2021 Project 52 by Geoff F

[Geoff F]

Another year and once again I will be attempting to post at least one image each week but, like 2020, covid virus restrictions will be a limiting factor. Maybe I will get a vaccination sometime in March (at least the first shot) but I suspect small towns will be well down the priority list.

If anybody wants to have a go at a Project 52 Challenge they should create their own thread but looking roughly similar to this one. More details here

2021 Project 52 Challenge

I haven't chosen a particular theme for this year but going by my first images, perhaps a 'think before you click' idea may appear.

My first image was taken at 9 am on New Year's Day from my house; well actually the road in front of my house.



7D wilth Canon 70-200 lens. 1/200 F11 Iso 200. Merge of two bracketed exposures plus a few other tweaks. I tried several angles where I was shooting between foliage and taking care to keep myself clear of passing cars. My idea was to find an interesting and balanced scene which also showed the thin covering of snow on Dartmoor in the far distance. This was the only one which came close to being acceptable. The cloud rapidly increased within a short time and the light was lost.

This image was on January 4 where I was doing a survey of flowers blooming at the wrong time. Cool fresh wind and darkening cloud with a rainbow. I was facing into the wind and there were spots of rain so I was worried about getting spots on my lens. So I was shooting quickly and experimenting with how much to include of the right side small tree. I eventually rejected the images which only showed part of the tree.

Trouble was, I thought my camera was set to F11 and Iso 400, as it was when I started the day; but I had previously increased the Iso to photograph a fungus in poor light and forgot to reset. So using 800 has given a bit of unnecessary image noise. I was more worried about rain spots than checking my shooting settings, which was a mistake.



Canon 24-105 lens. 1/1000 F8 Iso 800. I shot bracketed exposures but rejected them due to high noise in the shadows and did a merge of two Raw conversions from a single image.

Then, on my way home I noticed a farmer was harvesting cabbages so I stopped my car in the gateway. It was just a country road and other cars could squeeze past but I didn't want to spend too long in case a lorry or tractor came along. Once again I was facing into those rain spots and standing on the edge of a muddy field without realising my high Iso setting. Also, I thought I was focusing on the start of that line of brussels sprouts but the camera actually auto focused on the tractor so my foreground was out of focus. This was made worse because the line of sprouts was diagonal to my view, not square on, so the left side was well out of focus.



Canon 24-105 lens 1/640 F8 Iso 800. Cropped to remove out of focus foreground and a merge of two Raw conversions.

[Cantab]

Hi Geoff, I enjoyed all three images. When I first saw them, I thought that they'd all been taken in the "golden" hour, in particular late afternoon. But then I saw your comment that they were taken around 9 AM – the golden hour in the morning!

In my view, the second photo works particularly well. I think your decision to include the entire tree/bush was a good choice. The tree is itself of some interest with its different shades of colour. But more importantly, it's a good anchor point for the curving track and fence to disappear behind.

In the first photo, I was surprised how much snow there was on Dartmoor. I suppose because of the angle or position from which you were shooting, Dartmoor doesn't look all that much higher elevation than the snow free fields, but clearly it is.

[Wavelength]

Beautiful images

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

Week 02 - Another 9 am shot. Same position and time as my first image but this time looking west, towards the next town, instead of facing north towards Dartmoor. With the current UK covid lockdown it looks as though I will have to keep looking for scenes close to my home.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/320 F8 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures plus a few extra tweaks.

And a slightly different approach to that scene

[Cantab]

Hi Geoff,
The air seems clearer in these two images than it sometimes is. I like both shots but the focus on the twisty hedgerow and tree lines in the second one works very well.

[Wavelength]

Geoff, I always like your farm-scapes. Yet i have a doubt; Are they originally, a bit more saturated that what is seen in the images? Or are they just this way?

[Geoff F]

The contrast is slightly increased. During Raw conversion I usually set the Vibrance adjustment to +20. Then after hand merging the two exposures I used an Adjustment Layer in Soft Light mode and set the opacity to about 50%. The final tweak, after sharpening etc, which I apply to most of my images is to try a slight highlight boost. Sometimes it adds just a slight but noticeable extra bit of 'pop' but it often isn't required.

So in these images the brown tree branches have finished up with a fraction more colour. Once again, about 30 minutes later that bright morning light was gone and everything returned to typical English winter drabness.

[Geoff F]

Week 03 - Same area but a misty morning this time.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/80 F8 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures



Canon 70-200 lens. 1/250 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures

And while I was taking these shots I was being watched.



Canon 70-200 lens 1/125 F11 Iso 400

[Wavelength]

A cute watcher

[Geoff F]

Those bright mornings have given way to some dismal days this week.

Week 04 - Another grey day



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/125 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures

[xpatUSA]

Those bright mornings have given way to some dismal days this week.

Same over here, Geoff!

Still, it does lower the amount of Scene DR to cope with ...

[escape]

What are those little piles of earth on the left? Was that made by animals? Or perhaps a metal Detectorist that didn’t fill his holes?

[royent]

Mole Hills ?

[Wavelength]

Three receding rectangles(including the border of the image)...wonderful....

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, those are mole hills. Also common in my garden just beyond the trees. They even get inside my greenhouse!

[Geoff F]

This was an experiment. My garden during a winter shower of hail



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/60 F6.3 Iso 800

[wilgk]

You live in a beautiful spot, I will enjoy following your thread.

[Geoff F]

Here is a little slideshow about some of the insects which I recorded and photographed during last year, Kay. I really put it together for the people who manage these wildlife refuges or have a specific interest in local entomology but maybe a few other people will also find this interesting.

vimeo.com/504806600

[Urbanflyer]

Here is a little slideshow about some of the insects which I recorded and photographed during last year, Kay. I really put it together for the people who manage these wildlife refuges or have a specific interest in local entomology but maybe a few other people will also find this interesting.

vimeo.com/504806600

Loved seeing your slideshow!! Thanks for posting!

[Cantab]

The slideshow has an amazing number of high quality photos!

As an aside, I liked the font you used for the names of the little critters.

Thanks for posting it.