Project 52 by Geoff F

[FrankMi]

I noticed the road was submerged and spent some time looking and wondering about it! Sometimes having a mystery item in an image can cause the viewer to spend more time examining the image. I won't ask how you accomplished that but I'm sure you have your methods! LOL!

[Geoff F]

This shot from a slightly different angle may help to explain that road.



There are some high spots and low areas which flood when the tide comes in. I was standing on a dry part of the road a little further along. The wooden posts mark the road edge.

[Geoff F]

Walking along a path beside a creek I saw quite a lot of poppies amongst the grass but couldn't find a suitable angle. And being a cloudy day was going to cause more problems.

Eventually decided to photograph a stile with the poppies as a background.



Tried a few settings and eventually found using flash at the high speed setting was looking interesting. I needed a fairly high shutter speed because the poppies and grasses were blowing around in the wind.

7D with 24-105 L lens, 1/400, F11, Iso 400. On tripod.

On reflection, I framed some shots a little too closely and would have preferred a little more cropping options on some of my shots. I think this one was the best angle, although possibly showing a little more at the bottom would have been better.

Following a suggestion from Donald, I have slightly reworked this shot with a little bit of selective LCE on the foreground.

[Geoff F]

The local British Legion branch hold this ceremony every year.

I was asked to take some photos while there are still a couple of WW 2 veterans who are able to take part.

American forces sailed from this port in 1944. They even constructed the quayside where the event is held.









The rain had stopped but it was still a grey day. #1, 1/250 F8; #2, 1/125 F11; #3, 1/160 F11; #4, 1/400 F8. All at Iso 400.

7D with 24-105 L lens. I had accidentally switched off IS but I appear to have just about got away with these hand held shots.

[Donald]

Geoff - Sorry I missed this. I wonder if the timber could use a dose of Local Contrast Enhancement just to pick up the grain and give a bit more texture?

[Donald]

The local British Legion branch hold this ceremony every year.

I had written what I thought was a thoughtful reply to this ........ when the forum seemed to collapse. But we're back up and running.

I think the image of the men at salute with the clergyman behind them, is very good.

[Geoff F]

Trust you to spot the only Scotsman on the whole quayside, Donald.

The middle one of that group of three.

Yes, the site crashed while I was making a reply to your previous comment about Week 23 so I also lost my reply.

But, basically, I will have a go at a little bit of selective enhancement of the wood but will have to be careful with the foliage. I have already had to clone out a disc on the right side upright which gave instructions to walkers.

OK, I've made a slight reworking to Week 23 and posted it alongside the previous image.

[Letrow]

Walking along a path beside a creek I saw quite a lot of poppies amongst the grass but couldn't find a suitable angle. And being a cloudy day was going to cause more problems.

Eventually decided to photograph a stile with the poppies as a background.



Tried a few settings and eventually found using flash at the high speed setting was looking interesting. I needed a fairly high shutter speed because the poppies and grasses were blowing around in the wind.

7D with 24-105 L lens, 1/400, F11, Iso 400. On tripod.

On reflection, I framed some shots a little too closely and would have preferred a little more cropping options on some of my shots. I think this one was the best angle, although possibly showing a little more at the bottom would have been better.

Following a suggestion from Donald, I have slightly reworked this shot with a little bit of selective LCE on the foreground.

It is a very nice photo Geoff. I do notice the difference between the two, but unlike Donald I was fine without the improvement. Although you can see the difference clearly on the wood, the thing that draws my attention is the poppy field, so that foreground really doesn't matter that much.
But it does look slightly better if you focus on the wood.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments. That stile, and poppies, was one of those occasions where I knew there was a shot to be had somewhere but struggled to work out how to find a suitable angle.

At the moment I'm also struggling to get anything for week 25, which is the half way mark, due to the dull and showery weather. Half the year gone and still no hint of a summer.

Took a couple of shots at the Fish Quay today so at least I have something in reserve.

[Geoff F]

Even though this was yet another grey day I had a bit of over saturation on the red channel, particularly with their waterproof clothing. So this is a composite of two Raw conversions with different exposure settings.



7D with 70-200 IS L at 70 mm handheld. 1/200 F9 Iso 200.

