My 2015 Weekly Photos - Part 4

[Geoff F]

I am attempting to post at least one photo per week during 2015. The scenes will vary to show something of the area where I live and things which happen here.

In order to keep this thread within a reasonable size I will split it into 4 sections. Part 3 is here:-

My 2015 Weekly Photos - Part 3

Week 40 - The River Avon at Aveton Gifford

Low Tide and some canoeists have just enough water to paddle downstream. In the background there is a road which floods at high tide and behind that an old lime kiln.



7D with Sigma 150-500 lens at 150 mm 1/400 F14 Iso 400. Not my ideal choice of lens but I was set up for bird photography and my alternative lens was a 24-70 which was too small and I didn't have time to change anyway

Canada Geese coming in to land.



1/640 F11 Iso 400

A group of Canada Geese



1/400 F14 Iso 400

[Shadowman]

In the first image the kiln is most interesting. Nice flight formation.

[IzzieK]

The colour of the boaters' outfit is too subtle so I noticed the kiln first. It is most interesting like a little hideout. Those vertical marker in the road seems like a "stopper" if you think the way I am thinking here between the canoe-ers and the rest of the scene thereafter with the kiln.

As for the birds, they are nice and sharp. I didn't know that those birds can reach your place. When I hear them quack their way towards the south, it is time for us to change from aircon to heater in the house...Just wondering, why can't we just call them Missouri ducks or in your part of the world, Devon ducks instead of Canadian ducks...like finders, keepers sort of thing...
(Hope this made your smile...don't have my brain yet..too early in the yawning...)

[John 2]

Interesting set. You do live in a nice area Geoff.

[bnnrcn]

I like the images but the last one is my fav

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Firstly Lime Kilns. Most of the estuaries around here have them in various designs placed alongside a vertical bank with a trackway leading from the shore to the field.

This is mostly a sandstone area so after many years of adding animal dug the soil turns acidic and crops decline so around 200 years or so ago farmers started burning imported limestone to produce a form of lime which could be applied to neutralise the soil.

The limestone would be transported by ships which got close to the kilns on a high tide and simply threw the stones overboard. Farmers would then transfer them up the trackway and load into the top of the kiln together with fuel. The resulting burnt lime was shoveled out from the bottom of the kiln.

My next set of photos shows a slightly different kiln design from another local estuary.

Canada Geese were originally brought to this country as ornamental birds in some of the large estate houses; but, of course, some escaped and started local colonies in the wild. They tend to gather together at moulting time

[Geoff F]

Week 41 - Wonwell Beach Area. Although the River Erme Estuary is only 15 miles away it is an area which I haven't visited for many years.

Looking south towards the sea.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. I got the tide right but with the offshore wind there wasn't really enough surf.

Looking inland with the Dartmoor hills, which are the source of this small river, in the background.



Canon 70-200 lens 1/400 F11 Iso 200. A merge of two different conversions from the same Raw file.

Watching the birds.



1/400 F11 Iso 400

Old Lime Kiln. I assume they constructed it on top of these rocks for a solid foundation and possibly they wanted a bit of extra height to prevent the entrance from becoming blocked by beach sand.



24-70 lens 1/80 F11 Iso 400 but with a tricky light angle for the sky

I walked along the cliff top where I was attracted by the noise of some farm machinery and found this farmer sowing corn in a field near the cliff edge.



1/500 F11 Iso 400 70-200 lens



1/800 F11 Iso 400

[Geoff F]

Week 42 - There is always a queue at the drinking trough

I liked this scene but the only available angle meant a bit of a clash between highlights and shadows.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens 1/500 F11 Iso 400. A merge of three different conversions from one Raw file.

And there is still a queue!



1/320 F11 Iso 400

[Geoff F]

Week 43 - Birds

Returned to the bird hide and because the creek side was overgrown I took a saw with me this time. Rather overcast for photography but I thought I would take my bird lens just in case I managed something.

In reality, I took over 200 shots and ended up with just these few second rate images.

Greenshank. Besides the dull weather and distance from the subjects my only available camera angles weren't ideal so a lot of them came out almost in monochrome. All on a tripod (but only my lightweight version so I kept the OS switched on.



7D Mk II with Sigma 150-500 lens at 500 mm. 1/200 F8 Iso 800 and a lot of cropping was needed with all these shots.

Redshank.



1/800 F8 Iso 800. In reality I should have reduced the Iso but these birds kept moving around and the settings varied accordingly; and I knew that getting too low a shutter speed would obviously cause other problems.

Stonechat male. Looking inland at a closer bird; but being so much smaller I still had a size problem and my shutter speed was really too slow,



1/160 F8 Iso 800

He's behind you!



And a female which was actually a hand held shot because I had started packing up my equipment before spotting her.



This was at 400 mm but from the experiments I tried on that day I couldn't see any real quality difference between 400 and 500 mm.

So the final result of the day was that I decided a little bit more reach was needed and if possible improved quality. This resulted in a bit of searching, reading and thinking. Some options were more than I would be willing to pay for a car!

Eventually, I have ordered the Sigma 150-600 Sport. Examples to follow soon.

PS. This is one of the lenses which I considered but discounted for several reasons.

http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-200-500m.../dp/B0013D8VDQ

[IzzieK]

All nicely processed, Geoff...and for you to be able to keep up with this project is remarkable in itself. And now for my favourites: the three last little birdies, even with the rotated head...funny how they can do that...'wish I could have done that when the kids were young...

