PROJECT 52 Bunty Plumchip

[JPS]

Love it, well done

[Bunty Plumchip]

Thanks everyone for looking and comments.

[Bunty Plumchip]

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Firstly, I love the sky against the black and white finish of everything else. It's subtle enough to not be distracting but works to add a little bit of mystery to the photo. What I don't really like though is the tractor with the selective colouring - mostly because it's so bold relative to everything else that I just keep getting drawn back to it..... and I really feel like I should be looking at the detail everywhere else. I think if you converted the tractor back to a plain B&W finish it would work much better because overall, I really think you have a great capture here.

[Wendy Stanford]

I agree with Mal the tractor colour is a distraction, the other components of the shot are great, tree, building, cattle, undisturbed snow all combine to make a great image.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Thanks Wendy and Mal.





Exif
28mm
1/1250s
f8.0

[Geoff F]

That looks much better to me, Carolyn. That shot is strong enough on it's own without any substantial enhancements.

The only thing which I might consider is a minute crop of the foreground and a similar amount from the right edge. But I'm not totally certain.

I know that would move the tree more centrally but I think there are sufficient surrounding elements that it would still have good balance but concentrate more on the main subjects.

But I do mean minute; perhaps to where that dark mark appears in the snow on the bottom right corner.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Thanks Wendy and Mal.





Exif
28mm
1/1250s
f8.0

Much, much better The subtleness highlights the tractor as a point of interest without overpowering the entire scene.

[Bunty Plumchip]

That looks much better to me, Carolyn. That shot is strong enough on it's own without any substantial enhancements.

The only thing which I might consider is a minute crop of the foreground and a similar amount from the right edge. But I'm not totally certain.

I know that would move the tree more centrally but I think there are sufficient surrounding elements that it would still have good balance but concentrate more on the main subjects.

But I do mean minute; perhaps to where that dark mark appears in the snow on the bottom right corner.

Thanks Geoff.
I wondered about cropping more out of the foreground. One of the versions I tried took out the tracks in the rhc , but it left it a bit sky heavy. It is cropped quite a lot already from the left, so I could balance it by putting some of that side back. I will have another play around.

[Geoff F]

Yes, I thought about ending up with too much sky but the dividing line between sky and land is the top of the hedge which would still remain about 1/3 of the height; and that sky is so delicate that it doesn't seem overpowering.

A different matter, I think, if it was a heavy thundery sky.

And while slightly reducing the 'strength' of the barn, by reducing the size, will help to increase overall 'lightness' it still needs to remain clearly recognisable as a barn.

But I'm just looking at the options by holding pieces of card against my screen.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Yes, I thought about ending up with too much sky but the dividing line between sky and land is the top of the hedge which would still remain about 1/3 of the height; and that sky is so delicate that it doesn't seem overpowering.

A different matter, I think, if it was a heavy thundery sky.

And while slightly reducing the 'strength' of the barn, by reducing the size, will help to increase overall 'lightness' it still needs to remain clearly recognisable as a barn.

But I'm just looking at the options by holding pieces of card against my screen.

Thank you once again for taking an interest and for your help Geoff - appreciate it. You are right, I think it does look better with a bit more shaved off.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Haven't got anything much of interest this week, so I am posting this one although it is not particularly inspiring just in case I don't get anything better in time. Took it today while out on my walk across the fields to the cliff over the North Sea near Spurn Point. The light here is fantastic, only I don't seem to be able to capture it successfully. Hopefully by the end of this project I will be better at it.






EXIF
Camera Nikon D70s
Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture f/10.0
Focal Length 28 mm
Focal Length 28.3 mm
Exposure Bias 0 EV

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Out of curiosity what is it that you aren't happy about it? And also, what time of the day is it?

[Bunty Plumchip]

Out of curiosity what is it that you aren't happy about it? And also, what time of the day is it?

Hi Mal- thanks as always for your interest and time. It was 15.06 - the sky had cleared after a hailstorm that had come across the land and gone out to sea a bit earlier on. The sun was to the right, the sea is directly beyond the horizon which is the clifftop.

