We've entered that dismal period of the year when there really aren't enough daylight hours. And the weather can be awful. Only rarely can I find time to get out after doing some work through winter, and then it never seems to coincide with anything like sufficient light. The lack of light on dark winter days is something I've decided not to contend with when there are sheep dog trials on. I've had enough of returning to find the majority of pictures are just mush on such days. I have no intention of spending the money required to get faster lenses than I have - not least because I'm trying to declutter my lens 'collection' rather than add to it! That's why I've not done much photograph taking of late.
What little I have done has been very local and haphazard. I left it too late to catch the rams head in the process of demolition, meaning all I managed to photograph was a pile of rubble. Built in teh 1600s and pulled down to make room for yet another Aldi supermarket.
The moss doesn't change much at this time of year, so I've not been out there much. Not that conditions have been favourable very often when I have had time enough spare. On one flying visit I noticed the water tank by the greenhouses had been pulled to bits. Another thing that was 'always going to be there' gone. Like the Rams Head I was glad to have photographed it when it was in place. It always pays to photograph boring stuff because there may well come a time when it's disappeared.
On that walk I'd taken my current favourite zoom lens and, for a wider option, my Nikon compact with it's 28mm equivalent fixed lens. The few reasonable photographs I came back with were taken using the compact. It's a bit of a clunky camera to use but it can turn out really pleasing pictures.
With no sheep shows to go to I've been at a bit of a loose end really. I can't get my brain into anything else. I think real life work is too much for me at the present! To take a break from the grind I have been out to clear my head to the marshes on either side of the river. They are different in character. The nature reserve looks far more like a worked landscape than the other marsh which looks more natural.
I hadn't been to the other side of the river for ages. It was a wild and windy afternoon and I didn't stop long. Maybe if the sheep had been within range I would have done! Can I be bothered going back again to work on some ideas I had? probably not. The landscape thing is far too dependent on the light conditions...
Somewhere else I hadn't been for ages was Southport, not since Covid kicked in had I made a visit with a camera for more than a few minutes. Last week I was booked in for a vaccine booster and made sure I had plenty of time on my car park ticket. The Fuji compact was in my pocket for a wander round before and after the jab. A few things had altered, but mostly I took record shots of closed touristy shops and attractions.
There's a 'new' mural in town.
Christmas is coming.
I'm not a great one for considering the 'look' different lenses or sensors give to photographs, but the Fuji seems a lot more clinical than either my DSLRs or the Nikon compact. It's not something I'm too keen on. There's sharp enough and there's too sharp to my mind. Which probably sets me apart form the majority of the digital photography word where super-sharpness and micro-contrast seem to be the most prized qualities - possibly after creamy bokeh!
The weather and work have again kept me from venturing forth. if the day was dry I was tied up with work, if I had spare hours the rain arrived. I'm typing this when I'd rather be out and about while the rain lashes down again.
This said I have had some fruitful outings. This field being drained had been spotted on a day I had no time to stop the carp. Luckily work hadn't carried on a couple of days later when I was free to go for a look. It's yet another of my centrally aligned near-symmetrical compositions which are building into a substantial collection.
The fields of fleece and bags make regular appearances in this collection.
On one late afternoon walk when the sun shone I passed by some pigeon shooters and their decoys. If I hadn't been on a mission, which proved fruitless as my missions usually do, I would have lingered and taken more pictures. As it was by the time I returned they had left.
Setting out late in the day has been a feature thanks to the tedium of waiting in for deliveries. This means that by the time I hit the moss work is coming to an end for the day. So it was the day onions were being planted. The last rows going in as I arrived on the scene.
The new month didn't start off much different. When I did manage an hour or two earlier in the day my daft idea of taking just two single focal length lenses backfired on me with plenty of work taking place but too far away for the lenses I had with me. I guess I need to decided if I'm working on a project or just playing around. Maybe play around away from the moss? Still, I have improved slightly on my search for a photo of the Private Land sign and the yard beyond.
When there's a ditch between you and the subject you want to photograph having a zoom lens can help you get the best angle. That's why this picture isn't framed the way I'd have preferred...
