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Russell's Photographic Pages

This site is not being updated at the moment due to
personal circumstances. I am planning to give it an
overhaul and start updating again however so watch
this space. Mail and guestbook are also not working
since I have been drowned in spam (around 500
SPAM messages per legitimate message), so for now at
least the crap of society have won. I will probably
end up writing a spam filtering system which works
with the system my hosting company has set up.
Hopefully there may even be a pre-existing system
I can use. Thanks for bearing with me.

Last Update - 01/09/2006

Welcome to Russell's Photographic Pages, previously the Unofficial Dimage 7i Pages. Here I plan to share my own photographic experiences, pictures and anything else to do with cameras or photography in general.

You will find the main additions to my site in the diary pages for each month. These can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate month in the calendar below (also note each calendar has links to other years calendars at the bottom).

I've also added a What's New section for any changes to the structure or features of this site.

The diary pages include photos of the places I visit each month and my (photographic) experiences as they happen(ed).

There is a bar at the top of the page containing links to a galleries section (several themed galleries updated as and when I take suitable pictures), indexes to find things you are particularly interested in as well as several other sections.

You will also find details of equipment, applications and settings at the bottom of this page.

Anyway I hope you enjoy my site and please feel free to e-mail me or sign my guest book and/or offer suggestions (printable ones please).

Calendar 2006
January	February	March	April
May	June	July	August
September	October	November	December

2002	2003	2004	2005

What's new?

01/09/2006	Finally posted an update after a couple of months of doing nothing to the site. The machine I put this site together on died. As you can see above this has been rectified with a new machine and open heart drive surgery.
14/09/2005	I have added a small review page to the site and linked to the appropriate entry from my hardware list. These reviews aren't designed to be comprehensive but just to give a feel for the item. It's still under construction so please bear with me.
30/04/2005	I have added a Abstracts Gallery to the site.
11/12/2004	Following suggestions by several people I have added the facility to order prints of most of the images on this site and to pay using PayPal. I'm not expecting to become a millionaire or anything but if I'm lucky it may help to pay for some small pieces of equipment. This isn't going to become a commercial site and I hope I've added these features in such a way as to keep the feel of the site the same and not intrude too much on the experience. When you view an image there will be a button at the bottom of the page next to the settings which you can press if you would like to purchase.
06/12/2004	I have added a link at the bottom of most pages to allow you to E-Mail me. If anyone wishes to contact me then please click on the Send mail to Russell text right at the bottom of the page(s).
20/10/2004	I found out that my ISP allows me to use PHP scripting on my site and so rather than having to hover the mouse over a picture to see information it is displayed along with the enlarged version of the image when you click on the thumbnail. Provision of this information is in response to a request by Robert De Ross and applies to any pictures added after January 25th 2003.

What was New?

Egypt pages were added and linked from the bottom of the 2004 calendar.

The site has been revamped using Cascading Style sheets thanks to inspiration from Photographers' Guide to Web Publishing by Charles Saunders which my photo buddy Alistair had just bought.

A techniques page was added as requested by several people (link on the top of this page). I hope you find it useful. Please feel free to suggest improvements.

History

I have been taking pictures since I was a child and was originally introduced to photography by my uncle who also gave me many of his old cameras. Eventually my enthusiasm dropped off mainly due to the cost of film processing, etc.

I never really considered digital until I bought my last computer. I had the oportunity to buy a pack with it consisting of a printer, scanner and an Agfa CL-20 digital camera. I wanted the printer and scanner so I went for it. The CL-20 was a very basic camera but it was enough to show me the advantages of using digital and once again fired my enthusiasn.

While looking for a better camera I decided on a Minolta Dimage5 but due to several problems (and several D5s later) I eventually ended up with a 7i. After 22 months and 14850 shots later the 7i died (Not a bad lifetime for a flagship camera, I don't think). I was considering moving up to a DSLR anyway so when the Dimage died it gave me a push and I ordered a Nikon D70. I've never looked back since.

You can read about my adventures with the Dimage5 at my sister site the Unofficial Dimage5 Pages.

As with the D5 site I plan to keep this site as simple as possible, no Javascript, applets or server-side stuff unless absolutely necessary and just plain HTML wherever possible. I am now using style sheets and PHP (yes I've gone over to the dark side) but I've tried to make them as maintainence free as possible. The site will usually be updated at least once a week either on a Sunday evening or possibly a couple of days after.

Initially the purpose of this site was just to show some of my pictures but as it has developed it has also turned into a photo diary of my days out with the cameras and my experiences with them.

As you will probably have guessed from the details of the places I've visited I am a member of both the National Trust and English Heritage so I get into their properties for free. It's amazing how quickly the membership pays for itself as we usually go out at least once each weekend.

Camera Defaults and Settings

My Dimage 7i Memory Settings

All pictures are taken at fine quality and full resolution (but I sometimes set to raw for the occasional shot).

Memory 1	General Settings P Mode, -0.3ev, Flash -0.3 red-eye reduction mode, vivid colour, Colour +2, Default metering, Flexipoint focus, ISO 100. -3 Contrast
Memory 2	Macro Settings A Mode, Flash +0.3 fill mode, -0.3ev, spot metering, vivid colour, Colour +2, Flexipoint focus, ISO 100.
Memory 3	B&W Settings P Mode, Flash -0.3 red-eye reduction mode, Black and White, Default metering, Flexipoint focus, +3 contrast, -0.3 ev ISO 100.

Standard D70 Settings I Use

All D70 shots are taken using these settings unless otherwise stated, other settings such as apperture, shutter speed, ISO , metering pattern, etc. will be detailed per picture.

White balance auto -2 (warms it up a little)