2023 Project 52 by Geoff F - Part 1

[Geoff F]

Week 09 - New wildlife reserve. A couple of fields, with rough grass, have recently been purchased by Devon Wildlife Trust and they have started some planting and landscaping work.

Looking towards the bridge and village.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/250 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Looking over the marsh



1/500 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

Some tree saplings have been planted.



1/320 F11 Iso 250

[Geoff F]

Week 10 - Burgh Island from Yarmer Sands. At last, a nice bright and clear day, although with a cool wind



7D with Canon 70-200 lens. 1/640 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures

Thurlestone Rock



Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/1250 F11 Iso 400 Merge of two conversions from a single Raw File

Thurlestone Sands



Canon 70-200 lens. 1/1000 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two conversions.

[Geoff F]

Warren Point from Thurlestone Sands



Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/1000 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two conversions

Warren Point from Leasfoot Beach (just a short walk from Thurlestone Sands)



1/800 F11 Iso 250

[Cantab]

Geoff, a great set of shots. Your relatively high shutter speeds did a good job of freezing the wave action and keeping it crisp. However, your slightly slower shutter speed (1/640) in the first one managed to keep the leading edge of the wave sharp but allowed for a blur of spray breaking off the back off the wave. It creates a very good action/scenery image.

[Geoff F]

Week 11 - South Sands, Salcombe. A windy day but a bit of hazy sunshine tempted me outside for a short time before more rain arrived. Not good light but I did what I could with the limited situation.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/320 F9 Iso 400 shooting towards the light. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Looking towards the castle



1/1000 F9 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

The old lifeboat house



1/500 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

[Geoff F]

Week 12 - Sheep with Lambs. A bit of morning sunshine tempted me outside but wasn't long before clouds with showers appeared.

[Geoff F]

Week 13 - History Society AGM. I had to photograph this event but it was another of those impossible missions. However, I tucked myself away into a corner and did whatever I could manage.

The Chairman's Speech



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/250 F9 Iso 400 with flash

Those in favour of the motion.



Recording details of new members



Tonight's Speaker



Listening to the speaker

[billtils]

These are very good Geoff.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the comment. I shot using the same procedure which I use for photographing insects. Set the camera with manual settings then adjusted the flash compensation to avoid over exposure and brightened the dark shadows during editing.

[revi]

... I shot using the same procedure which I use for photographing insects. ...

I just hope the other participants don't read this forum :P

Surprising to see those glasses in a serious reunion, though.

[Geoff F]

Week 14 - Bolberry Down. Some morning sunshine tempted me to try the coast path but as soon as I arrived the sky began to cloud over and the light kept changing.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Sea Campion flowers. There were a few clumps of this plant although many of the flowers were a bit tatty. I had to shoot handheld with my landscape lens through some sheep wire netting so not an ideal situation for flower photography.



1/250 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

[Geoff F]

One more image from Bolberry Down. A coastal gorse fire last summer has exposed an old clifftop iron mine.

[Cantab]

Week 14 - Bolberry Down. Some morning sunshine tempted me to try the coast path but as soon as I arrived the sky began to cloud over and the light kept changing.



7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Sea Campion flowers. There were a few clumps of this plant although many of the flowers were a bit tatty. I had to shoot handheld with my landscape lens through some sheep wire netting so not an ideal situation for flower photography.



1/250 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

These both work well. The first one left me wondering whether I was about to fall off the edge of a very high cliff!

The second one, with the flowers, is much more down to earth. It also worked well despite the wide dynamic range and other photographic challenges.

[Geoff F]

I was standing on the cliff edge for that seascape shot, Bruce; although nothing too scary.

Week 15 - A nice sunny day with fluffy clouds. After a few days of rain and gales it was nice to have a warm and mostly sunny change. This was from the car park at Woodleigh Wood where I had been recording insects.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/250 F11 Iso 250. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

[Geoff F]

And a shot of some Violet Oil Beetles at that site



Two males were fighting over a female, but she eventually wandered off alone.

Very difficult to get an acceptable image with them moving around in the grass while I was attempting to find an angle which would be suitable for identification.

Also, from a moth trap last night, my first Brimstone Moth of the year.

[Geoff F]

Week 16 - Magpie in the harbour. No, not a bird but one of the naval hydrographic survey boats which appeared at the Whitestrand Pontoon.

The best camera to use is the one which you have with you and all I had was my pocket sized Fuji X20, but I had a go anyway.



1/800 F8 Iso 200. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

Ferry Inn Steps. Also where the harbour ferry lands. That ferry can be seen crossing the harbour.



1/680 F8 Iso 200. Merge of 2 conversions.

And the entrance to the top floor bars. At the moment there is building work wherever you look.



1/300 F8 Iso 200. Merge of 3 conversions.

[Chataignier]

Well done for keeping to the plan, I'm not sufficiently disciplined, I never seem to stick to a regular posting plan.
Regarding the previous post, I'm not convinced that you insect is a Brimstone, they have a very distinctive wing shape, this looks like a species of moth to me.

[Geoff F]

Yes, David, it is a Brimstone Moth. I don't know why I typed butterfly. Maybe brain and fingers not synchronised.

I have been seeing a few Brimstone butterflies recently so perhaps that accounts for my lapse of thinking. I have changed the text now.

[Cantab]

And a shot of some Violet Oil Beetles at that site



Two males were fighting over a female, but she eventually wandered off alone.

Very difficult to get an acceptable image with them moving around in the grass while I was attempting to find an angle which would be suitable for identification.

Also, from a moth trap last night, my first Brimstone Moth of the year.

Geoff, the violet oil beetles photo turned out well. Did you rely on sunlight or help it out with some flash?

What approximate length are they?

[Geoff F]

Some fill flash is my standard procedure. It helps to equalise lighting levels and avoids harsh shadows as well as preventing overly long exposures with moving subjects. The females are quite large, Bruce, up to 30 mm. Rather placid creatures though and I often pick one up to move it to safety, away from a path.

Week 17 - A cloudy day but with a few spells of hazy sunshine. I visited that little cove at the harbour entrance to try for some shots of fishing boats returning home but most of the opportunities coincided with cloudy spells. However, I did what I could.



7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/400 F10 Iso 500. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

And some steps to nowhere. At one time, people from a nearby house used these steps to access the cove. In Victorian/Edwardian times the house was a commercial tea garden.



1/160 F 10 Iso 500. Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Mayhem. A bit too far away for the hazy conditions.



Sigma 150-600 Sport lens at 600. 1/800 F10 Iso 250

Tenacious



1/1000 F10 Iso 320. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file. Poor light angle so I went with slight over exposure and a silvery sea.