2018 Project 52 by Geoff F - 1st Quarter

[Geoff F]

Once again, I will be uploading something each week and my photos will continue to show something of the area where I live and various events, etc, which occur here. Also, where suitable, I will be trying some black and white images; which is an area that I have tended to neglect recently.

Week 01 - Welcome to Whitestrand. 2017 ended rather dismally here with overcast skies plus heavy showers and a strong wind. However, when I went into the town for an afternoon beer on the last day I popped my little Fuji X20 inside a plastic bag and fitted it into a pocket.

Dismal light between the showers.



1/240 F5.6 Iso 400. My Fuji X20 takes an acceptable image in good conditions but this scene is asking a bit much from a basic camera. However, I did pop it into a pocket when I definitely didn't want to lug around a better, but heavy and bulky bit of equipment.

A different angle with a ferry that runs across the harbour about to land.



1/80 F6.4 Iso 200

The ferry passengers come ashore.



1/100 F6.4 Iso 200

Crossing the harbour again.



1/300 F6.4 Iso 200

[Shadowman]

Nice efforts, in 1st and 3rd it seems as if you are trying to capture too much in too little of a space (composition), too many elements in each and no real subject to concentrate my attention. Both of these shots might've worked if shot at a higher elevation, as shown they are a bit too compressed and tonal values are too similar.

[Geoff F]

Can't do much about the weather or location angles I'm afraid. That is how the area appears and with quite a few people around even with the dull weather.

Took a different angle today with better conditions, although still with that little pocket sized camera.

[Shadowman]

Can't do much about the weather or location angles I'm afraid. That is how the area appears and with quite a few people around even with the dull weather.

Took a different angle today with better conditions, although still with that little pocket sized camera.

Geoff,

This is a much better composition and it wasn't the weather I was referring to in the first set; my comments referred to how crowded the composition looked. This particular composition isolates a particular subject and I think the same could be done with your earlier set with the use of cropping. If you look over the ferry passenger composition, look how strange the gull looks in relation to the passengers; additionally the water looks almost like a solid panel not showing any real depth.

[Wavelength]

Nice images; especially the rainbow one

[FootLoose]

Geoff, I had similar thought to John about there being too much going on in the frame. But looking at post #3 it occurred to my that it might have been better if shot from a lower viewpoint. If you are still able to bend your knees you might try varying the height you shoot from a bit.

[Geoff F]

That little X20 camera just isn't up to demanding conditions so I always knew there would be some quality issues with attempting to photograph these scenes.

With #3, I have already done a bit of cropping to remove an isolated person from the left side and it was difficult to find a crop balance which didn't have annoying little bits of railings/seats etc in the wrong places. The gull, for me, was the main element as it sat on the memorial stone waiting to greet those passengers and hoping for a bit of food.

Here is an alternative closer crop plus a little bit of clone, which I find to be the only other possible option. Going tighter on the left side and removing the lifeboat with a square crop appears to lose the context of this scene.



I didn't have much time to arrange myself into a better position but I don't think any other angles would have worked as well as this one. Shooting from a lower position placed the pontoon rail directly across the moored lifeboat in the distance. Maybe climbing on to a seat and shooting from a higher position would have worked?

The area was busy with people, but that was part of what I wanted to portray. Christmas isn't too bad here but all the second home owners arrive for their new year celebrations so many were out walking the footpaths and milling around on the adjacent car park area etc despite the showers.

[billtils]

Geoff

Like the rainbow shot very much indeed!

While appreciating all you say and have done to the first set, they remain what some camera club judges would call "record shots" - not a term that endears me to the judges generally and certainly not used by me here in any negative way - you told us what your goal was for the day and achieved it.

To me the problem with #3 is that the railing an obelisk dominate (but gull gets lost) without adding anything to the story - did you try a 16x9 crop to lose the bottom third and make the story about the weather and passengers?

[Geoff F]

The bottom of the closest posts are a bit on the 'heavy' side but loosing the mounting feet seems to look wrong somehow. Maybe a more substantial crop with a 2 x 1 ratio and completely removing the foreground horizontal rail might be worth trying? But that leaves the stone without any form of obvious attachment.

I can try cropping so as to just show the base of the stone but now sure how that will work together with the other foreground elements.

[Geoff F]

I did have one final attempt at alternative cropping and the only option which seemed acceptable to me was a 3 x 2 ratio.

[billtils]

Thanks for exploring more framing options Geoff - I'm still firmly of the view that you comfortably achieved your stated aim of capturing a dismal end of year day! BTW, should have mentioned earlier that I like the B&W - keep them coming .

