Project 52 by Geoff F

[Geoff F]

Still a lot of misty weather around the coast this week. I did miss a couple of better days due to working on the conversion of a spare room to my new 'computer room'.

Moved and reconnected the equipment today, and everything seems to be working OK.

Still a few jobs left. Had to run an extension phone line through the roof space and haven't 'nailed' it down yet. A bit of furniture to purchase for storage of my wildlife identification books and other items.

Then a few photos to hang on the wall.

Anyhow, returning to this week's photo. Just a quick snap while I briefly visited the fish quay. It's maintenance time once again.



Struggled to find a suitable angle amongst the quayside edge and mooring ropes, but liked the mixture of colours in this one. 1/640, F8, Iso 200; Canon 70-200 L at 70 mm.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I see what you mean about the angles but the colours were definitely what grabbed me when I first looked at the photo. You'll just have to ask him to rearrange his workspace next time to suit your photo

[Donald]

That, I think, is exactly what colour photography should be about - Colour. The image is so fresh and vibrant. Lovely.

[Geoff F]

Once again, thanks for the positive comments.

[oldgreygary]

I think the picture tells a story which for me is why it works. Plus, what everybody else has said. The colours just bounce out. Bright and vibrant.

Cheers for now

Gary

[Letrow]

Very nice colours and I too agree about the angles. It makes me wonder what is on the right side of the photo. Great!

[Wendy Stanford]

Hi Geoff, What a wonderful capture with the "flasher" shag, great title.
The maintainance of the boat has wonderful colour, the eye wanders around finding different things to look at.

[Geoff F]

Very nice colours and I too agree about the angles. It makes me wonder what is on the right side of the photo. Great!

OK then, I'm an idiot.

Pressed the wrong button so I can't upload with Tinypics now. So lets try something else. Maybe uploading as an edit will work.



How's that Peter. The whole scene, but from a few months earlier, 02 January.

[Letrow]

OK then, I'm an idiot.

Pressed the wrong button so I can't upload with Tinypics now. So lets try something else. Maybe uploading as an edit will work.



How's that Peter. The whole scene, but from a few months earlier, 02 January.

I love the composition in this one (and the colours too)

[Geoff F]

Thanks Peter.

This was shot for an earlier Project 52 entry but I thought I was getting too many boats, so submitted something else instead.

[Geoff F]

Some of you may be a little disappointed when you realise it is just a pair of insects.

This was the last shot with my 7D before it 'died' after only four months use. All of the review screen functions failed and I got Error 80 message.



A mating pair of Pond Skaters. The female has just caught a tiny gnat like fly. And a close up of another pair.



Not a lot of colour here, brown insects on a small brownish stream; but they proved very difficult to photograph. There were around 10 pairs in a small area plus a couple of lone males.

I tried manual focusing, as I normally do with insects but they were 'skating' around on the water surface faster than I could successfully focus. Sigma 180 macro lens with 1.4x converter; on a tripod and with Speedlite flash. 1/250 F16 Iso 400.

Eventually I decided to shoot as though they were flying birds so I switched to auto focus with AI Servo and removed the converter to help speed up the auto focus. I also tried to pre focus to the approximate distance to reduce focus time.

The one great problem with the Sigma 180 macro lens is it's slow focusing; although still faster than my manual focusing.

Shot over 50 images but quickly reduced these when I rejected the poorly focused shots.

And my 7D is now at the repairers. Don't know if it is an under guarantee repair as I'm still waiting for a report on the problem.

[Letrow]

I like the lines in the first photo Geoff. The second one has more detail, but I like the composition of the first better somehow. Weird to have your camera die on you all of a sudden. Looking forward to reports on that.

[Teton Chuck]

Geoff, I like the first image as well. The bubbles give some idea of size of the skaters. Living in an arid part of the world with lots of wildlife that is adapted to staying hidden, I can appreciate the problem of trying to photograph organisms that are not very colorful. But that is an important part of their story. I love the little fly that is getting munched.

I liked your photo very much.

Chuck

[Geoff F]

Once again, thanks for the comments.

I'm not sure which species of Pond Skater these are, but I will try to get some suggestions; they are a tricky family though.

The female was around half an inch body length.

[Nicola]

this kind of scene should be censured...! what an ugly subject!
let me spend a word for the boat painter picture (week 12)... beautiful!
just a tought: my eyes are attracted by the man, obviously, and by the paint buckets on the right. IMHO, the empty space on the left isn't important for the composition, have you tried a more square crop? a little more room on the right to "balance" the man with the painting equipment?
cheers
Nicola

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Difficult subjects to capture Geoff. I think you did pretty well to get something so clear given how quickly they tend to move around. Isn't it amazing how they don't disturb the surface tension of the water at all.

[Geoff F]

Each year, weather permitting, I try to find a different angle for the famous old magnolia tree at the Overbecks Gardens, Salcombe; which are open to the public.

But I usually try for an angle from the path at the rear of the gardens, but it means standing on some old tree stumps and reaching over a chest high wall. Which means having the tripod at a sloping angle.

Canon 40D with 70-200 lens at 155 mm; 1/200, F14, Iso 200. This is a combination of two shots with different focus points.

A calm day but with just a little bit of distant haze. For several days I had been waiting for the fresh east wind to abate.

And a shot of the overall scene



Just a little too hazy to work well, and the magnolia has a nearby tree which is covered in ivy and tends to spoil the effect; hence the need to try other angles.

ps. The old ruin is the Salcombe Castle which was destroyed by General Fairfax's army in 1648. But I haven't double checked the date.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Gee you guys get some interesting scenery to take photos of! We have 0 castles to take photos of here!

I prefer the second photo of the two you've posted. That sea side village I think works to better balance the tree (and I just love the look of it). Not sure if the angle is there to do this but I would love to see the Magnolia more in the bottom corner so that the town and the tree are diagonally opposite each other.

[Geoff F]

I have that photo hanging on my wall, Mal, from a couple of years ago.

Took a lot of finding. I keep my older files on an external drive and as CD's; for some reason a group of images were placed onto a CD but not into the drive. Probably from when I upgraded my computer.

Anyhow, from 2009 when the light was better, the typical Springtime east wind always creates poor light for landscapes. And, due to that, I haven't produced anything as good for this particular scene since then. But unfortunately my equipment wasn't quite so good then.

[Bunty Plumchip]

I really like the timeless sort of light tones you have achieved in the frist one- the light on the blossoms is very pleasing to my eye, anyway, as is the shade of blue of the water. Although I would agree with Mal about the town on the other bank, I think I do prefer the angle with more of the magnolia, and also the evergreen beside it which I think sets it off. I love magnolias, but hey can be a bit too much (or too little) standing alone.

We are fortunate in our small English landscpaes in April, they can be achingly lovely, and capturing them satisfactorily a constant challenge, but is all part of the beauty I think.