2016 Project 52 Challenge 3rd Quarter by Geoff F

[Geoff F]

Week 36. Three men and a dog erecting a seat in the woodland clearing

Part of the volunteer work day at this wood involved erecting a memorial seat dedicated to two local amateur naturalists who died over the past year.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens 1/200 F11 Iso 400. Harsh light with too much variation between highlights and shadows so this was a merge of 3 conversions from a Raw file. But still quite a bit of noise in the shadows. I keep my old 7D Mk I and this lens for rough use on occasions like this; however, I think I might end up ditching the lens and taking more risks with my much better Tamron 24-70.

The official commemoration of a finished project.



1/400 F11 Iso 400. A merge of two conversions.

Although I was taking photographs I was called over to undertake some of carpentry work when it came to bolting the seat top down to the uprights. They didn't have the ideal tools for the job so I suspect they considered I had more experience at bodging jobs. But eventually it came out alright.

[bnnrcn]

Nice images with a nice touching story Geoff. The merged images look good to me

[joebranko]

Nice shots Geoff. They do not seem to be affected by the ' harsh' light; neither the images nor the volunteers! I like the colours you have captured.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Geoff,

Three men and a dog erecting a seat in the woodland clearing

I hesitate to ask what part the dog played - perhaps 'watering' it, so it grows well?

The mergings worked well, at this size, I can't see any noise to worry about and although I know the light must have been harsh, you have 'mapped' the tonal values of the merged exposures nicely.

A good couple of record shots of 'the effort' and 'the event'.

Cheers, Dave

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies. I did another version with slightly brighter midtones but although this gives some 'improvement' possibly the harsher contrast has more impact.

[Cantab]

Thanks for the replies. I did another version with slightly brighter midtones but although this gives some 'improvement' possibly the harsher contrast has more impact.

Geoff, when I originally saw the reworked image my reaction was that I preferred the first version; the upper surface of plank on the ground was too bright in the second image. BUT I was looking at the images on my iPad.

I've now looked at the images on my desktop computer, which has a calibrated and profiled monitor, and I very definitely prefer the second version. The plank is bright but none of the details are blown and the fellows' clothing is not lost in dark shadows.

But I suppose I should add that I haven't done the regular reprofiling of the monitor for awhile so I hope its brightness setting is still where it should be.

[CormacD]

Thanks for the replies. I did another version with slightly brighter midtones but although this gives some 'improvement' possibly the harsher contrast has more impact.

Geoff, I think this version has more impact, this probably the way to go when posting on net.

[Geoff F]

Week 37

Haven't been doing much photography this week except insects when the sun shone.

Tried this scene which is looking the other way from where I was photographing a colony of Ivy Bees. It seems sort of OK but nothing to get excited about. Wrong lens really (70-200) so I had to move back a bit to get in everything which I wanted to show.

Calm day at Soar Mill Cove. Another part of the coast path. Still a few walkers around; mostly what they call NW&ND's in the catering trade.



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

Am I coming or going? This rear end of a Rose Chafer amused me with its face like appearance.



Sigma 180 macro lens 1/100 F11 Iso 400

[bnnrcn]

Two nice shots Geoff Very nice composition in #1 and great colors in #2. Yes, the insect has a facelike back Cropping from the RHS and going for a square frame might work fine , as your main subject is the insect, not the pink flower

Week 37

Haven't been doing much photography this week except insects when the sun shone.

Tried this scene which is looking the other way from where I was photographing a colony of Ivy Bees. It seems sort of OK but nothing to get excited about. Wrong lens really (70-200) so I had to move back a bit to get in everything which I wanted to show.

Calm day at Soar Mill Cove. Another part of the coast path. Still a few walkers around; mostly what they call NW&ND's in the catering trade.



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

Am I coming or going? This rear end of a Rose Chafer amused me with its face like appearance.



Sigma 180 macro lens 1/100 F11 Iso 400

[Geoff F]

I had looked at cropping the right side and going 5 x 4 ratio but eventually decided to leave more of the thistle flower, but tone it down a little, so it would balance the spiny thistle leaves on the left.

This is a bit of a crop and I can always crop tighter later if required.