[Cantab]

Geoff, somewhat to my surprise, I prefer the 3 X 2 format in post #10 to the original format in post #7. I think the reason is that the more horizontally stretched format perhaps conveys a sense of the forward motion of the disembarking passengers? But one attraction of the original format is that the bases of the black stanchions in the immediate foreground are visible.

[Geoff F]

One of the reasons for these Project 52 threads, Bruce, is to look hard at our images with a critical eye and to always think about any possible improvements.

Originally, I thought that the bases of those railings needed to be visible but admittedly they do appear rather prominently in the foreground. So after trying several options I finally went for the tighter 3 x 2 ratio as being the only alternative which worked for me.

[skitterbug]

I agree with Bruce. I like the treatment of your pic in #10 much better than #7. I also like #3. And finally, I am beginning to enjoy seeing B/W pics as they remind me of times gone by even though they are of today's world.
Nice way to kick off a new P52.

[Geoff F]

Week 02 - Another dull winter day. I have been 'robbed' of two ideal Spring like days because I was at home moving furniture around before and after a carpet fitter.

The rest of the week was dull with patches of rain but I made the best of a slightly drier day to erect some new bird nest boxes at one of the wildlife reserves which I frequently visit. Not much photographic material around but I had a go at these dull day trees.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/80 F8 Iso 400. Merge of two exposures.

And I tried a black and white version. On reflection, I think that maybe this version could do with a very slight crop from the bottom and left side.



On the way back I found some Panellus stipticus fungi. Seems to be very few fungi around this winter, and last autumn as well.



1/10 F8 Iso 400. Merge of three focus points.

And the underside of that species.

[skitterbug]

Your tree scenery is okay but it doesn't really stir any emotion for me. It looks like an uphill climb!
I enjoy the fungi photos and the sharpness of them.
So me being curious because merging/stacking is a technique I want to explore... May I ask if you focus front, center, back? When I think about it these focus points would make the most sense. Did you hand hold your camera or did you have a tripod along? Thanks!

(Hope the carpet is beautiful! )

[Geoff F]

Definitely a tripod for macro photography, Sandy, due to the shallow focus depth at close ranges.

When shooting for stacking I don't have any fixed focus order. It depends on the subject. But make sure you have the whole scene covered with sufficient images. Three shots can be sufficient if you have a fairly narrow aperture and a relatively small depth between closest and most distant areas. However, it is easy to miss something so sometimes it is wise to take a few more shots either side of the expected focus points just for safety. You can always ignore them if they aren't actually required when you create your stack.

I mentioned that I was at the wood to erect some bird boxes. So here are some details of the experiment to produce a cheap but durable bird box using bits and pieces.





A length of 4 inch soil pipe split down the middle and opened out. My first experiments used an old 8 mm thick food chopping board cut to size for the mounting plate but then I purchased an offcut of 6 mm HDPE sheet for some more boxes.

The outer bit of this base board was 4 ins wide and the inner was 3 ins with tapered sides (shaped with normal woodworking plane). I bolted the two together so the tapered edges of the inner board formed a grove to hold the sprung apart soil pipe sides in place.

The top and bottom came from a 3 mm thick chopping board but if I make any more I will use 3 mm HDPE.

The brass hinge was the expensive bit but it certainly makes a secure fit for the lid.

HDPE sheet can be cut, shaped and drilled etc with normal woodworking tools.

I made 4 boxes, 2 with front facing entrance holes and 2 with side entrances. The inner dimensions are 140 x 120 mm with the bottom of the 32 mm entrance hole 120 mm from the base.

I roughed up the inner surface of the pipe to create a more natural feel and slightly sanded the outer sides to dull down the shiny surface.

They are installed in that damp wood where I frequently record wildlife. Some of the old wooden boxes there will need replacing soon; so I was looking for something more durable. Those concrete and sawdust boxes are good but too expensive when you are looking at replacing around 40 boxes.

Now it will just be a matter of time to see if this design gets used.

[Shadowman]

Week 2, nice efforts. Regarding the merging of two exposures; any particular reason why you felt two was needed; just wondering?

[Wavelength]

Well done images

[Geoff F]

Week 2, nice efforts. Regarding the merging of two exposures; any particular reason why you felt two was needed; just wondering?

It was a very overcast grey day, John, so the foreground required a bit of over exposure to brighten it up a little, which would have over exposed the sky. Maybe I could have shot for the sky then forced the shot into two edits of the Raw image, with the brighter one to suit the foreground, then merged them. But, where possible, 2 or 3 bracketed exposures is the best way of working. If there had been any issues with subject movement I would have had to shoot one image then force it two ways at the Raw edit stage.