The dissatisfaction lies in getting the balance of cold and warmth in the landscape.I have only increased saturation by a fraction in this version and cropped out a bit to the right, retaining the scale of the photo though. This I think makes the white farmhouse (which is teetering on the edge of the eroding cliff) smaller than it was scaled in the viewfinder. In the viewfinder, I had hoped to achieve the building filling the space and being framed by the twigs of the twisted and stunted whitethorn, but at the same time leaving the feeling of wde open space. (I didn't want much did I ) .
I think one of the problems is that I had raised the sharpness in the camera setting- maybe I should have left it to fiddle with in PP. I have tried the image with a softer finish, which while not an unpleasant result, did not portray the crispness of the day. Other than that, the image is a bit boring compared with so many I see on here.

Thanks again.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Hi Mal- thanks as always for your interest and time. It was 15.06 - the sky had cleared after a hailstorm that had come across the land and gone out to sea a bit earlier on. The sun was to the right, the sea is directly beyond the horizon which is the clifftop.

I'm not sure what time the sun sets out there but I'm assuming given the time of the year it was approaching "Golden Hour"?

The dissatisfaction lies in getting the balance of cold and warmth in the landscape.

Sounds like a tough challenge. I'm not sure how long you were out there for but I often find in that last hour before the sun sets the light can change dramatically, and often the shot that you're after only lasts for a few minutes. The reason I asked about the time of the day is because of how rapidly the light changes and it may be that you just need to discover the time when it lights up your landscape in the way that you envision it. I think I can almost see what you were trying to achieve but it looks to me you need to wait a little bit later in the day. Of course, that's hard for me to judge given I'm not where you are so you'll be the best person to figure that one out

I have only increased saturation by a fraction in this version and cropped out a bit to the right, retaining the scale of the photo though. This I think makes the white farmhouse (which is teetering on the edge of the eroding cliff) smaller than it was scaled in the viewfinder. In the viewfinder, I had hoped to achieve the building filling the space and being framed by the twigs of the twisted and stunted whitethorn, but at the same time leaving the feeling of wde open space. (I didn't want much did I )

I read once that sometimes you need to go against the norm to achieve what you're after. To achieve what you wanted with the farmhouse being framed by the whitethorn I would have been inclined to use a telezoom of some sort to bring the farmhouse closer to the tree rather than a wide angle which increases the distance (perspective thing on how close you're standing to the tree to achieve your composition). I think you could have still given the wide open space perspective with a telezoom - you would have just had to position yourself differently.

Oh, and don't we all want everything?

I think one of the problems is that I had raised the sharpness in the camera setting- maybe I should have left it to fiddle with in PP. I have tried the image with a softer finish, which while not an unpleasant result, did not portray the crispness of the day. Other than that, the image is a bit boring compared with so many I see on here.

If you were shooting in Raw when you brought your photo into your PP program I would have thought it would have reverted it back to the original untouched version of what your camera saw. I tend to shoot with all camera settings set to neutral but that's mainly so I have an idea of what it will look like when I PP later on.

In any case, I think that perhaps you may want to return and see what happens to the scene as the light changes. It just might be you only have a few minutes for the perfect shot that you're attempting to achieve and you just need to know when that is

But then again, everything I say here might not be correct either!

[Bunty Plumchip]

[QUOTE=Goldcoastgolfer;187904]I'm not sure what time the sun sets out there but I'm assuming given the time of the year it was approaching "Golden Hour"?



Sounds like a tough challenge. I'm not sure how long you were out there for but I often find in that last hour before the sun sets the light can change dramatically, and often the shot that you're after only lasts for a few minutes. The reason I asked about the time of the day is because of how rapidly the light changes and it may be that you just need to discover the time when it lights up your landscape in the way that you envision it. I think I can almost see what you were trying to achieve but it looks to me you need to wait a little bit later in the day. Of course, that's hard for me to judge given I'm not where you are so you'll be the best person to figure that one out



I read once that sometimes you need to go against the norm to achieve what you're after. To achieve what you wanted with the farmhouse being framed by the whitethorn I would have been inclined to use a telezoom of some sort to bring the farmhouse closer to the tree rather than a wide angle which increases the distance (perspective thing on how close you're standing to the tree to achieve your composition). I think you could have still given the wide open space perspective with a telezoom - you would have just had to position yourself differently.