[Geoff F]

New lens arrived today so I tried it out on some garden birds in dull conditions. In reality, overcast weather, or light shadow, does help at this angle because it reduces problems with background bright spots.

Goldfinch



Greenfinch



1/125 F8 Iso 400. At F8 the focus depth was only around 2 inches so it was a problem to get the autofocus to be sharp on the intended subject. Manual focus was a better option but these birds tended to move around faster than I could focus manually. Both on a tripod.

And a handheld shot. 1/100 F8 Iso 400 at 600 mm autofocus.

[John 2]

Second rate my eye Geoff. A great series of shots. Enjoy you new lens.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Geoff, and the new lens looks to be working great, looking forward to more images from it!

[Geoff F]

The rain stopped but it was mostly still dull, with a few scattered sunny spots, so I went to the harbour entrance to see if there were any boats about. Most of the fishing boats I was particularly wanting to photograph hadn't gone out that day but I did manage to capture a couple of vessels. I was shooting through a gap between foliage so I didn't have any other angle options.

Week 44 - Entering the Harbour. Fishing boat called Nemo.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/800 F11 Iso 400. This is a crop of a wider scene which included a bit of sky.

This wider scene shows a visiting yacht called Noshira.

[Geoff F]

Week 45 - Rainy Day Cat

Just a quick shot fun image of a cat which lives up the road but spends a lot of time in my garden, including the shed and house!



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens 1/60 F4 Iso 400. The macro lens just happened to be on the camera and I knew I would need a bit of zoom with a fairly wide aperture to cope with the dull light. Handheld while getting a bit of shelter up against the wall of my house. Certainly not a perfect shot, but I didn't want to linger in the rain.

[John 2]

Nicely framed Geoff. That cat has clearly got its eye on you.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments; and now for some more click and hope shots under impossible conditions.

Week 46 - Volunteer Maintenance Day at the Woods

I had taken some reasonable equipment with me but when I arrived at the site it was starting to rain so I left that gear in my vehicle and just took my Fuji X20 'pocket camera' well sealed inside a plastic bag. There were some 'visiting workers' there on that day so during the afternoon, when it brightened fractionally, they posed for some official photographs; which, of course, meant that I was tempted to use my camera for some 'unofficial' shots.



Fuji X20 1/150 F5.6 Iso 400. Edited as a merge of two Raw conversions but still quite noisy due to the conditions.



1/80 F6.4 Iso 400

Posing for the official photograph.



1/90 F5.6 Iso 400

And a close up of the 'official photographer'.



1/150 F5.6 Iso 400

Perhaps one day I will get to shoot something under ideal conditions; but this is the UK in winter so it will probably remain 'murky' for a few more months.

[Shadowman]

Week 45 - Rainy Day Cat

Just a quick shot fun image of a cat which lives up the road but spends a lot of time in my garden, including the shed and house!



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens 1/60 F4 Iso 400. The macro lens just happened to be on the camera and I knew I would need a bit of zoom with a fairly wide aperture to cope with the dull light. Handheld while getting a bit of shelter up against the wall of my house. Certainly not a perfect shot, but I didn't want to linger in the rain.

Nicely captured.

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the comments; and now for some more click and hope shots under impossible conditions.

Week 46 - Volunteer Maintenance Day at the Woods

I had taken some reasonable equipment with me but when I arrived at the site it was starting to rain so I left that gear in my vehicle and just took my Fuji X20 'pocket camera' well sealed inside a plastic bag. There were some 'visiting workers' there on that day so during the afternoon, when it brightened fractionally, they posed for some official photographs; which, of course, meant that I was tempted to use my camera for some 'unofficial' shots.



Fuji X20 1/150 F5.6 Iso 400. Edited as a merge of two Raw conversions but still quite noisy due to the conditions.



1/80 F6.4 Iso 400

Posing for the official photograph.



1/90 F5.6 Iso 400

And a close up of the 'official photographer'.



1/150 F5.6 Iso 400

Perhaps one day I will get to shoot something under ideal conditions; but this is the UK in winter so it will probably remain 'murky' for a few more months.

Nice, would have been interesting to get the smoke at there backs.

[Cantab]

Thanks for the comments; and now for some more click and hope shots under impossible conditions.

Week 46 - Volunteer Maintenance Day at the Woods

I had taken some reasonable equipment with me but when I arrived at the site it was starting to rain so I left that gear in my vehicle and just took my Fuji X20 'pocket camera' well sealed inside a plastic bag. There were some 'visiting workers' there on that day so during the afternoon, when it brightened fractionally, they posed for some official photographs; which, of course, meant that I was tempted to use my camera for some 'unofficial' shots.



Fuji X20 1/150 F5.6 Iso 400. Edited as a merge of two Raw conversions but still quite noisy due to the conditions.



1/80 F6.4 Iso 400

Posing for the official photograph.



1/90 F5.6 Iso 400

And a close up of the 'official photographer'.



1/150 F5.6 Iso 400

Perhaps one day I will get to shoot something under ideal conditions; but this is the UK in winter so it will probably remain 'murky' for a few more months.

Geoff, at first glance it almost looks like the official photographer was shooting through the smoke at her subjects. As always an interesting set of photos and commentary. Thanks for posting them.