Bisham Church in Summer sunshine

[ChrisH]

You may remember I posted the image immediately below back in the spring. I found myself in the same spot this afternoon and was amazed at how the scene had changed. The clump of vegetation was still there but now with a splash of colour and the trees are in full leaf.



Here is todays shot: -



Aperture: f/8 Shutter Speed: 1/400 ISO: 125

[FrankMi]

Hi Christopher, both shots are lovely but I notice that the lighting has changed the appearance of the church and the foliage beside it. I like the feel of the other side of the river better in the spring image. Being able to adjust the color balance, tone, intensity and contrast are excellent reasons for making subtle adjustments in post processing.

[rob marshall]

A nice scene, Christopher. The second one does have much more colour and vibrancy. I often find that going back to the same spot produces interesting results in comparison. I think it looks better with a 1deg tilt to the right - the church tower isn't perpendicular. Nice shot.

[ChrisH]

Thanks for your comments.

Frank: I think there may have been too much of a green cast, so I have made a Match Colour adjustment and posted below

Rob: I checked the tower when editing and have checked it again and it seems to me to be vertical, so I wonder if this is an optical illusion.

[JohnC]

That's a beautiful location,Chris and lovely photos. If I lived there I'd be spending a lot of time walking the river banks and photographing or just walking. I see those purple flowers everywhere, do you know if they are they sage ? I've googled them and there seem to be many varieties but it looks like one of them.They certainly carry a lot of punch in a photo.

[rob marshall]

Rob: I checked the tower when editing and have checked it again and it seems to me to be vertical, so I wonder if this is an optical illusion.

It's a common problem, I find, when you have a receding horizon line moving away from the focal plane, as you do here with the far river-bank. The tower is pretty vertical, but a turn of 1 degree CW seems somehow to correct the illusion. See edit below. Of course, there is another possibility - that the tower is wider at the top than at the bottom? A lot of old churches are very wonky is this respect - St David's cathedral in West Wales being a good example, which can make you feel quite unwell on inside viewing.

[rob marshall]

I see those purple flowers everywhere, do you know if they are they sage ? I've googled them and there seem to be many varieties but it looks like one of them.They certainly carry a lot of punch in a photo.

The head-gardener assures me they are Rosebay Willowherb, or Fireweed, as it's known in America http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosebay_willowherb I was saying to the HG only last week that there seems to be a lot of it around this year. She scoffed (and might have given an 'eesh! as well) then told me I went around with my eyes closed. Which is pretty poor for a photographer.

[Shadowman]

The second photo with the couple sitting on the bench adds more to the image as it looks like it takes a bit of effort to get to this location. So it raises the question of who are these people, are they the caretakers, the minister and his wife, etc. ?

[FrankMi]

Frank: I think there may have been too much of a green cast, so I have made a Match Colour adjustment and posted below

Wow! That, for me, makes a dramatic improvement!

On Rob's point of the level, I've found that sometimes it is better to provide the illusion rather than the reality. I'll give you an example: I do a lot of crown and decorative molding in my home. In a number of cases I can check and determine that a wall or ceiling is definitely not level. If I make the molding level it is negatively noticeable so I strive to make it look right even though the molding I add is not level, just to take advantage of the optical illusion. In the end, it just 'feels' right even though it is not level.

In another example, the ancient Greeks were aware of the fact that long straight parallel lines will appear to bow outward so when they built the Parthenon in Athens, they made the sides bow inward almost 4 1/2 inches (and the ends bow inward almost 2 1/2 inches) to compensate for the optical illusion.

It's ironic that wars have been fought, not over what is the truth, but rather over what people perceive to be the truth.

I can't wait to see how well this picture competes in the Minis!

[rob marshall]

On Rob's point of the level, I've found that sometimes it is better to provide the illusion rather than the reality. I'll give you an example: I do a lot of crown and decorative molding in my home. In a number of cases I can check and determine that a wall or ceiling is definitely not level. If I make the molding level it is negatively noticeable so I strive to make it look right even though the molding I add is not level, just to take advantage of the optical illusion. In the end, it just 'feels' right even though it is not level.

Yes, quite right. In a similar vein, my wife is never always right, but I find it better to give her the impression that she is! Thus, illusion (or perhaps that should be delusion) becomes the new reality.

I do love these existential conversations on CiC!

[JohnC]

The head-gardener assures me they are Rosebay Willowherb, or Fireweed, as it's known in America http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosebay_willowherb I was saying to the HG only last week that there seems to be a lot of it around this year. She scoffed (and might have given an 'eesh! as well) then told me I went around with my eyes closed. Which is pretty poor for a photographer.

Thanks Rob.Well, as you say,they're all over the place quite conspicuous this year. That's your head gardner I assume, I like to do ours myself to give me the exercise.