[joebranko]

Love the composition in ,Calm Day... Great shot!

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Joe.

Week 38 - Ploughing I drove past this scene then had second thoughts so I turned around and came back to a nearby lay by where there was access to a footpath beside the field. But my initial idea of shooting from the ploughed side wasn't working because that meant shooting into the low angle sunshine; so I moved around to a spot on the other side where I could peer through a gap in the hedge.

Still problems with the sun coming through holes in the cloud which produced very bright wheels with a rather dark background landscape. I wanted to show the whole scene to put everything into context. However, besides the over bright wheels, at some angles I was getting other over exposed areas on the tractor particularly the glass. So it was a case of waiting until the tractor was in a suitable position to have the minimum of distractions then shooting as it passed that spot. Several attempts but with a fairly high reject rate.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/640 F11 Iso 400.



1/400 F11 Iso 400

Both are a merge of two Raw conversions plus a bit more adjustment with layers and masks in an attempt to equalise the light.

[Cantab]

Geoff, I enjoyed both photos. In the second photo, the climb uphill must have been quite something in the days of horses and plough, or perhaps just sheep or cattle grazed there.

[Geoff F]

Yes Bruce, with horse ploughing a lot of the steeper fields were impossible to plough uphill so it meant ploughing just downhill and returning without actually digging the plough or going across the land. At least horses were less likely to tip over on a steep gradient. Alternatively it meant adopting some other farming method on those areas. There isn't much level ground around here.

I often look at some of these hedge lines and wonder why was a hedge created in that position. Often it clearly marks the boundry between an area which is ploughable and other over steep land.

Consider how an area could be ploughed before the invention of a reversible plough. Those old ploughs only turned the earth in one direction so it was necessary to plough by going in a square pattern starting with the outer edges where one furrow was created going north for example and the other edge of the square was ploughed going south. Gradually the edges came together until they eventually meet in the middle.

Also remember that until the three point linkage was invented, ploughs were separate pieces of equipment which were simply towed behind the tractor, just like a horse plough. It is interesting to watch farmers at the vintage machinery show attempting to get these old design ploughs to dig an even furrow on difficult land. You see weights being added and sometimes even one person having to ride along on top of the plough just to add weight.

The early tractors didn't have enough power to tow up a steep hill, even with just a two furrow plough, so that is where the crawlers were useful. Otherwise it was back to the one direction, downhill, ploughing.

[Dave Humphries]

As a composition Geoff, the second of Week 38 works for me.

The first doesn't, although I cannot explain why - even with the follow up text on ploughing machinery and practices, which I feel ought to have helped.

Dave

BTW
We're in to the fourth quarter now, if you like, I can move Week 38 (Post #92) and all subsequent posts to a new "2016 Project 52 Challenge 4th Quarter by Geoff F" thread if you like - it is very little effort, just a few mouse clicks.

[Geoff F]

With that first shot, Dave, the tractor was turning so the front of the tractor and the plough both appear somewhat compressed. I did take another shot when it was all straight but the sun, which was also straight on then, had hopelessly over exposed on the cab side.

I didn't have any other usable shots with the plough in the air. In order to get these shots at the top of the field I had to angle myself through a hole in the hedge so there wasn't much opportunity for anything else.

My attempt at maths placed week 39 as the start of the last quarter. Never mind; I don't suppose it will make any difference if you leave this as it is now and I will start the new section with week 39 in a few days time.

[CormacD]

Geoff I intend to agree with Dave that the second shot of the tractor is a much better composition as the plot mecansm is sticking up over the horizon. Although The first certainly gives me a good idea of what a modern plow looks like. Thankyou for your explanation of plowing methods over the years on steep slopes. Cheers...Lindsay

[joebranko]

Great composition in the second shot!

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments. The 4th Quarter of this challenge starts here

2016 Project 52 - 4th Quarter by Geoff F

[IzzieK]

On this last one, Geoff -- I prefer both. Each has its own merits. #1 looks like a very powerful beast of a machine and #2 I like for the composition...I will not comment on what I missed as I have a lot to catch up on from here and I will only be here at the forum sporadically for the next two weeks before I become a fixture again...Blame it on life catching on with me...I admire your strong character keeping up with your project.