My 2014 Weekly Photos - Part 3

[IzzieK]

Awwwww Geoff -- this one is such a nice shot all around...!!! Everything is just inviting to go rush underneath the trees and run through that gate to seek shelter somewhere...I guess your truck is more inviting than being caught under the trees at the time. I like the mood of the whole scene and the oncoming bad weather tells the whole story...You know I am a sucker for a good picture story.

[Geoff F]

Quite often I feel there is a scene to be captured somewhere and walk around trying different angles before finally shooting or walking away. Just occasionally, it works out OK.

Maybe it will work in B&W but I will have to tweak the greens a little.

[Geoff F]

Well after tweaking all the colours a little, this is what I came up with in the form of B&W.

[bnnrcn]

I like the B&W Geoff B&W experts might like to comment on how to improve it but I can at least say that B&W works for the image.

[Geoff F]

Week 32 - Another Plant & Insect Survey

The general scene, a typical small English village - West Charleton. This shows how the village has changed and how buildings have been added or altered over the years.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/500 F11 Iso 400. If I had thought about it I could have got away with reducing the Iso a little

The area which we had to survey, around the edge of this cornfield jutting out into an estuary.



1/800 F11 Iso 400. I wanted a fairly fast shutter speed to cope with the wheat moving in the wind. Actually, something of a 'let's have a go and see what happens' type of shot.

The Plant Expert



Harvesting in the next field.



1/640 F11 Iso 400. Another 'lucky dip' shot because it was a bit further away than I would have liked and the light angle wasn't ideal.

[IzzieK]

You have some nice patches over your way Geoff...

It seems that there is a good marina o'er yonder for some tog shots, too. I like the way you did your foreground -- nice curly wheat...And the plant expert guy who has that funny looking fishing hat have that nice sexy legs. I will not worry about the distance of the farm equipment much -- you got a very good sky up there with lots of characters. And so with #1. Sometimes we just cannot choose the right time of day to shoot but still come out with something good to share than nothing. I think it has been a good day for you that day...
Cheers.
Izzie

Week 32 - Another Plant & Insect Survey

The general scene, a typical small English village - West Charleton. This shows how the village has changed and how buildings have been added or altered over the years.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/500 F11 Iso 400. If I had thought about it I could have got away with reducing the Iso a little

The area which we had to survey, around the edge of this cornfield jutting out into an estuary.



1/800 F11 Iso 400. I wanted a fairly fast shutter speed to cope with the wheat moving in the wind. Actually, something of a 'let's have a go and see what happens' type of shot.

The Plant Expert



Harvesting in the next field.



1/640 F11 Iso 400. Another 'lucky dip' shot because it was a bit further away than I would have liked and the light angle wasn't ideal.

[Geoff F]

And, Izzie, we found an uncommon butterfly plus a rare moth, that really made it a good day. I will see if I can find the photos.

Sometimes when out with a camera, something catches your eye, and you think that is nice; but how do I turn it into a photo. That is what happened with the village and combine harvester scenes. Once I decided on the sky I had to move around until I could find a position where other items were able to be included..

[Geoff F]

Here is the butterfly we found.



The pale form of a Clouded Yellow. It was a real tease and kept flying ahead of us then landing to watch us approach until we got within about 10 ft when it would take off and the whole process started again.

Finally sneaked to around 8 ft and managed this quick handheld photo.

I thought the moth was a really common species, and it was blowing around in the wind so I only took one quick handheld snap mostly as a reminder. Then when I looked at the downloaded image I realised it was something different. Which goes to prove that you should always take the utmost care over even the common species - just in case!



It is on a Fleabane flower so that will show how small it was (10 mm at most).

[IzzieK]

10 mms is very very small but the good thing was that you got one for your book of ID. I like the other pale butterfly too. I could have just imagine you running after it. 'Reminds of a woman wanting to be courted but playing sweet and hard to get...LOL

[Cantab]

Here is the butterfly we found.



