Visit to Blenheim Palace

Visit to Blenheim Palace

Just a short post today and a few pictures that I took whilst visiting Blenheim Palace (the birthplace of Winston Churchill).  The first image that opens this post is a typical toursit view looking in through the palace gates.  I took a shot of this with my iPhone using the new 'Hueless' app and was really pleased with the results.  I did of course take another shot using the GX1 and this is the one shown.  I converted it using Lightroom 4 and Silver Efex and am really pleased with the result.  I was even more happy when I noticed an almost identical print for sale in the palace gift shop for £75! After my last post I decided to only take the GX1 with me and loved the opportunities it gave me.  I hadn't realised how threatening a 5D looks when waved about at a subject but the GX1 was so discrete.

Of course it wouldn't be a day out if I wasn't trying to capture pictures of elderly people and this is typical of the shots I got.  I am worrying a little about this project as it is currently lacking a direction.  I need to find a specific focal point and try and capture images that support that concept.  I think my original idea of a generation that is 'out of touch' with  modern society is a good one but I am having to rely on chance encounters to get my images.  

I like the personalities in this image and the real differences in the faces of the two women.  I used Silver Efex for some dodging and burning to ensure that the focal points were where I wanted them, but perhaps should have shot with a shallower depth of field.

This was supposed to be an image for a series I'm working on involving dog owners but this little character was too full of energy to sit still for even a second.  I love how this shot came out though, full of movement and personality.  The dog was really dark in colour but the camera was able to capture all the details in RAW and it was easy to pull out all the detail in those fine hairs.

A few more of my pictures from the day on Flickr HERE