SOMERSET LEVELS 317 – FLOODS, TEALHAM MOOR (MONO)

 

 

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Flooding on Tadham Moor.  Early morning, looking northeast, with the much higher ground of the Mendip Hills just glimpsed, far away on the horizon.

Composition: the frame is crossed by paler and darker bands which, apart from that in the foreground, are more or less horizontal – the land, still dark on the early morning; and the paler water and sky.  The more sloping band of water in the foreground adds a dynamic – its almost coming out to meet us – and its animated by its small, bright reflection.  To me, the sky’s bright reflection in this foreground water brings the scene to life: it was moving as the clouds moved and, valuing it, I chased it up the road to get it into the frame.

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Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 83mm; 3200 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Dark Sepia preset;  Tadham Moor, on the Somerset Levels; 11 Jan 2019.

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ARCHIVE 389 – RIVER REFLECTION, BRISTOL BRIDGE

 

 

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Reflection in the river at Bristol Bridge.

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Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 290mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom; rotated; Bristol; 11 Nov 2016.

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PEOPLE 360 – THE ARCHITECTURE OF YOUR WARDROBE (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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Walking, in central Bristol.

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Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 106mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom;  Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Fine Art High Key preset and selectively restoring colour; central Bristol; 16 Sept 2016.
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ARCHIVE 372 – REFLECTION IN THE RIVER BESIDE ASHMOOR DROVE (MONO)

 

 

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Reflection in the river beside Ashmoor Drove, on Ash Moor in the Somerset Levels, southwest of Wells; 7 April 2007.

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Technique: F6 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 85mm; Fuji Sensia 100 colour slide rated at 125 ISO; converted to mono, and toned, in Silver Efex Pro 2.

UPDATE: I’m an Anglo-Saxon enthusiast – actually I’m interested in the while period from the departure of the Romans from our shores in 410 CE to the Norman invasion in 1066 CE.  A fascinating period of history.  And one which, via the Anglo-Saxons, has led me to Tolkien and thus to The Lord of the Rings >>> and so, in this image, to an Ent, alive and swaying before me!  But whether swaying in a friendly way, or moving in a less friendly or even frenzied way, I cannot be sure.

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STILL LIFE 237 – MAN ON A BRIDGE

 

 

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Reflection of a man pulling a wheeled bag across a bridge.  The body of the bridge is black, and the paler structures through which the man is walking are the bridge’s guard rails.

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Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 123mm (equiv); 800 ISO; spot metering; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; rotated; Bristol harbourside; 20 Jan 2017.
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STILL LIFE 235 – CAR DOOR

 

 

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Close in with a car door.

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Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; Bristol harbourside; 14 July 2016.
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STILL LIFE 233 – GREEN VAN

 

 

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The back of a green van showing one of its stoplights, which has reflections of a tree and clouds.  And there is a door hinge, showing a little patch of blue.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again – recommended.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 123mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; Bristol harbourside; 14 July 2016.
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ARCHIVE 366 – POLLARD IN FLOODWATER (MONO)

 

 

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Pollarded Willow standing in floodwater on Tadham Moor, south of Wedmore, on the Somerset Levels; 23 Nov 2012.

With its bulky, rounded crown, this tree is top heavy and well on its way to collapse.  The usually wet, peat soils provide little in the way of support.

More about the practice of pollarding can be found in my first Somerset Levels post 

Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 165mm; 200 ISO; converted to mono with Silver Efex Pro 2, using the Yellowed 1 preset as a starting point.
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STILL LIFE 221 – CAR REFLECTING TREES

 

 

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Red car, parked near trees.

Or, then again, a camera … or an eye … looking only at you …

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Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film preset; rotated; flipped; near Temple Meads, central Bristol; 20 Apr 2018.
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STILL LIFE 220 – SHELTER AT A BUS STOP (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

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Early morning near Temple Meads railway station, so early in fact that Harts Bakery wasn’t yet open.  Suppressing a primal urge to leave teeth marks on their door, I wandered off along the main road, and there was a bus shelter with a screen that brightly displayed a sequence of adverts which, one after the other, defied the gloom.

One of these adverts was pure white with a tiny spot of blue and, every time it blazed out, the inside of the shelter lit up in bright and joyful sympathy – though sterile and cold as ice, this was an enticing world, a thoroughly modern world, a world trying its best to sell me something.  And entranced as I was by this flickering Aladdin’s Cave, only the sobering glimpse of the morning’s cold pavement beyond (together with the thought of Harts’ hot goodies) saved me from its soulless, electronic allure.

Technique: totally blown highlights without a shred of detail accompany intensely black, featureless shadows: the words visual taboo, and anathema too, raise their ugly heads.  I can only hope that the Photographic Correctness Police will make me attend a course that will result in The FATman becoming an even more rounded individual.

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Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 212mm (equiv); 3200 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film preset; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the High Contrast Smooth preset and selectively restoring colour; Temple Gate, central Bristol; 20 Apr 2018.
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