the area at the back of the base, the light was just giving enough of a glow to get some reflection from the jets as they came in and we were treat to a huge number of touch and go's from the Typhoons as they returned from their sorties.  At this point the light had diminished to such an extent and made for perfect timing to head back to the main park and view for some long exposure, tripod based photography.  This time, the guys were able to shoot the aircraft with their light trails making for some interesting night photography and light patterns.

At about 6.30pm we decided that the day was about done for the jets were all back in and didn't show much chance of going back out, so we stopped by the fenceline and photographed the jets sat under the lights and the engineers working on them to get them ready for their next sortie.

All in all everyone had a great day, something that I will definitely be repeating after Christmas, here are a couple of comments from the day courtesy of Stuart and John.

"Hi Kevin

Many thanks for yesterday. I really enjoyed it.

I must congratulate you on the way you organised the day, and the
information sheet was excellent.

May your business continue to flourish.

Regards Stuart

A satisfied customer."

"Hi Kevin

 

Many thanks for yesterdays workshop, I enjoyed it very much, did something I had not tried before, learnt something new, which I will try again and hopefully do better.

Once again many thanks to you, also please pass my thanks to Chris.

A great day and great company.

 

Cheers

 

John"

Anyone wanting to know more about these workshops, details can be found on my website.  www.coral-inspire.com/store

Thanks to everyone involved for their support and for making it such a great day.

Kev Woodcock

Boxed Canon 450d For Sale with 17-70mm Sigma Lens

Hi All

As mentioned on Wednesday night, I am selling my Boxed Canon 450d and Sigma 17-70mm lens and a load of accessories to go with...

List of kit:

Canon 450d - Mint Condition

Sigma 17-70mm Lens - Mint Condition

2 x ND8 72mm ND Screw on ND Filters

3 x Memory Cards, 2 x 8GB and 1 x 4GB

Battery Grip with 3 Batteries and AA Battery Cradle

2 x Charger with leads

Its a great camera, perfect for a starter in photography, features LiveView which is quite handy, bulb feature for long exposures.  Shutter Actuation Count is 26941 which is really low and its life expectancy is 150000+.  There are no scratches, wear marks, tripod bush marks or anything, I have really looked after this camera.  The lens is in mint condition apart from expected scuffs on petal hood and these are hardly noticeable, no marks on front or rear elements.

Due to the on-board sensor cleaning system, there are no sensor spots whatsoever.

Shot of camera featured with lens

Close up of back showing scratch free LCD screen and mint body casing

On camera flash extended

Front of camera

Slot for memory card

Shot 1 of lens showing lens detail

Shot of other side of lens, demonstrates mint condition of lens body

Rear element of lens

Canon 450D with Sigma Lens attached

Demonstration of Live View in action on the 3" LCD

3 x Memory Cards being sold with camera

2x8GB and 1x4GB Sandisk Extreme III

Shot showing 2xND8 Neutral Density Filters

Shot showing battery grip, batteries and AA Battery Cradle with charger

Shot of box and CD/DVD's I will be including.  Box is sun faded on 1 side.

Camera Spec as follows:

Features

12.2 MP CMOS sensor 3.5fps 9-point wide-area AF EOS Integrated Cleaning System 3.0” LCD with Live View mode DIGIC III processor Large, bright viewfinder Total image control Compact and lightweight Compatible with EF/EF-S lenses and EX Speedlites

Let’s play.

12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor The 12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor gives you plenty of detail for poster-size prints and extra flexibility when cropping. Sensitive in low light and virtually noise-free, Canon’s CMOS sensors are also remarkably power-efficient. 3.5 fps shooting The EOS 450D captures up to 3.5 frames per second for a continuous burst of up to 53 large JPEG images (6 in RAW). 9-point wide-area AF The 9 AF points are spread out across the frame to better accommodate off-centre subjects. The central AF point is a high sensitivity cross type sensor for quick, accurate focusing with f/2.8 and faster lenses. EOS Integrated Cleaning System Canon’s built-in dust prevention system uses three methods to keep images blemish-free. (1) Specialised materials reduce dust generation within the camera. (2) A Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit shakes dust from the sensor each time the camera is turned on or off. (3) Stubborn dust spots are mapped for easy removal in Digital Photo Professional. 3.0” LCD with Live View mode The bright 3.0” LCD provides sharp definition for checking focus and composition, with 10x magnification for finer details. When shooting from awkward positions, Live View mode gives you the option of framing the image from the LCD, and a choice of focussing modes. DIGIC III processor Renowned for its white balance accuracy, DIGIC III renders colours with brilliant, true-to-life precision. Captured images are processed in 14-bit colour depth for finer tonal gradations. DIGIC III works efficiently to minimise power consumption while maintaining ultra-fast response times. Large, bright viewfinder A large viewfinder gives a bright and clear view for easy composition of the scene. Total image control Gain easy control over image processing parameters with Picture Style presets. Contrast, sharpness and saturation can be customized in-camera or through the supplied Picture Style Editor software. After the shoot, Canon’s RAW processing software Digital Photo Professional provides everything you need to manage and process your RAW images. Compact and lightweight Ergonomically designed for natural and intuitive handling, the EOS 450 is housed in a compact body that weighs in at just 475 grams. EF lenses and accessories The EOS 450D is compatible with over 60 EF/EF-S lenses and all EX Series Speedlite flash units.

Asking Price is £600 for whole kit, anyone wishing to come and see the camera is more than welcome, please contact Kev Woodcock on 07956 238027 or email: kevin@coral-design.com if interested.  This would make an ideal gift or 1st camera for someone looking to get into the hobby.

Images I have taken with camera:

Thanks for looking