2016 Project 52 Challenge - 1st quarter by Geoff F

[John 2]

Thanks for the replies. Nobody seems to have noticed a case of boatbuilder's bum in the boat image; although partly hidden be the mooring rope.

I did try a few other angles from that quay but they don't really qualify here because there isn't any visible person/animal; although there must be some gulls hidden away in the far distance.

With these shots I was wondering about going back to my vehicle for a tripod to have a go at some HDR shots but in the end I just took the one shot then stretched it a bit by a merge of two Raw conversions with different settings. That was probably the best option because by the time I had returned to my car the light had completely changed.



1/400 F11 Iso 400

And a Black & White version.





1/200 F11 Iso 200

With another B&W option

Mono for me Geoff. Very nice conversions.

[Kaye Leggett]

I like the black and white. I find this time of year all the greens are a bit 'muddy' so converting them to black and white has worked well here

[Geoff F]

Thanks. The light was coming from the left and I was struggling to get a balance with those muted colours producing scenes which were lacking in impact; and yes, some colours like greens were coming out either 'muddy' or overly dark. So thinking that I could see some stronger lines in these scenes I thought that B&W might be the answer.

I did play around with editing the colours for the conversion and did a bit of masking as well to achieve a match between some bright, but not over exposed, highlights with strong shadows. But not appearing overly harsh as a result.

[bnnrcn]

I agree with John , the B&W images work better . I love the calm water, it makes me want to be there

Thanks for the replies. Nobody seems to have noticed a case of boatbuilder's bum in the boat image; although partly hidden be the mooring rope.

I did try a few other angles from that quay but they don't really qualify here because there isn't any visible person/animal; although there must be some gulls hidden away in the far distance.

With these shots I was wondering about going back to my vehicle for a tripod to have a go at some HDR shots but in the end I just took the one shot then stretched it a bit by a merge of two Raw conversions with different settings. That was probably the best option because by the time I had returned to my car the light had completely changed.



1/400 F11 Iso 400

And a Black & White version.





1/200 F11 Iso 200

With another B&W option

[Cantab]

Geoff, like the others, I think the black and white versions work well. I particularly liked the first of the black and whites.

I clicked the GPS coordinates on the EXIF and was surprised to see how far this photo was from the open coastline. On the map there seemed to be some sort of suggestion that the land is high and dry when the tide is out. Is that correct?

[Geoff F]

Yes Bruce, it is almost at the head of a creek a couple of miles inland which dries out to just leave a narrow stream of fresh water a couple of inches deep which flows down the valley. There is an old bridge across here, hidden to the left where that bus is about to cross over.

Just around that first headland is one of the areas where I go to photograph birds.

[Cantab]

Yes Bruce, it is almost at the head of a creek a couple of miles inland which dries out to just leave a narrow stream of fresh water a couple of inches deep which flows down the valley. There is an old bridge across here, hidden to the left where that bus is about to cross over.

Just around that first headland is one of the areas where I go to photograph birds.

Geoff, your interesting and enjoyable pictures from this area have spurred me on (I think) to get out and take some photos of the title waterway just a minute or so from where I live. (But don't hold your breath!)

[Geoff F]

Week 11 - Biplane landing at Malborough Airport

I have shown images of this airstrip in previous years. This time I just managed to get the camera out of my backpack, point and click without any serious thinking time. A bigger lens and more time would have allowed me to catch it just above the runway as it was about to land. But that is life!

In the mist you can see the old World War 2 Control Tower.



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

And another angle with some distant houses in the haze.



I might have a go at a monochrome conversion, although I do like the bright colours in these shots.

Also, possibly reducing the foreground a little; but I don't want it to look 'cramped'.

[Kaye Leggett]

I particularly like the first image - somehow the angle of the plane looks better than from behind. I'm not sure a crop is necessary, although I may apply a little selective blurring or reducing contrast to the first four posts of the fence on the right - they stand out a little too much in comparison to the control tower, an element itself that adds so much to the image.

[IzzieK]

I particularly like the last angle where one can see the distant houses up front. I am wondering how big is this airfield. It must hard landing on grass like that with the worst during wet days...

[John 2]

Two nice shots Geoff. Prefer the second shot just because it is a cleaner view of the airframe. What is it though? I looked up the tail registration and it originally belonged to a Hawker Fury but this aircraft, although of a similar shape, seems a bit small.

