Final 12 Images and Evaluation

I have now been able to put my final 12 images through photoshop and have selected 6 from each photo shoot, Tenby and Lake District.

The first 2 images below have been printed as A3 for the college exhibition in June.

Neither has been cropped but I had to remove rainspots from the first,  I used a shutter speed of 3.2 handheld with elbows resting on a rock, at f13, iso 400.
It was raining quite heavily so didn't want to take time setting up the tripod and due to poor light used a slightly higher iso.
When I got close to the water, I saw patterns and colours on rocks in the pool and thought they would make good forground interest for the waterfall.  Colours in the water reflect those in grass and dry bracken on the banks.
Using portrait better suited this subject due to the linear nature of the falls
The title for this picture is 'Sticklebeck', since that is the name of the stream in Great Langdale.

STICKLEBECK

This shot is taken over Loughrigg Tarn looking towards Loughrigg Fell.

We walked around the Tarn and I took several photos, but couldn't get into position to get a shot of the houses opposite, since part was private land.  We then walked up the opposite hill and evening sun just broke through covering cloud, I quickly set up a tripod and took a number of photos using 14-45mm lens, in order to keep depth of field and forground interest. 

I wanted to contrast the green of the hillside I was standing on, against browns and oranges of bracken on Loughrigg Fell.  I used F22 at 1/6sec iso400. 

I tried to keep the lake and houses in the bottom third of the composition but had to be careful to keep the bracken to show a contrast in colours. 

Perhaps cropping some of the forground may have improved composition but I wanted to keep the detail of mossy covered rocks and rain spots on grass.

CLEARING SKIES

This photo was taken the day before, in early afternoon with clear skies.

We were staying in a farmhouse on the east shore of Lake Coniston, it had a couple of semi-derelict boathouses which looked interesting and I managed to find a bit of lakeshore which protruded out towards the jetty and added an opposite diagonal to the composition. 

There was a white boat moored behind the jetty which I had to clone out using photoshop.

 I used F22, 13th of a sec, iso 200, using a polarising filter to cut down on reflection from the water.

CONISTON JETTY

This is 'Dusk over Elterwater', taken on the evening of the first day, with cloud coming in to give us rain overnight and next morning.

I was hoping for a colourful sunset but it was not to be.  I had set up my tripod and took several shots over the evening, instead of getting lots of colour I finished with tones of grey which has given an atmospheric picture. 

I tried to use the rule of thirds to give good composition and included rocks on the lakeshore for interest and pattern.

Taken at F22, 1/13 sec, iso 200.  I could have increased the iso to give more light to the scene but I would have been left with a dull image with no atmosphere.

DUSK OVER ELTERWATER

This shot was taken mid morning on the first day and as you can see the sun was shining and quite high in the sky. There was a gap in the wall giving a view of Rydal Water, but in order to keep sheep and maybe humans out it had been blocked with barbed wire.  Sheep had tried to get through and left wool on the wire which made for an interesting shot. 

Taken at F22, 1/25th sec, handheld, iso 200 with a polarising filter. 

I tried to get part of the wall in the shot to show it was a gap which we were looking through, but also tried to keep the sun out of the shot, on reflection I could have used a graduated filter to improve the sky and lessen the flare from the sun.

I have cropped this slightly to hide some new timber which protruded into the bottom right corner and to cut down some of the flare.

FORBIDDEN PASTURE

This was taken later the same morning looking back towards Rydal Water, cloud cover was increasing but light still quite good.

The rock formation was interesting with a gully between leading into the distance and lots of interesting moss and litchens.

I used a low angle to give a good view of the rocks looking over the hillside and tried to include lots of sky which was quite unusual.  Perhaps I should have cropped some of the sky to keep the rule of thirds and emphasise the rocks, however, I am happy with the way it looks.

F22, 1/20th sec at iso 200.

ROCKS OVER RYDAL

'Harbour Pastels'

This is Tenby harbour on a sunny spring afternoon.  I just loved the tall coloured houses, standing to attention around the harbour, looking out to sea.  Steve said it was a typical holiday photo but liked it since the composition is good. 

