Being part of a photography group means you get to see cool locations and it was time once more to brave the cold with my dslr camera. Despite it being a lovely sunny day the wind was bitterly cold and each model deserved the “I braved the cold” medal. The location was the East Midlands Aero park which is situated beside the East Midlands Airport and the photography event was organised by the very professional Jan Everton. Jan and her team really do their best to put on a very well structured and organised event for all who attend them.

I took my newly acquired Sony A7Sii and three lenses but by the end of the shoot I had decided to stick with my 24-105mm Canon L series lens. This lens is a great work horse lens for me as it gives me the latitude to be able to get a fairly wide or close shot without having to keep changing lenses.

Model Tracey Sheppard poses in an elegant black velvet dress on the rear tail of an English Electric Lightning.

One thing I have noticed with the Sony is how easy it is to get a small piece of dirt on to the sensor. The sensor is really exposed when exchanging lenses so I have bought a small hand held plastic lighting system which allows me to place it over the lens housing to look directly onto the sensor to see if any foreign objects are sat on it. The Sony’s menu system is different to Canon and I am still getting used to where certain settings I need can be found but this is where getting out with you camera is all about.

Model Geoff Amos poses under the Avro Vulcan.

You can’t beat real time hands on experience with you and your camera and of course something to shoot. It’s all about knowing when to up your is level, or changing the F stop or shutter speed for that given moment in time. The light changes all of the time and on this shoot the sun was great but the ever changing clouds was not.  In one way it’s a good thing as you are constantly redialling your settings to accommodate the changes in light. Confidence in your camera is important and knowing how to deal with any given situation will become second nature after a while.

Model Kay Morgan poses in a full length black body clinging dress on the wing of an RAF Nimrod.

As I have mentioned in an earlier blog you can’t beat real time hands on experience. I also recommend joining a local photography group where you can be guided in how to improve your photography skills. I have now joined three and find them to be an awesome way to enhance my photography skills. One of the groups I am a member of is “Photo-shoots”  the key thing for me is that group is professionally run and Jan the key organiser sets up various photography days that you can attend throughout the year. There is a cost involved with these shoot days but the costs are very reasonable indeed. Some are sponsored so the price is reduced and some are shared group / team costs so for instance the flour shoot in Nottingham on the 6th of Feb is £60 for a group of three togs which means £20 each.

Model Nadia Frowd poses in an American soldier gear in front of a Sea King helicopter.

Here is the forecast of shoot days as at today with a lot more being added.

4th February – West Sussex – AWESOME CASTLE £250 a team of 3

6th February – Flour Shoot Nottingham – £60 team of 3

10tth Feburary – Maternity Shoot with Lenai in Wolverhhampton £50