My 2015 Weekly Photos - Part 4

[Cantab]

Geoff, I particularly enjoyed the last shot, with the rocky coast very nearby. Your new lens seems to be doing very well.

[IzzieK]

Sometimes you have to shoot when it is inconvenient...I like the last shot better...good composition in all...or I just love action shots...

Week 49 - Stormy Weather which starts with a ring around the moon. When I noticed this potential scene it was a perfect bright well coloured ring but by the time I fetched and set up my equipment it was starting to fade.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens 1/6 F6.3 Iso 400 obviously on a tripod.

Surfing at North Sands. Just the small messy UK surf. There was a brief slight brightening of the light so I grabbed some gear and went to a location less than a mile from where I live. But the tide had dropped a little too far which reduced the surf and it wasn't long before drizzle returned.



7D with Sigma 150-600 sport lens. 1/800 F6.3 Iso 800 handheld. Even the improved light meant having a narrow aperture and increased Iso to give sufficient shutter speed for the movement, and this was still slower than what I would have ideally preferred.





By now, with failing light, the shutter speed had dropped to 1/320 so it was time to go home.

[Geoff F]

Thanks. Handheld in that light at 500 mm was certainly a good test of the lens.

[Shadowman]

Thanks.

Yes, I'm intending to continue with something similar next year. Not quite sure what at the moment but I'm thinking about having every scene containing a person, or an animal; as with the jogger in this boat scene.

If only that seat was facing the other way I think it would have made a stronger image. I tried shooting from the other side but that had parked cars in the background while working from the left side was creating a shadow from my body.

I remember when I first joined this forum I participated in an exercise involving spontaneity and creativity. The photographer would attempt to take five totally unrelated photographs/different subjects within a five minute time frame. Makes you think before you click.

[Shadowman]

Week 49 - Stormy Weather which starts with a ring around the moon. When I noticed this potential scene it was a perfect bright well coloured ring but by the time I fetched and set up my equipment it was starting to fade.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens 1/6 F6.3 Iso 400 obviously on a tripod.

Surfing at North Sands. Just the small messy UK surf. There was a brief slight brightening of the light so I grabbed some gear and went to a location less than a mile from where I live. But the tide had dropped a little too far which reduced the surf and it wasn't long before drizzle returned.



7D with Sigma 150-600 sport lens. 1/800 F6.3 Iso 800 handheld. Even the improved light meant having a narrow aperture and increased Iso to give sufficient shutter speed for the movement, and this was still slower than what I would have ideally preferred.





By now, with failing light, the shutter speed had dropped to 1/320 so it was time to go home.

Very nice surf shots.

[Wavelength]

all are nice images

[Geoff F]

Thanks.

Week 50 - Claire Louise entering harbour

Poor weather conditions and too far away but I had a go anyway. Note the Container Ship in the background.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/400 F8 Iso 800. Needed a bit of shutter speed to cope with movement and sufficient aperture to give enough focus depth, so increasing the Iso and ignoring any resulting noise was my only option. I did have my big lens with me but thought that would make things worse. These were at 200 mm.

Another angle, and a bit closer although still too distant.

[Cantab]

Geoff, I like both these photos and think it's good that you haven't zoomed or cropped in closer on the boat. They give the impression of a not large vessel bouncing around in moderately rough seas.

I noted two triangles on a halyard near the bow. They presumably indicate something?

[IzzieK]

Both good shots despite the weather conditions...I can almost feel the splash of water in my face...cold...

[Shadowman]

Thanks.

Week 50 - Claire Louise entering harbour

Poor weather conditions and too far away but I had a go anyway. Note the Container Ship in the background.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/400 F8 Iso 800. Needed a bit of shutter speed to cope with movement and sufficient aperture to give enough focus depth, so increasing the Iso and ignoring any resulting noise was my only option. I did have my big lens with me but thought that would make things worse. These were at 200 mm.

Another angle, and a bit closer although still too distant.

Nice effort, the composition of the first works as it shows enough of the surrounding area.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for comments.

I'm not sure what that aerial type thing on the fore mast is doing, Bruce, and I haven't seen anybody to ask. A lot of communication and positioning equipment has arrived since I retired from fishing. Now there is electrical equipment which detects when it is being targeted by radar from another vessel and responds by broadcasting the name, position, speed and other information which will display on the radar screen of the other vessel.

Week 51 - Bowcombe Creek.

Took my car in to the garage for a service so while that was happening I had a walk to a creek about a mile away.

Waterside Seats



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. Merge of 4 focus points, with editing on each layer prior to merging.

Creekside Cemetery

The road is rather narrow and fairly busy but there is an alternative path through this cemetery for part of the way; where it gets really narrow.



1/400 F11 Iso 800. I kept the shutter speed reasonably high because of movement in the trees.

Tried several angles and settings but quickly rejected most when I saw the results on my computer. More difficult than I initially realised to get a scene which didn't look over complicated with headstones appearing to be crammed together. Also, I wanted to have a bit of contrast with brighter headstones and rather dark shadows in the trees. Several shots were rejected because the foreground headstones in those images were excessively dark and lacking in fine detail.

Black-headed Gulls. Not a lot of birdlife around the creek but these gulls came together in some nice groupings when the rising tide forced them into the remaining shallow areas.



Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. 1/800 F8 Iso 400

[IzzieK]

#1 looks like a two part shot, meaning really two views, two sceneries. #2 looks good too. My pick here is the last one...a good variety of poses including a slight BIF. Love that..