I used F22 1/13 sec iso100. 

There was a yellow digger sitting outside the chapel on the bottom right which was cloned out using photoshop.  I could have cropped it out but would have lost some of the coloured houses and harbour wall.  I think the tall structures are a good contrast with the pattern of  boats on the stretch of water in front and all held tight and in order, by the harbour wall.

HARBOUR PASTELS

'Crab Pots and Floats',

taken as we walked around the harbour wall, it was good to see it is a working harbour, at F20, 1/10 sec, iso 100.

Lots of interest with rusting chains and anchor, colour added with floats and lifebelt. 

I took this quickly since there were lots of people around and had to crop out a distracting boat in the background.

I tried from a different angle but to keep the floats this was the best compostion.  The three colourful objects keep your gaze travelling around the picture.

CRAB POTS and FLOATS

'Horizon',  we had just had a picnic on this spot and the hazy evening sunlight was making a lovely reflection on the water, but it was difficult to make out the horizon since the water was reflecting the colour of the sky.  I think this makes a quiet,  serene looking picture, with the flat sea showing only a few ripples along the shoreline in opposition to the fingers of rock pushing into the sea. F22, 1/30sec,iso160.

HORIZON

'Rock Formations'  a sandy gully between protruding rocks attracted my attention since it seemed to be a minature mountain range seen from above, the colour and varied sizes of rocks and pebbles are interesting and the wavy line of grainy sand against smooth grey rock makes a pleasing arrangement of elements.  It did not need any work in photoshop. F8, 1/80,iso100.

ROCK FORMATIONS

We went to Freshwater beach in the evening to wait for sunset, in the meantime I found this interesting pyramid of beach debris that someone had built, I took several shots but found this to be the most interesting, showing detail and colour in the discarded fishing nets, keeping the shorline puts it in context.  This is at it came from the camera. F5.6, 1/200 sec, iso100.

FLOTSAM

We had a wonderful sunset that evening, after studying the map and tide timings to ensure I could get the setting sun over beach and sea.
It was well worth the trouble and I had a number of photos to choose from, which proved a difficult task, however after discussion, Steve and I settled on this one for its colour and reflection of setting sun and sky on the wet beach.

I think overall this is my favourite of the final twelve, it didn't need any work in photoshop and is printed just as it came from the camera. F22, 1/2 sec, iso100.

SUNSET OVER FRESHWATER BEACH

Some of the titles I have given are descriptive, (denotation) and some have more meaning to me, they bring back to memory a place and set of events, (conotation).

I have enjoyed taking the course with Steve, although I found it difficult to get to grips with 'blogging' during the first few weeks, not least because I seemed to be operating on an older blogger site and had to upgrade a few weeks in.

I am very pleased with my final images and feel I have come a long way since the start of the course and improved my photography greatly.

My goal was to achieve full and creative use of my new DSLR camera by taking landscape photographs, but not just recording the landcape, trying to add my interpretation of the surroundings in a way which makes my pictures interesting to others, my initial photos could have been taken by anyone with an automatic camera.

I have learnt to use my camera a little more creativly and after studying the work of other photographers, Joe Cornish for his colour saturation and forground interest, and Charlie Waite for his use of light, have influenced my work. I have seen what can be achieved and how to do it.   I have also learnt how to evaluate an image, and how valuable feedback can be, what can be achieved in photoshop and some basic techniques in image manipulation.

Throughout I have used my Panasonic DMC G1 camera and 14-45mm standard lens, tripod and polarising filter.  I have not encountered any problems with my equipment but often was frustrated by the weather, time constraints or access restrictions.  I had to plan my photoshoots around weather forcasts, work and family committments and accessability.  I should have also liked to try the use of graduated blue filters instead of the grey I had available.

I now want to go on and learn more about different photographic areas such as macro, portrait, or structure and continue learning about photoshop and how to use it.

Health and Safety 1.9

Since I have been concentrating on landscape photography I have looked at the Government website with regard to the Wildlife and Countryside Act which can be viewed by clicking here.

This Act covers all aspects of access to the countryside, habitat conservation, damage too, or removal of protected flora and fauna, and even the introduction of none native species into the countryside.

