Le Bureau des Étrangers

A chance encounter. I asked if I might take her photograph. She did not object. She wondered if the picture would be improved by some sweeping action. Of course she was right. This was easily the best of the three photographs I made of her. How wonderful it is when strangers agree to be photographed. Nikon D2Xs + Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. Typical for many ultra wide-angle lenses the Sigma AF 15-30mm EX suffers from very heavy barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom range. The situation eases continuously towards the 30mm where the lens is almost free of distortion. This photograph was taken at 22mm. Distortion was very noticeable and difficult to correct in post processing.

Cropped and converted to B&W. Shot with a Nikon 50mm f/2 AI lens on a Nikon D2Xs, but not very well: nothing is sharp. The lady on the left, who agreed readily to allow a photograph, has a winning smile, and that is what makes the picture. I think the other lady might have been a bit shy. 100 ISO; f/5.3; 1/40th. Far too slow a shutter speed, hence the lack of sharpness. I ought to curb my eagerness to keep the D2 at its lowest ISO. It doesn't always pay a dividend.

A busy lady who paused for a photograph with a glad heart. A small file following cropping and conversion to B&W. Shot with a Nikon D2Xs and Tokina SD 50-135mm f/2.8 DX AT-X Pro lens.

To my untrained eye as a visitor to the East Somerset Railway, I think sometimes he drives and sometimes he shovels. He had sole charge of the engine in between runs and invited me to join him on the footplate. This was an exciting experience. Quite hot, too. Nikon D2Xs + Tamron 35mm f/1.8 lens,.

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro with a Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. Lens at 18mm. ISO 100. f/8. 1/250th.

Nikon D2Xs, Nikkor 50mm f/2 AI. It's always such a pleasure to meet someone jolly who says, 'yes' when asked if you may take their picture. 100 ISO; f/5.3; 1/40th.

City of Bath; Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.

The British are often quite obliging when engaged at a personal level. Some agree to be photographed because they don't like to be churlish whilst others agree with alacrity. This bloke is clearly an extrovert and good at his job. City of Bath; Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.

One, two, Buckle my shoe; Three, four, Knock at the door; Five, six, Pick up sticks; Seven, eight, Lay them straight: Nine, ten, A big fat hen ...

A damp Wednesday morning in Trowbridge. An attempt to do it the old way: 50mm prime lens (a Carl Zeiss Jena f/2.8 Tessar); manual focus, of course, and all-manual exposure setting. The camera was a Canon EOS 30D - I am not yet contemplating the final hurdle of film. The field of view with this camera and lens combination is similar to using a lens of 80mm focal length on a 35mm film camera. Only occasionally frustrating for wide shots, it is generally a satisfying general purpose lens. I bought one of Taylor's celebrated Wiltshire lardy cakes and the trader agreed to have his portrait taken. Quid pro quo.

They obligingly agreed to be photographed. I used an inexpensive secondhand Canon EOS 20D with an 18-55mm kit lens.

Just once in a while you ask a stranger for permission to take their photograph and it all works out well. The left-hand side was in deep shadow; I have tried to lift it with a grad filter effect. The woman in the picture was a good sport to allow me three photographs without being self-conscious in the slightest. Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 40D digital camera. This is an edit of an earlier picture.

It seems a long time ago that film processors used the term 'selective enlargement', but it is a perfect description. This is something of a test of the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD lens which I used to make the bigger photograph of which this is a selective enlargement. Nikon D700; ISO 200; 1/80th; f/4.5.

Outside the 'Red Lion' at Avebury, Wiltshire. Nikon D2Xs + AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens.

Andre's Cafe, Wells, Somerset. I asked the couple if they would mind my photographing them and I was so intent on making a good job of it that I was unaware of the Ray Winstone lookalike character crossing the street behind them. Serendipitously, he completes the picture nicely.

Shot with a Nikon Nikkor-P 105mm f/2.5 lens.

Canon EOS 30D + Canon EF 35-135mm f/4 - 5.6 lens. I bought this lens from a bloke on eBay for £37. The low price reflected how badly it was described and presented for sale. There is a scratch on the front element which was concealed by many years' worth of accumulated dirt and dust. I don't know whether the seller was aware of this or not but in my experience scratches on front elements seldom have a bad effect on photographs. I dusted it off with a damp cloth and found it worked well enough. On the crop sensor 30D it behaves like a 55-215mm zoom and is ideal for portraits. It's even more useful when you happen to meet a friendly train driver who doesn't mind being photographed. Cheers, Drive, as we say round here.