2016 Project 52 Challenge - 1st quarter by Geoff F

[Geoff F]

After selecting the location and shooting angle I did have to wait a little while until the 'right sort of people' were walking along that narrow bit of pavement and they were in exactly the desired position.

[Shadowman]

Thanks Binnur.

Week 07 - a couple of brief sunny spells between the rain.

Boat Reflections. Went to the Aveton Gifford birdhide for an hour before going shopping. Started off looking like this but it was beginning to rain by the time I left!



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 200. So can you spot the person with dog? I originally said every scene this year would contain a person or animal but sometimes they may be hard to find.

Trees at West Charleton Marsh Another birdhide day which started bright and a little frosty but clouded over within two hours.



1/640 F11 Iso 400. Even more difficult to find the animal content with this scene; but there are a couple of crows there, plus a pigeon and a robin!

And a couple of shots showing my reason for being there.

Cirl Bunting. A relatively rare bird although they are gradually increasing in this part of the country.



Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. 1/640 F11 Iso 800

Reed Bunting. These are a bit more common although still rather localised.



1/200 F11 Iso 800

Also managed a few reasonable shots of the commoner garden type birds and messed up a potentially perfect shot of an egret coming in to land with a good reflection in the water!

Nice captures in this series.

[Sergio M.]

I like the juxtaposition of the Fish and Chips signs with the people enjoying ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor.
Nice bit of street photography.

Sergio

[IzzieK]

I agree with Sergio here. I noticed that too but I am a bit too late to the punch here. I was thinking, Fish and Chips Ice Cream??? Anyway, I like both shots...very timely...

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies. And now . . .

Week 09. Made use of the extra day this year by walking along an old abandoned railway line which runs beside a river and a mix of woodland with farmland. Tried quite a few scenes but struggled to get workable angles because of the rather straggly foliage. A mostly dull sky but that did allow me to shoot towards where the light would have been; which wouldn't have worked on a sunny day.

The Old Bridge. Tricky angle which meant placing my tripod on the base of a tree which was overhanging the river; and twisting myself into an uncomfortable angle. There were cut ends of branches from a fallen tree which had to be hidden from view behind the bridge wall. A merge of two exposures. Struggled to find a person visible in this scene but eventually someone walked past and I just managed to get her head into the scene.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/30 F11 Iso 400. The shutter speed was a bit on the slow side but it appears to have worked because there wasn't any wind. I was worried about getting too much noise in the shadows with a higher Iso.

Woodland Path. I was experimenting with photographing this old stone style but thought my efforts were producing rather 'flat' results. Then this man (a warden for the area) came past; so I had to aim and shoot, then hope for the best with just one attempt.



1/100 F11 Iso 400.

[bnnrcn]

Both nice shots Geoff If you hadn't mentioned the head I would never have noticed.

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Binnur. While I was messing around with trying shooting angles and settings a couple of groups passed over the bridge but because of my shooting angle that is the only one which briefly appeared over the wall. I kept hoping for a group to stop by the wall and have a look at the upstream view. But I'm afraid that is quite common in this area; people just walk and never notice the views or wildlife.

After a bit of thought I am wondering about a bit of rotation for the second image, although there is nothing there to give me a straight line. However, this is my alternative version.

[Cantab]

Thanks, Binnur. While I was messing around with trying shooting angles and settings a couple of groups passed over the bridge but because of my shooting angle that is the only one which briefly appeared over the wall. I kept hoping for a group to stop by the wall and have a look at the upstream view. But I'm afraid that is quite common in this area; people just walk and never notice the views or wildlife.

After a bit of thought I am wondering about a bit of rotation for the second image, although there is nothing there to give me a straight line. However, this is my alternative version.

Geoff, I like both photos. I had to look carefully a number of times before I could see which direction you had rotated the second photo. My conclusion is that you rotated it slightly clockwise. Am I correct? And yes, I think this slight rotation improves the image if only because the man appears more vertical in the second version.

Have you previously posted a different photo of this bridge? When I saw it, it brought back a recollection of a bridge photo from quite some time ago -- or perhaps my imagination is working overtime?

[joebranko]

Both shots are nice. I particularly like the colours in the one with the Game Warden.

[IzzieK]

The second one is a good rotation here, Geoff. Ran it through lytebox to notice it. Good colours on both of them.

[bnnrcn]

The rotated version looks better

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, I have shown some of the bridges from this area a couple of years ago; but I think they were taken in the autumn, so this is a slightly different approach.

[Geoff F]

Week 10 and another location which I have shown in previous years; but slightly different angles this time.