It also incorporates the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 1980 which gives the access rights of the general public with regard to open country and registered common land.

In addition to this I have also looked at the Health & Safety at Work Act since I have also worked within the college with regard to this course.  This is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the UK and can be viewed by clicking here.

Briefly, it is the duty of every employer, to ensure the health safety and welfare at  work of all his employees and visitors.  It is also the responsibility of all employees and visitors to take reasonable care of their own and others safety.

The following considerations should be made whilst carrying out any assignment on location.

- the photographer should have current employer and public liability insurance, including cover for people
engaged by him on an occasional basis.

- the photographer and his assistant should have motor vehicle insurance which covers their vehicles for business use.

- the photographer should have a formal agreement with the customer outlining their requirements.

- should carry out a site visit to discuss arrangements with the customer, requesting where necessary permission for access and right to take photographs.

- should ensure where necessary the location has adequate fire precautions and signage in place.

- should consult with the customer, where necessary, of the location on any risk assessment and what actions are required and have these been carried out.

- share with any assistant any concerns and if necessary any location management.

- should ensure all equipment is maintained and safe to use.

- should ensure all employees including those self employed are trained to use equipment safely.

- should take precautions to minimise any identified potential problems related to safety affecting the assignment and to any other people at the location.

Location safety mainly revolves around trips slips and hazards.

Risk assessments should also be undertaken in relation to a photographers premises, these include;

- fire precautions
- using display screen equipment (DSE)
- manual handling
- control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH)

Final 12 and Photoshop editing

I have now decided on my final twelve images for portfolio and have begun to put them through photoshop.  

The first task was to copy the 'raw' file to psd in order to work on them and also  copy to 'jpeg' for my blog.

The main adjustments required are cropping, and since it was raining when I took some of the pictures in the Lake District,  removal of rain spots which got on to the lens between shots.

I practiced on the picture above which was taken in the Langdales as a panorama, I took three quick shots of the valley and put these together in photoshop, although I now realise I should have taken them in portrait not landscape since some of the detail has been lost in cropping.  It worked out pretty well but have not been able to add this to my blog since the upload picture command seems unable to cope with the size of the file.

I have also to think about naming each picture.  Steve talked to us about the implications of the names we choose,  either being a connotation, and having cultural and/or emotional associations, or being a denotation, which has a dictionary definition of a word devoid of emotion, attitude, or colour.

For example calling a picture of a harbour, 'harbour' would be a denotation since it is merely descriptive, but if it was called  'pastel harbour' this implies soft light and pale colours, perhaps something more romantic. 

Planned Photo-shoot for Portfolio

(Above, some example photographes from member of the Light & Land organisation)

Location              Lake District, Cumbria

Equipment           Panasonic Lumix G1, 14-45mm and 45-200mm lenses, tripod and Cokin Filters

We had planned a weekend break in the Lake District to get some pictures to add to my portfolio, after checking the weather forcast, which was clear skies and sunny, we set off early on Saturday morning in the hope that we would arrive about 7.30ish to take advantage of the morning light.

We have visited the Lakes on many occasions and had planned our first walk around Grasmere and Rydal Water and had our ordinance survey maps with us together with our walking gear, boots, suitable clothing and refreshments, so that we could stay out most of the day.

We arrived about 8am and walked to Grasmere, the sky was clear and the air still, the water was flat with good reflections from the hillside which I was eager to capture, as shown in the first picture above.  I used a tripod and polarising filter with my standard lens and remembered Steve's advise about getting down low to the subject and getting lots of foreground interest.  

I am pleased with the result, the patch of clear water near the foreground balances the sky, which was a bit flat, with the bank of grass, tall stems and overhanging branches framing the main subject, the hillside and reflection.  Ideally I would have liked the line of boulders and stones leading vertically up into the reflection, to lead the eye into the landscape, instead of horizontal but I could not position myself any better on the bank because of the undergrowth.

