2016 Project 52 - 4th Quarter by Geoff F

[Shadowman]

Nice snaps, the castle is nicely exposed and composed.

[bnnrcn]

I love the last image Geoff

[John 2]

The Castle for me Geoff. Nice composition and capture. The white building draws a bit but it's there and so should stay.

[Geoff F]

I had tried several angles attempting to lose the distant white building, John. I managed to avoid several of them but missing that one would have meant going in deeper than my boots.

So I left it alone but toned it down a little. In fact, a telephone pole in their garden was my only reference point for vertical alignment.

[Geoff F]

Week 44 - Cutting Cauliflower. Back in the summer, I showed images of these cauliflowers being planted. Well its harvest time now. Unlike a lot of farmers who grow whole fields of the same crop and harvest them together to supply the big wholesalers, this field has been planted with successive rows of different brassicas. Possibly because it is a small farm they are supplying local greengrocers.

The shooting angle was totally wrong and faced towards the light but I thought 'Let's have a go anyway'. So after shooting with one stop of over exposure and a bit of editing, this is the result. Far from perfect, but it shows the scene.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/320 F11 Iso 400



1/125 F11 Iso 200. Lower Iso produced a shutter speed which was a bit on the slow side.



1/250 F11 Iso 400

[rtbaum]

I'm rather taken with #2

[purplehaze]

I like the colour contrast in the third image, Geoff, and I think the overexposure has made for an interesting background.

[IzzieK]

I am with Randy on Image #2 -- that is a good composition too. That farm looks like a small portion only of the big scene.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

Shooting from the road, through gaps in the hedge, did seriously reduce my options. Square on was OK but without any background of interest and I wanted to show something of the countryside; including those distant sheep to put everything into some sort of mixed farming context.

I've done what I can to get through the light haze by merging different Raw conversions and bringing back a little bit of blacks after overall brightening of the scene. There is a tiny bit of motion blur with one of the figures in the second image, because of the slow shutter speed when I was attempting to reduce Iso.

[joebranko]

I can see the difficulty with the lighting in the first shot which you overcame by shooting from a different perspective in the second and third shots both of which are very good!

[Geoff F]

Week 45. Wal's Seat at Charleton Marsh. On the way to a bird hide I pass this seat which is a memorial to a local amateur naturalist. I have had several attempts at photographing it but never liked the results; so this time I moved back a little to show a wider scene. Behind the seat is a small ruined farm storage building and a bird watcher is in the far distance, walking homewards.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens at 70 mm. 1/320 F11 Iso 400. Low angle sunshine against a dark sky. I have tried several edits mostly changing the yellow to blue mix but the effect seems to change depending on the ambient viewing light.

[Cantab]

Geoff, this is a nice looking scene. At first, I couldn't see the seat -- largely because I'm on an iPad at the moment. I'm curious about the black? and brown objects on the left horizon: cattle?

[Geoff F]

From the birdhide I didn't do very well. Looking towards the estuary, the birds were too distant and with a high contrast light angle on mostly black and white subjects. This is the only keeper from the day.

Flying Oystercatchers.



Looking inland had a better light angle but they were mostly common birds which wouldn't sit still.

Greenfinch



Reed Bunting



All with Sigma 150-600 Sport lens at 600 mm.

[Dave Humphries]

I like the 'common birds' best Geoff

[Cantab]

Geoff when I initially saw your first bird shot I though they looked like probably some type of tern but then read the fine print. The only oystercatchers over here are black oystercatchers. The reed bunting photo is classic.

[IzzieK]

I gotta say -- that was a good butt shot of the flying oystercatcher. I kinda like the Greenfinch on the right. That is a good one. The Reed Bunting is just another cutie. I still like the Greenfinch.

[Shadowman]

Geoff,

As your Project 52 is drawing near do you plan to continue next year, do you plan to restructure the plan, any misgivings or breakthroughs?

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, Bruce, some cattle on the hillside in the far distance. I did deliberately shoot to include them.

There is another angle looking more to the right and with the walker entering the scene from the right; but I tend to prefer having him walk towards the far distance.

Not sure how long these Project 52 threads have been going. Is this the fourth year?

I will certainly be doing something similar next year and hope to see several members continuing with their projects. Also, of course, anybody else who dares to take on this challenge will be most welcome to have a go. It is entirely up to you to chose your own challenge.

One of the most important requirements which I have found with these challenges is to always have a few standby ideas in readiness for unexpected changes in weather or personal commitments.

[bnnrcn]

The last two shots of birds look lovely Geoff. Very nice BG and nice colors, the birds look nice and clear

[John 2]

The Reed Bunting and the Finches in that order for me Geoff but only because I find that solo leaf in the middle of the Finch image, a bit distracting. I tend not to clone wildlife shots so I won't suggest that but I think that there are two images there anyway. Cropping to separate the two birds would give you two very nice studies - particularly since the BG is perfect.