2016 Project 52 Challenge - 1st quarter by Geoff F

[bnnrcn]

Nice images , I especially like the last one

Thanks, Janis.

Week 03 - Another Dreary Sunday Afternoon in January

I saw the Black-headed Gull looking miserable, during another bleak showery day around 3.30 pm, and wondered about creating a scene around him. Only had my Fuji X20 'pocket camera' and the light was decidedly poor but I had a go anyway.



Fuji X20 1/680 F8 Iso 400. Merge of two Raw conversions. On reflection, I should have lowered my Iso which would have reduced the noise problems, but some of the other shots which I took at the same time required a higher setting and I was wandering around concentrating more on composition than individual shot settings.

But at least there is crab for lunch.

This Curlew was fishing for small crabs in this little 'stream' at low water. I saw him catch three crabs in total which, like this one, were taken ashore to be eaten. Yet another day of heavy showers.



7D with Sigma 150-500 Sport lens. 1/320 F8 Iso 800. Shooting towards the light although on a dull day.

Common Sandpiper in the Rain. And looking totally fed up with it!



1/250 F8 Iso 800

[Cantab]

Thanks, Janis.

Week 03 - Another Dreary Sunday Afternoon in January

I saw the Black-headed Gull looking miserable, during another bleak showery day around 3.30 pm, and wondered about creating a scene around him. Only had my Fuji X20 'pocket camera' and the light was decidedly poor but I had a go anyway.



Fuji X20 1/680 F8 Iso 400. Merge of two Raw conversions. On reflection, I should have lowered my Iso which would have reduced the noise problems, but some of the other shots which I took at the same time required a higher setting and I was wandering around concentrating more on composition than individual shot settings.

But at least there is crab for lunch.

This Curlew was fishing for small crabs in this little 'stream' at low water. I saw him catch three crabs in total which, like this one, were taken ashore to be eaten. Yet another day of heavy showers.



7D with Sigma 150-500 Sport lens. 1/320 F8 Iso 800. Shooting towards the light although on a dull day.

Common Sandpiper in the Rain. And looking totally fed up with it!



1/250 F8 Iso 800

Geoff, I enjoyed all three shots. My favorite is probably the second one – an action shot! – followed closely by the third shot of the somewhat morose sandpiper.

[IzzieK]

My favourites are all of them. The first shot is different...still wondering what the long vertical thing is in the middle of that boat. The bird is an extra touch. It looks like it is cold...
The second one looks good and sharp -- I wonder what this will look like in Black and White...??
The third one has the same pose as the bird in the first shot...is this because of the weather condition...?

[Geoff F]

Thanks Binnur, Izzie and Bruce.

That thing behind the boat is actually one of the piles for the pontoon where that boat is moored. I did try several angles but this one worked best.

The birds are all fed up with the damp weather so they just sit there dreaming of summer sunshine; like the rest of us!

I also photographed a Redshank in absolutely torrential rain but it was so heavy the bird didn't appear sharp enough so I ditched those shots.

[Geoff F]

Managing to keep one week ahead so far.

Week 04

Repairing the Tidal Road at Aveton Gifford. I was in the birdhide but without any serious bird action requiring to be photographed so I turned my attention to a couple of local authority road repairers working on the tidal road across the creek. Hard work but the scenery beats having a boring office job.



7D with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. 1/1250 F8 Iso 400. I took several shots of them working then switched back to bird settings before reviewing my images where I realised I had zoomed in too tight and had lost the context of the scene; plus some potentially interesting reflections. By this time, they had moved on to another 'pothole' further along the road so I just managed to widen the lens for one more shot as they were loading the tarmac compactor onto their lorry. Maybe, with more thinking time, I would have changed the shooting settings slightly but I think this image is still acceptable.

I have thought about cropping to 5 x 4 ratio and losing part of the left side but that seems to look a bit too 'cramped' and loses the landscape 'openness' that I was attempting to create.

Yoo Hoo I'm over here A quick handheld couple of shots of swans. Once again, I widened the lens to show something of the overall scene.



1/640 F11 Iso 400

This way please. I thought this shot looked as though the swan was directing traffic.



1/800 F11 Iso 400

[Cantab]

Geoff, I thought I'd misread when you referred to a tidal road but see that's exactly what it is. Where does the traffic go when the tides in? Perhaps it's like the road to Lindisfarne, no access when the tide is up? In any event, it's an interesting photo.
I enjoyed the mute swan photos, plus the commentary!

[IzzieK]

I like all of them plus the commentary. I too have the habit of forgetting to change my settings though I have a list in my pocket to do so. Slapping my note in my forehead has proven not to work either. But those swans made me laugh at the antic-like poses you got there. Love it.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

There is an alternative inland route, Bruce, but it adds around 6 miles to the journey. Or a slightly shorter alternative which is quite narrow and twisting.

Although the tidal road is only a rough tarmac covered single track with passing places it does take a fair bit of traffic.

[Geoff F]

There has been little brightness around here over the past week although more in the way of dull and drizzle rather than a lot of heavy rain. On top of which I have developed Shingles over my forehead and camera eye. Nothing serious just slightly sore; but I do look 'a bit of a mess'.

Week 05 - Conservation Area Volunteers

Most wildlife friendly sites have groups of volunteers to undertake maintenance and improvement tasks.

Refilling the feeders at West Charleton Birdhide

I would have liked to go a little bit wider with this shot but whatever lenses you take, you never have the correct lens!



