Sunday evening in the mountains
Mountain views of Country Kerry
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
In My Dreams I was traveling, Probably in my car, through the hills of Kerry, little valleys where everyday life is lived, A voice reproached me for squandering my time on trifles , instead of writing about the essence of life, which is such a so-ness.
Probably all my voyages in dreams have a model in one, very real, by car from cork to Kerry, A boggy road with ruts, always either up or down, stubble fields on the hills in the rain, here and there a spruce grove, then alders by streams,huts,well-sweeps.
Taken from : Czeslaw Milosz
Canon G1x
Twelve Months with a Canon G1x (Comments and Gallery)
It is just over a years since I purchased a reconditioned (Canon G1x) from Canon in the Irish republic.
I posted a personal review of the camera at the start of March here: “Canon G1x review“, so to avoid myself doing a repeat here you can read what I felt about the camera back then from this link.
I have taken about four thousand images with this camera in the first year and I have to say I just love it, before I decided to get it I was looking to replace a Contax G2 camera as I was finding it very hard to get film processed without posting it back to the UK. The idea of a compact system camera i.e. one that can work with extra items like a external flash gun, had been something I was very interested in.
For many years compact digital camera’s have not been of a good enough quality to consider purchasing and using if you intend to produce marketable images, I.e. anything from stock photography to commissioned work. The sensors where just to small to produce clean and detailed enough images.
From the moment I took collection of this camera I have to say it’s impressed me, I have most often used Film or Digital slr equipment apart from the Contax G2 that I had for many years. The camera is of good enough size a weight to feel like a good pro level compact and it is built to last that’s for sure. The body is equipped with every feature that an advanced user could need and is identical to a Digital slr.
I was looking for a camera that I could keep in a bag as a backup to my slr’s and this camera has been that, however I have found myself looking at what it is I need to do before I go out and deciding what type of Camera I need with me. I feel that If I have been booked to do some work then a customer needs to see an slr and the results are of a higher quality, but not by much. How and ever for personal work like this blog or books, holidays and events then this camera is perfect. I have produced double A3 wide prints from its images and they look as good as my Nikon pro equipment. It has all the needed quality, is fast to use acts exactly like I need it to and produces great results.
I was looking for a compact camera that didn’t make me feel like I wished I had packed an slr and this Canon camera is it, it has always filled me with confidence and been a pleasure to use.
Canon G1x Gallery
Beach sculpture at Tramore, Waterford
All images canon G1 x
Art students working a a beach sculpture, Tramore, County Waterford
Photography by : Nigel Borrington
Dragon Sculpture
A little while back on a visit to Tramore Beach, County Waterford I photographed these art students working on beach sculpture before a competition the following weekend.
It was amazing to watch them for a while as they practised their projects, the images below are of a dragon that they intended to create on the day.
Gallery
Mount Leinster
Canon G1x, iso 100
Image of Coolasnaghta ridge, Mount Leinster, Co Carlow
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
An image of the Coolasnaghta ridge walk, mount leinster, County Carlow. Taken back in February 2013, the mountains grass and heathers were still brown and yellow from the snow and cold of the winter.
This is a great walk along the ridges of mount leinster in Co.Carlow as it offers views of four of Ireland county’s below (Carlow, Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny ). The mountain is best accessed from the village of Borris, Co.Carlow and is about a 10km drive away.
Cuckoo flowers, on the kings river
Canon G1 x, iso 100, f2.8
Cuckoo flowers
landscape photography
Nigel Borrington
Cuckoo flowers on the banks of the Kings river, Kells, County kilkenny…..
Canon G1x
Canon G1x
So since I sold my Contax G2 kit on ebay.ie last summer and then purchased a Canon G1x what have I be using it for and what’s my feeling about this Camera.
I am a big believer that a camera has to fit its owner before good images can even be approached, if you’re going out to get images with something that you just don’t feel good with then yes you may still get some good photos but you will always feel that bit removed from what you’re taking pictures of.
To me when you get your camera out of its bag and move toward the things you want to record, if you just don’t feel good about the camera in your hands then any issues you have with it will be in the front of your mind and not your subjects. Good photography is all about mind just like any other areas of life.
So what about this little Canon, I have to say from the first time I held and took some shots it was clear that I could just get on and use it. I don’t care that much about camera spec’s. It’s been a long time since any camera lacked a feature that I needed and I think that most photographers just know the kind of camera to pass on.
