This was a bit of a tester for me as it was the first time I’d used the brand new Canon 1D MkIV, a camera I’d had less than a week.

It certainly was a different experience being able to fire off 10 shots a second rather than 3.9. But it does take some getting used to. I’ll do a better report when I get some time.

The Hurricanes won the game 26-0 continuing their winning season.

I was really pleased to get the Black Cap which is a rare visitor to our garden. The Blackbird shot isn;t cropped at all, it was a shame it only perched nexty to the green wire feeder as it would have been better looking like it was in a more ‘natural’ setting.

On the way back I stopped off at Tyttenhangar Gravel Pits to make sure the lens was working OK. There wasn’t any wildlife about due to the snow, so I tested it on the local flora.

The little white dots you can see are snow flakes, not sensor dust!

Invites were sent out to her dog-walking pals & the party took place on the local common. She had five friends attend her party.

It absolutely poured down at the start. We arrived at the common & I realised I’d left the camera batteries on charge so had to go back home to get them. By the time we got back the rain had died down.

Doggy gifts were received & party cake & treats were eaten, a fun time was had by all.

I used the 5D MkII with the 24-105 f4 L lens & a Canon EF 580II flashgun. Additionally, as a light-softening measure I used a Gary Fong Lightsphere attached to the top of the flashgun.

The following were taken at the wider end of the lens with the camera held up in the air & poitning downwards, a bit hit & miss.

I took some shots hand-held but had to up the ISO levels, so you can see more noise in these shots.

This one was from Sunday 22nd November 2009, when I travelled down to Greenwich via a very wet M25 to shoot the Hurricanes’ third match of the season. Driving conditions were atrocious & I was fully expecting a completely rain-soaked game, but by the time kickoff came round the sun was out.

The Hurricanes took their first defeat of the season losing a hard-fought battle 20 to 19, how close can you get?

You can see from the selection of shots the differing lighting conditions; bright sunlight, overcast sky & into twilight. Of for the 2010 summer season with brightness & blue skies all game!

The skies were blue but the weather was very cold.

All shots taken with the 24-105 F4 L.

I was quite pleased with the last shot which is a self-portrait. Holding a 5D MkII with a battery grip & 24-105mm attached in one hand & getting such a perfect composition was probably more luck than judgement.

Usually there are 12 full moons a year, but as the calendar year includes an extra 11 days over & above the usual 28-day cycle for full moons, these accumulate & mean an extra blue moon every few years.

The following shots were taken around 2.30am on the First of January 2010 & were done on the 5D MkII with the 600mm prime, additionally I stuck on the 2x & the 1.4x converters for a total focal length of 1680mm. The shots were processed slightly differently but are only slightly cropped from the originals.

The shots were taken at Sarah’s home. I took my white muslin background & lit the subject with two Elinchrom BRXi 500s. The shots were all done with the 24-105mm F4 L lens

The muslin background needs a lot of post processing to make the background white so I decided to invest in some white vinyl which should make the job much easier. It arrived on Christmas Eve from Glasgow. Lastolite make a version & charge around £200 for 2.5m by 6m. I managed to get mine from a company which makes fabric for curtain-sided HGVs & got it for about £49 for 2.5m by 7m (plus postage).

The Hurricanes have an all weather pitch with floodlighting, which is just as well since the game started in harsh afternoon winter sun & ended under the lights with a very dark sky.

The extreme lighting variations makes it quite difficult for the photographer who has to manage high shutter speeds with increased ISO as the light disappears. Consequently the later shots are all at very high ISOs up to 6400, these shots have been run through noise reduction software. I prefer Imagenomic Noiseware which does a great job at reducing noise in the shots.

The Hurricanes managed to keep their early season advantage by shutting out the Pirates 24 – 0.

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