2018 Project 52 by Geoff F - 3rd Quarter

[Geoff F]

Time to start another quarter. The previous quarter is here

2018 Project 52 by Geoff F - 2nd Quarter

Some sunny weather so I have been spending time photographing and recording local insect life.

Week 27 - Clear the runway I am landing without any brakes



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens. 1/200 F14 Iso 400. Flash used.

Ctenophora pectinicornis. A rather colourful uncommon cranefly.



Great Green Bush Cricket. Last stage nymph



Western Bee Fly. Another odd looking uncommon insect

[Urbanflyer]

Thanks for the peek at these critters!

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[skitterbug]

Nice way to kick off the third quarter of the P52 project. Good collection of insects. Do you keep a hard copy photo record of these insects noting name, date, time, etc.?

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, Sandy, I record all my sightings and send data to various recording schemes. In the UK there is also this national recording scheme where anything can be recorded.

https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/

[skitterbug]

Thanks for the comments.

Yes, Sandy, I record all my sightings and send data to various recording schemes. In the UK there is also this national recording scheme where anything can be recorded.

https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/

Hi Geoff - Interesting that there is a national register for sightings of whatever people think is worth recording! Thanks for the link!

[rudi]

Very nice set Geoff.

[Geoff F]

Thanks Rudi.

Week 28. In the previous quarter I shot from this same position but facing the other way when a tractor was spreading lime. This time I walked around the area for some time while looking for an acceptable angle. Eventually, I decided my only hope was to show the gateway and shoot from a low, kneeling, angle.



1/250 F11 Iso 200. A merge of two conversions from one Raw shot so as to lighten the dark shadows a little.

[Geoff F]

Week 29 - A visit to the Millbrook Inn at South Pool. A friend suggested another trip in his small boat to a pub at the end of one of the creeks. Last time I took my little Fuji X20 and regretted not having something better, so this time I used my second best gear. 7D mark 1 with Canon 24-105 lens. But it was very harsh midday light. However, here are a few snaps from the day.

On the way we passed this couple in their canoe.



1/1000 F11 Iso 400

A landing area near the end of the creek



There are some stepping stones to cross the creek.



1/250 F11 Iso 200

Another group, who also visited by boat, found a way of cooling down using the stream between the pub and beer garden.



1/200 F11 Iso 400. The light range was far too high for a single shot but I had a go with a quick shot anyway then did what I could with editing to stretch the range a bit further. But the result is far from ideal.

[Geoff F]

And a notice on the old stone bridge at the head of the creek.



1/250 F11 Iso 200

[Cantab]

And a notice on the old stone bridge at the head of the creek.



1/250 F11 Iso 200

Geoff, I've been AWOL for awhile but have now had an opportunity to see your recent posts. Do you know when this notice dates from? I was intrigued by the reference to locomotives. Perhaps steam traction engines?

The image in post #8 works well with the curved swaths of hay.

[Shadowman]

Nice series, stepping stones and reflections are spot on.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure about the date of that notice but I suppose there are records which would show when that person was the town surveyor. Locomotives was something of a general term which covered anything larger than a horse and cart. There were odd sounding legal terms like 'heavy motor car' which I suppose referred to lorries but I never saw any actual weight limit.

I took a shot of somebody crossing those stepping stones but by the time I got myself into a suitable position and pressed the shutter I was two steps too late. I tried cropping a little from the top and left side but thought the houses and a few other items were over riding the figure in terms of importance. So I tried a black and white version instead to give something of a timeless feel to the scene.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - I enjoy looking at your photo work and how you set up your shots. I especially like the the old sign and the work on the B/W photo. These were taken with the Canon 24-105 lens then? I'm interested because I would like one more lens to fill in for one I gave my daughter.

[Geoff F]

From my personal experience, Sandy, I just keep this lens for rough work where I wouldn't worry if it got smashed or dropped overboard, etc. Which is just one step away from using it as a door stop!

Maybe I got a 'Friday afternoon lens' but it has been back for repair twice and never comes close to my Tamron 24-70 for quality. But sometimes there are potentially dangerous situations where the distance between 70 and 105 mm is handy so I just keep it for those cases; particularly where I don't want to carry 2 lenses, such as using my Canon 70-200 as a second lens (which is a good piece of kit).

There is now a Mark 2 Tamron 24-70 which is reported to be a stunning lens.

[skitterbug]

Hi Geoff - Thank you for the information!

[Geoff F]

Week 30 - Plant Survey. One of those tricky occasions when I was attempting to get some real life shots of people 'working' in difficult lighting conditions; while also trying to identify any insect life which appeared among two groups. When all the plants from each sample plot had been identified they moved on to another plot. 15 plots each 2 x 2 meter squares were covered in total on that day.

'You both have degrees, so why can't you fill in a form which was designed by a committee?'



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/100 F11 Iso 200. Shutter speed was a bit on the slow side but I managed to get away with this shot.

Getting the identification correct.



1/320 F11 Iso 200

Have we missed anything.



1/200 F11 Iso 200. The overhead light was causing shadow problems and creating dark faces under those sun hats so I added a bit of fill flash. Didn't take my external flash unit so had to use the camera pop up flash.

[Cantab]

An interesting set of photos. Your on camera fill flash appears to have done the trick in the last photo.

What happens to the data collected by these field surveys? Presumably it's inputted into a computer database so that year over year trends can be identified?

[Geoff F]

Yes, that is it, Bruce. Data is collected for future checking of variations.

A bit of a change this year. Previously 1 metre squares were done on the same patches of ground each year; but that tended to produce identical results each year which weren't always typical of the whole area. So now they are recording these 2 x 2 metre squares which are in a more random manner across each clearing, but on typical vegetation type found widely across each clearing. The idea is to tackle one or two clearings each year then return to the starting position every 5 or 6 years for another check.

[joebranko]

Exceshots Clear a d crisp.