I'm starting to get really fed up with all this damp and windy English weather. Took very few photos this week. Just this scene and a few insects between the rain showers.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Wonderful colours and vibrancy Geoff. I love the life in this and the way you can almost hear the men talking.

You and me both with the weather. It isn;t even picturesque or interesting here., just grim, and I am nowhere near good enough to photograph bats and swallows dining on the wing. .

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comment, Carolyn. Here is another closer shot where they are about to remove a spider crab from the net.



ps. the boat is named Mayhem. They fish these very large mesh nets mostly for ray.

[Geoff F]

At the harbour mouth there is a shallow sand bar.





Both at 1/800 F14 Iso 400. 7D with 24-105 L.

Whatever I did was going to involve a bit of compromise, so I set a shutter speed of 1/800 and adjusted the Iso until I obtained a setting of F14 when metering from the surf. Which was bound to make the midtones a little on the dark side.

Rather than risk getting variations in adjustment as I changed camera angles I entered these settings manually; and hoped that there wouldn't be too much variation in light levels.

Focused on the cliff top rocks and hoped there would be sufficient depth of field for the surf.

Then a bit of selective editing to balance everything out.

I should have been at this location a little earlier when the ebb tide was stronger and the surf was slightly larger. But by the time the sun made a brief appearance and I arrived here it was almost low water.

[Letrow]

Good photos Geoff. It is difficult to make the sea or water like this look interesting at times, but there is enough going on in these two to make it look alive.

[Geoff F]

Yes, Peter, that is why I included some 'reference points' amongst the cliffs.

As a retired fisherman, I'm all too aware of how fairly big seas can look like a millpond on photos, particularly a big swell. I always thought that when shooting from a boat, if it looks a bit rough in a photo I shouldn't be there!

[FrankMi]

Hi Geoff, I really like the second image as it is more unusual and really shows of the power of the water. You have a really interesting foreground providing two complementary subjects that work very well together. Having been born on an island, my eye goes back and forth between them enjoying all there is to explore.

[Geoff F]

Had the wrong lens for these shots (Canon 70-200) so I set it to 70 and moved as far back as possible.

Also didn't have my Speedlite flash so had to use the camera pop up flash. Manually set camera to 1/250 F8 Iso 400 Flash -1/3.

Some problems with interference patterns from his boiler suit (coveralls) but managed to reduce the problem during editing.





I had to let the midtones/shadows go a bit on the dark side when shooting; but created two Raw conversions with different exposures then combined them.

[Letrow]

Had the wrong lens for these shots (Canon 70-200) so I set it to 70 and moved as far back as possible.

Also didn't have my Speedlite flash so had to use the camera pop up flash. Manually set camera to 1/250 F8 Iso 400 Flash -1/3.

Some problems with interference patterns from his boiler suit (coveralls) but managed to reduce the problem during editing.





I had to let the midtones/shadows go a bit on the dark side when shooting; but created two Raw conversions with different exposures then combined them.

You don't often see welders anymore, it actually takes me back a little bit in time.

I like the photos Geoff, but there are two things I would have done/tried. For the trying bit, maybe you did that already...did you look how B&W looked for these photos. Maybe it adds nothing, but it seems to fit the (old fashioned) subject.
The second thing is the shadow from the flash. Especially on the first photo I think it would benefit from some cloning to get rid of that shadow. The second photo only has a little bit of shadow.

[Geoff F]

I had seen that heavy shadow, Peter, but thought it gave a bit of depth behind the subject. Something I will think about though. Doing B&W is something else I will try as soon as I get a bit of time.

Looks like more rain all week; but I'm also experimenting with another project for my local history society and need to fully understand slideshow production fairly quickly. Slideshow Software but . . .

The guy in these photos isn't a 'real welder' he is a fisherman who is attempting to do a bit of his own welding to save money - just like I did a few years ago.

He really should be using a Mig welder for that thin metal because his welding rods are a bit on the thick side and tends to burn holes rather than weld together.

[Geoff F]

I've had a quick go at a B&W alternative but used another shot which had a bit of a background problem. I think I've just about overcome a background hot spot issue.