Crail Harbour

[Donald]

As I stood high above Crail Harbour and looked closely at it, the thing that really struck me was the structure of the harbour wall. The fact the people worked hard to make that (it would have been very hard labour in those days) with its wonderful lines and shapes. It really was, at that moment, a thing of beauty. Then, just behind it, the cliff face that mirrored that solidity and permanence of the harbour wall.

Your comments are always welcomed. This was all about texture and about the relationship between people and the environment.


Canon 40D, EF 24-70 f2.8 L @ 52mm. ISO100. 1/125 @f11

[PBelarge]

Donald
The more I looked, the more I see what you were explaining. The wall and the landscape do match exceedingly well. I love the tonality, and curve of the wall. It looks like you shot during midday or somewhere around that time...it works well with the b&w.

How do you decide on the framing? Square, landscape, portrait...

[botspur]

Hi Donald, I've spent a long time looking at this image and really like the detail in the wall which as you said is echoed by the cliffs, your B&W is very good. The wall is very strong, permanent and protective. The only thing (I'm picking here) is the nose of the white transit van nudging into frame.

[dje]

Nice shot Donald. You've captured a good perspective on the wall and there is very good detail in the image. The exposure/pp is also spot on.

Dave

[Donald]

Thank for your comments

Pierre

How do you decide on the framing? Square, landscape, portrait...

At the moment I am into a 'square' thing. I love the format. I think it is both a very simplistic format but contains great complexity in terms of choosing and composing what will work within that square format.

So my decisions about what to shoot are very much based on the knowledge that the final image will be in square format. So, I do try and choose and compose my shots carefully with the finished image very much in my mind.

Clive

The only thing (I'm picking here) is the nose of the white transit van nudging into frame.

Yeh, that van was a bit of a nuisance and I wasn't sure how to deal with it. I thought about cloning, but felt it couldn't be done as well as I'd want. But the other aspect (and maybe I made this up to avoid the cloning) was that this was the scene. It is a working harbour and white transit vans are very much part of that environment. So, I ended up feeling the image could carry it.

Dave

... there is very good detail in the image.

This presented the perfect opportunity to road-test my new 24-70 f2.8 L lens and see if all the hype was true. What I should have done, but didn't, was taken along my 17-85 kit lens, taken the same shot and then compared them after applying the same sharpening. The 24-70 certainly does feel like something very different, but maybe that's just me trying to convince myself after spending all that money.

[MilT0s]

Nice one Donald.

I love the way my eyes travel across the frame to discover little surpises like those you mentioned. For some reason it keeps my attention for much longer than a "standard" nice picture. Probably because of the square frame and the geometry in total.

[Daisy Mae]

Very nicely framed and strong.

[Geoff Little]

Very nice shot. It insired me to dig out some photos that I took in Crail 4 years ago. The colours in the harbour wall are fabulous. Here is a close up shot of the inside wall at low tide:

[Donald]

Thanks for your comment, Geoff. That's a lovely one you got. Fantastic patterns, textures and, as you say, colours.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Donald,

Yes, I like this one.

Your reply to Clive made me think

Part of the reason I don't do much Landscape shooting is that I often get frustrated when nature, or worse, man, doesn't allow the perfect shot to be captured.
In addition to the white van, there's something else that I noticed, which is the visual equivalent of reading a badly worded sentence - it makes you (well, me) go back and look twice at something that really shouldn't attract attention. However, if you want to present the scene as it is, documentary style, it has to stay.
Unfortunately it cannot be avoided by a slightly altered camera position, as that would spoil the composition completely.

Not sure that helps you much

Cheers,

[Donald]

In addition to the white van, there's something else that I noticed,

Dave - You can't leave it like that. You've got to tell me! What is it?

[Dave Humphries]

Dave - You can't leave it like that. You've got to tell me! What is it?

No, it'll bug you too then