Sony Alpha images

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Most of the photographs on the website are categorised into certain places or events. This page is for images that don't really fit into any other category.

In late 2006 I finally decided to take the plunge and 'go digital'. My old film SLR was a Minolta, and I had some lenses and a few other accessories, so I was planning on going for the Minolta 5D. Then I read the news that Minolta were stopping camera production so I decided to put my plans on hold for a while. Then came new information that Sony had purchased Minolta's camera section, and following the A100 review on dpreview I decided to go for the new 'Alpha' A100 camera.

Click on the thumbnail to see the full size images.

Allalin mountain peak, Saas Fee, Switzerland. This image was processed in Photoshop to black and white using the Channels feature, and a soft-focus effect applied around the edge.

Blurry water. Aperture set to smallest amount and the use of an ND filter gave an exposure time of around 3 seconds, leading to the effect seen here. Unfortunately the aperture was so small that there are some diffraction effects around high contrast areas such as the tree branches in the full size version.

A toy car taken by the standard Sony 18-70mm lens, but with the addition of a Cokin A103 Close-up filter. This is a cheap way to start playing around with Macro photography

Simple shot of some flowers in my office.

Two images of a leaf with some frost on it taken using a Sigma 70-300mm APO zoom at it's Macro setting. One image converted to BW using the Channels feature in Photoshop

Stamford Meadows after heavy rain caused the River Welland to flood. Colours processed in Photoshop a little, and an ND Grad filter was used when the image was taken to reduce the effect of the sun.

Tree stump near Stamford. I'd driven past this on one or two occasions, and on the day I had my camera with me the sky was looking quite nice with some clouds being lit by the rising sun. To expose for the sky, the stump itself was quite dark, but as the image was in RAW format I managed to drag enough detail out for it to look good. The image was converted to BW in photoshop to give the sky more impact.

Wind turbines at Glass Moor, near Peterborough. This image was taken on a misty day at sunset. I used a warmup filter to enhance the colours a little.

Trees in Sherwood Forest - processed in photoshop.

Sony Alpha DSLR Review

At the time of writing this, I've had the A100 for almost a year. I thought I'd put together a "mini-review" of sorts, especially as the A100 is now available at a great price and the A700 has arrived on the scene.

Build quality: Some reviews I've read have said the A100 feels a bit plasticky. It's made of plastic so this comes as no great surprise(!) but I can't really say I've found this a problem. Sure, it lacks the nice metal and rubber construction of more expensive models, but it has never felt cheap or fragile. It has stood up to me using it in some relatively harsh conditions as well, such as on a mountainside with snowspray at -18c or at the side of a dusty rally track while being peppered with stones. At all times, the camera's controls have worked faultlessly.

Ease of Use: This is another area where some reviews have marked down the Sony. I guess coming from a Minolta, the layout of some of the options was similar so perhaps I was at an advantage, but I find the camera easy to use. The left hand control wheel allows easy selection of common functions such as ISO, metering mode and so on, and is straightforward to use. The shutter button has a good level of tactile feedback with the steps from focus to shoot easy to feel. The screen is also readable in most light levels. In low light I find the viewfinder can sometimes be a little dark, although I haven't compared this to any of it's rivals so I can't say if it's better or worse. The only other issue is that the camera sometimes finds it tricky to focus if there isn't a good level of contrast between things in the scene. This only really occurs in dark situations or pointing at a flatly lit object and is easy enough to work around.

Picture quality: Check some of the images to the left :)

I have found on occasion the quality seems quite soft. Usually this seems to be almost a picture specific issue, as re-shooting comes out fine. This is nitpicky- usually it's only spotted when zoomed right in to detailed parts of the image. I think one cause is the kit 18-70mm lens causes this if stopped right down - so I tend to stick to f11 or less for most shots unless I need the depth of field. As I shoot in RAW, the images from the camera often look a little flat, but this is more due to the RAW workflow (processing is a must!) rather than a reflection of the camera. With the A100 set to one of the many JPEG scene modes, the images are immediately pleasing to the eye.

Various Bluebell pictures taken in the spring of 2007

Clothes pegs, converted to B+W, and some noise added.


Damselfly taken at Barnwell Country Park using a Sigma 70-300APO Macro. Not a bad first attempt, but I'd like to get it sharper next time!



Fotheringhay Church - this church, located in a small Northamptonshire village has a very distinctive spire. This shot was taken early one autumn morning, and an ND grad filter was used to help with the sky.



Derelict set - while out geocaching we came across a group of disused wartime buildings in the middle of some woods. Very eerie - some post processing done with curves and split toning to try and convey the slightly "Blair Witch" feeling a little more!


Misty fields. It was a lovely autumn morning and as I drove to work I noticed a low layer of mist hanging over some fields. Shining through the sun it looked great, so I had to stop and take some pictures!

Some water droplets on our garden table, narrow depth of field.

Water drops on leaves - using macro extension tubes.

Toothbrush in close up...

Some daffodils on the site of St. Peters' church, Stamford

Close up of a tulip taken using extension tubes and the kit lens.

"Lonely Tree". This tree is in a field close to where I live. I can't decide if I prefer the colour or the black and white one though!

Woke up with a headache early this morning, so I went to sit outside as it was nice and sunny. Quite a lot of wildlife visits our garden (bats and hedgehogs appear at dusk...) but these were some of the visitors while I was clearing my head. Next will be to try and grab some of the many butterflies. I'm fairly pleased with these shots, although the focus at macro for the hoverflies was tricky, and the exposure for the squirrel was not great due to the sunlight/shadow extremes.

This is a stone wall in Oundle, on the corner of the churchyard off New Street. I drove past it one evening and liked the look of the doorway and wall lit by the old fahioned lantern, so returned to take a photograph of it.

Sunrise over the Long Mynd, October 2008. The Long Mynd is a large hill near Church Stretton, Shropshire.