Project 52 - Weekly Photos by Geoff F - Part 3

[Geoff F]

Once again I am attempting to post at least one image each week. No general theme, just a random selection of things which I have seen in each week.

The previous thread is here Project 52 - Weekly Photos by Geoff F - Second Quarter

Week 40 - Fungi. Something different to start this third thread. They were in dark woodland so I had to use a bit of flash, which is fraught with potential problems. Both are difficult to identify so these are just suggested names.

Boletus ripariellus



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens 1/125 F11 Iso 400

Coprinus lagopus



1/200 F14 Iso 250

[Geoff F]

Week 41 - Sheep Talk. I don't know what that ram is whispering but it seems to be effective. Maybe something like 'I really like ewe'.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/320 F11 Iso 400

Rain Coming. I had tried a couple of shots with this scene but it wasn't quite working, then someone walking past gave me another idea but I had to work fast without any real thinking time



Merge of two bracketed exposures

Sunshine and clouds at Snapes Point



1/250 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two conversions from one Raw image.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Geoff,

I'm glad to see you're keeping this series going, well done.

Merge of two conversions from one Raw image.

I used to work this way myself Geoff, but these days I make use of either brush or gradient applied filters in ACR, thinking about that makes me wonder if one way is better than the other, or, like most things PhotoShop, 'whichever way works for you' is the right way

Cheers, Dave

[Geoff F]

Yes there are usually several ways of doing things in Photoshop. I never got on well with adjustment brushes so prefer to use layers and masking. I open the first edit as a Smart Object then create a copy and with a few mouse clicks I return the copy to ACR for extra editing.

Week 42 - Hustler entering Salcombe Harbour Shot from the rocks about half a mile away.



7D with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. 1/500 F11 Iso 320. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw image.

and at the store boxes. I did a tighter crop but with this version I also wanted to show part of the town.



Tenacious



1/640 F11 Iso 400

[Geoff F]

Week 43. A Green Shieldbug in an autumnal setting.



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens. 1/250 F10 Iso 400. Flash used.

A tiny Leafhopper (about 5 mm).



This group of flies are known as Picture-winged Flies. This one is Tephritis vespertina



Horned Treehopper - Centrotus cornutus. My flash unit was malfunctioning and under exposing. By the time I made a few alterations the insect was gone. Looks like my flash is worn out, but I do have an older spare unit which will hopefully see a bit more use before also surrendering.

[Geoff F]

Week 44 - Still a few unsold pumpkins. October 28th and still a few pumpkins remaining in that field so I suppose somebody will have to eat them.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/125 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures. I also wanted to show that delicate mix of hazy cloud and pale blue sky.

[Geoff F]

Week 45 - Harbourside Sheep. A bit of a reduction in the wind strength and some sunny patches so, not wanting to travel too far, I had a quick walk around the harbour path.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/500 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures



1/800 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Then the rain returned. After this shot I started walking back to the car park and got within a few hundred yards of my car before it started raining.



1/250 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures

[Cantab]

I also wanted to show that delicate mix of hazy cloud and pale blue sky.

You succeeded!

[Geoff F]

Week 46 - Be careful which nail you are hitting. Volunteer workers at the Andrews Wood wildlife reserve. Once again, I found myself with only my little Fugi X20 pocket sized camera in impossible conditions. A dull day and deep woodland shade. But I did what I could to get some record of the work in progress.



1/100 F2.8 Iso 400 with flash

[Cantab]

Good documentary action photos. And the yellow bucket matches the yellowing leaves!

I'm intrigued about the path that the crew were working on. It looks like mesh on top of a raised gravel pathway? Perhaps so that the path will be free of mud during the wet season?

The nails look small, not significant spikes; so perhaps the substrate grips the nails so they don't just pop out over time?

[Geoff F]

That is a very wet woodland, Bruce, although some areas did dry out this summer. In very wet and muddy parts of the path, old wooden railway sleepers have been laid over those muddy patches to create a dry boardwalk path. But at times, particularly during the autumn, the sleepers get very slippery so galvanised wire mesh is nailed over the sleepers to improve grip for walkers. 'Chicken wire' was previously tried but it didn't last and actually increased the trip hazard as it started to rot and rip.