[Shadowman]

Nice shots, wonder if the pilot was checking the strip or you?

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

The pilot, after landing, appeared to be watching me taking the photo. I was on a rough unmade road which runs quite close to the strip. The grass runway is just one plane wide and one field in length which is just sufficient for small aircraft. The original wartime runway continued over two more fields.

Although a small airfield they flew Spitfires and Hurricanes along with a selection of other types including a few Mosquitoes. On one occasion they even managed to force in a couple of Flying Fortresses which needed to make an emergency landing.

Now, the strip runs through a field of kale.

Here is my B&W conversion.



It must be some form of reproduction design. I don't think the originals had the same sort of disc brakes which are visible here.

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the comments.

The pilot, after landing, appeared to be watching me taking the photo. I was on a rough unmade road which runs quite close to the strip. The grass runway is just one plane wide and one field in length which is just sufficient for small aircraft. The original wartime runway continued over two more fields.

Although a small airfield they flew Spitfires and Hurricanes along with a selection of other types including a few Mosquitoes. On one occasion they even managed to force in a couple of Flying Fortresses which needed to make an emergency landing.

Now, the strip runs through a field of kale.

Here is my B&W conversion.



It must be some form of reproduction design. I don't think the originals had the same sort of disc brakes which are visible here.

Nice conversion, has a vintage feel to it.

[Kaye Leggett]

Thanks for the comments.

The pilot, after landing, appeared to be watching me taking the photo.

He may like a copy ??

[Geoff F]

Week 12 - The History Society AGM. Something different this week. I had to take some photos of this event for use in the local paper. Always a difficult assignment to photograph unwilling people in real life conditions with such tricky reflective backgrounds. I did try increasing the ISO instead of using flash but even at ISO 1250 and F6.3 my shutter speed was far too low. So it had to be flash with all the potential problems.

The Chairman's Speech I just about got away with this one without flash.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/20 F6.3 Iso 1250.

Examining Old Documents.



1/160 F6.3 Iso 400 flash used. On reflection, maybe I should have increased the Iso to 800 and reduced the flash but I was using flash output compensation to tone things down a little.

An Interesting Talk. A local farmer giving a history of his farm, with slideshow.



Listening to the Talk

[FootLoose]

I think the 2nd shot works well because we follow the men's eyes down to the focus of their attention. The third and fourth would have worked better for me if you had included the presenter. Although, we do know exactly what the woman with her hand over her mouth in the third is looking at

[Cantab]

Geoff, a good exercise in your photojournalism's skills! The first one at 1/20 is impressive, assuming it was handheld – much steadier than I'd ever be able to do it that speed.

In the third one, I assume you reduced the exposure somewhat in pp on the side of the farmer's head closest to you? In any event, the flash lighting of both the foreground and the folk further away worked okay.

Were any of the photos published in the local paper?

[bnnrcn]

I really like this one in B&W

Thanks for the comments.

The pilot, after landing, appeared to be watching me taking the photo. I was on a rough unmade road which runs quite close to the strip. The grass runway is just one plane wide and one field in length which is just sufficient for small aircraft. The original wartime runway continued over two more fields.

Although a small airfield they flew Spitfires and Hurricanes along with a selection of other types including a few Mosquitoes. On one occasion they even managed to force in a couple of Flying Fortresses which needed to make an emergency landing.

Now, the strip runs through a field of kale.

Here is my B&W conversion.



It must be some form of reproduction design. I don't think the originals had the same sort of disc brakes which are visible here.

[Shadowman]

Week 12 - The History Society AGM. Something different this week. I had to take some photos of this event for use in the local paper. Always a difficult assignment to photograph unwilling people in real life conditions with such tricky reflective backgrounds. I did try increasing the ISO instead of using flash but even at ISO 1250 and F6.3 my shutter speed was far too low. So it had to be flash with all the potential problems.

The Chairman's Speech I just about got away with this one without flash.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/20 F6.3 Iso 1250.

Examining Old Documents.



1/160 F6.3 Iso 400. On reflection, maybe I should have increased the Iso to 800 and reduced the flash but I was using flash output compensation to tone things down a little.

An Interesting Talk. A local farmer giving a history of his farm, with slideshow.



Listening to the Talk

Not needing flash saved you the issues of being able to handle the windows. Nicely exposed series.