Project 52 - Q2 - David (Rufus)

[Rufus]

Thank you for commenting, Sandy.

It was fortuitous that, using the 135mm lens, I had to be a reasonable distance from the car to fit it all in the frame. That meant I was shooting from the beach which was at a lower level than the car park and this gave a good point of view. Also, there was less perspective distortion than might have been evident with a wider lens. It was still a shame about the wooden retaining structure, but it was shot for sentimental reasons more than anything!

The first half of my P52 is ostensibly concentrating on learning about the two prime lenses and I am beginning to understand their characteristics better. I find I am also increasing my editing knowledge and skills thanks to some very helpful input from the members of CiC.

[bambleweeney]

Lovely old car that is in way better condition than mine. I only have one prime lens, a 50mm, that I never use, oh and one or two from my old Mamiya medium format (just an ornament nowadays). Guess I'm just lazy and prefer the flexibility of zooms

[Shadowman]

Week 19, nice series.

[Rufus]

John and Paul - thank you for looking and commenting

[Shadowman]

John and Paul - thank you for looking and commenting

David,

For the Austin 7, was it possible to stand atop the wooden barrier to take an overhead type shot?

[Rufus]

For the Austin 7, was it possible to stand atop the wooden barrier to take an overhead type shot?

Yes I could have stood on the wooden barrier, but with the 135mm lens I would probably only have got the top of the bonnet /hood in the frame or that plus some of the windscreen/windshield if taken from a lower down. But I have to admit that I did not try that!

[Rufus]

Week 20 was a fallow week, so I shall offer my apologies and move swiftly on to Week 21. I am still limiting myself to the 135mm prime lens.

Here I present 3 images taken near the Royal William Yard, in Plymouth. It is a former Royal Navy Victualling Yard. It was built between 1826 and 1835, and comprises a number of buildings. The yard was released by the Ministry of Defence in the 1990s and was developed into a complex of apartments, offices and eateries etc.

In the frst image I could have cloned out the two distant towers on the left but that would have made it a very horizontal picture and they provide a sort of lead in line to the yacht. The Jet Ski was an experiment as I do not usually take action shots. As for the 1862 Gateway, well I was pushing my luck as I used (in error) a slower shutter speed (1/90 sec) than I should have for a 135mm lens.

Week 21 - Image #50 – Sailing past the Royal William Yard, Plymouth (1/350 sec at f/9.5 and ISO 100):


Week 21 – Image #51 – Jet Ski from Royal William Yard (1/500 sec at f/9.5 and ISO 100):


Week 21 – Image #52 - Gateway dated 1862 (1/90 sec at f/2 and ISO 200):


As always, your comments are welcome.

[Rufus]

For Week 22 I have a couple of shots taken at Golitha Falls, a series of cascades and gentle waterfalls in ancient oak woodland along a section of the River Fowey in Cornwall.

As well as the images below, I experimented with some shots taken at 1/20 sec and 1/15 sec to see the blurring effect on the water. They were hand held so not included here, but they proved to be a useful exercise.

I was using auto ISO here as the light was not particularly bright and I did not want to limit the depth of field or use a slower shutter speed (1/180 for a 135mm lens is likely the slowest I should go when hand held). I hope noise is not a problem on the first one.

Your comments are always welcome.

Week 22 Image #53 – River Fowey at Golitha Falls 1 (1/180 sec at f/11 and ISO 640):


Week 22 Image #54 - River Fowey at Golitha Falls 2 (1/180 sec at f/11 and ISO 200):

[Geoff F]

For me, David, Image 50 works fine.

With image 51, showing all that jet ski wake places the craft rather close to the left edge while the spray doesn't really add anything important to the scene. I think I would crop from the right side to produce a better balance.

Image 52 looks OK.

Nice to see some real speed naturally looking water in #54. Just one slight problem. In the top half of the image you have a bit of slight over exposure on the water. Not your fault and impossible to avoid at the time of shooting but I would try to improve that area with editing. One possibility which sometimes works for me is to clone a little bit of texture from nearby better areas.