7D with Canon 70-200 lens at 70. 1/640 F11 Iso 400

Cutting back the gorse at South Efford Marsh



1/400 F11 Iso 400. I had been using my Sigma 150-600 so had to do a fast switch to Tamron 24-70 for a quick shot of these volunteer workers. The sky was starting to cloud over by now, but in many ways that helped to prevent problems from the sun angle which was at 90 degrees.

Some of the beneficiaries of these workers.

Female Bullfinch



7D with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. 1/800 F11 Iso 400

Great Spotted Woodpecker



1/1000 F11 Iso 400

Long-tailed Tits



1/800 F11 Iso 400

Wren



1/250 F11 Iso 800. I always struggle with this species because they flit around faster than I can focus. This was the only keeper from several attempts which all blurred.

[Nicola]

Nice captures, small birds are not easy!
My preferred is the last one.

[IzzieK]

Now I learned something...a wren. I have a few of them in my feeder everyday and I meant to photograph them but everytime I take my camera out they were gone...and that great spotted woodpecker, my husband is asking me if the woodpecker that put a whole on the side of our house has a red spot on the head, I said yes and told him we have 4 of them...he looked at me with his deathly stare and said "and you are feeding them!!!" And he pointed to the woodpecker in my feeder.

Anyway, I like the first one with the reflection. That was a great shot. The second one is a good environmental image though nothing to crow about. The birds are all good and sharp and I was able to identify 3 out of the 4 you have here...very nice all.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

There are several species of Woodpecker, Izzie. The Great Spotted has a patch of red feathers on its body near the tip of the folded wings plus another red spot behind the head. Wrens can usually be identified by their short upturned tail. And so often, all I see is that tail as they disappear into foliage. Certainly a bird that rarely stays still long enough to pose for a photo

[John 2]

The Bullfinch and the Wren are particularly good Geoff but a nice set all round.

[Geoff F]

Week 06 - Between the showers. I haven't managed much this week due to the weather but had a couple of attempts during some brief gaps in the cloud and temporary reduction in the wind level.

Moult Point and South Sands. Stretching on tip toe to peer over a wall on the North Sands Road.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/1000 F11 Iso 800. Needed a fairly fast shutter speed to deal with the surf; although by the time there was a short improvement in light levels the surf had dropped to little more than a few ripples. Took a couple of quick shots at different angles then ran for it as the sky darkened ahead of the next batch of showers.

Chilly Sunday Afternoon at Whitestrand Quay. Fed up with being stuck indoors so as the sky improved slightly I decided to try a one mile walk for a couple of beers and took my 'pocket camera' just in case a suitable subject appeared.



Fuji X20 1/280 F8 Iso 400. I thought this scene nicely summed up the day.

Another angle showing boats at the Whitestrand landing stage.



1/600 F8 Iso 400.

[mknittle]

Nice set Geoff, I like the second one but the third one is my favorite.

[IzzieK]

I like all from this series, Geoff -- they are all nicely exposed. Sorry about the surf movement. Sorry also about your weather -- I guess it is this time of the year for most folks apart from the Aussie ones who are basking in the shine of the sun each day...My eldest son participated in a marathon last week and I was sorry not to be there to take some shots of him. Here we are having some more snowfalls. It stopped after it reached 3" but then there will be another load tonight...

Anyway, I particularly like #1. Those people down near the surf goes to show how high that hill is. The second seems to show a pleasant place to just sit and watch, just like those two ladies are doing...maybe eating some ice cream. I don't know why that was the first thing that came to mind. Maybe because I like ice cream on a cold day...hmmm....The third shot is one of those excellent boat shot and marina you have already shown so far to us. All good ones.

[Cantab]

Geoff, I enjoyed all three photos but especially the first one. The rugged cliff of Moult Point contrasts nicely with the smooth sand and the water. I tracked down the location of the photos on a map, a1987 ordinance survey printed road atlas then google maps. Is this the same area as your photo of the tidal road from a few weeks ago?

Are all the buoys in the second photo for crab pots? They look to close together to be mooring buoys.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Those buoys in the landing stage photo are actually fenders, Bruce. They prevent boats getting trapped under the bridge which joins the two floating pontoons.

The Moult Point scene is taken from the same beach as the surfing photos in week 02. But while those shots were facing east or north this new angle faces south. There are two small beaches separated by that Moult Point outcrop. Looking towards South Sands you will notice that many of the houses are rebuilds, to an increased size, or buildings which are currently in some stage of building.

One hotel, in the top left area, has been converted into flats while another hotel, hidden by the point, is in the planning stage for demolition and rebuild at a larger size; which goes against most local opinions.

The tidal road is on the next estuary which is about 4 miles to the west, and meets the sea at Bantham and Bigbury.

[Geoff F]

Here is another shot of the same beach scene which shows some rather exotic looking foliage.

A tricky shot with problematic lighting so I don't think it worked as well as I had hoped; but you should be able to extract GPS data from the Image Properties, although the actual location and shooting angle seems to have gone slightly askew. But you can work out that I was really a little more to the west and overlooking the beach at low water while facing more to the south.

[Cantab]

Here is another shot of the same beach scene which shows some rather exotic looking foliage.

A tricky shot with problematic lighting so I don't think it worked as well as I had hoped; but you should be able to extract GPS data from the Image Properties, although the actual location and shooting angle seems to have gone slightly askew. But you can work out that I was really a little more to the west and overlooking the beach at low water while facing more to the south.

An interesting shot. The small people give a good sense of scale. I'm on my iPad at the moment but will check the EXIF GPS data when back on my main computer. Are the plants from seeds carried to England via the Gulf Stream?

With your clue about the tidal road being four miles to the west, I was able to locate it on google maps.