2017 Project 52 - 4th quarter by Geoff F

[Cantab]

An interesting set of action shots -- lots of opportunities to run aground (or worse)!

In the second photo, Davrik looks like its intending to hit the beach, in particular the fellow who appears to be fishing. All the photos give a sense of the navigational hazards and the need to know what you're doing.

The rock cliff in the background of the last photo is impressive, partly because it appears to be only yards away from the boat!

[Geoff F]

Yes, Bruce, I deliberately went for angles which show the boats among rocks. In reality there is a bit more space than there appears to be from these images, but still a fairly narrow channel where care is required particularly during thick fog when the rocks and other boats all appear as similar blobs on the radar screen.

[Wavelength]

Excellent images...

[skitterbug]

I like the mix of colors in this series of pics. Even the seagull, in the last photo, likes watching the boat move into the harbor area! All are sharp even though you used different speed settings. Interesting!

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Week 46. Cattle on the nature reserve marsh. Went to a bird hide on a nearby estuary marsh site. Not much of any real bird interest and what there was kept their distance, so I ended up photographing some cattle which were also grazing there.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 400

These were further away and at a difficult light angle.



Sigma 150-600 Sport lens at 400 mm. 1/500 F11 Iso 800. Maybe I could have got away with a lower Iso but there was movement within the scene so I went for a faster shutter speed.



A flock of juvenile Herring Gulls flew past so I tried some shots without much hope of success due to the light angle. This is the only keeper and although it definitely won't win any prizes for technical quality I rather liked the idea of an organised fly past while the one on the post was standing to attention.



1/640 F11 Iso 800

[Geoff F]

Week 47 - Dartmouth. Wanted some more fishing boat photographs from a point on the coast path just outside the harbour but I started with some harbour scenes showing the naval college and the car ferry crossing the harbour.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens 1/800 F11 Iso 400. Also tried some shots with a lower iso but decided this one looked best.

Added a 1.4x converter to my 70-200 lens and zoomed in for a closer harbour view.



1/320 F14 Iso 400.

And just a couple of images from my successful fishing boat shots. The light angle was difficult so I had to wait for them to get into a suitable shooting position; then do a bit of editing with a merge of two conversions from the same raw file.



1/500 F11 Iso 200



1/320 F 11 Iso 400. This shutter speed was getting a bit too low but I seem to have got away with it this time. A merge of 3 conversions from one Raw file.

[joebranko]

Great shots! I particularly like the shot of the fishing boat passing in front of the 'Rock.

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Joe. That last one was a case of noticing a potential scene then waiting for a boat to come into the required position, several other boats were similar but not quite in the ideal position. Then shot for an average scene which had part of the boat over exposed while the rock was under exposed. Which is where the other corrected Raw conversions, one for highlights and one for shadows, enabled me to create a better balanced final image.

Some other boats, not shown here, had a little bit too much of a gap between the boat and various parts of the shoreline so I did a bit of select then copy and paste to 'move' the bots into a better position.

[skitterbug]

Even though this pic was further away, you captured so much variety decently! I like it!

I agree with Joe, this is an excellent shot! Patience does have its rewards!

[Geoff F]

Week 48 - Ivy Cove. This little cove surrounded by rocks is just to the west of Start Point and was once used by professional fishermen; it was mentioned as far back as the 15th century when it was called Ivacove. The last full time fishermen left here in the 1960's when then purchased larger boats which were operated from the ports of Dartmouth and Salcombe. A few anglers and part time fishermen still work small boats from this cove.

Fishermen lived at the small village of Prawle and walked 2 miles along the cliff top path to reach this isolated cove. Part of the old coastguard cottages is visible on the cliff top. A winch was used to haul boats up the beach and another winch, situated in the foliage to the left of that hut was used to pull boats up the slipway during periods of rough weather.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/40 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two shots with bracketed exposures. A rather dull day so I have done what I could in the way of editing.

Looking out to sea, at low water.



1/125 F11 Iso 400 another merge from two exposures plus some editing adjustments.

A close up of the winch, which was manufactured by Willoughby Bros Ltd of Plymouth; probably made in the 1920's or 30's. Boats would be up to 18 feet in length with a two cylinder inboard engine.



Another angle showing the approach path.



Fishermen still work the sea around here and this boat, called Mayhem, operates from the nearby port of Salcombe.



Canon 70-200 lens 1/160 F11 Iso 400

[skitterbug]

This is an interesting series and the pictures supporting your narrative are wonderful. I do have a question? What sort of fishing is being done by the smaller vessels?

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Sandy. That is chiefly an area for crabs and lobster, although a few other fish like bass etc can also be caught.

Here are some examples which I shot on my boat a few years ago before I retired.



During the Spring and early Summer a lot of large spider crabs appear close to the shore.



There is no market for them in this country and until we joined the European Union these crabs were just regarded as pests so fishermen used to smash them up before discarding them. Now they are a valuable resource which is highly regarded in the rest of Europe. However if we should be foolish enough to withdraw from the European Single Market these crabs will once again become valueless and fishermen will lose an important part of their income.

[Cantab]

Thanks for the comments.

Week 46. Cattle on the nature reserve marsh. Went to a bird hide on a nearby estuary marsh site. Not much of any real bird interest and what there was kept their distance, so I ended up photographing some cattle which were also grazing there.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 400

These were further away and at a difficult light angle.



Sigma 150-600 Sport lens at 400 mm. 1/500 F11 Iso 800. Maybe I could have got away with a lower Iso but there was movement within the scene so I went for a faster shutter speed.

Geoff, I've been enjoying the photos in your recent weekly posts.