Oh, and don't we all want everything?


Thanks Mal- You are right it wanted about an hour and a half to sunset. In a couple of months time, the golden hour in that spot will be magnificent. Perhaps it may be an idea to really study and explore the light possibilities with this specific scene and learn from them. It is only about 30 mins walk across the fields from my house. It woud also be a study in the agricultural year, and so be a useful documentary. Thanks Mal- it no longer seems so boring- at least to me!

I have not tried shooting in RAW yet. As practice and confidence grow, not to mention understanding of how it works, (and getting the programme which will enable it for the Nikon 70S, my camera was second hand and did not come with the relevent software) I aim to attempt it at some point in the next few months.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

[QUOTE=Bunty Plumchip;187925]

I'm not sure what time the sun sets out there but I'm assuming given the time of the year it was approaching "Golden Hour"?



Sounds like a tough challenge. I'm not sure how long you were out there for but I often find in that last hour before the sun sets the light can change dramatically, and often the shot that you're after only lasts for a few minutes. The reason I asked about the time of the day is because of how rapidly the light changes and it may be that you just need to discover the time when it lights up your landscape in the way that you envision it. I think I can almost see what you were trying to achieve but it looks to me you need to wait a little bit later in the day. Of course, that's hard for me to judge given I'm not where you are so you'll be the best person to figure that one out



I read once that sometimes you need to go against the norm to achieve what you're after. To achieve what you wanted with the farmhouse being framed by the whitethorn I would have been inclined to use a telezoom of some sort to bring the farmhouse closer to the tree rather than a wide angle which increases the distance (perspective thing on how close you're standing to the tree to achieve your composition). I think you could have still given the wide open space perspective with a telezoom - you would have just had to position yourself differently.

Oh, and don't we all want everything?


Thanks Mal- You are right it wanted about an hour and a half to sunset. In a couple of months time, the golden hour in that spot will be magnificent. Perhaps it may be an idea to really study and explore the light possibilities with this specific scene and learn from them. It is only about 30 mins walk across the fields from my house. It woud also be a study in the agricultural year, and so be a useful documentary. Thanks Mal- it no longer seems so boring- at least to me!

I have not tried shooting in RAW yet. As practice and confidence grow, not to mention understanding of how it works, (and getting the programme which will enable it for the Nikon 70S, my camera was second hand and did not come with the relevent software) I aim to attempt it at some point in the next few months.

Honestly given the level of post processing that you're doing I'd really recommend you switch over to raw. You'll be amazed at how much more you can do in your post processing flow because your photo file will have stored so much more information about the light that was actually there.

[Bunty Plumchip]

I found it in one of my vegetable beds this morning, lying on the surface. It is fossilised- possibly a claw, a tusk, a tooth? It may be possible it come out of some sea coal we have been burning or rotten wood from a copse as we have dug some ash into the clay from time to time, buut haven't noticed it when cleaning the woodburner. It is 85mm (3.25 ") long

Photo has not had any PP other than to correct exposure issue with the paper backdrop.

Nikon 70S - f8.0 - focal length 70mm- 1/320s

[Goldcoastgolfer]

If that's a tooth I'm glad I never met it's owner! That's a pretty interesting find - not something you see everyday.

[Geoff F]

That is a crab claw, Carolyn. The top joint of the pincher assembly to be exact. Not sure how it could have got there though.

Possibly just shoveled up with the coal?

ps. after looking at it again, I would expect from the curve on the tip that it would probably be a right claw. That is a good size for a Yorkshire crab. But just a tiddler compared with the monsters we get down south.