“Catch a Falling Star” an image I’m very pleased with:

a. 2″ @ f11 iso 200 cable release. 100mm on a 40D, full frame image.
b. Front 580Ex 1/128 power zoomed into 105mm to maximise the lighting.
c. Rear 580Ex 1/128 power zoomed into 105mm as a rim light.
d. Flashes triggered from microphone attached to the gun barrel, 0.002 seconds delay.

The flash duration is approximately 1/35,000 second and the pellet has traveled about 4mm during this exposure and it can be seen in the debris trail.

Flash duration of the Canon 580Ex flashgun
I was curious as to what I could freeze using my Canon 580Ex flashgun so I had a play in the lab using a photodiode and scope to measure the flash duration of the flashgun (averaged value over 4 flashes) at the various power output settings. The results were:

1/1 power = 1/1000 second
1/2 power = 1/2000
1/4 power = 1/4000
1/8 power = 1/9000
1/16 power = 1/15000
1/32 power = 1/21000
1/64 power = 1/30000
1/128 power = 1/35000

“What does this mean” I hear you scream, closely followed by “wtf has this to do with photography”?

Well the answer is, in order to freeze the movement of a fast moving subject a photographer will, at first, try to freeze the movement using a fast shutter speed. The maximum shutter speed on a good DSLR is around 1/8000 second but in order to use this speed you either need:

1. very, very strong lighting,
2. a wide open aperture and/or
3. a high ISO setting

An alternative is to use a flashgun(s) and by reducing the power output of the flashgun the durations can be as short as 1/35000 second for the 580Ex flashgun. If the flash is placed very close to the subject a small aperture and low ISO setting can also be used.

A journey through failed experiments with a balloon full of water with notes on each experiment which might help anyone else taking this path.

Pushing the laws of physics too hard

more to follow as I develop the techniques.

In 1716 the first working beacon started operation on the Skerries. This was a simple round tower, 35 feet high with an open grate on top in which coal was burnt. In 1987 the lighthouse was finally automated.

Today the Skerries are home to a large breeding colony of Arctic Tern (approximately 2,500 breeding pairs in 2008). Roseate Tern breeds occasionally in very small numbers. The following species also breed on the islands: Puffin, Black-legged Kittiwake, Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull. The Skerries are wardened by the RSPB during the tern breeding season.

West Mouse islet

The Mouse is known as Maen-y-Bugail (The Shepherd’s Stone) in Welsh. This is based on an old tale about a shepherd who lived on the headland.

While tending his flock of sheep, he got a stone in his shoe. The stone caused him a lot of pain and in his anger he pulled out the stone and threw it out to sea. And so we have West Mouse.

This white beacon, in daylight of course, is a daymark which helps local shipping as they navigate past this very tidal stretch of the coast.

Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall - Copyright K Lewis (c) 2008 - for a Java version click here

At 240ft Pistyll Rhaeader waterfall is the highest waterfall in England or Wales.

Referred to as “The Hidden Pearl of Wales” this waterfall provides a magnificent backdrop to one of the most beautiful and serene valleys I’ve had the pleasure of photographing.

Full of surprises with a wide variety of wildlife and birds that can be seen from the comfort of the friendly restaurant/tearoom conveniently found at the bottom of the waterfall.

The folklore and legends of the Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall can be read on the main website located here.

Wylfa power station, located on the north coast of Anglesey has two Magnox nuclear reactors and four turbine generators. Wylfa power station meets more than 40% of Wales’ electricity needs and on a typical day, the power station supplies 23 million Kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to meet the needs of two cities the size of Liverpool and Manchester put together.

Java viewer - Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, N. Wales.

Wylfa power station is the second pre-stressed concrete pressure vessel built in the UK and is the last Magnox plant to be built, with the design being superseded by the Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR). Construction of Wylfa power station commenced in 1963 and it started supplying electricity to the grid in 1971.

Wylfa power station is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and is operated, on their behalf, by Magnox Electric Ltd.

The Menai Suspension bridge, which crosses the Menai Strait, was the first iron suspension bridge of its kind in the world, and was probably Thomas Telfords most acclaimed achievement. With his extra improvements to the Holyhead to London road he managed to reduce the travel time from 36 hours down to 27 hours.

Work on the Menai Suspension Bridge commenced in 1819, and it was completed and opened on 30th Jan 1826. Building began with the stone pillars, the stone was quarried locally at Penmon on the northern end of the strait. The stonework was completed in 1824 and the task of lifting the main support chains began. In order to lift the central section of chain – each weighing 23 and a half tons – it took 150 men using block and tackle. Each chain was dipped in linseed oil to stop them rusting and prompted Lewis Carrol to include a reference to the bridge in ‘Through the Looking Glass’

One of the design requirements for the bridge was that it needed to have 100 feet of space under the main span, to allow for the passage of the tall sailing ships that plied the Menai Strait. Modern ships do not have this problem as the yacht in the next image shows.

In 1893 the wooden decking was replaced with steel decking and the original iron chains were replaced in 1938 with steel ones which significantly increased the load carrying capacity of the bridge.

The Britannia bridge and Menai bridge link Anglesey with mainland Wales.

When first conceived by Robert Stephenson, the tubular bridge was to have been suspended from cables strung through the openings at the tops of the towers. However, after engineering calculations and tests of the finished tubes it was decided that they were strong enough by themselves to carry the trains.

Like the Menai Bridge, the stonework of the Britannia Bridge was constructed of limestone from Penmon, although sandstone from various places was used internally. The steel tubes themselves were constructed on the banks of the Strait.

There are four magnificent limestone lions guarding the entrances to the bridge. They were carved by John Thomas, who had also done stone carving for the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace in London. The lions are almost 4 metres high and sit on plinths of equal height. The bridge was opened on 5 March 1850.

The present day bridge has a much different appearance than the original. This is because it has been reconstructed after a disastrous fire in 1970.

South of the bridge is a statue erected in honour of Lord Nelson.

Copyright K Lewis (c) 2008

The St. Tysilio church is situated on the aptly named Church Island in the Menai Strait adjacent to the Menai Strait bridge and is reached by crossing a small causeway. The Welsh name for the island is Ynys Tysilio, meaning the Island of Tysilio.

It is thought that Tysilio was the son of the famous sixth century ruler of Powys, Brochfael Ysgythrog and rather than become a warrior as his father wished he turned to religion and built the St. Tysilio church in the 6th century.

It is widely accepted that the current church has replaced an earlier church or chapel on the same site during the 15th century.

Copyright K Lewis (c) 2008

Copyright K Lewis (c) 2008

Copyright K Lewis (c) 2008