These photos from the nature reserve were intriguing. It looks like the cattle are grazing and walking around on a saltwater/estuary marsh. At least in the southern interior of British Columbia, cattle can do significant damage to lake and creek shorelines (creating mud from damage done by their hoofs). There is also an issue with grazing cattle damaging native grasslands with the result that non-native grasses supplant the native ones. Do you know if this is an issue on the nature reserve you photographed?

[george013]

Thanks, Sandy. That is chiefly an area for crabs and lobster, although a few other fish like bass etc can also be caught.

Here are some examples which I shot on my boat a few years ago before I retired.



During the Spring and early Summer a lot of large spider crabs appear close to the shore.



There is no market for them in this country and until we joined the European Union these crabs were just regarded as pests so fishermen used to smash them up before discarding them. Now they are a valuable resource which is highly regarded in the rest of Europe. However if we should be foolish enough to withdraw from the European Single Market these crabs will once again become valueless and fishermen will lose an important part of their income.

When I was in Irelaned in the seventies it was a rather poor country. But they had habits too. They didn't eat mackerel and eel. Both wonderful fish. I believe the same with crabs. A local fisherman gave us some, we put them on the fireplace in a pub. Delicious.

George

[Geoff F]

It is estimated, George, that 80% of the fish eaten in the UK are imported (mostly cod but also some haddock from Iceland and Russia etc plus prawns etc from the far east) and 80% of the fish caught in this country are exported (mostly to Europe although there is now a small export market by air freight for live crab to China).

Every week there are several large lorries leaving the port where I live full of crabs for France plus a few to Spain and Portugal. There are also regular lorry loads of squid and cuttlefish leaving the nearby port of Brixham bound for Spain. There certainly isn't any market for them in the UK.

At one time I did land crabs and lobsters to a Dutch company which sent an articulated lorry every week. These lorries have tanks full of aerated seawater to keep shellfish alive on the return journey. This Dutch lorry also brought packets of frozen Horse Mackerel (Scad) for us to use as bait. Latterly we mostly sold to companies who exported to France.

There were a few small firms who took higher quality items such as large male crabs, lobsters, dover sole, turbot, monkfish etc direct to restaurants in London and a few other cities. Some years ago we packed shellfish to Billingsgate Fish Market but changed several years ago.

When I started fishing there wasn't any market here for monkfish (angler fish) and you struggled to give them away. I can remember a Frenchman being staggered to see me cutting up small plaice for crabpot bait; but there wasn't any demand except for the largest size plaice.

For a couple of years in the 1980's I regularly fished for conger eels which were exported to Spain from Brixham. We averaged £10 per eel which added up to a reasonable wage, although there was quite a bit of work involved. That is yet another species without any UK market.

[Geoff F]

Bruce, those cattle are restricted to the upper and drier parts of that reserve where small numbers of them help to keep the grass under control. A limited amount of hoof churning which creates muddy patches can be beneficial for many species which feed on creatures living in the mud or insects requiring damp muddy areas for their larvae.

At one reserve where I regularly record wildlife they have 4 Dartmoor Ponies to keep the clearings free of encroaching undergrowth; but they are regularly moved around so their activities don't clash with emerging special plants like wild orchids etc. A few plants, such as the uncommon Heath Lobelia, which flourishes there, require a bit of trampling to create a suitable habitat and get their seeds well into the ground.

It requires careful management to create a suitable balance. I certainly know of other areas where uncontrolled heavy grazing produces barren expanses of mud where nothing gets a chance to grow.

[Geoff F]

Week 49 - Christmas Lights. I had a go at photographing lights in this small coastal town where I live. This year I wanted to have a go at an area which I have never successfully photographed before and I tried a different approach by shooting in the late afternoon when the lights were on but there was still a hint of lingering dull daylight. I wanted to show something of the buildings to put the scene into context as well as the lights. After many shots with different angles and settings I ended up with a couple of images which were just about keepers. Certainly a tricky attempt which was fraught with potential problems.

Union Street looking east. It is a very short street !



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/6 F10 Iso 800 obviously with a tripod. Merge of two conversions from one Raw file plus a bit of editing.

And looking the other way, standing on the quay edge while being careful not to take a step back.



Quite a bit of noise and other issues to contend with but I did what I could.

[skitterbug]

Great idea! I like the first photo in its simplicity and layout! There is definitely a story line in it! I don't notice "noise" on my screen when viewing it.

The second one is too busy for me. The boat light display has the church(?) in its background and is distracting.The street layout is interesting though. And I like that you included the signs to identify the buildings.

In post #32, thank you for answering my questions about what sort of "fish" is being caught by the smaller vessels. I also liked the additional information in the later posts about the history of the fish industry and types used and eaten. All good stuff. Yep, thank you for sharing!

Week 49 - Christmas Lights. I had a go at photographing lights in this small coastal town where I live. This year I wanted to have a go at an area which I have never successfully photographed before and I tried a different approach by shooting in the late afternoon when the lights were on but there was still a hint of lingering dull daylight. I wanted to show something of the buildings to put the scene into context as well as the lights. After many shots with different angles and settings I ended up with a couple of images which were just about keepers. Certainly a tricky attempt which was fraught with potential problems.

Union Street looking east. It is a very short street !



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/6 F10 Iso 800 obviously with a tripod. Merge of two conversions from one Raw file plus a bit of editing.

And looking the other way, standing on the quay edge while being careful not to take a step back.



Quite a bit of noise and other issues to contend with but I did what I could.

[Cantab]

Geoff, both the Christmas light photos work well. I was intrigued when I first looked at the photo shot from the edge of the quay. Looking inland, it looked like a street to nowhere till I saw the flight of stairs at the end (and a turn to the left shortly before the stairs?).

I googled the Salcombe Lifeboat Museum, found its RNLI website but no photos of what's inside. Another project for you?

[Wavelength]

Excellent images, all.....