[Cantab]

Geoff, I thoroughly enjoyed this set of three photos. The first two brought back pleasant memories.

The shot of the black headed gulls was intriguing because they don't have black heads, only slight markings of black. Perhaps they're in the middle of a moult?

[Geoff F]

Thanks.

Yes, Bruce, they lose their black heads at this time of the year; along with a few similar species which can make identification tricky. Some northern birds also head to this area to over winter, so they become quite common along our bit of coastline and will move inland if they find any feeding opportunities such as farming work etc.

[Geoff F]

Week 52 - Christmas Lights

A subject where I have really struggled and I'm still not totally happy with the results. Small town, limited expense, lighting displays are bound to be a bit restricting in subject matter.

Wind movement reduced the option for really slow exposures. This is the best I have managed from two days. Eventually rained off on the second day. On reflection, I didn't really allow enough space for rotation and cropping any second thoughts during editing. Had quite a bit of problems with flare from the overly bright street lamps.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/30 F4.5 Iso 1250. Merge of two Raw conversions. Obviously on a tripod. The tree is mostly in shadow from the street light but there wasn't really any alternative angles. I was lucky to find the car park relatively clear of vehicles to allow for even this angle.



1/80 F4 Iso 1250. Tried several different camera settings but this was the only one which stood any chance. Should have reduced the Iso a little and managed with a slower shutter speed.



1/60 F4 Iso 1250 Once again, I tried alternatives but all the others had serious flare from the street light in the top left corner. And I was attempting to work between showers.



1/30 F6.3 Iso 800. Merge of two focus points and more street light problems so another combination of two Raw conversions.



1/25 F6.3 Iso 800. Merge of two focus points and problems with the low energy bulbs which had a coloured centre and clear glass. I couldn't get them to photograph well so in desperation I have 'hand coloured' some of these bulbs.



F10 F4 Iso 1600 and even at that Iso I could only manage 1/10. Anything slower was creating blur from boat and wind movement

[Geoff F]

Well that has finished this year of Weekly Photos, and with a week to spare!

Now it is time to start thinking about next year. At the moment, I'm considering an idea which I briefly mentioned previously. Running my Project 52 (2016) with weekly photos similar to this 2015 thread; but the challenge will be to include a person or animal in each scene.

Incidentally, I have put some of my 2015 bird photos together in a P base gallery

http://www.pbase.com/crustacean/2015_birds

[IzzieK]

That is a good idea...and for learning purposes too...You have been very patient doing all these for all those 52 weeks. I still have to work on mine, meaning my patience to keep up...Maybe next year...

Well that has finished this year of Weekly Photos, and with a week to spare!

Now it is time to start thinking about next year. At the moment, I'm considering an idea which I briefly mentioned previously. Running my Project 52 (2016) with weekly photos similar to this 2015 thread; but the challenge will be to include a person or animal in each scene.

Incidentally, I have put some of my 2015 bird photos together in a P base gallery

http://www.pbase.com/crustacean/2015_birds

[Cantab]

Well that has finished this year of Weekly Photos, and with a week to spare!

Now it is time to start thinking about next year. At the moment, I'm considering an idea which I briefly mentioned previously. Running my Project 52 (2016) with weekly photos similar to this 2015 thread; but the challenge will be to include a person or animal in each scene.

Incidentally, I have put some of my 2015 bird photos together in a P base gallery

http://www.pbase.com/crustacean/2015_birds

Congratulations on your 2015 thread! I enjoyed every post. I've had a quick initial look at your 2015 birds and saw some mute swan photos. Are they native in England? We have them here but they are an introduced species. One of them lives on a maritime inlet about a 45 second drive from where I'm typing. There used to be a breeding pair but something happened to one of them a year or so ago.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Geoff, I absolutely loved the last one although the others are very nice too.

Conguratulations on your persistency about your weekly photos. I'm looking forward to seeing your images in 2016 too

Week 52 - Christmas Lights

A subject where I have really struggled and I'm still not totally happy with the results. Small town, limited expense, lighting displays are bound to be a bit restricting in subject matter.

Wind movement reduced the option for really slow exposures. This is the best I have managed from two days. Eventually rained off on the second day. On reflection, I didn't really allow enough space for rotation and cropping any second thoughts during editing. Had quite a bit of problems with flare from the overly bright street lamps.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/30 F4.5 Iso 1250. Merge of two Raw conversions. Obviously on a tripod. The tree is mostly in shadow from the street light but there wasn't really any alternative angles. I was lucky to find the car park relatively clear of vehicles to allow for even this angle.



1/80 F4 Iso 1250. Tried several different camera settings but this was the only one which stood any chance. Should have reduced the Iso a little and managed with a slower shutter speed.



1/60 F4 Iso 1250 Once again, I tried alternatives but all the others had serious flare from the street light in the top left corner. And I was attempting to work between showers.



1/30 F6.3 Iso 800. Merge of two focus points and more street light problems so another combination of two Raw conversions.



1/25 F6.3 Iso 800. Merge of two focus points and problems with the low energy bulbs which had a coloured centre and clear glass. I couldn't get them to photograph well so in desperation I have 'hand coloured' some of these bulbs.



F10 F4 Iso 1600 and even at that Iso I could only manage 1/10. Anything slower was creating blur from boat and wind movement

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the positive replies.

Yes, Bruce, Mute Swans are the 'basic model' here. There are a few other varieties which overwinter in some areas and occasional imported species.