It might have been cool and breezy but the sun was at least shining and the morning looking set fair when I started out. Rounding the corner on to the moss itself the distant sky looked ominous. Great as a backdrop when the sun illuminated the foreground making the colours sing. Not so great as a prospect to be walking towards when the clouds were heading my way.
Not onions being planted, but still going the wrong way - like the weather. By the time I'd walked another fifty yards it hit. Not just rain but hail too. I was lucky to take shelter by the greenhouses, the wind strong enough to blow most of the precipitation past me. Planting was called off and an early lunch taken while I waited out the passing of the shower. Ten minutes of standing around and it was dry again. April showers in May.
The moss project, such as it is, has therefore made little progress. The Lost Balls Found project, on the other hand, has reached it's conclusion. I spotted ball number 500 and managed to get a sharp photograph of it! It's a bit of a mish-mash of a series as far as artistic merit goes, but it was something I wanted to get out of my system. Now it's done I can stop looking out for lonely balls!
The zine swap is in full swing. Fifteen of us involved this time and already six have dropped through my letterbox. Mine is still in the pipeline but expected to arrive on Monday. I can't wait to find out how appalled the other fourteen are with it! When they are all complete and received I might have something to say about the swap and zines in general.
The Indian Summer has certainly come to an end now. Daylight hours are
shortening, there's a chill in the air first and last thing, the quality of
light is changing too. It's strange but while the angle of the sun reflects
that which it has in spring autumn light seems to be different. More
melancholy somehow. That's probably all in my mind though. However I have been
moved to photograph the visual effects of weather recently.
A passing rainstorm worked better in black and white as I was able to
manipulate the contrast more easily than in the original colour file. Maybe
that's more about my lack of my processing skills though.
Misty mornings have been a source of motivation to me ever since I started
taking photographs. Unfortunately I'm not great at getting out of bed early and
I often find the mist burning off by the time I'm somewhere there are pictures
to be made. This has happened to me twice of late. I should have got in the car
to reduce my walking time. So all I've come back with have been snaps, with the
possible exception of the second picture here which has a look of that time when
the sun is just about to break through, and a reasonable composition in keeping
with my other fieldscapes.
Failing in the mornings I tried evening walks. This was when I really noticed the nights drawing in. No longer is it possible to set off at seven and have plenty of time to make pictures in daylight. Leaving home at six has seen me making my way home in fading dusk. That's not without its opportunities, even for hand-held shots thanks to the miracles of current digital image making technology. In fact, when I get the right conditions, I hope to get out after dark and continue a project I kicked off last winter.
One of my habits, good or bad I'm not sure, is photographing the same thing over and over. What it is about this greenhouse door I find fascinating is anyone's guess. It does change, not just in terms of being open or closed, or partially open, and what is inside the greenhouse, but the light alters how I look at it.
I've been making some 4x5 crops of a few of the pictures along with some of other greenouses. There may be a series in the making.
I'd been doing quite well at keeping my book buying to a minimum this year but once I started with that Meadows book temptation was to be found everywhere. It's just too easy to make a couple of mouse clicks and end up skint!
However, I have wanted a copy of Paul Graham's first book, A1, for some time. The secondhand prices were far too steep for me. A few years back I bought his retrospective type book which had a lot of the pictures from A1 in it. That was as close as I could get at the time. When a reissue was announced I was sorely tempted to preorder. Something stopped me. Once the book was a reality, however, I caved in. My copy arrived last week.
Looking at photographs is great. Listening to photographers talking about their work is too. So is reading what they have to say. Sometimes. There is always the chance that they'll get carried away with themselves. So it was with a little trepidation I ordered How I Make Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz. He's not my favourite photographer, but I've heard him say interesting things so I took a chance.
The book is tied up with the Masters of Photography on-line classes, although it does stand alone. I won't be signing up for the classes as I'm a cheapskate. £15 for the book was worthwhile. There are plenty of Meyerowitz's photos in the book which he discusses. In places it gets a bit airy-fairy for my sensibilities but there is enough in the book to have made it a worthwhile buy. As it is really just 20 short 'lessons' it's something which can be dipped into every now and then when in need of a prod to get motivated. I've noted down a few quotes as reminders. One I think a lot of would-be photographers could take heed of is; "Almost everything is photographable. All you have to have is the interest and the appetite."
Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Bank Holiday weekends drive me nuts, especially when they are warm and sunny. Going anywhere can be a pain with all the traffic of other people going places unless you set off early and return late, and there are hardly any events being held which I'd like to go to.Yesterday was an exception, there being a sheep dog trial. As trials start before nine that meant I'd avoid the traffic one wat at least. The dry weather recently also meant I'd be able to park in the field without fear of getting the car stuck. This was a bonus as I wouldn't have to carry my bag around all day.
Although it was only eight o'clock there was already a bright haze to the day. photographically this made taking photos of distant things a bit tricky. I guess some people would refrain owing to the softness the haze produces, or they'd add con trast to the files later. To my mind the haze suggests the atmosphere of the day.
The trial itself was different to the nurseries of the winter months. A longer more challenging trial with the sheep released from the top of the hill. Having walked up the hill myself some time ago and needing a long rest at the top I'm amazed at how the dogs bound up there as if they are on level ground! Trying to show how far and high the sheep are from the pen in a single picture is difficult. Particularly if the picture is to be viewed small, as here. The dogs and sheep, and people, become specks if a wide view is used. With a telephoto view the details are still small, but the distance is hard to judge.
With each run taking a long time for the action within reasonable camera range I had a lot of 'down time'. I spent some of it photographing hot dogs while struggling to provide some context.
On 'that photography forum' last week I got into an argument about how many shots to take of a subject. One cretin (I can't be arsed being polite) said that he only took three because he shot film and previsualised his pictures before setting up the camera and it would be a waste of time trying to improve his framing/viewpoint. Probably fine for him when he's photographing a church font. It ain't going to run away any time soon... The picture below was my second frame, the first was looser. It works quite well. It's simple, it shows a sheep dog graphic, a water bowl and a lead to suggest the presence of a real sheep dog. I was happy enough with it for what it is.
Then I moved right and saw people chatting in the background and the dog travel cages with crook. The next frame was the third I took as I altered framing and waited for the people to strike more visually interesting poses. Both pictures work, but in different ways. When you don't know how pictures will eventually be presented this matters. Having vertical and horizontal options of the same subject can be handy for editorial purposes. I still think that way even though the chances of my pictures being used like that are nil these days!
Almost everyone who takes photographs at sheep dog trials will take one or two of the dogs in the back of vehicles. I have long since got tired of that but every now and then a dog will catch my eye. This one looked a bit fed up.
I'm starting to lose interest in photographing the action. Partly because it's repetitive, partly because I could do with a different lens, partly because I can't always get the angles I want. This has lead me to go looking for detail shots. On their own they don't mean much, but added together and slotted in between wider pictures they add to the story telling. I've noticed in a lot of contemporary art-documentary photography the projects/books consist almost entirely of this sort of picture. As if the artist-photographer is trying to convey a story by telepathy. I think the pictures are meant to be metaphorical, but metaphors don't always get a message across.
While a head on detail shot can work graphically, there are other ways of shooting them without getting too 'clever'.
I still haven't got round to approaching people to ask if I can get shots of their whistles, but maybe portraits including the whistles might be a better idea. It would get away from the temptation of using the art-documentary style, although such a series of pictures could punctuate a project.
At lunch time there was another difference to the trial, one I'd not watched before, a brace trial where the handlers run two dogs to gather one packet of sheep each, bring them together to run through the usual trial circuit then pen them without the handler to close the gate. Finally the sheep are released from the pen and split into two equal packets to complete the run.
How to show that two dogs are in use became the challenge. Not easy when they are far apart for most of the time.
For some reason I struggled to get the action shots sharp all day. Possibly this was the result of trying different settings to my usual ones. There might also have been some cock-up at play as it wasn't until late on I noticed I hadn't switched the vibration reduction off - which I usually do for action. Next time I think I'll go back to doing what I've done previously. I might get more sharp shots.