What counts for me is how the camera feels in my hands and how simply I can make a change to a setting that I need. The Canon G1x is about as good as it gets in both these areas. Yes its different from an SLR but not so different that it takes more than ten minutes to feel at home.
I can only point out one thing that I didn’t like, this being the placement of the video button. It’s far too simple to press it when you just holding the camera and walking around. You will also find that its not fast to cancel this mode when you want to, it takes at least two second to get out of recording and go back to stills mode. Next to the video button is a rubber rest for the thumb, make sure your thumb stays on this and this problem won’t happen.
The one thing that I felt I would have a problem with was the viewfinder or lack of it but even after using 100% view, optical viewfinder cameras for so long like Slr’s or rangefinder cameras I did’nt have any problems from the start. The single reason for this was the LCD screen, its crystal clear and I have always been able to see it in any lighting conditions.
The process of holding the camera in front of yourself is very different but I felt that it went hand in hand with the type of photography this camera is so good at, this being photography in the environment. Just being outside and going on a walk about, heading in town and doing some street photography or up the top of a mountain with a camera that’s not so heavy that its all you can think about. Using the LCD screen to frame your shot somehow keeps you feeling involved with the very things you’re taking pictures of.
I will post much more about this camera and talk about the C1 and C2 modes and how I have set them up to store things like my preferred focus length (35mm) and how to use the front dial to zoom to fixed focus positions.
The following pictures below are just some samples from the first few weeks I have owned this camera, as you can see its got me out taking lots of subjects. The image quality is second to none when put against the size and usability of this type of camera.
If I had one simple comment it would be, well done canon for making a camera that with no fuss gets people involved with the subjects they want to photo, while not spend any-time thinking about the camera you just sold them. Well done!
Black and white landscapes
Canon G1x
Nigel Borrington
Slievenamon
Canon G1x
Landscape photography by : Nigel Borrington
Rising as a huge heathery dome amid gentle green countryside, Slievenamon’s profile naturally attracts the eye. This is an easy mountainwith with a broad and clear track leading all the way to the summit cairn.
On fine days there are extensive views, taking in all the best walking areas in the South East of Ireland.
Slievenamon is a mountain of history and mystery of lore and legends. Its name means the ‘Mountain of the Women’ and the story is told how all the fairest women raced to the top to claim the hand of the warrior, Fionn Mac Cumhail. Fionn secretly fancied Grainne, the daughter of the High King of Ireland, so he advised her how to win the race!
Although it looks like a solitary height, Slievenamon is surrounded by a series of lower heathery humps. Some of these, like the main summit, are crowned by ancient burial Cairns. The highest cairn is said to mark the entrance to the mysterious Celtic underworld.
The Celtic Underworld … and the Otherworld
According to the Celtic myths, the Celtic deities and the fairy folk lived in the spiritual domain that was generally called the “Otherworld”. These domains were usually hidden from mortal eyes, though not always. Sometimes, human beings are admitted, sometimes against their will or better judgement.
In Irish myths, the Otherworld could be an island, such as Glastonbury, or a dun or hill-fort. Sometimes, the Otherworld was called Sidhe, the fairy hill-fort (dun) or palace.
In the Welsh myths, the Otherworld was often called Annwfn or Annwyn, and the fort or castle was usually known as Caer.
The Underworld is what many people today might call the afterlife, referring to the spiritual realm in which newly dead spirits and souls go. Sometimes the underworld is identified as being like the Christian Hell because Hell is sometimes pictured as being under the Earth. The Underworld is possibly linked to the Earth because that is where the body goes after death.
Canon G1X
Gone Fishing
Just after the New Year I decided to pick up a second hand Canon G1x as part of a project that I have been undertaking for some time, this being to replace a missing part of my camera kit.
Since the end of the 1990’s I have owned Nikon digital slr’s, having dumped film cameras and moved to digital in about 1999.
For a long time I worked with a Contax G2 film camera and have not owned a compact system since, so the aim was to fill this gap. The purchase of this camera is I hope the start and finish of this aim for some time to come.
This morning I put the camera in a bag and along with my dog headed to a place called Boats strand, Co. Waterford, the following images are some of the results.
These images have Canon G1x filter effects applied in camera.
I will be posting the others soon.
As for the Camera well, yes I think it’s going to be everything I expected. I had read that the autofocus system was a little slow, however it’s not that bad for a contrast based system and I would much prefer correct than lighting fast.
I will keep posting my G1x impressions and images.
Nigel
Nigel Borrington 
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