The latest attempt uses thicker wire, with 1 inch spacings, which is held in place by wire staples which are about 15 mm long. There is quite a bit of boardwalk which requires upgrading during this winter. The workers are, like me, volunteers who meet once a month to do maintenance work in this reserve.

Last month I organised an insect hunt there for the Devon Fly Group and one member did slip on a portion of uncovered boardwalk where he fell heavily. Luckily, while he ended up flat on his back in the mud, his head narrowly missed the boardwalk woodwork so although he was a bit shaken he was unharmed.

[Geoff F]

Week 47 - Looking inland from the coast path near Bolt Head. A bright but rather windy morning so I had a walk around a nearby area looking for some scenes which might be suitable for the next local history society calendar.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/400 F11 iso 320. Merge of two bracketed exposures



I think I might try a slight crop of the left side and top from this one and remove the walkers.





all were a merge of two bracketed exposures

[Geoff F]

And looking the other way, seawards from the coast path



1/500 F11 Iso 320. Merge of two bracketed exposures

[Geoff F]

Week 48 - Hope Cove



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/800 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures

and a closer view



1/640 F11 Iso 400. Merge of three bracketed exposures

Going surfing



Merge of two bracketed exposures

Waiting for the wave



1/1250 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

[Cantab]

The first photo intrigued me for a couple of reasons. Visually, it has the building in a vertical sandwich with the rock cliff behind it and the rocks in the more or less foreground, exposed by what appears to be a relatively low tide.

The fact that the tide is out caused me to wonder about the wisdom of building a house a few feet above the high tide mark. I looked on streetmap.co.uk and saw that Hope Cove is somewhat protected from ocean waves coming straight off the channel. Has the house nearest the water been there a long time?

[billtils]

Yet another enjoyable product of your Project 52 journey Geoff. I especially liked the 3 surfers shot with the colours and reflections. This comment doesn't really matter much given it's a Project 52 but cropping it above the wave to remove the land and sky makes for a super image (or at least that's what I think )

[Geoff F]

As far as I am aware that larger house was built around the 1950's while the remainder of that terrace are old coastguard cottages from the late 18th century. Apparently the ground to the left of it was once used to grow early strawberries, before the days of greenhouses.

The slipway on the right was originally constructed for the launching of a customs cutter. Four oars and a sail I think.

With the surfers walking towards the water, I was thinking about an image for the next history society calendar which requires images to be in 4 x 5 ratio; a 5 x 4 image is a definite alternative. And on the other image I moved the left side pair a little closer to the other two in order to get a better crop while still retaining a bit of the headland and the distant Burgh Island Hotel to give some sort of context to the scene. I did take another one concentrating more on the surfers. I will upload it later.

[Geoff F]

Here are a couple of alternatives where I concentrated more on the surfers.



1/1000 F 11 Iso 400 and in each of these cases I have moved the people closer together.



But trying for anything closer is a bit of a problem due to spray in the air and being unable to physically get any nearer.

[Cantab]

Here are a couple of alternatives where I concentrated more on the surfers.



1/1000 F 11 Iso 400 and in each of these cases I have moved the people closer together.



But trying for anything closer is a bit of a problem due to spray in the air and being unable to physically get any nearer.

For my money, the second one works particularly well. A very good action shot.

[Geoff F]

Week 49 - Fishing Boats entering Salcombe Harbour. I was requiring some more options for the local fishermen's organisation Christmas Cards; so I drove around to the other side of the harbour for some different angles.

Davrik



7D with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens 1/500 F9 Iso 400. Merge of two conversions from a single raw file

Hustler



1/640 F9 Iso 400

Southern Star



This meant driving 20 miles, plus a bit of a walk along the coast path, to end up only half a mile from my house; but I included a bit of weekly shopping half way through the journey so it wasn't too far out of my way.