2020 Project 52 by Geoff F - 3rd Quarter

[Antonio Correia]

Geoff, perhaps you should place something between the camera and the scene to gain some picture depth...

The introduction of some leaves, branches, whatever in the foreground would created a better scene...

Perhaps even kneel down or shoot as above as possible...

Care to try ?

Cheers !

[Geoff F]

There hasn't been much rain here during the summer, Bruce, just a few dull days with slight drizzle and when we had some short periods of better rain most of it just ran off the dry ground without really soaking in. More on the north Devon coast and Dartmoor.

Yes, powdery mildew forms in dry weather. My courgettes have also suffered from the problem and my summer turnips were small and tough, although an autumn sowing is growing better with cooler conditions.

I did try various angles, Antonio, including showing less of the pumpkin patch and concentrating more on the straw bales in a widescreen format. But with this particular shot I wanted to include the pumpkin flowers. I was standing in the road up against a barbed wire fence and had to avoid some tall weeds which were closer to me.

In order to include the bales, with distant hedge and sky, I needed my focus point to be sufficiently far away to give enough focus depth, as Bruce mentioned. Also, the area to my left was in heavy shadow so I wanted to avoid that part of the scene. I did consider including the wire fence but it is just a narrow single track road, leading to the sewage works, so I was up against the far hedge without enough distance between me and the wire.

Maybe, on another day, it might be possible to walk along the road and find another position which could make a scene from the wire, with weeds, and some pumpkin flowers without showing the sky etc.

[Geoff F]

Week 37. Some general farmland scenes from near where I live. Started as a bright clear light, although windy, but by the time I took these shots it was starting to get a bit hazy.

I have included a few foreground areas, as Antonio suggested with my previous image.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw image. 1/320 F11 Iso 400

Opposite side of the road and looking towards the next village. I have included a bit of close foreground but maybe this broken fence has now become too dominant?



1/500 F11 Iso 400 Canon 70-200 lens

Similar shot but a slightly different angle without any dominant foreground areas



1/640 F11 Iso 400

And across the road again, The Camp Site. I liked the idea that the gulls were also camping there.

But looking at the image once more, I'm not sure if they are really working as intended.



1/400 F14 Iso 400

[Wavelength]

So beautiful, i can breath the rustic fragrance....

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Nandakumar.

I have returned to the last image and had another go with it. Slightly tighter crop and more contrast this time.

[Geoff F]

Week 38 - North Sands. Bit of a breeze so, at low water, I had a look at this beach near where I live.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/640 F11 Iso 400



First paddle with new wellies



1/800 F11 Iso 400 Canon 70-200 lens

Rough trip for the South Sands Ferry



1/1000 F11 Iso 400

Something extra appeared in this scene but I didn't see it coming and I couldn't get an exposure which suited both the water and the rotor blades.



1/800 F11 Iso 400

[Cantab]

A good set of photos. My favourites are probably #2 and 4. #4 is sharp and has drama.

The first one has a lot going for it but I wondered what it would look like with the boat made to disappear (probably not the easiest of tasks here). It would then ensure that the focus was on the surf boarder.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the reply, Bruce.

Week 39 - Ploughing at Motherhill Farm. It was a clear bright afternoon and I noticed the farmer was ploughing in a nearby field so I had a go at capturing the scene and including a bit of the wider landscape, although the closest foreground area was a bit further away than I would have liked.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens 1/200 F11 Iso 200. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw image



Ideally, I should have pressed the shutter a few seconds earlier. Also, I did think about going along the road to get closer but that would have produced light coming from the wrong angle with a poor background scene.

[joebranko]

Week 37. I agree, the broken fence is a bit distracting, and doesn't lend much to the scene.

[Geoff F]

Some people seem to see that sort of thing as an artistic rural object while others just see a broken fence. I tend to be in the second group, but had a go at a different sort of scene anyway.

Week 40 - The Turkeys are coming Another shot at the farm beside where I often record wildlife. These really are free range birds.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/500 F11 Iso 200. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

[Cantab]

I enjoyed the turkey shoot, both as a photo and also because I thought of a different kind of turkey shoot that my brother in law has been on.

This photo had a wide dynamic range with white turkeys and dark shade but the final result works well.

[Geoff F]

Thanks Bruce. My only option was to shoot at an exposure which suited the white birds then try to recover something from the shadows during editing.

They were very inquisitive birds and they strutted across that narrow field to come close to see what I was doing. So I tried for some close ups but I was on the other side of a stream and low hedge and when I looked at my shots on the computer screen I realised there was too much out of focus foliage to be able to produce anything worthwhile.

The fourth quarter of my 2020 Project 52 is here

2020 Project 52 by Geoff F