2017 Project 52 - 1st Quarter by Geoff F

[Geoff F]

Thanks for all the comments.

[Geoff F]

Week 09 - Woodland Fungi. I've spent a bit of time in the damp woods, kneeling in mud to find some Spring fungi. Although most fungi appear in the autumn there are a few, particularly the bracket types, which can be found now. All are a merge of two to four focus points. Rather dark shooting conditions but that is often an advantage with fungi and with some of them I had to create a bit of shadow from what little light was available.

Candle Snuff Fungus



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/8 F11 Iso 400 all these images were on a tripod and with cable release.

Daldinia concentrica



1/10 F11 Iso 400

Panellus stipticus



1/20 F11 Iso 400 Sigma 180 macro lens

Scarlet Elf Cup



1/10 F11 Iso 400

Trametes hirsuta with a rather hairy upperside.



1/40 F11 Iso 400 180 macro lens.

Trametes versicolor are mostly shades of brown but can be variable and are sometimes almost black.



1/20 F11 Iso 400 24-70 lens.

Probably another variation of Trametes versicolor but I should have examined the underside to check the identification.



1/3 F11 Iso 400

[Cantab]

Geoff, you had a very productive field trip with these photos. When you're deciding on how many images with different focus points do you use a technical calculation or just base your decision on experience?

I've never seen anything like the daldinia in this part of the world but will do some checking.

Does the moss in the photos have a name? I have a book on the mosses in coastal British Columbia but have decided one needs to be a moss specialist if there's to be any hope of identifying many of them.

[Geoff F]

When shooting literally in the field, Bruce, I tend to select focus on the closest point then just change the focus to another point for the next shot and keep doing the same until I think I have everything covered.

Studio work can be done more precisely by measurements and a slide bar on the tripod head but it is more of a case of try this and hope for the best when kneeling in mud with an unsteady tripod which is threatening to tumble over. And holding a light deflector in one hand, or attempting to position my body to create some shadow, just adds to the difficulties.

The Daldinia is also known as King Alfred's Cakes because it is very hard and has a burnt appearance. But I think the true King Alfred's Cake is the other species of Daldinia which only appears on gorse after the wood has been scorched.

I did check out the moss at one time and this is the very common form. Moss and lichens etc are certainly specialist subjects. I did think about getting a book on the subject but haven't done anything more about it simply because my head is already stuffed full of tricky identification data.

[John 2]

That's a beautiful set of images Geoff and expertly made. Nice work.

[AG64]

Excellent images!

[skitterbug]

A nice series of shots. Well done!

You are fortunate to have a wide selection of fungi! Are any of these eatable?

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

These fungi are just for decoration.

The majority of species are simply classed as inedible. Not poisonous but bad tasting or tough texture etc.

[joebranko]

Beautiful series Geoff. I particularly like
Panellus stipticus

[Geoff F]

That one, Joe, was a bit tricky regarding a low camera angle to show the underside but fortunately it was growing on a pile of logs which put it about 2 ft off the ground so by kneeling in the very damp leaf litter I managed to get what I had intended.

In this particular case, the dull day was a real advantage because it gave an all over light. Usually, if there is any hint of brightness, there is too much variation between the well lit cap and dark underside. Sunshine is a serious problem with fungi photography.

[Geoff F]

Week 10 - Coast near Thurlestone. Had a few changes of plan on a day which started with a bright sky but I eventually ended up at part of the coast path where I haven't been for a long time. And much longer back, when I was a child, this is where we went during the summer, on the charabang from a town 5 miles away.

For some reason the first images seem to be appearing at a reduced size so they really need viewing with the Lightbox view.

This sandy cove is flanked by rocks and here is the view from a headland towards Burgh Island, which is an area that I have shown before.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/1000 F11 Iso 400. Tried several angles and zoom lengths but finally decided I needed to go wider and show the curve of the beach.

On the cliff top beside the coast path is a golf course, with the village of Thurlestone in the background.



Wanted to show some golfers nicely spaced against the background buildings but they kept moving around as soon as I had decided upon a suitable scene. This was the best of a few shots.]

As the wind moderated and the ebb tide uncovered some protecting rocks a few windsurfers appeared in the sheltered bay.



Sigma 150-600 lens 1/640 F11 Iso 400

The sun soon stated hiding behind an increasing cloud level so I thought it was wise to head home now and stay dry.



Back with the Tamron 24-70 lens 1/3200 F11 Iso 400. This was really just a first test shot to see if I was likely to achieve anything with this scene. After a few more tests, I made the proper adjustments and took a few bracketed exposure shots. However, by the time it took me to decide what to do for the best results, the light had totally deteriorated so I just gave up and returned to my car; and within a couple of minutes the rain began.

All images are a merge of different Raw conversions from a single file.

[Craigie]

Week 10 - Coast near Thurlestone. Had a few changes of plan on a day which started with a bright sky but I eventually ended up at part of the coast path where I haven't been for a long time. And much longer back, when I was a child, this is where we went during the summer, on the charabang from a town 5 miles away.