Spring Morning at Bowcombe Creek. I was on my way to a bird hide today and had to cross a bridge over this creek when I noticed this rather pastel coloured morning scene. Had a go at a few angles but needed a person/animal to qualify for this thread. Then just in time a man walked along the path so I waited a few minutes until he was in a suitable position.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/200 F11 Iso 200. With a bit of a merge from two Raw conversions of the same shot.

Tried a few other shots from the area and had a chat with the man who walked back up the path and sat on a bench. As I was returning, this bus came past so I had to quickly shoot without any real thinking time; although having the road signs just behind the vehicle was deliberate.

The Bus from Kingsbridge



1/125 F11 Iso 200

Repairs to the Pen Glas. This is the image which I originally intended to use for this week. The boat is having some planks replaced while moored at the Fish Quay.



Fuji X20 1/350 F8 Iso 200

[joebranko]

The creek scene is very nice. I like everything about it except those few floating objects in the lower left.

[IzzieK]

Geoff my favourite here is #1 -- I kinda like the clouds and the reflection of it on the water and also the reflections of that bit of land on the right side. The human element completed this shot.
2 The bus looks cool. So that is a street there ...

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the replies. And now . . .

Week 09. Made use of the extra day this year by walking along an old abandoned railway line which runs beside a river and a mix of woodland with farmland. Tried quite a few scenes but struggled to get workable angles because of the rather straggly foliage. A mostly dull sky but that did allow me to shoot towards where the light would have been; which wouldn't have worked on a sunny day.

The Old Bridge. Tricky angle which meant placing my tripod on the base of a tree which was overhanging the river; and twisting myself into an uncomfortable angle. There were cut ends of branches from a fallen tree which had to be hidden from view behind the bridge wall. A merge of two exposures. Struggled to find a person visible in this scene but eventually someone walked past and I just managed to get her head into the scene.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/30 F11 Iso 400. The shutter speed was a bit on the slow side but it appears to have worked because there wasn't any wind. I was worried about getting too much noise in the shadows with a higher Iso.

Woodland Path. I was experimenting with photographing this old stone style but thought my efforts were producing rather 'flat' results. Then this man (a warden for the area) came past; so I had to aim and shoot, then hope for the best with just one attempt.



1/100 F11 Iso 400.

Week #9 captures were to me a bit more personal, you really got yourself into the scene. Nicely done.

[Shadowman]

Week 10 and another location which I have shown in previous years; but slightly different angles this time.

Spring Morning at Bowcombe Creek. I was on my way to a bird hide today and had to cross a bridge over this creek when I noticed this rather pastel coloured morning scene. Had a go at a few angles but needed a person/animal to qualify for this thread. Then just in time a man walked along the path so I waited a few minutes until he was in a suitable position.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/200 F11 Iso 200. With a bit of a merge from two Raw conversions of the same shot.

Tried a few other shots from the area and had a chat with the man who walked back up the path and sat on a bench. As I was returning, this bus came past so I had to quickly shoot without any real thinking time; although having the road signs just behind the vehicle was deliberate.

The Bus from Kingsbridge



1/125 F11 Iso 200

Repairs to the Pen Glas. This is the image which I originally intended to use for this week. The boat is having some planks replaced while moored at the Fish Quay.



Fuji X20 1/350 F8 Iso 200

Interesting scenes here, nicely captured.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies. Nobody seems to have noticed a case of boatbuilder's bum in the boat image; although partly hidden be the mooring rope.

I did try a few other angles from that quay but they don't really qualify here because there isn't any visible person/animal; although there must be some gulls hidden away in the far distance.

With these shots I was wondering about going back to my vehicle for a tripod to have a go at some HDR shots but in the end I just took the one shot then stretched it a bit by a merge of two Raw conversions with different settings. That was probably the best option because by the time I had returned to my car the light had completely changed.



1/400 F11 Iso 400

And a Black & White version.





1/200 F11 Iso 200

With another B&W option

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the replies. Nobody seems to have noticed a case of boatbuilder's bum in the boat image; although partly hidden be the mooring rope.

I did try a few other angles from that quay but they don't really qualify here because there isn't any visible person/animal; although there must be some gulls hidden away in the far distance.

With these shots I was wondering about going back to my vehicle for a tripod to have a go at some HDR shots but in the end I just took the one shot then stretched it a bit by a merge of two Raw conversions with different settings. That was probably the best option because by the time I had returned to my car the light had completely changed.



1/400 F11 Iso 400

And a Black & White version.





1/200 F11 Iso 200

With another B&W option

Nicely composed, normally I favor color but these work best in mono.

[IzzieK]

Geoff -- I noticed the crack. I would usually respond to that but I thought we are being forced to be politically correct so I didn't...
Anyway, on the first batch, I like the coloured version but in the second batch, I prefer the black and white.