2018 Project 52 by Geoff F - 1st Quarter

[Wavelength]

Very nice images

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Nandakumar.

Week 09 - Foggy Morning. After the snow, this morning started bright and clear but with fog in some valleys; so I tried a headland in the nearby estuary. But it was 'the wrong type of fog' so I struggled to find any acceptable angles. All are a hand merge of 3 exposures.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/400 F11 Iso 400 for the starting point with + & - for the extra exposures.





1/800 F11 Iso 400. Could have reduced the Iso but I was shooting other scenes which required it and shot this scene without pre checking.

Foggy Morning at Snapes Point B & W

[Cantab]

Geoff, I like all three photos. I've tried taking photos of fog at the coast, much easier said than done!

In the second photo, am I correct that the coast (and the predominant wind) is at/from the right of the image? The windswept bushes in the hedgerow contrast nicely with the somewhat horizontal bands of fog.

[Geoff F]

I have now made a few changes to the second image, Bruce. In the previous version the fog on the left side was over exposed. I added a final Curves layer to increase contrast and masked out parts of the fog from that effect; but a small area went unnoticed until I saw the Jpeg version. Also, I have cropped the sky and done a monochrome version.

Yes, there is persistent wind on that exposed hedge so it has taken the shape of many other bushes around here.

I spent some time walking around looking for suitable foggy scenes and rejected most of them. I find that for fog images to work well you usually need some form of reference area, usually in the foreground, which is still clear. That makes the foggy areas obviously foggy instead of just being out of focus. Exposure is also tricky because there needs to be sufficient contrast without either extreme becoming clipped and losing detail.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - I like your photo work! Looking at the B&W Snapes point versus the colour one, I'd have to say I like the colour better and that's only because I like being able to see what the landscape really looks like. In the B&W one, the houses in the background seem to be gobbled up and indistinct but of course in a fog, that happens too. So it all goes to what you are trying to show the viewer. Because of that, you've caught my attention with it! So now I am of mixed minds - they are both good!

[Geoff F]

Colour versus monochrome can be a difficult choice, Sandy, particularly when a scene contains quite a bit of muted colours. There ideally needs to be some strong form of message with B&W to make sufficient contrast between all those greys.

Foggy scenes are particularly difficult to portray in an interesting manner. I tried lots of different angles and rejected most of them. With this particular scene, I saw a clear strip of field plus a strong hedge line and a group of mid distance trees, then the clear sky was visible above the fog. All of which adds something to the finished photograph; but it took a merge of 3 bracketed exposures to get to that position.

When attempting the monochrome conversion I quickly realised that those subtle sky tints were going to be lost; so I considerably darkened the blues and cyans to restore some detail into the sky.

[rudi]

The nice 'glow' on the color version seems to be 'missing' on the B&W version, so I prefer the color version here.

[joebranko]

Great shot Geoff! I prefer the mono version myself. I think the swart of green in the foreground of the colour version distracting, and takes away from the shapes and. .the composition.

[Shadowman]

Week #9, nice hazy series.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

Week 10 - The Coastpath near Noss Mayo. Tried somewhere which I haven't visited before but struggled to find many photographically attractive scenes.

The Greater Mewstone with Gara Point in the foreground.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 200

A wider angle of that scene looking towards Plymouth



A naval ship (L 16) sailed past and went towards Plymouth but it was rather distant and at a poor light angle, but I took a shot anyway. The Eddystone Lighthouse is just visible in the distance.



Canon 70-200 lens 1/320 F11 Iso 200

[joebranko]

All very nice shots. I really like the first with Gara point in the foreground.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comment, Joe. I did try some shots zoomed a little closer on the Great Mewstone.

[skitterbug]

I agree with Joe, all photos are good and I especially like "The Greater Mewstone with Gara Point in the foreground." And your added close up of Great Mewstone also has lots of character. The water has a beautiful colour to it. Is it always that shade? Probably not, but it certainly was pretty when you captured your pics!

[CormacD]

Hi Jeff, I think the coastline shots are very interesting and the area does have some potential for photos. The time of day for your series did tend to make the distant landscape a big murky and I would like to see them taken 2 or 3 hours earlier like your foggy series, much better light. But of course I was not there at the time and do not know what the light was like.

[Geoff F]

It is difficult to find any really clear haze free days around here, Lindsay. It is a fairly moist area and over those distances there is normally a bit of haze creeping in at the far end of any scene. Often better when facing north but looking west, like those scenes, is usually a little problematic at best.

Week 11 - Some more late snow. There was some overnight snow but it had stopped by morning so I had a walk into the town to try for some different angle snowy scenes before it all started melting in the afternoon. But the light wasn't good, with clouds overhead, although the air was reasonably clear when I managed some suitable angles.

Thinking well ahead, I was looking for scenes which might be suitable for the next local history society calendar; which meant shooting for 4 x 5 ratio.

The East Portlemouth ferry crossing the harbour.



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

Magnolia in the park outside Salcombe Church



1/400 F11 Iso 400. Looking for some angles which were away from the harbour but I struggled to find much interesting material.

Looking the other way towards the harbour



1/640 F11 Iso 400

One of the harbour launches (Blackstone) moored to a pontoon.



1/320 F11 Iso 400

And, a few minutes later, the same launch with some harbour workers aboard.



1/500 F11 Iso 400

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Cantab]

For my money, you've done a good job of creating images with mood, whether it be chilly or happier (the magnolia photo).

We have a national TV weather channel which shows a series of video clips from around the world. Today's clips included a scene from Salcombe (and fires in Australia, etc.). The UK has certainly been having a prolonged winter this year. Many areas of Canada are still receiving snow but I live on the west (aka wet) coast and spring has arrived -- or at least daffodils are in bloom.

[Geoff F]

Daffodils have been flowering well in my garden for a couple of weeks but got flattened or broken stems due to the weight of snow. Some of the shorter varieties are starting to straighten up again.

But the advance forecast, for what that is worth, is giving another cold spell for Easter and the first week of April.

[Wavelength]

Very nice images ; all subjects well handled

[skitterbug]

When I see your work (photos) I always feel like I ought to go on an adventure. These draw me to the water and I want to explore it! Thanks for sharing them!