Continuing the technical theme I was editing my results and for some reason checked the ISO value of one frame of a dog portrait. There was plenty of detail and no noise. ISO 8000. Amazing what a difference it makes using high ISOs in good light. It was nothing like a shot taken at the same ISO in the auction mart in December. This is why I never trust any reviews of high ISO performance. Unless they are conducted in crappy light levels they are meaningless to me.
As a final technical note, one of the photographs in this post was taken with my latest 'toy' camera. It processed well with detail lifted from the shadow and some highlight recovery. I was almost convinced that this system might be usable if a higher spec body was bought. Then I compared it to a frame from a proper camera and changed my mind! It's not a lack of sharpness or the greater depth of field (which in itself can be useful), it's the transition from in focus to out which is less smooth on teh smaller sensor. Although for some reason my compact, which has an even smaller sensor, doesn't seem as bad. Maybe I need a faster lens? But that would be almost in the price range of a full frame lens and big enough to make the toy camera less compact (which is it's main benefit for me). I ought to take my compact out more I suppose.
When I upgraded my computer I had it in mind to star making short slide shows, some including video clips. It's taken me a while to get round to start learning some new software, but at last I have dipped my toe into it. This is my first silent attempt. I'm getting the hang of titles and captions. Adding sound comes next. Then perhaps video effects, although I want to keep things simple. What will be required are storyboards to plan things out in advance. Eek!!
The strange heatwave last month was long forgotten as I foolishly went east for the last nursery trial of the season. The forecast had been for showers and I was tempted to give it a miss, but just as decision time arrived so wid the sunshine. It looked bright where the weather was coming from so I'd be driving in to improving conditions. Wrong again.
If the wind had been from a different direction the driving rain wouldn't have been as much of a problem, but it was in my face and the camera's lens. Taking shelter in the livestock trailer didn't make much difference as the wind was so strong the rain, and hail, was almost horizontal!
I tried to be creative from within the trailer, but it didn't work too well.
Thinking I might get a different perspective, and the wind off my back I set off to climb the hill and look back and down on the field. No sooner had I reached the track part way up the slope than a heavy squall came in. I took shelter behind the pine plantation by the quarry. Stopping ever so briefly to take a couple of shots. One of which I quite like. Not because it's a stunning landscape picture, but because it shows the horrible weather and the impact of industry in what were wild places. My kind of landscape picture.
The morning continued to be showery. The sheep were being uncooperative. I find the best opportunities for action and interaction pictures come as the sheep are to be penned. yesterday few got that far and some which did walked straight in to the pen without the dog doing anything.
With the weather so vile everyone was either hiding behind or sat in their vehicles leaving me with little else to photograph in the spells between the action near enough to focus a lens on. I tried to take some photographs which might sum up the weather and conditions.
I tried taking a walk up to the release pen where I could have got my back to the wind. I hadn't even got to the kissing gate before yet more hail blasted me! I gave that up a a bad job.
Eventually the sun came out for good, but only when it had moved round to a less than helpful angle.
At the presentation I got asked to photograph the winner of the championship trophy - with his dog, Fred. I thought dogs would be more cooperative than chickens. Not so. While his owner was stood up Fred was quite well behaved, when asked to kneel for someone else taking phots Fred thought it was playtime and rolled on his back for a tummy tickle.
Jane Bown used to claim only to take two shots when sent out to get a portrait for the Guardian. I got my shot with the second frame.Maybe she was on to something?
Then I got one of 'my' shots.
One of my daft ideas had been to do more portraity type pictures.
Handlers walking off with their dogs for one. That didn't work as I
couldn't face moving my position in the rain. The wind didn't help
either as there were gusts which almost took me off my feet.
I was using my fast but heavy zooms today as I know from experience they are better at coping with rain. I find them a bit limiting though. The longer zoom doesn't go long enough or focus close enough. The 'standard' zoom shouldn't be restrictive but somehow it stops me seeing pictures while single focal lengths helps me. It's weird because the theory says that one lens covering my most used focal lengths should be ideal. Yet I'd rather use two lenses on two bodies, or one lens which covers the complete range of the two zooms and more. Guess I'm just plain odd.
Another
frustrating and unproductive day. At least it didn't snow. If it had
done I might not have got home.
