Project 52 - 1st Quarter by Geoff F

[wilgk]

Nice series to show for week 2, I really like the ones with the low camera angle, shooting the seed heads with the sky behind them.

[purplehaze]

Ditto for me. And the fungi. I love fungi and you do such a nice job of rendering them.

[Geoff F]

Those Hazel Catkins are just starting to open now.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/640 F9 Iso 200. Difficult to find workable backgrounds and keep the twig plus catkins sharply focused.

Not sure about this moss but possibly one of the Sphagnum Bog Mosses. Certainly very wet when I knelt down! And difficult to keep the tripod still when resting on such a soft thick 'carpet' of vegetation.

ONCE AGAIN I AM GETTING SUBSTITUTED IMAGES which are nothing to do with me. Trying again with another upload.



1/15 F8 Iso 200

A merge of two focus points but I really needed more to keep the foreground focused on such a humped subject. So I've had to do the best I could in the way of cropping after the merge.

And a close up of the same subject from my 180 mm macro lens. Another merge of two focus points.



1/10 F11 Iso 400

A couple of encrusting fungi. I think the first might be Schizopora paradoxa judging by the maze like structure when seen at full screen size.



1/30 F8 Iso 200

Another merge of two focus points which mostly worked but on reflection I think I could have down better with the lichen on the top of that old branch.

And another encrusting fungus of some form which, according to someone who is much cleverer than me on this subject, looks like being Biscogniauxia nummularia.


1/20 F11 Iso 400

[Geoff F]

I can't change this false image. Tinypics shows the correct photo before upload and so does the exif data and link. So I have deleted that problem image and will attempt to post again here as a reply.

No good I still get the same substituted false photo even when uploaded correctly and once again Tinypics plus my exif linking shows the correct image.

I think my only hope will be to abandon these Tinypics uploads, create a new P base gallery and link from there; as I do with my Weekly Photos.

[Shadowman]

Those Hazel Catkins are just starting to open now.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. Difficult to find workable backgrounds and keep the twig plus catkins sharply focused.

Not sure about this moss but possibly one of the Sphagnum Bog Mosses. Certainly very wet when I knelt down! And difficult to keep the tripod still when resting on such a soft thick 'carpet' of vegetation.

ONCE AGAIN I AM GETTING SUBSTITUTED IMAGES which are nothing to do with me. When I click on the image address and go to the exif information I see my correct image so something is going seriously wrong here!

A merge of two focus points but I really needed more to keep the foreground focused on such a humped subject. So I've had to do the best I could in the way of cropping after the merge.

And a close up of the same subject from my 180 mm macro lens. Another merge of two focus points.



A couple of encrusting fungi. I think the first might be Schizopora judging by the maze like structure when seen at full screen size.



Another merge of two focus points which mostly worked but on reflection I think I could have down better with the lichen on the top of that old branch.

And another encrusting fungus of some form, which I'm still to identify. Best I can come up with from the keys is Annulohypoxylon species, but I have asked for more experienced help.

Nice series, backgrounds seem to compliment the subject very well.

[ajohnw]

I can't change this false image. Tinypics shows the correct photo before upload and so does the exif data and link. So I have deleted that problem image and will attempt to post again here as a reply.

No good I still get the same substituted false photo even when uploaded correctly and once again Tinypics plus my exif linking shows the correct image.

I think my only hope will be to abandon these Tinypics uploads, create a new P base gallery and link from there; as I do with my Weekly Photos.

I had that happen Geoff. I uploaded several times and always the wrong image came up. I restarted the browser and waited for 10min and finally obtained a different reference number to the image and the correct one came up. For some reason it stuck to a reference number for some one else's image.

John
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[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

The strange thing was that when I copied the address to the incorrect file and pasted into the exif software site which I use (regex.info), it showed the correct photo, so I don't see how it could be a simple accidental mistake from the Tinypics address!

I deleted that problem upload image then went to my main edit computer and created another image with a different name.

That has now uploaded and has been inserted where it should have been. But I think I will probably upload everything to P base and link from there in future.

Incidentally, those moss photos were causing problems with over bright areas even in the weak dappled light so I tried one of the pieces of equipment which I purchased specially for this experiment - A Lastolite Difflector which was easier to use for light blocking than my previous, but cheaper, method of attempting to position myself as a light blocker, and operate the camera by cable.

I have now adapted a small lightweight table top tripod to hold the Difflector; so more on this next time.

[Geoff F]

Had a day of experimenting with more mosses. Thought I was getting somewhere until I looked at the results on full screen size; then deleted almost everything. So difficult to transfer this sort of scene from real life 3D view into 2D photos. Without any sense of perspective the subjects tended to just 'mush together'.

Also tried multiple focus points for many of the images, but although I thought I had included everything I eventually saw that there were small but important patches in the foreground which were still beyond my focusing.



7D with 24-70 Tamron lens. 1/60 F11 Iso 400. A merge of three different focus points, but there are still a couple of softer spots.

