BIRDS 105 – CHICKEN 4

 

 

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A final image of the “chickens on the traffic island” on the village of Stanton Drew, south of Bristol.  Am I in love with birds?  Of course I’m in love with birds, even dinosaurs like this!

And this raised up garden/traffic island in Stanton Drew makes it so easy to get down to ground level beside these busy and noisy creatures.

Other pictures of these birds, and context, are here , and here .

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom, using the Astia/Soft film simulation; Stanton Drew; 6 Nov 2017.
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ARCHIVE 350 – MAASAI GIRAFFE (MONO)

 

 

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Maasai Giraffe, Nairobi National Park, Kenya; probably late 1970s.

Although this is a portrait of a wild animal, and so a representation of the natural world, it is also partly abstract.  The animal is (more or less!) in focus, but behind it, even close behind it, the landscape is only diffusely visible.  Looking at this very limited depth of focus, I think this must have been taken with an old Vivitar 400mm telephoto that I had in those far off days.

Composition: in terms of the “rule” of thirds, the giraffe occupies the right vertical third of the photo (i.e. the vertical line about one third of the way into the image from the right margin), which is a visually strong position in which to be.  The thornbushes immediately behind the giraffe are out of focus, and those further out towards the (just about visible) horizon are more diffuse still.  This gives a sense of distance and depth.

Technique:  use of Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro has added a slightly bluish tint to the image, and rendered the out of focus areas still more diffuse.  These effects are enhanced by the addition of a pale vignette, a quite thick zone of pale diffusion right around the image’s borders, the effects of which are best seen to the right of the bush immediately behind the giraffe, and on the distant bushes in the image’s top left corner.

Click onto the image to open a (slightly) larger version in a separate window.
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STILL LIFE 215 – SHADOW OF A BUS SHELTER (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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Hard winter sunlight producing shadows as it shines through a bus shelter.

The image has been rotated 90 degrees clockwise, so that the shelter’s supports are at the top of the frame, while the shadows of its structures are thrown out across the now vertical, rectangular slabs of a pale pavement.  The image has quite high contrast, and a thick black border has been added to provide a firm container that separates the strident patterns of the image from this blog’s plain white background.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and clock onto that image to further enlarge it.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 150mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Architectural preset, adding a thick black border, and selectively restoring colour; rotated 90 degrees clockwise; Broad Quay, central Bristol; 15 Dec 2017.
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ARCHIVE 349 – IN THE HARBOUR (MONO)

 

 

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In the harbour, West Bay, Dorset; 23 Apr 2015.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

D800 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 800 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Low Key 2 preset.

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STILL LIFE 214 – BUS SHELTER, BACKLIT

 

 

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Bus shelter, shot against the light; underexposed.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm; 200 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Broad Quay, Bristol; 15 Dec 2017.
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ARCHIVE 348 – FLY (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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Fly on a horse’s forehead, south of Catcott Burtle, on the Somerset Levels; 3 June 2014.

My penchants for getting up close and personal, and for keeping things simple.  To me, the fly is the subject here.  I look first at the fly but then realise that something else, something far larger and potentially more menacing, is there too.

This horse was in a field with the other one pictured recently.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 800 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Dramatic preset and selectively re-introducing colour.

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ARCHIVE 347 – POLLARDS AT TEALHAM (MONO)

 

 

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Pollarded willows on Tealham Moor, on the Somerset Levels; 30 Oct 2014.

A typical Levels landscape – dead flat countryside,  with water (sometimes a lot of water!) and pollarded trees.  Pollarding is explained here.

The more I look at this, the more these trees resemble knobbly headed beings with huge coiffures, that are coming slowly forwards to look at me – the second and third from the left, in particular, seem to be craning to get a better view.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Technique: D700 with 12-24 Sigma lens at 24mm; 800 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2; Color Efex Pro 4.

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STILL LIFE 213 – LOOKING AT CHAIRS 18

 

 

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Public seating, after rain.

The first post in this series on chairs, which contains context and an image, can be found here.  Subsequent posts are here: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8  9  10  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 .  Each will open in a new window.

Click onto the image to open another version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Bristol Waterside; 15 Dec 2017.

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PEOPLE 328 – GOING TO WORK 60

 

 

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Early morning on the main road in from the south.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 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 55 56 57 58 59 .  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it further.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 290mm (equiv); 6400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Temple Gate, Bristol; 2 Feb 2018.
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STILL LIFE 212 – THREE CARS

 

 

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Three parked cars.

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 100mm (equiv); 320 ISO; Lightroom, using the Camera Vivid film preset; rotated; Bedminster, Bristol; 8 Nov 2017.
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