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Welcome to the Coinquay web presence -- / -- Welkom by die Coinquay webpraesens (Leukfoto)
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I am a social photographer. I got a trusty little SLR camera with aperature priority in a rugged leather case, and high and low I've climbed and walked and crawled to take nice pictures. This gallery contains a small selection of my pictures -- some of them I consider of my best, some of them I chose because they illustrate certain things so well, and some... just because they remind me of things.
This page is part of a larger website, the Coinquay web presence. Click the coinquay graphic to return to the main page. You can also reach the main page with the url http://ey.to.hey.to/.
Send comments and greetings to leuce@geocities.com.
Please sign my guestbook [ Sign here ], or read what others have said [ Read here ].
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... Leukfoto
My first camera was a cheap disk camera. I enjoyed taking photographs with it, but shortly after I bought it the price of disk film and processing shot through the roof. Eventually the price quatrupled and I was unable to take as many pictures as I used to. The quality of the pictures were -- no surprises -- not the best, and most photographs had a very grainy look. It must be remembered that a disk negative is about 7 mm x 7 mm large, and I had no control over shutter speed, focal length or aperature.
On my sixteenth birthday my gran gave me her old SLR camera. This is my current camera. It's some kind of Canon with a 50 mm lens, aperature priority (i.e. I cannot set the shutter speed manually or directly). The camera has a B function as well, and I've used it on many occations for improvisation (e.g. when there was not enough light, or to take the classic stars-in-a-ring night-time photograph.
The camera has a handy leather casing, and I've been up rocks and down ravines with the camera to get good (or possible good) pictures. I don't focus so much on good photography technique and fancy theory... I simply enjoy the subjects I'm photographing. The camera is so good that my photographs generally come out beautifully no matter what I do (unless I'm really stupid, on occation).
I recently bought a zoon lens, but it turned out to be a poor choice. It is a Pentax 70 - 210 mm zoom lens with a limited f-stop range. I should have listened to one photography shop assistant's advice and bought the twice-as-expensive twice-as-heavy twice-as-large zoom lens with a better f-stop range. Nevertheless, I enjoy using it. I wish I had a 500 mm lens (I'm a bit of a voyeur...)
Oh, I also have a tripod from Gran... it weighs a tonne, and I've actually carried that thing with me up mountains to get clear pictures of the full moon... a few months ago, however, I bought a more lightweight tripod, and I've never looked back. I also have a small flash... but I never use it because I can never figure it out, and besides... you get better photo's of groups if you don't disturb them (nothing but a faint "click-click" and 400 ASA film). Furthermore I have a polarising lens cap to filter out some sun rays. It makes a difference!
I usually use 100 ASA film, but during my travels to Europe I found that 200 ASA is better (they have less sun). On occation I've used 400 ASA, and for general social photography it's not too bad. I enjoy using slide film, but in South Africa slide film is expensive and the processing is also expensive (and takes very long, seeing that film generally needs to be sent off to a lab somewhere in the big city). Once or twice I've tried black-and-white, but I think I need to make a more thorough study of that medium before I will start enjoying it.
The photographs in this selection represent some of my best or favourites. I have better photos, and I have more favourite ones too... but I've decided on this selection, to give you a peek into my social photography world.
All thumbnails open in a single new window. Photographs were scanned at 150 dpi and converted to JPG format.
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Title: Ballonne
Story: A friend of mine was a social worker in an informal settlement. She took 100 children to see the sea. Here a friend of hers is sitting with ballons to make to occasion a bit more festive.
Comment: When I saw the colours I knew it would be a good picture. All the colours are bright and there was enough sunlight to bring out the best in every object. The bright sand disappears in a white haze and this lifts the subject even more into the foreground.
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Title: Ball
Story: Every now and then I go on a christian youth camp, and inevitably there are some sports activities. I'm usually there next to the action with my camera. This picture was taken in Lake Side. I don't know if the ball is coming or going.
Comment: It can be quite difficult to get good action shots, especially when you have to be close to get a good framing. Another problem is that I have to know when to let my shutter go... and I was quite surprised with this picture. The girl's pose adds interest to an already interesting picture.
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Title: Berneray
Story: During 1997 I visited the island Berneray off North Uist. I had some black-and-white film in my camera, and I was anxious to load the roll of colour. I took many pictures of things I would normally not, just to get the film full. In the end, this picture is not bad at all.
