Jeff Ascough's Blog

Canon ProPhoto Solutions

I'm currently writing this post on a train from London to Preston. I wanted to put together some words about the Canon ProPhoto Solutions event that I have been part of for the past 48 hours.

My role at the event was to present a couple of short 'live' photography sessions on the exhibition floor, and then a couple of main seminars in the AV suites. Yesterday at my live presentation, people were standing seven deep, and both of my seminars were packed to the rafters. So to everyone that attended, I just wanted to say a big 'Thank You'. It was a pleasure to stand up and speak, and hopefully next year I can twist Canon's arm into allowing me to do a longer session ;) I also did a short video interview for Mark Cleghorn's online training website.

The new EOS 1DIV was available to play with and, from what I've seen of the camera so far, this could be the model that completely redefines the way that I shoot; fingers crossed I should be getting a pre-production model before my next wedding in mid November. I am thrilled to be the only wedding photographer in Europe to be entrusted with shooting the very first wedding images from this camera, and those images will appear here first.

So what has got me really excited about the camera? Two things - the new AF system and the stunning high iso capability. 12800 as a standard iso setting opens up a whole new world in terms of lens choice. The 1.3x crop and the potential of the iso system means that I will no longer have to take lots of lenses to a wedding - a 16-35 f2.8LII attached to the camera will be all I need; I could finally ditch the camera bag!! The zoom takes care of my favourite focal lengths and becomes long enough with the crop to give me a 50mm field of view. Then add in the infamous 1 series build quality and the dual card option, and I am really excited about it. Canon have always had the edge in terms of colour fidelity and tone when it comes to it's rivals, and cameras such as the 5DMKII, simply took that advantage into the realms of high iso. Yes other manufacturers may have slightly less noise at 100% on a big monitor, but in my experience of other manufacturers - the higher the iso, the poorer the tone and colour. This is something which I've never experienced with Canon and this is why it remains my first choice of camera system.

Other things that caught my eye were the ThinkTank bags and cases from Snapperstuff. This is the first time I have actually seen the ThinkTank range 'in the flesh' and I was really amazed at the attention to detail and the sheer quality of their products. I am due for a new airline case and I will definitely be getting a ThinkTank.

The Canon range of professional printers were stunning; seeing my images printed in black and white through one of these machines was amazing - the depth of the print is something I haven't seen since my darkroom days. After Christmas I will be having one installed in my digital darkroom; I can't wait to show my clients the sheer quality of the prints that they can expect to have in 2010.

The most bizarre thing I saw were the third party rigs for enhancing the video shooting aspect of the EOS 5DII and the 7D. Take one small camera, add in some stabilisation, a monitor, microphone, and 'hey presto' you have a rig bigger than a standard professional video camera :D I have to confess that I am a little biased as my friend Bruce Dorn makes the best stuff for shooting video with DSLR's. I have an LCD viewfinder for the 7D, and it is brilliantly made - so simple; but then Bruce is a legend in the motion picture industry and his experience simply makes for an umparalleled understanding of how products should work.

And so, as I am about to pull into the delightful air raid shelter that is Preston train station, I must quickly sum up the past two days. I am really glad I went; I got to see some of my friends which I haven't seen for ages, handle some great product and present some seminars - what could be better?

Hilary & Iain's wedding at Hillbark House

Hilary and Iain got married at Hillbark Hotel on the Wirral, on a cool but bright October weekend. I seem to be blessed with great couples this year and Hilary and Iain were no exception, they were just a delight to work with.

Like my Crewe Hall wedding a few weeks ago, the light was a challenge - bright windows in dark rooms. This time of year can be really tough on wedding photographers - clients prefer to stay inside because of the outside temperature, and inside we usually have to mix it up with all sorts of lighting; tungsten, candles, and strong daylight come into play. I actually love the challenge of these Autumn and Winter months, as the light can add an extra dimension to the pictures if used correctly.

These are a few of my favourites from the day;

 

Landscape photographer of the year awards

Landscape photography is something that I continue to do for my own personal enjoyment. I love walking down the beach just taking pictures that interest me. My approach is that of street photographer rather than a landscape photographer; there are no big cameras, tripods, ND filters or any of the other paraphernalia that is usually associated with landscape photography. I just like to see something, put the camera to my eye and shoot - I would be the first to admit that the technical excellence that is often the hallmark of landscape photography is missing from my work, but I like to think my images still have something interesting about them.

Over the past couple of years I've entered the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards, even though I don't see myself as an awards junkie. In terms of my wedding work, I haven't entered anything for many years in the UK national awards - if I'm completely honest I simply don't feel I have anything to prove to anyone when it comes to wedding photography. However, with landscapes I feel somewhat differently; I still think that I'm very much a novice when it comes to this genre of photography and I like to enter my work into this particular competition just to see if I am improving.

Last year I was commended in the competition with an image taken on a camera phone. This year I am delighted to say that I have been commended again; and looking at the overall winners I believe the standard shown in this year's competition has been the highest yet. So I am really happy.

These are the images I entered this year; the majority of them were entered into the 'Living the View' category as this more or less falls into my style. I also had two camera phone images shortlisted. All of the images, apart from one, were taken along the Fylde coast where I live.

 

 

 

This is one of my shortlisted camera phone images (shot on an iPhone)

 

 

 

 

 

Another shortlisted camera phone image.

 

This is the image that was awarded a commendation and will appear at the Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition in London, and will be published in the forthcoming book that accompanies the competition.