Project 52 - Weekly Photos by Geoff F - Second Quarter

[Cantab]

Geoff, an interesting set of photos. The first one works particularly well with the curving lines in the field and the hedge.

I'm intrigued by the large stack of old-fashioned(?) rectangular bales of straw. Is the intention to leave them out in the field, exposed to the weather, until they're needed elsewhere?

[billtils]

Interesting set, but I like the "clouds' best. Great sky, nice repeated 's' shapes in the field and hedge.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments. I recognised that corner of a field with an interesting sky could make a reasonable photo so I moved around to find a possible angle then had to wait a while for the sun to appear through a gap in clouds. A few minutes later and that patch of blue sky disappeared.

The rectangular straw bales are what caught my eye; although they are longer than the traditional size it seems to make more sense than those round bales. They would be piled up like that until sold. There is a slight market for straw and some will be retained for bedding when lambing time comes around again.

[billtils]

The rectangular straw bales are what caught my eye; although they are longer than the traditional size it seems to make more sense than those round bales.

I'd guess the square ones make up about 30 to 40% of the total here in Perthshire this year - they were a rarity last year.

[Geoff F]

Week 38 - Which way to the beach. I was looking for some insects to photograph but there wasn't much around so I went looking for other subjects. Tricky because passing clouds kept changing the light.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 400. Merge of three conversions from a single Raw file.

When you get an itch . . .



1/125 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Friends



1/100 F11 Iso 400

[Geoff F]

Some large Parasol Mushrooms have just started to appear. About 6 inches across.

[Geoff F]

Week 39 - Blackstone Rock, Dartmouth. I had been photographing insects nearby but there wasn't much around so I switched into a seascape mode.



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 250. Merge of three conversions from a single Raw file.

Excel passing the Mew Stone. I was standing on a narrow precarious cliff edge path with other people waiting to pass by so I just had to have a go with my Sigma 180 macro lens which was on the camera.



1/500 F10 Iso 250

Rock Sea Spurrey. These little delicate flowers were growing in a small crevice on the seashore rocks with virtually no soil and just a few yards from the sea.



1/400 F11 Iso 250. Merge of three focus points.

[Cantab]

The Blackstone Rock photo is particularly good. The geology of the rock formations looks like it was a very active area at some time in the very very distant past -- quite apart from the modern day marine traffic. Were the cormorants pelagic cormorants or some other species?

And presumably you still had the macro lens on when you took the close-up of the rock sea spurrey. It turned out very well.

You've had a few photo outings recently, looking for insects, but ultimately finding interesting but non-insect subjects.

[billtils]

I like the Rock Sea Spurrey very much Geoff, but the main reason for posting is to say "very well done" for keeping the Project 52 going, with consistently interesting images and stories. I gave it a try a couple of years ago but was a miserable failure!

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comments.

It can be a challenge to keep the Project 52 idea going throughout the year, Bill, but being retired does help. Also, I try to get a couple of weeks ahead of myself to allow for a bit of bad weather or lack of interesting ideas.

When I was driving home, I thought I should have taken a wider shot of the flower to show how it was growing in just a small rock crevice beside the sea where it would frequently get a lot of sea spray.

The UK cormorants, Bruce, are Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) but the Shag (P. aristotelis) is very similar, although slightly smaller and more drab looking.

[Geoff F]

Time to start a new thread. Part 3, which is here

Project 52 - Weekly Photos by Geoff F - Part 3