2018 Project 52 by Geoff F - 1st Quarter

[Geoff F]

Week 05 - Challaborough Beach. Tried a variety of locations and subjects, when the weather was suitable, this week but struggled to find good subjects or suitable light angles. Ended up going to Challaborough which is fairly close to me but is somewhere which I have never visited in the past 70 years!

Sometimes locally known as Challet Borough because the whole valley has become a holiday camp venue mostly of static caravans and prefab dwellings aimed directly at the holiday trade and rented for one or two weeks. It is mostly self contained with shops and night time entertainment on the site. However, things are quite at this time of the year except for a few surfers and local walkers.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/1000 F11 Iso 400. Tried several angles without much success due to the light coming from the left and creating shadow problems behind the headland. The distant headland which is part of Burgh Island was looking washed out due to the muted tones and light angle so eventually I tried a black and white version which seems to have more impact.

I also tried to photograph some surfers but the biggest lens I had with me was my Canon 70-200 which wasn't really sufficient for the distance; and the light angles were difficult.



1/640 F11 Iso 400



1/800 F11 Iso 400

Several similar shots failed because the shutter speed dropped too slow without me noticing it at the time of shooting.

[Geoff F]

I see that Firefox Exif viewer now gives the correct location, although the Mapquest version gives my shooting position as being in the sea instead of on the cliff top.

So far I haven't tried the alternative option, Bruce.

[Cantab]

I see that Firefox Exif viewer now gives the correct location, although the Mapquest version gives my shooting position as being in the sea instead of on the cliff top.

So far I haven't tried the alternative option, Bruce.

Geoff, for my money, all three photos turned out well. Although you would like to have used a longer telephoto lens, the advantage of what you used is that it gives a good sense of scale between the surfer in the second photo and the size of the wave.

I checked your GPS location with both the EXIF Viewer (Google and MapQuest maps) and the "View EXIF data". They all had you safely on dry land, not at sea. I believe you mentioned you had contacted the EXIF Viewer folk about their erroneous map locations. Your contact with them obviously had an effect – you're no longer taking pictures of the ocean while located many miles inside France!

[Shadowman]

Surf shots look fine, I tried the same years ago with the 70-300mm, didn't shoot from the beach but instead the pier, only drawback is surfers usually don't get that close.

[billtils]

Nice set Geoff. I like the second one best, and agree with Bruce that it captures the scene and action of the surf and surfer.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff ~ Wk 5, 1st pic reminds me of an 'old timey' scene! Looks good!
#2 is my favorite of the series! I see the water - always! It shows up especially well in Lightbox!
#3, also has interesting water features and the surfer seems to be handling it quite well!
Sharp - clear pics! I bet it was fun capturing these!

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments. I did also photograph the other side of this cove where the light was better; but less dramatic waves and no surfers, so those images lacked impact. After an hour I returned to this same location where I found better surf but the light had totally changed into heavy cloud - so I packed up and went home.

We started putting together the 2019 History Society Calendar but found there was a need for one more winter scene and we were hoping to include the premises of one of the sponsors into an image. So yesterday, when there was a patch of sunshine, I had another go at this little creek. However, the quays and buildings face north which puts them in permanent shadow. Eventually, after merging 3 bracketed exposures I managed something acceptable.

But I think these scenes look better in black and white where there is more contrast and less of a washed out colour feel.

Week 06 - Shadycombe Creek in winter. The busy summertime pontoons are virtually deserted now. This scene is looking west.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/250 F11 Iso 400

And looking east.



Around the corner in the next creek is another temporarily deserted pontoon.



Better light from this angle allowed my shutter speed to reach 1/640 in order to cope with the seagull movement.

[Artshot]

Great fungus photos. Something I find amazing to look at, but am unable to capture, yet.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - I like the B/W treatment of your first two. Winter season is rather bleak and this choice of format perfectly suits the mood. Goes without saying that your pictures always look clear and sharp and have plenty of detail!

I also like the third one. It is a lucky person who can live close to water and moor their boat by their home! It is the color combination that catches my attention! Blues and brown! Both favorites of mine. Toss in a bit of green and this picture could go in most any room of my home!

[Wavelength]

All nice additions

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Week 07 - Start Point and Hallsands. Going shopping on a sunny day, so I diverted for a few hours and had a look at Start Point which was about 7 miles off my route. Fresh cool wind on the western side, which tempted me to try the sheltered path to Hallsands.

