Oof!

Playing about at lunchtime with a new toy - a 2x teleconverter, bought because I don't have the cash for a 400mm lens, and I've got a taste for photography competitions.

How did I get that taste? Well I sort of won one... And I can't believe I forgot to mention it here, but I found out just before going on holiday and just didn't have the time!

Wanderlust Magazine were apparently putting together a new photobook entitled 'Weird World', and were looking for submissions. One of the photos chosen for the book would also win a trip to Marrakech (or similar) for a photography weekend. Well I put in this shot (I think - it was a wee while ago I entered) and my name came out of the hat! So not only will it get published, but I'll be heading off for a long weekend with Travellers' Tales (still to hear when, and exactly where, though hoping it is Marrakech). The whole trip apparently is treated like a sort of working holiday, and is done with small groups of about 10 people. Hurrah!

The funny thing is, it's not that great a shot, just snapped quickly as I thought I could use it for my website. So the moral is, stop trying to be fancy!

So anyway, how does that get me onto a teleconverter? Well after taking this leveret shot I found out about the British Wildlife Photography Awards. I've always liked taking pictures of animals out in the wild, but I need to get a little closer to them. So, teleconverter, and a few weekends spent specifically looking for certain animals to bolster my entry...

Good points of the teleconverter: added zoom, takes up less space than another lens, much much cheaper than another lens.

Bad points: auto-focus doesn't like it, slows the lens down by two stops.

But really, if I know what I'm looking for, and I'm staking out somewhere, I can get it all set up (and in the meantime learn how to manual focus properly) so that's not an issue.

Anyway, it was fun sitting in the sun and trying it out.

The rejects:

Thunderbirds Meanie
Courier Claud
The Only Way Is Up
It's a Drain