Tried several angles but this was the only one which had any hope. Having that straggly looking moss (yet to be named) in the middle of the branch just looked an unclear mess. It only starts to work when against a plainer background.

And in this scene I was trying to achieve a mix of textures with the old leaves in one corner and the hard rock in the other; and with some soft moss creeping over the rock. Some exposure compromise and a merge of two focus points.



1/100 F11 Iso 400. A lower Iso could have been used but by now I was getting so confused about getting the exposure and focus correct that I overlooked the Iso. Not any serious problems with that though.

I'm unsure about the moss identity but possibly Brachythecium rutabulum.

[IzzieK]

Between the two I like the second one because you've captured the textures you were aiming for. Well done.

[Geoff F]

Trying to keep ahead on timing to allow for any impending weather problems.

Purchased a Lastolite Difflector and this is the first serious use of it. Fairly standard silver reflector on one side but a light reducing option when used the other way around. Previously I have tried to position myself or some other object between the sun and my subject. Set up a small lightweight tripod to hold the Difflector which allows me to concentrate on just shooting.

Gorse Flowers. Something which I have often tried but rarely had much luck in capturing; mostly due to over saturation of those bright yellow flowers.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/100 F11 Iso 200. Tripod.

Took several shots but still couldn't get much success. Managed better exposure this time but there were background issues. Some shots appeared to look reasonable at the time of shooting but although the background was blurred there were a number of old stems which were giving obviously straight lines which was a distraction.

Another angle had better background but I failed to notice some blemishes on the leading flower. Possibly I could have eventually overcome that with careful editing; but this is mostly an experiment in shooting techniques so I ditched them.

The image shown here also has background issues and I have done what I can, without getting too extreme, to tone down and blur the background.

Made a note to myself - try gorse again, and again, until something better appears. Taking a sprig home and shooting under studio conditions would be an easy answer but I'm attempting to work in the wild with this project.

Incidentally, an old country saying is that you should refrain from sex when the gorse fails to flower; but don't worry, there are still plenty of flowers around despite the chilly weather.

[Cantab]

Geoff, the pointy spines of the defensive armor turned out well. We unfortunately have gorse around here – an invasive import. It sounds like shooting gorse is a serious photographic challenge. I'm not sure whether ours is flowering at the moment although if it's flowering in your area of England it's presumably flowering here. So I'd better go out and have a look!

Later: I've had a look at the Lastolite website and see that the difflector come in different sizes. Which one are you using?

[Geoff F]

Ivy Leaves After a bit of light frost these young ivy leaves are nicely colouring up.



1/30 F11 Iso 200. The major drawback with any light reduction equipment, such as the Difflector, is a reduction in shutter speed, opening of the aperture or higher Iso; all of which can have knock on effects.

More Ivy Leaves.



1/10 F11 Iso 200. A merge of two focus points.

Many-zoned Polypores



These are very variable in colour but the variation between light and dark rings always causes potential exposure problems when in strong sunlight; and even shady conditions can be tricky. A merge of three focus points.

The Moss Forest I thought these little moss plants looked like miniature conifer trees. Another 3 shot merge.



Not certain of identification because mosses are tricky and are one of the many species which are beyond my skills, and I only have basic literature on this family. Possibly Catherine's Moss (Altrichium undulatum) ?

[Geoff F]

Incidentally, here are some comparisons straight from the camera showing the difference between shooting with and without the difflector.





But some exposure compensation was used on the without image; as I would normally shoot.

[Geoff F]

Bruce, thanks for the comments.

I'm using the Mini Difflector which is sufficiently small to be held on a tripod or in one hand without any problems caused by wind.

About 20 ins when in use which is sufficient for flowers, or portraits for that matter, yet folds up to 11 ins for storage in my backpack.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, all look like they were taken on an overcast day; except for second in #53.

[IzzieK]

I thoroughly enjoyed these week's submission, Geoff.....they are all interesting made more by the ordeal you encountered in your shoot and the thoughts that went with this project.

[Cantab]

Incidentally, here are some comparisons straight from the camera showing the difference between shooting with and without the difflector.







But some exposure compensation was used on the without image; as I would normally shoot.

Geoff, these comparison shots are very helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed the collection of photos with the difflector.

[Kaye Leggett]

Geoff, I am enjoying sharing your learning and experimenting journey. I was on a cliff path yesterday and indeed some of the gorse was out which apart from a very few daffodils seemed to be the only colour around, but you have proved that wrong with your moss and ivy.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the positive comments.

When I started this project I did wonder about finding some subjects during January and February so it has made me look a little closer at the colours and textures which surround us; even in winter.

Hopefully there will be sufficient fungi around to add some interest when I get to November and December!

[JohnRostron]

A very nice set. I had intended doing something similar in my local wood, but I got stricken by a chest infection and virus which laid me low until recently. Your set has spurred me on.

John