the humble bumble

the humble bumble, originally uploaded by jamesburden.

I have varied ambitions as a photographer. One of them is to create a good picture of the humble bumblebee. An easy challenge I thought to myself and then tried to do it. It’s really hard!! They move so fast. I take my hat off to all who have tried to photograph this curious creature that scientifically shouldn’t even be able to fly.

the rise and fall of the 50mm lens

the rise and fall of the 50mm lens, originally uploaded by jamesburden.

A week ago I went wilderness camping in Snowdonia. The amount of shots I took where unfortunately inversely proportional to the prodigious amount of rain that fell. After 24 very wet hours, presumably in shock at the incessant dampness, my 50mm lens just fell apart. My 50mm prime lens is my cheapest lens but oddly, my favourite. I love how it demands that I move in order to frame the shot rather than lazily zooming from wherever I happen to be standing.

The photo above is the last shot taken before it broke. Not the standard Snowdonia landscape shot. This was taken in the middle of the night at the mountain refuge hut at the top of Foel Grach. It was cold, wet, dark and utterly utterly brilliant.