I joined SCC early 2006.- Prefer macro, IR and pinhole imaging.

Macro photography. Currently cutting teeth on whatever aspects of the natural world stay still long enough to be kept in focus. Started off using the Canon 60mm macro lens in combination with extension tubes but am starting to have fun with the MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro.

IR photography. Using a modified Nikon Coolpix 4500 where the hot mirror has been replaced with a piece of Wratten #89B filter. The net effect of this filter swap is to block almost all visible light (images have a red hue) and let through the longer wavelength infrared light which the camera sensor can 'see'. The end result is a camera that both dispays the IR image on the LCD screen and takes pictures with sensible exposure times. Perhaps the only downside is that the technology of the Coolpix 4500 dates to a time when the energy requirement of the LCD screen quickly drains the battery. To date, the camera has been used for the usual IR-friendly topics including ruins, church yards, foliage and my daughter.

Pinhole imaging. Started off by making a multiple pinhole camera using two concentric biscuit tins but have since explored many light-tight containers with edible or alcoholic contents. More sophisticated photography is permitted with the excellent hand-made MDF cameras acquired from Tony Taylor (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/anthonyetaylor/website_pinhole/pages/index.htm) or from incorporating pinhole apertures into manual lenses that can be bought fairly cheaply on the secondhand market. This latter technique has been shamelessly borrowed from the field of model photography. Toy models, that is.