Brancaster Staithe (again!)

[MikeM]

Hi there - I know its the same place, but I find it sooooo interesting. C&C very welcome

[Geoff F]

Looks good to me, and a nice dramatic sky as well.

Those long pots are real backbrakers to work. A few people tried using them here around the early 1980s but with a top 'funnel' entrance instead of the side 'eye' type. They caught well but were soon replaced by shorter versions.

Shorter easier to work pots with nylon entrance eyes and without the 'parlour' have now become popular and appear to catch as well.

I could go on but . . .

[MikeM]

Thanks Geoff - excuse my ignorance but what exactly are they used to catch. That was a really interesting reply. Its nice to know a little background

[mythlady]

Lobsters? Crabs? The ones they use for crabs around here are round, I think -- very nice pictures. Is there a touch of HDR, especially in the second one?

[ilovelucydog]

What a fun place to take pictures! Very nice, and I like the bright colors. They do have a bit of HDR look.

[MikeM]

Yes, I produced 3 .dng files with different exposure values, merged them with Photomatix pro andd then tinkered with them in lightroom and photoshop. I tried to be careful not to overdo any hdr effect, but I was more interested in bringing out the colours (it wasn't the brightest of days) Thanks for the comments

[vicphotog]

Hello Mike,
The colors are well emphasized and I think you have just the right level of contrast to bring out all of the detail. Personally, I love compositions like this where there seems to be so much in the frame but yet it does not look busy or cluttered - very nice work

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Mike,

Yes well captured. They tell the age old story of man and the sea well. There's the romantic end and then the practical working end, as documented here.

[Geoff F]

Thanks Geoff - excuse my ignorance but what exactly are they used to catch. That was a really interesting reply. Its nice to know a little background

The very long pots are probably used principally for lobsters; we also use a shorter version for crabs although they also catch lobsters. The traditional westcountry (UK) pot is, like Elise said, round beehive shaped.

There are pros and cons about each design. Although I said 'we use' I'm actually retired from it now (finished 2009) due to backache and creaking knees but I still spend quite a bit of time around the quay and serve on a few fishing related committees.

If I can find any interesting photos about this I will add them.

There are a few scenes from my fish quay here http://www.pbase.com/crustacean/salc...sh_quay&page=1

and here http://www.pbase.com/crustacean/fish_quay_2010&page=1

[ChrisH]

A couple of well edited HDR images, both a good example of what Photomatix can do. As a matter of interest as both images are strong and with good colour, it would be interesting to see them edited without the HDR treatment. I have a feeling they could also be good.

[MikeM]

Thanks very much for the comments, its always difficult to know when to stop the post processing. Nice selection of images Geoff

[Geoff F]

At the risk of hijacking this thread.

Here is a round, beehive shape, crabpot with a top entrance; the catch must be removed through this 'funnel shaped' entrance. Photo from my fishing days.



And here is one of the smaller of the side entrance pots where there is a 'rear door' which can be opened to remove the catch.



And this is how they are hauled.



Does this help to explain the fishing process?

[MikeM]

Thanks for the info Geoff - nice to know these things. Cheers