Julian The Photographer

Today was a very icy day, as you may know, the walk from my flat to my campus is quite steep, which is the source of much discontent on a normal day. However today was worse, a sheet of ice had covered Sunderland through the night, and I had to hold on the side-railings in order to walk safely to uni.
Anyway, came back from uni and decided to go camera accessory shopping. I am going to be the photographer for a couple's wedding, a couple from my church. I wouldn't have accepted it if I knew that the Fujifilm S100fs was not up to the challenge. The problem was, what 'real' photographer walks about with no accessories? Not just superflous accessories, but a tripod, and an external flash. A tripod, because the human (and more importantly- Me) is very shaky, and it's especially useful when taking pictures in low-light situations (the moon, sunrise, sunset etc) In a wedding, a tripod is particularly useful, no one wants to see blurs in their wedding album. An external flash because the in-built flash is not the best for 'semi-professional' settings, I want to deliver the best pictures they could get.
So, I went over to Charles Eagles and Son in Sunderland. I had seen a Vivitar 680AF flashgun going for £19, now that's a bargain. I did some research into the flashgun, I needed to know it's voltage, because it's an old flashgun (made before the digital era) and if the voltage is too high it can in essence mess up the electrical system of my camera. So, did the research and it was suitable to use, my only concern was that it was a fixed head flash, meaning it doesn't tilt, so I can't bounce the light off white ceilings or do other cool bouncy things, but hey, my budget was low, and I'm not exactly in a position to start considering efficiency, I want value first. So, where was I? Walked into Charles Eagles and Son, and inquired about the flash, the shop assistant duly retrieved the flash, loaded it with batteries, tested it and I bought it. I was very pleased, buying a flashgun for £19, the newest Nikon flashguns are pushing £350, so you can understand my elation.
After purchasing the flashgun, I looked around the store and spotted a sturdy tripod, going for..guess how much? £19!
I asked to see how high it went, I was satisfied, and duly purchased it as well. The shop guys were very nice and one of them said that there was the same tripod going for £15 somewhere else in the store! "Even better!" I said, "give me that one then".
So yes, I had got myself a Vivitar flashgun, and a tripod for a total of £34. Great day! (and the shop assistant sold me the flashgun loaded with batteries)
So yes, I'm all accessorized out, I've got my eyes on the Raynox DCR-250 Macro Lens, but I'll wait till another day.
But I'm still thinking of perhaps getting a tilting flashgun, I don't want to spend over £20, I'm not stingy,I'm just a student! I would do more research into how important bounce is, and if I'll need it during the wedding.
Anyway, pictures below of my new gear
click the pictures for a larger version


Yes I need to clean my mirror


The tripod and flashgun


Obligatory macro shot