Start Point. Looking towards the light so this was one of those click and hope shots with my intentions being aimed chiefly at the clouds.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/1000 F11 Iso 200. At the time of shooting I was thinking about a B&W conversion but that idea tended to lose impact from the clouds.

Sheep at Start Point. Sheep being sheep, they wouldn't get into a perfect posing position so this was the best I could manage with a rather harsh light angle.



1/125 F11 Iso 200. Bright yellow gorse in the background plus some sunlit patches on the grass tended to overpower the sheep images, so I turned this one into B&W. Also had to remove a sheep's head because it was in a position which looked like there was a two headed sheep.

The path to Hallsands. From this angle, the remains of that old deserted village which was washed away by the sea 101 years ago are just visible half way up the left side.



1/400 F11 Iso 200. Passing clouds kept varying the light.

Hallsands Beach.



Shooting between a tree and a rooftop limited the available angle.

House Ruins. Not part of the old village but this building has suffered the same fate.



1/200 F11 Iso 200. Another limited angle between a tree and part of a modern building.

[Cantab]

Geoff, I enjoyed all the photos.

The sheep B&W grapped my attention, possibly because of the hard lighting. But it works well. I spent some time searching for the beheaded sheep and think I finally located it!

I read the Wikipedia article on Hallsands. It's quite an interesting story. Is the actual path to Hallstands visible in the third photo?

[Geoff F]

The path, Bruce, runs from the Start Point Car Park to the old Hallsands Hotel but because I was photographing from or very close to the path I don't think it is visible. Actually it is just a rough 3 ft wide muddy track which runs along the cliff edge.

The modern village, if you can call it that, is now at North Hallsands hidden in the valley behind a headland.

That sheep's head was just to the left of the left hand sheep; which is why it made that sheep appear to be two headed. There was a fence on the right side which considerably reduced my available angles.

[joebranko]

Beautiful shots. I did not notice the' two headed' change until you mentioned it.

[Shadowman]

Nice stuff week 7.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Week 08 - Snow. We did get a few flakes about 8 years ago but nothing since. However, there is now a weather system in northern France which is giving a bit more of the white stuff. Very dull and snowing lightly all day today but there was a brief spell yesterday when I was able to get out for about 20 minutes with my camera.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/640 F11 Iso 200



1/800 F11 Iso 400



Due to the weather this bird bath is closed for the day.



1/250 F11 Iso 400

[Cantab]

Yes, you definitely had snow!

I spent time comparing the second and third photos. They look like they were both shot facing the sun trying to send shafts of light between clouds?

The addition of foreground material in the third one works well but I was curious why the sand and rocks on the point of land (and the day beacon) on the islet are definitely sharper in the second photo than in the third.

Out of curiosity, I checked the gps position. Both EXIF apps I used claim that the photo was taken on Main Road (A381)! I know gps is not guaranteed to be accurate; perhaps this was one of those occasions.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - Interesting pics! Wherever you were located in the first pic, you show us a wonderful view. Snow covered fields and the town in the distance. It always amazes me about how quickly snow can start to lose that pristine white colour. It is still very clean in the birdbath photo but I bet your birds weren't happy about it.

I like your second pic over the third water scene only because of the tree situated at the bottom of the third one. It takes away the openness of the water (for me). You caught the unhappy skies perfectly! I enjoy viewing your selection of pics.

[Geoff F]

I took a number of shots with slightly different angles and other variables.

The first scene looking up the valley to the next village was shot on the corner of that road quite close to the GPS position. I had to check carefully to find a workable angle because I was shooting between various unwanted objects like trees and chimneys which were close to me. Also, being careful not to step back in front of passing traffic on that snowy road.

The seaward shots came from just around the corner in Devon Road but it looks like the GPS didn't change to the new position. Checking that setting wasn't one of my priorities at the time.

With the third image I had to focus on the trees and shrubs which meant the distant objects were beginning to become distance soft. I was shooting between those shrubs on the right and a close building on the left so I didn't have much scope for other options.

In an ideal world I might have got away with a merge of focus points but I didn't take a tripod with me. In fact, there were several false brighter periods when I picked up my camera gear and put on some warm clothing only to find a return of snow showers by the time I reached the end of my garden.

That is why I took the 24-105 lens instead of my usual 24-70. Because I just popped some gear quickly into a camera holster and didn't want to be laden down with too much equipment and have to keep changing lenses. The Tamron 24-70 would probably have given a better result with that distance issue. These images were all a merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

My plan had been to walk down into the town but by the time I reached that spot I could see another snow shower approaching so I did a quick retreat.