Looking at – and seeing – the world
August 24, 2019 4 Comments
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Early morning, North Moor.
Other images in this Early Morning series are here: 1 2 3 4 5 .
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 200mm; 800 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Portrait v2 profile; North Moor, southwest of Wookey, on the Somerset Levels; 2 Aug 2019.
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August 23, 2019 4 Comments
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Early morning, Tealham Moor.
Once more, in-camera processing. The image looks rather flat, but I’ve deliberately it in the Neutral profile (to which, since I shoot Raw files, my camera is permanently set) to stay with the rather low contrast, quite misty, early morning light.
Other images in this Early Morning series are here: 1 2 3 4 .
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window – recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in DX (= APS-C) format to give 450mm; 800 ISO; jpeg created and processed in-camera from a Raw file, using the Camera Neutral v2 profile and in-camera cropping; further minor processing in Lightroom; Tealham Moor, on the Somerset Levels southwest of Wedmore; 9 Aug 2019.
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August 17, 2019 4 Comments
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Looking into the distance as a day begins.
Other images in this Early Morning series are here: 1 2 3 .
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in DX (= APS-C) format to give 450mm; 800 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Landscape v2 profile; looking out towards Hay Moor from Swanshard Lane, on the Somerset Levels southwest of Wells; 2 Aug 2019.
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August 14, 2019 14 Comments
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Early morning, North Moor.
Other images in this Early Morning series are here: 1 2 .
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 200mm; 800 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Portrait v2 profile; North Moor, southwest of Wookey, on the Somerset Levels; 2 Aug 2019.
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July 20, 2019 8 Comments
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The view into the distance, into another world perhaps. I say this because, years ago, when I was braver, more reckless and probably more romantic than I am now, I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in very wild places, in Arabia and in Kenya, and to some extent high up in the Western Alps too. And I remember being totally drawn and excited by the dim twinkling of far off lights seen through the blues of dawn and dusk – both from the ground and from aircraft. I felt I was looking into another world, seeing something almost magical, with feelings both of excitement and awe.
But of course, in walking, motoring or flying to those twinkling lights, reality reasserted itself, the magical became mundane – and it was only when I looked back behind me, back towards where I had been, that I could see the magic once more … ha! >>> such is life >>> such is the reality of things!
But, even now, all these years later, and when I can infuse enough blood into my alcohol stream, looking deeply into far off blues – the vast calm indigos of John Fowles – still gets to me. A little bit of the magic is still there, and I am most grateful for that.
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 400 ISO; Lightroom, starting at the Camera Landscape v2 profile; looking east from Queen’s Sedge Moor, on the Somerset Levels; 5 July 2019.
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June 16, 2019 17 Comments
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This image is best viewed enlarged: click onto it to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.
The view out across a misty landscape, early in the day.
Silver Efex Pro 2, which I always wholeheartedly recommend for black and white processing, gives the resulting image its take on the look of a Tin Type photograph.
There are earlier shots in this series here: 1 2 .
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 116mm; 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid v2 picture control; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Tin Type preset; at Rose Farm, on the Somerset Levels south of Tarnock; 3 May 2019.
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June 7, 2019 6 Comments
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Walking in Church Lane, on a still, quiet morning.
The first image in the Outer Suburbs series, with context, is here: 1 . Subsequent images are here: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 53a 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 . Each will open in a separate window.
Click onto the image to open another version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it.
Technique: TG-5 at 65mm (equiv); 200 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid film simulation; south Bristol; 17 Apr 2019.
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May 24, 2019 39 Comments
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This image contains a lot of detail and is best viewed enlarged: click onto it to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.
Looking eastwards across Tealham Moor at 7am, with the sun risen and mist rising into the cool air. There are no sounds, save for those of the light breeze and, as is so often the case here, gently running water.
And then the singing of Mute Swans’ wings, and three of them, flying quite low, heading north across the moor.
(And another bird to see: a Rook, one of the crows, perched on the dark fencing at lower right; its looking towards the camera, and can only be seen as a dark bird with a pale face – the latter in fact being the pale grey bill and the bare, pale grey skin on the face – the bird uses its longish (for a crow) bill for probing into turf and earth, looking for worms, insects, etc, and its bare facial skin is presumably less soiled (every pun intended!) by the dirt than facial feathers would be.)
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens used in DX (= APS-C) format to give 450mm; 640 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid V2 picture control; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the High Contrast Green Filter preset and adding a medium coffee tone; looking east across Tealham Moor from just south of Westham, on the Somerset Levels; 3 May 2019.
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May 23, 2019 12 Comments
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Mist and spring lambs, early in the day, across the road from Rose Farm.
There is another image from Rose Farm here: 1 .
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further – recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Neutral V2 picture control; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Antique Portrait preset, and adding a split tone; at Rose Farm, on the Somerset Levels south of Tarnock; 3 May 2019.
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May 21, 2019 23 Comments
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The days lengthen as spring moves towards summer – the longest day of the year is not that far away – and so to leaving home even earlier than usual for the drives down to the Levels. I’ve always promised myself I’ll do these even earlier starts – and so to it! The benefits? Well, more early morning light, being out more in the (for me) best part of the day – and, more prosaically, (even) less traffic on the roads. And then afterwards – my version of après ski – returning home totally shattered, and having absolutely no option other than to subside gratefully with several, absolutely delicious, Belgian golden beers – Duvel and Duvel Citra are the names on the bottles, my friends, and long may they blossom and gladden the heart!
And rather than always visiting the Tealham and Tadham Moors as I have done in the past, I’m exploring more on the Levels now, and using a variety of ways into these calm, damp flatlands. Today’s route went straight down the main A38 road from Bristol, over a low gap in the Mendip Hills, and thence to a turn off to the south, in the little hamlet of Tarnock.
And almost as soon as I’d turned off the main road, low, backlit banks of mist started appearing to my left – I put my foot down, and the car shot towards them. And so to abandoning the car in the gateway of a field beside Rose Farm and, leaping out with the camera, looking to the east. There were sheep and lambs in the field beside the road, and the silhouettes of fences and farm implements further away – and behind them a landscape dissolving off into layers of ever increasing invisibility.
Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to further enlarge it – recommended.
Technique: Z 6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid V2 picture control; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Antique Portrait preset; at Rose Farm, on the Somerset Levels south of Tarnock; 3 May 2019.
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