[Rufus]

...With image 51, showing all that jet ski wake places the craft rather close to the left edge while the spray doesn't really add anything important to the scene. I think I would crop from the right side to produce a better balance.

...Nice to see some real speed naturally looking water in #54. Just one slight problem. In the top half of the image you have a bit of slight over exposure on the water. Not your fault and impossible to avoid at the time of shooting but I would try to improve that area with editing. One possibility which sometimes works for me is to clone a little bit of texture from nearby better areas.

Thank you for your various comments, Geoff.

I admit I was unsure how to crop the jet ski. I toyed with more open water to the left but felt it added nothing. I was reluctant to crop out the wake and spray but in fact I think your suggestion does work better. Having the jet ski close to the centre works well in this case.

#51 with less wake and spray:


I think your comment on the overexposure probably related to the first of the two river images, #53. I had reduced the highights considerably, but only just enough to stop the blinkies, and reducing them further to zero puts some more detail back without editing actual pixels.

#53 with highlights reduced to zero:

[skitterbug]

Hi David - I think capturing water scenes and not have some over exposed areas is difficult. Seems like the light is glinting from some area or other. And I am in the camp of people who like to see water as "water" and not taffy looking stuff. But that is a matter of choice of course!

It is hard to pick a favorite but I like the changes you made to the jet ski pic as well as #53. Nice series of images! I enjoyed seeing them!

[Wavelength]

Nice images(newly added)

[Rufus]

...I am in the camp of people who like to see water as "water" and not taffy looking stuff. But that is a matter of choice of course!

It is hard to pick a favorite but I like the changes you made to the jet ski pic as well as #53. Nice series of images! I enjoyed seeing them!

Thank you for commenting, Sandy. The slower shutter speeds I experimented with also retained a fairly natural look to the water, so I shall have to try that again when I have a tripod with me. I imagine the amount of turbulence and rate of flow of water will determine the slowest speed that still gives a "natural" look.

[Rufus]

Thank you Nandakumar.

[Rufus]

There is just the one image this week. I have deviated for my P52 plan for Q2 as it was taken with my zoom lens, not my 135mm. I have practised the art of sky replacement with this image.

Goodwood House is the seat of the Duke of Richmond. Built around 1600, it was acquired by Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond in 1697 and the 11th Duke now lives here. The house is built of brick but faced with cut flints. Architecturally, I feel the flint finish could do with some relief such as brickwork or masonry around window/door frames to add interest.

Past Dukes have indulged their own particular interests as a result of which the Goodwood Estate hosts horse racing and motor racing events, and has a flying school based on its airfield. It also has a golf course plus a hotel and restaurants.

Week 23 Image #55 - Goodwood House, West Sussex, UK (1/250 sec at f/13, ISO 100, EF24-105 set at 35mm).

I always welcome your C&C.

[Wavelength]

Very nice image and a good point of view

[Geoff F]

A challenging subject, David. Ideally, just a little bit more space top and bottom would have been better; but perhaps you were limited in some way. Also a pity about that notice on the fence in the bottom left corner; but I suspect they wouldn't approve of you removing it before shooting.

[Rufus]

...Ideally, just a little bit more space top and bottom would have been better...Also a pity about that notice on the fence in the bottom left corner.

Thank you for your observations; and I agree with you on both counts!

As I have replaced the sky, I should be able to extend it up a little. I should also be able to remove the notice, and maybe the contractor's fencing it was attached to.

[Shadowman]

Week 23, yes an easy fix with the tight crop, nicely captured.

[Rufus]

I have taken on board Geoff's suggestions and extended the sky and foreground and removed the various notices. John's suggested crop would have been much easier, but I need the practice

I have also cloned the door in the far tower into the foreground tower. The selection required transforming and enlarging. That has worked to a certain extent, but the new area is noisy when enlarged and the original glass above the new door is more reflective than the glass in the door.

Having done all that I now notice an electric fan in the window of the nearer tower which could be cloned out.

Week 23 Image #55 (version 2):