Comment: One problem I had with Scotland was the fact that there was so little light, and the constant presence of clouds in the sky also confused my automatic light meter quite a bit. Another problem with this particular photo was the framing... owing to the bay in the foreground I was unable to get close enough for a rustic landscape shot.
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Title: Bkja Kamp Portrait 2
Story: Our church youth went on a camp to Stellenbosch, and one day we sat in the shade of the veranda playing chess.
Comment: Apart from the good framing... take a good look at the subject. She looks the camera right in the eye, as if she's not afraid of the intrusion. Take into account I was using a 50 mm lens and sat about 1 metre from the girl. She's frank, and mysterious.
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Title: Bkja Kamp Portrait
Story: The last day of a different camp, it was a dismal rainy day, and I had an empty roll of film.
Comment: I consider this to be my best photograph yet. Tis a pity the scan is so bad. In the beginning I chucked it out because in the beginning of my photomaking I considered sharp focus to be the be all and end all. Later I had a nother look at the picture, and realised that this picture had character where other sharper blander images had none whatsoever.
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Title: Freechurch Field
Story: The Wee Freechurch used to hold services in this field. It was a rainy muddy day, and the grass was green. I took quite a few pictures, but owing to the weather I could not take too many.
Comment: What strikes me of this picture is the bright colours. I still can't believe it existed.
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Title: Iona Post Office
Story: Quite simply, the main street of the Isle of Iona. One could even put this on a postcard.
Comment:What I enjoy about this picture is the old houses together with the brand new Post Ofrfice sign. It creates a sort of paradox where time is out of sync.
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Title: John 2
Story:On a hiking trip in the Outeniqua Mountains the group rested for a while at a brook. Everybody was just poking around.
Comment: I like the way the subject looked up just as I took the picture. Everybody is doing their own thing, but this boy stands in the middle of it, confronting me, as if I'm an intruder in this scene where every just minds their own business.
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Title: John Waterval
Story: In the botanic gardens of Kleinmond there is a waterfall.
Comment:Not quite a fairytale landscape, but the subject sits in the middle of the frame, surrounded by the majesty of the rest of the forest. It is as if we are taking a secret peek at a pixie sitting by the stream.
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Title: Leeukop
Story: Someone had a late afternoon beach party, and the sun was setting on Leeukop.
Comment: The nice thing about this picture is the hue the sun is making of the mountain. Any other time of the day this picture would have been extremely bland, but right this moment it is perfect.
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Title: Loch Lochy
Story: The coach stopped at Loch Lochy youth hostel, and I was bored. So I took a picture.
Comment: Quite an innocent looking little picture, but nicely framed. There is an oddity about this scene... it depicts nothing in particular, yet forms a collage that sets a mood.
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Title: Loerie 2
Story: I caught a loerie.
Comment: Tis rare to catch a loerie.
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Title: Moon
Story: I experimented with taking pictures of the moon. I think this one was taken by holding binoculars in front of the camera.
Comment: I've asked many people what they thought this was... most say "You shot a flashlight into a mirror. Actually, it does kinda look like a space phenomenon, like a supernova.
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Title: Ribbon
Story: At yet another church youth camp I sneeked a picture of this girl's hair.
Comment: The colour of her hair and of the ribbon immediately struck me as very beautiful, and in the bustle of a full hall I took a quick picture. The light falls perfectly, and the background is faded enough to lift the subject to the front.
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Title: Stapboom
Story: Yet yet another hiking trip, this time in the Ceder Mountains.
Comment: It is difficult to take a good picture of a dead tree... there is always a busy background. Sometimes, however, you find a tree like this one, against a nice even background (like the sky), and isolated from any other tree or plant.
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Title: Uti 3
Story: A friend of mine and his girlfriend for the week. At some or other church youth camp. The group photo was just taken, and I love taking a few extra shots when the people are breaking up and not concentrating on looking nicely at the camera.
Comment: See how the people around them are busy busy... yet they are in a world of their own. The other people also frame them quite nicely. Those are real smiles... they didn't see the camera until it was too late.
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Title: Uti
Story: Late at night in the hall at a church youth camp, I took a few pictures. I was very surprised when this one came out as well as it did. There was very little light, and the subject was not ready for the picture. If I didn't move during the two seconds of shutter open, chances are the subject did.