The pale form of a Clouded Yellow. It was a real tease and kept flying ahead of us then landing to watch us approach until we got within about 10 ft when it would take off and the whole process started again.

Finally sneaked to around 8 ft and managed this quick handheld photo.

I thought the moth was a really common species, and it was blowing around in the wind so I only took one quick handheld snap mostly as a reminder. Then when I looked at the downloaded image I realised it was something different. Which goes to prove that you should always take the utmost care over even the common species - just in case!



It is on a Fleabane flower so that will show how small it was (10 mm at most).

Geoff, I like both images. What lens were you using for the pale Clouded Yellow at 8 feet?

[Geoff F]

It was the latest Sigma 180 macro which has stabilisation so handheld shots are just about possible, but a decent shutter speed is still beneficial.

So for this type of shot, and particularly with windy conditions, I have been using a shutter speed of 1/400 approx plus high speed flash. Seems to work OK sometimes, but there are still quite a few total rejects; as you would expect.

Incidentally, I have just sent that lens back for checking/repair on a strange intermittent fault. Occasionally, when the lens is facing downwards I lose the ability to focus. The focusing ring turns but the lens slips and doesn't move to focus. Happens in both manual and AF. Bring the lens back to horizontal and everything works fine.

Might do 100 shots with no problem then starts to slip for a while. Eventually clears with no obvious reason. No matter what I do, I can't replicate the fault, nor the cure. It just comes and goes. I have given up on a shoot when it was particularly problematic but tried again as soon as I arrived home, and everything worked perfectly.

[Geoff F]

Week 33 - A history of ploughing

Some from the local vintage machinery show yesterday.



7d with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/200 F11 Iso 400. Difficult to find an angle with a clean background and acceptable light angle.

Steam power. A double sided plough is pulled across then backwards by traction engines with wire cables. The plough is manually tipped so one set of ploughshares is in the air while the other set are digging.



1/125 F11 Iso 200.

An early Fordson. These ploughs which simply linked to the tractor with a basic drawbar need frequent adjustment for maximum effect.



1/250 F 11 Iso 200

Another early tractor



1/200 F11 Iso 200

Fergusson developed a three point direct linkage for machinery which was far more controllable. Eventually they joined with Massey Harris to produce some quite powerful and efficient compact tractors which were popular with many farmers who had rather small fields.



1/200 F 11 Iso 400

And finally some tractor talk between this group of retired farmers.



1/400 F 11 Iso 200

The light started OK but soon became variable with an eventual heavy shower. I switched to Iso 200 when there was sufficient light but forgot to keep checking so a few shots were ruired because the shutter speed was too low for moving subjects.

And starting tomorrow I will be on regatta duties, including photography, so I won't be around as frequently for a week, but will return with regatta based images.

[bnnrcn]

These are all very nice Geoff

[John 2]

Nice set Geoff. I would love a couple of hrs at a show like that. There are plenty of shows where you can see static displays but not working machines.

[Brownbear]

Hi Geoff,

All beautifully photographed. The 1st image with the two horses is truly exquisite! Thank you for sharing.

[ied]

Beautiful and interesting set of images.

Irene

[deetheturk]

More great images Geoff, well captured bud!

[Kaye Leggett]

I love the vintage folks you've got in there too.

[IzzieK]

Beautiful set of images, Geoff. I am interested in the Buddweiser horses, err...guy mowing the field in #1. #2 is my favourite. I'd like to be able to spend an hour or two in that kind of show...

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

That show has static exhibits and a show ring plus various stalls, a crafts tent and beer tent, just like all the other shows. But in the next field, machinery is actually working in the tradition manner which makes going there worth while.

More photos of other exhibits are here:

http://www.pbase.com/crustacean/2014_vintage_show

I mentioned how the little 'Fergies' revolutionised tractor design by having a totally different method of attaching machinery directly to the tractor. Well here is a photo which shows the difference.