The next shot is taken further up the hillside looking south, with Rydal Water below, there were some interesting rock formations and I wanted to get these in the forground with hills in the distance.  The conditions were quite bright by now with sun overhead, I used a polarising filter to try to get some definition in the sky which was very hazy.  I took several shots in an around these rocks with a couple of possibles for my portfolio.  I think they are successful but would have preferred clearer conditions for more definition in the distant hills.

This shot was taken in the late afternoon, I was interested in the colour and texture of the moss, with contrasting dry crinckly leaf litter around trees.  It hasn't transferred well to my blog, the raw file on pc looks much better with improved colours and detail in the moss.  It was bright even though we were under tree cover and I did not use a tripod.  On reflection I could have gotten down much closer to the moss to pick out more detail.

This one was taken next morning about one hour after sunrise, I was hoping for a brighter morning with light reflected on to the hillside but as you can see it was a very grey morning with lots of low cloud which changed to rain later in the morning.  This has given me an atmospheric shot with distant hills disappearing into cloud.  The bank fell away steeply so I was quite low to the ground and boulders lining the shorline break up this uninteresting area.  Reeds in the middle ground add a different texture with distant shore lined with shrubbery and trees defining this area.  I used a tripod for this shot since a slower shutter speed was needed because of the dim light, however since the ducks appeared swimming across the scene I quickly increased iso so I could increase shutter speed a little so they were not blurred.  I think they are still slightly blurred on the raw image but I took lots of shots as the light changed and will use one in my portfolio.

I had also visited this spot at sunset on the previous evening with the sun setting behind the hills, however the colour was not great but I do have a refection on the water which improves the shot.

I had decided I wanted to get some shots of flowing water and when the weather improved later the same day we drove up the the Langdales with the intention of climbing up to Dudgeon Gill which is a very impressive force high in hills.  However, we got about three quarters of the way up and decided to turn back since the weather closed in and became very wet and windy.  The path was made up of rock which became quite slippy and we were carrying alot of equipment.

Part way down I found this small waterfall and rested my camera on a rock.  I had a slow shutter speed anyway because of the grey conditions and I think this has improved the look of the water.  I took lots of shots from different angles and used my polarsing filter on some to cut out any reflection, which has given me a good view of rock detail under the water in a pool beneath the fall.

This picture is taken looking over Loughrigg Tarn in the evening of the same day.  We got a glimmer of sunshine which lit up the opposite fell and gave some shaddow detail.  I would have liked to get closer to the tarn since it was very still by now which gave good reflection on the water but the nearside of the tarn is on private land with no public access.  I took this using my tripod and standard lens with no filters and wanted to capture the bright green of the grass echoed in the opposite hillside with the bracken on the hillside above.  I avoided including sky since this was a uniform grey colour after the rain.

I have added more photos on my picasa site, click here to view.  None of my photos used have had any post production editing.

Research/David Ward

David Ward is another landscape photographer working with the Light and Land company.  He has worked in many areas of photography but finds landscape the most inspiring and enjoyable, working in large format for over twenty years, his emphasis is on the photographers vision rather than the format used.

I find his pictures amazing for the pure depth of colour and simplicity of form.  The seascapes above have such a range of tones of blues, you are drawn into the distance by the colour.   The beach scene has pools of water left by the tide in diagonal wedges receding into the distance with leading edges lit up by the fading light, this again leads into the distance and draws you into the picture.

The moss is so textural in this picture that you can imagine feeling its damp fuzzyness.  The three trunks or branches leading into the centre add depth and draw you into the woodland.

Here it is the colour and texture and patterns in the water which is interesting,  with the solid rock acting as a focal point.

Because of the shallow depth of field used in the picture the frosted twig stands out from its background and your eye travels up and down the twisty shape.  Placed in the centre of the shot pointing straight upwards would have made a less interesting composition.

This is Grasmere in Cumbria.  The post production work has almost made this an abstract with surreal colours.  It is an interesting compostion of reflections with colours blurred to somewhat obscure the horizon.  The dark shape of tree branches and reflection form a partial frame to an unknown and imagined background.  

To see more of David Ward's work please click the link to my picasa site.

