click photo to enlarge
The phrase that I've used for the title of this post is inextricably linked with Monty Python's Flying Circus. However, it originated with the continuity announcers and announcements that linked television programmes in the 1960s. Such things are rarely seen or heard these days, the time between programmes being filled with interminable advertisements for products and services (commercial TV) or equally interminable advertisements for forthcoming programmes (public broadcast TV). In fact, such is the frenetic pace of TV today compared with earlier times that it sometimes leaves me feeling breathless. On those occasions I think to myself, thank heavens for hard disc TV recorders. Most of my TV viewing - I watch films in the main - is recorded because it allows us to watch at our own pace, when we want, and to fast forward the advertising "fillers" between and in the programmes.Sometimes I feel that my photography can get a little frenetic too, especially when I'm unleashed in a photographer-friendly (or unfriendly!) environment such as London. Consequently, it's good to put a macro lens on the camera, point it at some flowers, and take my time over image making. The other day my wife asked me to photograph some oriental lilies that she'd grown. Usually I'd do this at my leisure and aim to get the very best shot that I could. This time, however, I did things a little quicker and fitted the photography in with the other tasks that were occupying me. So, she held a sheet of black vinyl behind the subject in a well-lit room as I grabbed a few images by natural light. Given my lack of preparation and poor technique I was surprised how well the photographs turned out. This is the one I like best for the feel that it has of a Victorian, painted, botanical illustration.
photograph and text (c) T. Boughen
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 1600
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