Comment: I like the warm colours. I guess I also like it because it is such a close up shot.
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Title: Van Stadens
Story: The Van Stadens bridge gives a lovely view of the Kouga cliffs.
Comment: The patterns are very beautiful. I've cut out so much of the surrounds that it is not possible to immediately place the rocks as being part of a ravine.
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Title: Witsand
Story: This girl came to visit a couple of us students giving sermons on the beach at Witsand. I took a picture while she was blinded by the light, before she could realise that she had to "look nice for the camera".
Comment: Three words: light, colours, and shadows.
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Title: Ymca Group
Story: Another church youth camp... and every body is resting on the stoep in the sunlight and shade.
Comment: I like this picture because of the clarity and cheerfulness.
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Title: Ymca Portrait
Story: On the same stoep, moments later or earlier. Everyone is in a joyous mood, and this man certainly did not mind his picture taken.
Comment: Just as colourful as the previous picture... and there is something about the character of this man that comes out well in this picture. Aaah, just look at those colours!
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Title: Ymca Write
Story: One of the earlier chruch youth house parties... and someone was writing a letter. On the actual picture I can read what he was writing.
Comment: Sharp features, good shadows, and the bright light that actually accentuates the subject rather than blinding him out... quite nice, I think.
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Title: Drie Skepsels
Story: On our way home from (you guessed it) a camp, we stopped at the top of the Sir Lowry's Pass to look at Cape Town from the sky.
Comment: A shaky silloutte is not always that bad.
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Title: Maselspoort
Story: A church youth simposium of sorts, and I was bored with taking pictures of congress goers.
Comment: Sadly this picture did not scan well. It was late afternoon, and the hue of the sun was excellent on the trees and the veld. It gave the picture a warm glow without making the place look hot.
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Title: Noordhoek Groep
Story: A year end church youth camp and everybody was waiting for the bus to arrive.
Comment: Just look at this group of people who are a group, and yet are not a group. Everybody's just sitting doing this own thing, all close together and yet so apart from each other.
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Title: Princes Street
Story: I was up the Scott Monument, and my camera's battery went dead halfway up... this was one of the lucky pictures.
Comment: The unusual angle reduces the vista to mere patterns.
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Title: Treinstasie
Story: Shortly after I got my camera I set out to explore the possibilities of the B setting. I was unaware of the trick to picture objects coming towards me to make them seem less blurry... lessons learnt in practice.
Comment: Precisely that... the train is moving towards me, hence the reduced blur. A dark night and a warm train approaching. Dangerous and lonely.
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Title: Vier skoene
Story: I had this thing... instead of taking pictures of people's faces, I took photos of their feet. Just to be different. This time it paid off.
Comment: Lovely colours and sharp focus... now imagine a girl between two strangers on a train station or waiting for the bus... now imagine their faces.
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Title: Ymca Group 2
Story: Someone got bored at me looking at the game through my camera but never taking a picture... didn't bargain on my quick reflexes.
Comment: An action shot with a difference. These people are playful, in more ways than one.
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Title: Wit Blomme
Story: I seldom use black-and-white film, but when I do I try to find subjects with sharp contrasts -- the only type of b&w photo that I know anything of.
Comment: Wow. This picure is unedited... the borders fade naturally, and I'm amazed at the sharpness of the leaves.
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Title: Stap Skeef
Story: On some hiking trip, we took a break.
Comment: I still take many pictures where I try to get as much into the frame as possible. Sometimes this is a bother, and reduces the photo to a mere information storing media, but sometimes it actually compliments the picture.
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Title: Ymca Group 2
Story: Same picture as above... a little cropped.
Comment: Graphics programs are a wonder!
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(c) 2000 Samuel Murray
leuce@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest
/Dell/6414/leukfoto.html
http://www.geocities.com/lacialacia/leukfoto.html
http://ey.to.hey.to/ (url forwarding) then leukfoto.html
Site created: 1999-08-30
Page created: 2000-01-24
Founts used: Maiandra, Papyrus, OCR A Extended, Viner Hand, Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma. Graphics designed using: MS Paint w95 (drawing), MS Photo Editor 3.0 (to convert to gif and jpg), ACDSee 2.41 (viewing). File compression using: WinRAR 2.50. Html written using: Arachnophilia 3.9. Total time used: (not available yet).
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