For some reason the first images seem to be appearing at a reduced size so they really need viewing with the Lightbox view.

This sandy cove is flanked by rocks and here is the view from a headland towards Burgh Island, which is an area that I have shown before.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/1000 F11 Iso 400. Tried several angles and zoom lengths but finally decided I needed to go wider and show the curve of the beach.

On the cliff top beside the coast path is a golf course, with the village of Thurlestone in the background.



Wanted to show some golfers nicely spaced against the background buildings but they kept moving around as soon as I had decided upon a suitable scene. This was the best of a few shots.]

As the wind moderated and the ebb tide uncovered some protecting rocks a few windsurfers appeared in the sheltered bay.



Sigma 150-600 lens 1/640 F11 Iso 400

The sun soon stated hiding behind an increasing cloud level so I thought it was wise to head home now and stay dry.



Back with the Tamron 24-70 lens 1/3200 F11 Iso 400. This was really just a first test shot to see if I was likely to achieve anything with this scene. After a few more tests, I made the proper adjustments and took a few bracketed exposure shots. However, by the time it took me to decide what to do for the best results, the light had totally deteriorated so I just gave up and returned to my car; and within a couple of minutes the rain began.

All images are a merge of different Raw conversions from a single file.

A nice series Geoff. #4 is my fav, I can almost feel the strength of the wind.

[Cantab]

Geoff, a nice set of photos. I was intrigued by the shutter speed in two of them. Did you use 1/1000 in the first photo to try and freeze the wave action? And in the last photo I wondered whether the shutter speed really was 1/3200 so I checked the EXIF and yes it was. Again, presumably this was to freeze the wave action?

[joebranko]

Great series Geoff. #3 is my favourite. I amazed at the first e detail you have captured. The clarity is impressive!

[bnnrcn]

I like the second image very much Geoff. Good exposure, nice composition and colors, sharp and clear

[Geoff F]

With the last image I was looking around the scene in an attempt to find an acceptable angle but with so much light variation in that overall scene I kept getting extremes. So eventually, I tried a test shot by exposing for the bright area and hoping for the best with the darker parts. Which is why I ended up with such a fast shutter speed in that shot. By the time I set everything correctly the moment had passed as the clouds darkened the whole scene.

So, once again, the only keeper was the first test shot.

I did deliberately choose to have a fairly fast shutter speed with the first image to allow for the surf movement.

With the golfers, I turned around after taking the seascape shots and realised a potential scene with the brightly clad golfers in the foreground and the large house plus the church tower as a background element to fill in the gap between the golfers. I also wanted to include the tree on the right side.

Which resulted in another frantic change of thinking from the seascape mode as those women were moving around and preparing to enter the putting stage. However in this case my first shot was a total disaster and only serves as a warning about how easy it is to break all the rules if you don't keep a clear head.



From that same position on the headland I did have a perfect light angle for the windsurfers who were coming directly towards me. But although that large bird lens is capable of taking both sport and landscapes it soon gets heavy when handheld. Also, I had to keep zooming out and change from landscape to portrait orientation as they came closer. In each shot I focused on the surfers then attempted to quickly recompose to include everything which would be needed to make an overall pleasing composition.

There was an occasion when one of them managed a leap but I lost half of his kite outside my frame. There were 4 of them so deciding whether to show the whole group or concentrate on just one of them was another fast acting dilemma. This image shows a different angle which includes the rocks that give this cove a bit of shelter at low tide.

[Geoff F]

I did go down onto one of the beaches where there were some birds feeding among the washed up weed and other flotsam. I managed to crouch behind a bit of old debris plus partly hiding behind my camera while keeping myself upsun side to some birds.

A few of the Rock Pipits edged to within 15 feet to have a good look at me. While I did take several reasonable 'normal' bird photos I rather liked this one of an inquisitive bird who was wondering whether to come closer or run away?



There was also a Pied Wagtail on the beach. But none of them stayed still long enough for a manual focus, so I was continually chasing them along with the hand held auto focus which gave quite a bit of false focus problems.

[Cantab]

I did go down onto one of the beaches where there were some birds feeding among the washed up weed and other flotsam. I managed to crouch behind a bit of old debris plus partly hiding behind my camera while keeping myself upsun side to some birds.

A few of the Rock Pipits edged to within 15 feet to have a good look at me. While I did take several reasonable 'normal' bird photos I rather liked this one of an inquisitive bird who was wondering whether to come closer or run away?



There was also a Pied Wagtail on the beach. But none of them stayed still long enough for a manual focus, so I was continually chasing them along with the hand held auto focus which gave quite a bit of false focus problems.

I love the rock pipit photo, one foot in the air and trying to decide what to do.

[John 2]

This was well done Geoff. Shots of windsurfers are so hard when it comes to getting both kite and surfer in the frame. You have chosen a brilliant viewpoint and pulled off an excellent shot. Like it a lot.

[John 2]

I love the rock pipit photo, one foot in the air and trying to decide what to do.

Ditto for me. Both good shots but the Pippet looks to be strutting its stuff.