Blackhills Lochan

[Donald]

Another one from my excursion out in the mist and rain on Saturday.


40D, 17-85 IS USM f4.5-5.6@24mm. ISO100. 1sec@f22. 3-stop ND.16:07

[JK6065]

Beautiful.
Simply beautiful.

I like the solitude, the reflection and the dull gray of everything but the bridge.

Well done Donald!

[carregwen]

Very fine, Donald. I like the sense of otherness in this.... I'm waffling now. Well done.

PS This thread says 0 views and 2 replies! That can't be right? That was after I filed my reply and did a refresh.

[Dave Humphries]

This thread says 0 views and 2 replies! That can't be right? That was after I filed my reply and did a refresh.

You're not allowed to View if you have Replied!!!!

[Dave Humphries]

That is so nice, it makes me want to go out in the rain.

Brilliant again Donald, well done.

[Shadowman]

Very nice image, one of the one's that ignores the rule of thirds because it can.

[Wirefox]

Many moons ago I hinted that you should be thinking of exhibiting your work and that your were actually better than one of your inspirational photographers (I think he specialised in Scottish golf courses) This holds more than ever and I suspect you now have the volume of portfolio. I absolutely love this shot I can feel the place immediately. I do not know what the magic ingredient is in these images but there is a real Britishness to them that is hard to bottle.

Oh by the way, how do you protect your camera and lens in these conditions....condom, umberella, bin bag?

Steve

[Donald]

Thanks for your comments.

Shadowman - Indeed. As I was putting this together, I was looking on the screen (LiveView) to assess what it looked like applying the Rule of Thirds. It didn't work. In the end I went with what 'felt right', which I think was the correct thing to do. I'd just been reading Lee Frost in the latest issue of 'Black & White Photography' (the same sentiments are expressed in many places), saying that "Rules are made to be broken ... so once you've mastered the rules of composition you can get out there and break them all. ... there are no rules ... only guides...".

And I think that's right. The conscious knowledge that you're not applying the rule/guidelines is very different from not knowing the rule at all and does, I think, at least place you in a better position to create a strong composition. It's like having the tools and equipment to do the job and using them when you need to.

[arith]

Real Scottishness, and complicated with it. Must have known what it was going to turn out like eh Donald. Well this is it, a static image that is moving.

[Donald]

Oh by the way, how do you protect your camera and lens in these conditions....condom, umberella, bin bag?

Barbour Jacket (sorry, as bad as the Tyrwhitt shirts!) on and off (with me being soaked as a result). Actually, on the way home in the car, because I had actually enjoyed the shoot so much and knew I had captured something pretty good and wanted to do it again, I decided that I need to get on to the Warehouse Express site to look at waterproof covers.

So, any advice, guidance and pointing the right direction would be welcomed.

[Peter Ryan]

Beautiful shot Donald,

As Ansel Adams once said "There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs".

[arith]

Barbour Jacket (sorry, as bad as the Tyrwhitt shirts!) on and off (with me being soaked as a result). Actually, on the way home in the car, because I had actually enjoyed the shoot so much and knew I had captured something pretty good and wanted to do it again, I decided that I need to get on to the Warehouse Express site to look at waterproof covers.

So, any advice, guidance and pointing the right direction would be welcomed.

Is this any good or will the plastic affect the image, they have a rain cover as well. But you could just buy a 1D and add an L type.
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/...7490/show.html

[Donald]

Thanks Steve. I suspect the cost of the cover would be more acceptable to my financial minder than any announcement that I needed a 1D and some more serious 'L' glass.

[wilgk]

Real Scottishness, and complicated with it. Must have known what it was going to turn out like eh Donald. Well this is it, a static image that is moving.

A wise man here once said - if something is worth saying - it's ok to say it twice - so i agree with Steve!
also now I know what my Dad meant when he wouldn't let me get out of 'farm duties' in bad (read abysmal) weather all those years ago........ 'ah that's just a wee bit of scotch mist' was his repeated refrain.

[Donald]

A wise man here once said

He was indeed a very, very wise man!

And what a very sensible dad. Again the old Scots dialect (now pretty much defunct) has a wonderfully descriptive term. Whilst the overall weather conditions are 'dreich', that drizzly rain that seems to penetrate the very pores of your body, is, as you say, 'Scotch Mist', or 'Smir'. But, on the other hand as Dad's said - 'It won't go any further than your skin, so get on with it'.

[Wirefox]

Barbour Jacket (sorry, as bad as the Tyrwhitt shirts!)

We have the same taste in quality clothing! My last Barbour (a solway zipper) lasted 25 years. OK it was crumpled and light green and the poachers pocket smelt a bit earthy due to youthful nocturnal wanderings with a 410 but it still held together. The only reason I had to get a new one was that on reaching forty my girth decided it was time to expand the franchise. An excellent jacket for the photographer, plenty of large pockets and the old game pocket to house the 28-200. And you avoid looking like the gortex mad Janet Street-Porter in menopause when wandering the hills. Forget the National Trust I want to start a campaign that bans gortex and lycra from every national park in the British Isles. The sound from rubbing gortex on Esk Hause in the rain is more intrusive than a wind farm. And as for lycra..yes...if you are 21 female and have a figure like Marylyn Monroe...if you are skinny or like me saving fuel for winter you really shouldn't. Ah yes but what about the breathability and the windproofing and the unatural COLOURS so the man with the big yellow chopper can spot you when you slump in the heather with hyperthermia. Well I have news. I misspent a fair portion of my youth (until I discovered girls in lycra) tramping round the fells of Cumbria in all seasons in a barbour, jeans and a pair of wellies and not once did the man with the big yellow chopper have to deploy his tackle...End of rant.