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Some professional soul searching over a recent royal snapshot

I was with my family last weekend at the annual Beaufort Polo Club event and captured what I thought was an interesting juxtaposition. There were significantly more photographers than the three I shot here, some concealed in the hedge in full military camouflage. Perhaps by taking and showing this royal snapshot I am as guilty as the photographers that scrutinise every waking moment of these people’s existence. For me however this image also questions the tabloid media’s obsession with the everyday and often trivial aspects of the lives of celebrities and royals. Why do we need to see yet another picture of royal princes playing polo? Is it really news worthy? Discuss…..

Princes William and Harry and the paparazzi

Hasselblad 500CM (V system) – end of an era

It has just been announced that the Hasselblad company have stopped making their ‘V’ system of cameras. These iconic cameras have been the reliable workhorses of countless photographers over the years. In all of the time I have had my 40+ year old Hasselblad 500CM it has hardly needed more than a minor service. It is probably their robust and reliable nature which has led to the decision by Hasselblad, photographers buy them once and never need to replace them. My Hasselblad has outlived numerous digital SLR cameras and I anticipate using it for work and pleasure for many years to come.

The Hasselblad ‘V’ system changed so little over the years that it became a standard for medium format digital backs. I still occasionally stick a digital back on the camera and use it for proper commercial jobs and it is always carefully smuggled in my holiday luggage on family holidays much to my companion’s chagrin. See earlier post http://www.nigelgoldsmith.co.uk/its-back-to-front-dad/

My 40+ year old Hasselblad 500CM, a digital / analogue hybrid

Hospital portrait – understanding Bokeh

This image was taken in a local hospital earlier today and demonstrates the effective use of a large lens aperture f1.4 to isolate the two subjects in the foreground from the out of focus background. The way a lens renders out of focus detail is referred to its ‘bokeh‘. If you look closely you will see that the large haggered looking subject on the right has one eye in focus while the other is out of focus. This shallow ‘depth of field’ is also associated with larger lens apertures.

According to the Keywords used in the image metadata the smaller and more attractive subject is a Sylvie Goldsmith while the the larger subject is of no interest to the viewer and quite rightly goes un-named. The larger subject would also benefit from some serious work in Photoshop.

In case you are worried the rough looking subject on the right will be teaching at Bath University as normal today.

Bokeh and the newborn baby (Sylvie)

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