My 2014 Weekly Photos - Part 2

[Cantab]

Geoff, this is an interesting and attractive photo. Initially I thought the rock was a rotting piece of wood. The lighting worked well.

[Geoff F]

It is a slightly strange piece of rock, Bruce. Mostly a dark shale like substance but with patches of quartz running through it. That was one of the problems during sunlight, which caused the quartz to over expose, while exposing for that put everything else too dark. Overcast sky worked much better.

And wind movement on the grass prevented a merge of different exposure shots.

I tried several other rocks and various navelwort plants but they all had background or lighting problems. I thought the moss on this rock would blend in to create something of a hard/soft effect.

Anyway, it made a break from attempting to photograph some reluctant insects!

[Geoff F]

Week 24 - Pocket Camera Shots

This year I purchased a Fuji X20 as a pocket sized camera. More of a jacket or baggy trouser pocket in reality. But just small enough to carry around all the time and capable of taking images which are just about acceptable. Something of a 'retro design' film look camera but operates in the same manner as a 'real' dslr camera.

Claire Louise



1/1100 F8 Iso 400. A quick shot on a cloudy day as this boat passed. I wanted a fairly fast shutter speed to freeze the gulls in flight. And of course, only one chance.

Flags outside the Yacht Club



1/600 F8 Iso 200. I often pass this scene and have had numerous attempts to get the flags flying correctly and a reasonable background. This is the only keeper so far!

[bnnrcn]

Hi Geoff. The boat is nice itself but a bit crowded composition with the other boats in the BG. I like the flags

[Geoff F]

I did take a few shots as the boat passed, but this is the only other one which I kept. Possibly a bit too much plain grey sky here; it would have been better with blue and some fluffy clouds

[Geoff F]

Week 25 - Hay Bailing

I was coming from an insect shoot when I found this scene. Right on cue, the sun went behind a cloud, and the tractor was on its last run in that field. So a quick change of lenses and click without any real thinking time.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens 1/160 F14 Iso 400. Which were the settings from my last insect shot. I then changed the aperture to F11 which gave a faster shutter for some other shots but couldn't get the tractor in a suitable spot.

The Old Barn



Then I went back to F14 to get more focus depth for this scene. Tried several angles but the bale positions were a limiting factor.

[Cantab]

Geoff, I enjoyed these two, especially the photo of the old barn. In the photo with the tractor, that's an interesting stone formation at the top of the hill. Is it partly natural and partly a man made (crumbling) wall?

[John 2]

A nice record of time and place Geoff.

[bnnrcn]

Although the sky is plain, this is a nice image with nice colours . All it needs is PP

I did take a few shots as the boat passed, but this is the only other one which I kept. Possibly a bit too much plain grey sky here; it would have been better with blue and some fluffy clouds

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

That rocky skyline is a ridge which quickly drops to the sea with a steep valley behind the gate. Another shot showed the sea with a distant ship but the light was all wrong and the tractor angle just didn't work either.

I had to do a bit of processing with the barn, finishing with some selective LCE. And I moved the left side bale. As it was a bit heavy, I did this photographically.

Although I might try another crop with the original bale position but cropped slightly tighter so part of the bale is going outside the image edge. I'm not quite sure but it didn't look quite right with the bale close to the edge. I think it has to be either well in or partly out.

[John 2]

Not sure you need the left hand bale at all Geoff. With a slightly tighter crop, the gate and the path serve to keep the eye in the frame and the RH bales form a nice lead in.

[Geoff F]

There is plenty of spare space around that barn, John; so I think it will be one of those scenes where I keep trying something different. I was worried about having the barn appearing too central but possibly placing it just to the left of centre and showing more lead in hedging on the right might work.

Looks like a mostly damp week ahead, so I might catch up on the editing backlog.

Also had another play around with the boat scene.



This time I did the editing the other way around. Used Curves on the whole scene then masked out the over bright areas.

But there were limits because it was a dull day; and although that camera is quite good on close bright areas, it does tend to mush the distant background and add a little bit of noise to shadows.

[Geoff F]

Week 26 - Spiky Sea Holly

Lightly overcast, after the rain cleared, so I experimented with some flower shots in my garden; although most got ditched for various reasons.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/160 F11 Iso 200.

The bees certainly love these sea holly flowers.

[Geoff F]

Part 3 continues here

My 2014 Weekly Photos - Part 3

[bnnrcn]

Hi Geoff You could get a better coloured sky with curves but it would still be plain. If you desaturate the colours of the barrels and the boat in the foreground selectively , the big boat stands out more.

There is plenty of spare space around that barn, John; so I think it will be one of those scenes where I keep trying something different. I was worried about having the barn appearing too central but possibly placing it just to the left of centre and showing more lead in hedging on the right might work.

Looks like a mostly damp week ahead, so I might catch up on the editing backlog.

Also had another play around with the boat scene.



This time I did the editing the other way around. Used Curves on the whole scene then masked out the over bright areas.

But there were limits because it was a dull day; and although that camera is quite good on close bright areas, it does tend to mush the distant background and add a little bit of noise to shadows.

[John 2]

Week 26 - Spiky Sea Holly

Lightly overcast, after the rain cleared, so I experimented with some flower shots in my garden; although most got ditched for various reasons.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/160 F11 Iso 200.

The bees certainly love these sea holly flowers.

I have never managed a satisfactory shot of this sort of plant whether this or for instance, thistle. What makes this more successful than my efforts is the use of WA distortion. It has just emphasised the main flower enough to boost the composition. It's a nice image Geoff. My only suggestion might be a tad more saturation but that is no more than personal taste.