Planned Photo-Shoot for Portfolio

Location : Pembrokeshire, Wales

Equipment : Panasonic Lumix DMC G1, 14-45mm & 45-200mm Lenses

Tripod, Cokin Filters 

I decided a few weeks ago that I was not satisfied with the photographs I have already taken and planned a visit to the Pembrokshire coast in Wales in an effort to take some photos for my portfolio.  I have taken a couple of trips to the Peak District in Derbyshire and thought a change of location would give me some fresh ideas and impetus and after researching the work of Joe Cornish and Charlie Waite I was eager to replicate some of their seascape and  'inner landscape'  images, such as the two shown below.

I love the pink tones in this picture, it has a great use of thirds and the swirling water leads the viewer into the distance and creates a feeling of depth.

Pastel colours and rounded shapes nestled into the sand form an interesting pattern.
The weather forcast for the weekend was fair and sunny and I planned to take all my equipment and cokin filters to try them out.  I wanted to get lots of beach shots, particularly sunsets, dawn and early morning light.

We arrived in Saundersfoot near Tenby at approximately 11.30am, the tide was going out and the sun was shining, not ideal timing since the sun overhead took out all the interesting shadows, there was no cloud in the sky to add any interest and lots of haze over the sea and hills.

However, we decided to walk along the beach and I took a few pictures of the ripples left by the receeding tide and some interesting rock formations on the beach.  This gave me the opportunity to use  filters and I achieved some interesting results with the filtered shot as header, taken in early evening when the sky was quite grey and uninteresting.

We also walked round Tenby harbour and in the evening went out to Freshwater beach to wait for sunset which turned out to be very good, with lots of pink cloud reflected on the wet beach, this is my interpretation of the Charlie Waite picture above, with the stream of water leading the eye into the distance creating depth and rock formations adding texture and interest.

Next morning just after sunrise, we set off for Saundersfoot beach again to see if I could improve on the previous days pictures.  It was not an interesting sunrise with grey cloud cover for most of the morning but I managed to take some interesting shots of the exposed rock formations and beach debris with early light reflected in the wet beach from the cliff face.

On reviewing the pictures I am pleased with the results, the subject is interesting and the colour saturation and temperature improved.  I have varied the viewpoint with some taken at eye level and some lower.  I have tried, where appropriate,  to get interest in the foreground to improve perspective and have used filters on some to add a interest and impact.  I now have to decide on the final 12 for my portfolio and put them through photoshop for minor adjustments.

I am pleased with the image above, it was taken with a 14-45mm lens and a polarising filter using my tripod.
I used thirds and tried to get a formation in the beach debris that would lead the eye into the distance to the receding tide and horizon.

I found filters easy to use although a little fiddly when I wanted to change from one to the other, since I had to be careful not to get them smeared with fingerprints.  I now know what results I can get and when it is best to use them.

After discussing the results with Steve I feel I now have several images for my final portfolio and will review them in photoshop over the next two weeks, although I do have a trip to the Lake District in Cumbria planned, which may present an opportunity for more images.

I have experienced some difficulties with my photography, usually constraints of work and family, when I do get to a planned location the usual problems are access and weather, but this only makes my successes more enjoyable.

More images can be viewed on my Picassa website, please click here. 

Photographic Research/Sue Bishop

 

Sue Bishop's photographs are predominantly of flowers, her images are more than a record of the subject, they are very painterly and she often goes into impressionism and even abstract, they are saturated with colour and light and are usually high key.

She has done work for the Royal Horticultural Society and sells all over the world and in 2004 was commissioned to produce work for Marks & Spencer to illustrate a new range of beauty products.

Together with a number of other photographers, Charlie Waite for example, she founded Light & Land in 1994 and runs photographic tours to destinations all over the world.

I have shown above a few examples of her work and would like to try to emulate the macro shots of flowers taken from different angles.

I have taken a few flower photographs in the field and have found it difficult to get the angles I needed together with the correct lighting.  I tried a fill in flash but this was too strong and took out all the interesting shadow and fall off in the background.  I also found it difficult to get the multiplicity of blooms in the frame together with the colour saturation, perhaps this is achieved in photoshop.

The images I have taken are successful but do not have the high key look that I was aiming for.