About Bernard Novell
I was born in Goring-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire in 1952.
Apart from the two years immediately after marrying Judy in 1976, I have lived in Goring-on-Thames all my life. So you might call me a local.
I developed an interest in photography in my late teens. Then, as now, I was mainly interested in landscape, architectural and travel photography.
In the early 70's I purchased a Practika SLR and some lenses. Being impoverished I moved from film to 35mm colour slides so that I could save money by developing my own in the kitchen using colour reversal film and chemicals bought mail order. Those were the days!
Sometime in the 80's I upgraded to an Olympus OM20 but by now I was shooting only colour prints, mainly of family and holiday locations. Renovating a property and bringing up a family saw a decline in the opportunities to take as many photos as I would have liked, though the interest never left me.
With the coming of the digital age I was a bit late in buying a digital camera and the first was a Kodak DC3800 point & shoot. I purchased a Canon A80 just prior to a four week trip to Australia and Singapore in 2004. My interest was fully back on track and Judy and I had got the travel bug.
Although the OM20 did accompany me on that trip, I took just 10 images with it.
A second sixteen week trip to Australia, including New Zealand & Hong Kong, in 2006, saw the A80 put to some serious use.
The OM20 stayed back home this time.
In 2008, because of the limitations of the 'point & shoot' A80 I decided to upgrade to a DSLR. After some deliberation, influenced by my loyalty to Olympus, I invested in an E520 four thirds system, which effectively doubles the focal length of the lens. The two kit lenses were pretty soon redundant as I gradually purchased some more serious professional quality ones.
In 2009 I joined Wallingford Photographic Club, which has been an inspiration to me.
I was Chairman for two years, now just a member, and greatly look forward to the lively Thursday evenings at the club.
The E520, although compact, lacked some sophistication. I decided to change the body to the best available and to purchase some more lenses.
My current kit is an Olympus E5 Pro - still a four thirds system which has some limitations particularly in respect of 'noise' at higher ISO.
My collection of Zuiko Lenses now include:
11-22 1:2.8-3.5 Extreme wide angle zoom - Pro
ED 18-180 1:3.5-6.6 10x Super zoom - my favourite lens
ED 50-200 1:2.8-3.5 SWD Tele zoom with ED glass elements - Pro
ED 70-300 1:4.0-5.6 Super-telephoto zoom
ED 8mm Fisheye 1:3.5 - amazing lens for quirky pictures
35mm MACRO 1:3.5 Compact macro
I also use a Canon G15 and iPhone 7 Plus when walking or where carrying a DSLR is not advisable
I always shoot in RAW with the Olympus and Canon cameras.
I mainly use Adobe Lightroom CC to process images but use NIK and On1 plug in's for some.
On rare occasions I use Adobe Photoshop CC if I need layers.
See Galleries for Images from trips and local excursions etc.
Apart from the two years immediately after marrying Judy in 1976, I have lived in Goring-on-Thames all my life. So you might call me a local.
I developed an interest in photography in my late teens. Then, as now, I was mainly interested in landscape, architectural and travel photography.
In the early 70's I purchased a Practika SLR and some lenses. Being impoverished I moved from film to 35mm colour slides so that I could save money by developing my own in the kitchen using colour reversal film and chemicals bought mail order. Those were the days!
Sometime in the 80's I upgraded to an Olympus OM20 but by now I was shooting only colour prints, mainly of family and holiday locations. Renovating a property and bringing up a family saw a decline in the opportunities to take as many photos as I would have liked, though the interest never left me.
With the coming of the digital age I was a bit late in buying a digital camera and the first was a Kodak DC3800 point & shoot. I purchased a Canon A80 just prior to a four week trip to Australia and Singapore in 2004. My interest was fully back on track and Judy and I had got the travel bug.
Although the OM20 did accompany me on that trip, I took just 10 images with it.
A second sixteen week trip to Australia, including New Zealand & Hong Kong, in 2006, saw the A80 put to some serious use.
The OM20 stayed back home this time.
In 2008, because of the limitations of the 'point & shoot' A80 I decided to upgrade to a DSLR. After some deliberation, influenced by my loyalty to Olympus, I invested in an E520 four thirds system, which effectively doubles the focal length of the lens. The two kit lenses were pretty soon redundant as I gradually purchased some more serious professional quality ones.
In 2009 I joined Wallingford Photographic Club, which has been an inspiration to me.
I was Chairman for two years, now just a member, and greatly look forward to the lively Thursday evenings at the club.
The E520, although compact, lacked some sophistication. I decided to change the body to the best available and to purchase some more lenses.
My current kit is an Olympus E5 Pro - still a four thirds system which has some limitations particularly in respect of 'noise' at higher ISO.
My collection of Zuiko Lenses now include:
11-22 1:2.8-3.5 Extreme wide angle zoom - Pro
ED 18-180 1:3.5-6.6 10x Super zoom - my favourite lens
ED 50-200 1:2.8-3.5 SWD Tele zoom with ED glass elements - Pro
ED 70-300 1:4.0-5.6 Super-telephoto zoom
ED 8mm Fisheye 1:3.5 - amazing lens for quirky pictures
35mm MACRO 1:3.5 Compact macro
I also use a Canon G15 and iPhone 7 Plus when walking or where carrying a DSLR is not advisable
I always shoot in RAW with the Olympus and Canon cameras.
I mainly use Adobe Lightroom CC to process images but use NIK and On1 plug in's for some.
On rare occasions I use Adobe Photoshop CC if I need layers.
See Galleries for Images from trips and local excursions etc.
