Photo-scribe
John and Chris Leonard
John...
I started taking photographs when I was in my early teens, shooting black and white film and processing it myself. I became more interested in colour photography after a while, and shot slides for many years with only occasional forays into monochrome or colour negative for specific reasons.
When I started shooting digitally, I was still making a lot of use of my Pentax MZ-5n SLR, but this rarely sees the light of day now. However the many years spent shooting slides means I still believe in getting as much as possible "right in camera". Photoshop and Lightroom are wonderful tools, but it's best if you spend more time shooting and less in front of the computer!
Most of my current photographs are taken on a Nikon D300s DSLR, although I also make use of a Canon PowerShot SX10 IS 'bridge' camera when I want to travel light, yet have a long lens.
Photographs in the gallery may have been taken on other Nikon DSLRs - D70 and D80.
Equipment
- Canon PowerShot G3
- Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
- Nikon D70
- Nikon D80
- Nikon D300s
- Nikon 16-85mm VR, 18-200mm VR, 70-300mm VR, 35mm; Sigma 50mm macro
- Nikon SB600 flash, SC-29 cord, etc
I no longer have the G3, and the D300s is the 'work-horse' which is used most of the time.
Software
This is the software I use at home for my photography, with the current version numbers; I have used prior versions of all of these.
- Windows (Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, 64-bit, and also Vista)
- Adobe Lightroom 3
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
Other interests
As a software developer and computer system manager, I clearly have an interest in computing and software. However, as I am involved with these for work, I see them most of the time as a means to an end rather than a hobby in its own right.
I enjoy music, especially listening to classical music, particularly opera. I also sing and play a trumpet in my local church. I have three trumpets: the traditional Bb, and also a Huttl D and a Holton C. The last of these is what I use almost all the time at church as it means I don't have to transpose!
I also enjoy bird-watching, not to be confused with "twitching". The latter involves chasing around after rarities, whereas I just enjoy watching birds - though if I stumble across something uncommon it is a bonus. I have recently managed to photograph some species in the Algarve, but bird photography is really too specialised for me.
John
The Nikon D300s...
The Nikon D300s is a super camera. Unlike the D80 which was capable of good results, but frustrating to use, the D300s is an absolute joy, with far more accurate focussing and metering, and much easier to use controls.