ARCHIVE 319 – MEADOW WITH WILDFLOWERS (MONO)

 

 

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Meadow with wildflowers beside North Chine Drove, southeast of Wedmore, on the Somerset Levels; 27 Jul 2011.

The uncut grass with its abundance of tall yellow wildflowers first caught my eye and, and I was looking at how it might best be photographed when the sun broke through the clouds, producing this beautiful (and very lucky) shaft of light across the scene.

The photo is in three layers.  In the foreground there are more of the yellow flowers, but in the shade and unfocused.  Above this, the shaft of sunlight cuts across the shot, illuminating both the tall grasses and another grove of the wildflowers.  Finally, the third and upper layer contains the trees and bushes behind the field which (luckily again) are partly caught by the sun’s rays, so that this background is not wholly dark.

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

Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor at 300mm; 400 ISO; converted to monochrome, and slightly tinted very pale yellow, with Silver Efex Pro.

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ARCHIVE 307 – HAZEL, A (FOR ONCE!) PLANNED IMAGE

 

 

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Hazel leaves, in our back garden; 25 June 2013.

This was captured with a definite visual plan – the eye enters the frame from the left, very soon hits the brightest component, and then moves rightwards and upwards along the “tail” of darker objects leading to the upper right corner of the frame.  The eye might then exit the frame in the upper right corner: having the final element of the “tail” there might stop it, or it might have been better to have this corner dark.

I never cease to marvel at the beauty of Nature.  What am I looking at here, what is my camera recording?  Well, light that has travelled 93 million miles from Our Star, to partially shine through a small component of one of Earth’s myriad lifeforms.

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

Technique: D700 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 250 ISO.

UPDATE: I rather casually mention here that viewers’ eyes will be entering the image from the left – you can find more on this very real phenomenon here.

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PEOPLE 283 – GOING TO WORK 27

 

 

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Because of its format, this image is probably best viewed enlarged – click onto it to open a larger version in a separate window.

Bright sunlight.  Driving seat or cockpit.  Morning commuter or fighter pilot.  Whichever, still stationary in Bristol’s traffic.

This image is very different from the previous Going To Work post, the journey to work encompasses many different environments and emotions.  For photography, I think I prefer the mornings of winter – and now its just a question of whether I’ll have the resolve to get out early again into those cold darknesses.  I’m also having vague but recurring thoughts about using a waterproof camera downtown in dark and torrential downpours but, as I’m usually a dry weather photographer, whether that will materialise is an even greater uncertainty!  Still, you know, mad dogs and Englishmen …

But the cleanly shaven jaw of this man brings something else to mind.  As I grow older, I’m looking more and more at the things we humans routinely think and  do, at the things we take for granted, at our prejudices, stigmas and taboos,  and I just end up shaking my head wonderingly – its probably an old man thing!  But to me, shaving the hair off my face in the certain knowledge that I’m going to have to do it again tomorrow, and the next day and all the days after that, is simply not sensible.  And this is not a recent trait either.  For my father’s gift to me, in his genes, had me starting to lose my hair and having to shave at around the age of 16 or so.  Precocious or what?  The early hair loss was a little traumatic, though its quite meaningless and out of mind now.  But (wet) shaving before going to school was just not my cup of meat, I simply couldn’t see the point, and so the day I left school at the age of 18 I started on a beard – and I’ve had that beard ever since.  The previous two posts to this (25 and 26) feature the early morning bus into work, which for me was always a downer, but although the driver featured here has more luxurious transport, I’m not sure that I don’t rate the having to be clean shaven and neat for work thing as being on a par with – as being right down there alongside – the early morning bus.  Bohemianism?  Probably.  In fact, yes, hopefully.

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  and 26.  Each will open in a separate window.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Bristol Bridge, in the city centre; 19 July 2016.
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ARCHIVE 306 – EARLY MORNING GARDEN: SUNLIGHT

 

 

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Early morning sunlight in our back garden; 9 Jul 2013.

Looking down the garden through a thin screen of tall grasses.  A very shallow depth of field, produced by using a long telephoto at close quarters, has thrown nearly everything except the closest grasses far out of focus.  This is not an accurate representation of the scene, but rather an impression of how it looked.

The line of dark tones at the top of the frame are the shadows below the hedge at the bottom of the garden.

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

Technique: D800 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 200 ISO; Color Efex Pro 4.

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STILL LIFE 124 – MORNING SUNLIGHT

 

 

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Slivers of morning sunlight on a city centre façade.

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

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 113mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; Narrow Lewins Mead, Bristol; 26 May 2017.
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PEOPLE 277 – GOING TO WORK 23

 

 

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Red light in the rush hour:  queuing traffic, frustration, cold winter sunshine.

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 and 22.  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 yet again.

Technique: X-T1 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); Lightroom; Bristol Bridge, central Bristol; 11 Nov 2016.
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STILL LIFE 121 – HAND RAIL

 

 

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I’m emerging from an underpass that crosses a sunken area of the city centre generally known as the Bear Pit, probably due to its lawless nature in times gone by (albeit not very far gone by …).

The sunken path that I’m following is climbing up and around to the right, and the grey hand rail on the sheer wall of the path follows that curve.  High railings to my left shed harsh shadows across the scene, and the wall to my right has various graffiti (for which read street art, in my parlance) and stickers adorning its surface.

And, this underpass and the Bear Pit having something of an uneasy reputation, having taken the shot I glanced nervously behind me – only to see another photographer taking my picture – as he said, the photographer being photographed!

This image might benefit from 90 degrees’ clockwise rotation.  See below – what do you think?

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

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 200 ISO; spotmetering; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; climbing up out of the Bear Pit, central Bristol; 26 May 2017..

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PEOPLE 275 – GOING TO WORK 22

 

 

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Morning light in the city centre: blazing, angled glare, deep shadows, shiny cars, graffiti –  the walk to work through a very human, if dehumanising, landscape.

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 and 21.  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the images to see enlarged versions in separate windows, and click upon these enlarged images to enlarge them yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Fairfax Street, central Bristol; 19 May 2017.

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STILL LIFE 34 – CHALET 2: CURTAINS, BACKLIT BY THE SUN

 

 

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The sun shining on curtains, seen from indoors; Perranporth, Cornwall; 12 April 2016.

Our holiday chalet had windows facing east and west, and so was doubly blessed.  Here, lolling back on sofas, we basked in the late afternoon sunlight until, it becoming a little too dazzling, we pulled the curtains across the tall western windows and enjoyed the many shadows and patterns that appeared upon them.

Click onto this image to see a larger version in a separate window – recommended.

The first image in this series can be found here.

D800 with 70-300 Nikkor at 170mm; 800 ISO; Color Efex Pro 4, including cross-processing.
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BRISTOL 95 – BRIGHT SUNSHINE (MONO)

 

 

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Bright autumn sunshine, Whiteladies Road; 20 Oct 2015.

On my way to Corks of Cotham, which is primarily a wine shop, but which also stocks (sadly now only a very few) Belgian beers of truly world class quality – my choice yesterday included mouthwatering tipples from the Trappist monks of the Westmalle and Rochefort monasteries.

And it was a gloriously sunny day – to me, soft, warm, autumn sunshine is more enjoyable than the blazing heats of summer.  And beside the road was this rough wall, taking the gorgeous sunshine full on and reflecting Our Star’s warmth back at the world. 

Canon G11 PowerShot at 140mm (equivalent); 200 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the High Key 2 preset.
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