Foggy morning 2 - 19 11 10

...or a walk around Swadlincote.

               

35mm, 1/2Sec, F16, ISO100

It was foggy again this morning as expected - I had checked the forecast.  So in to work early to give me time to walk into Swadlincote.  The aim was to concentrate on the Town hall as a community building for theme 1.  Had planned various ideas, angles, exposures based on feedback about the previous series in the fog, however, as with all great plans of mice and men...

When in position things just did not feel right.  Spent a short while focusing on the new railings outside the building.  These have been installed as part of the redevelopment of the whole market square area.  They are an individual piece designed and created by a local artist/blacksmith. 

Swadlincote Town Hall Railings i

26mm, 1/2Sec, F4.5, ISO100

Strong lines, the black finish emphasised by the dew from the fog settling out on the cold metal, make a good subject in themselves.  Drops of water also provide a reflective surface that catch some of the surrounding colour.  Have used a large aperture to focus on the railings and blur the background, this is aided by the fog.

I have cropped the first of the series so that the railings fall on to the third lines, conforming closely to the rule of thirds. 

Swadlincote Town Hall Railings ii

17mm, 1/15th, F4, ISO100

For the second in the series I have also used the Rule of Thirds to position the railings in the shot.  The background is too close to the subject in tonal range and draws away from the railings themselves, although I like the orange glow provided by the streetlight through the fog.  This could be corrected in Photoshop or similar package to lighten up the background.  Idea is OK, execution could be better.

Swadlincote Town Hall Railings iii

17mm, 1/4th, F4, ISO100

The purpose had been to explore how the town hall related to the changing area in which it is sited.  The focus has ended up being the changing surroundings - literally.  This shot looks as though I have cropped the image around the hall - not actually the case - partly down to exposure - dark subject / light sky + fog and partly wide aperture to provide sharp subject and blur background.

Swadlincote Town Hall Railings iv

18mm, 2sec, F16, ISO100

For the final image of the Town Hall railings I have narrowed the aperture to increase the depth of field. Have sited the camera close to the railings as well to increase the effect of perspective.  The greater depth of field has allowed the entrance to the hall to remain sharp through the railings. 

Political comment?

38mm, 1/2sec, F22 ISO400

This is almost an aside.  I had walked past the Conservative HQ for South Derbyshire, not really paying too much attention as I was on my way to Eureka Park just to see what might be around.  I had to walk back to take this, in the current climate it just made me smile.

It's all about perspective

Last colour

21mm, 1/15th, F4.1, ISO100

I had read an article by Andrew James in the December 2010 edition of Practical Photography magazine about using slower shutter speeds and moving the camera to produce art images of trees.  Not really my thing, but then I had not been able to achieve what I had set out to do so why not?  The recommendation was for F11 aperture and a shutter speed between 1/30th and 1/8th and using a vertical sweep with the camera to produce streaky vertical lines.

I tried a couple of these using the avenue of trees shot above, but I could not get it to work.  In error I let the camera slip around a 1/4 turn instead of a horizontal sweep - the results below are two square crops of the same image.  Have chosen the square as it emphasis' the circular rotation.  Still not really my thing, but surprisingly taken with the result.

17mm, 1/4sec, F11, ISO100



17mm, 1/4sec, F11, ISO100

I share an office with an Arts Officer, he says that I am turning into an "Arts Ponce". 

If you look up "ponce" in the online Urban Dictionary   www.urbandictionary.com/
it give the definition as:

An individual who attempts to fake having intelligence, class, or culture.

In the US it also takes a bit of a tone for a poser or wannabe, primarily in the punk, ska, or artsy scenes.

Mmmmmmm.......   Harsh, but..............

Everyone's a critic.

Barrow upon Trent

The forecast for the weekend is mixed, best Saturday morning - getting greyer and wetter as the day / weekend progresses. 

The aim is to capture external images images from around the site of the church at Barrow upon Trent.  This church dates back to the 11th century.  The architecture is less ornate than later buildings and is early Norman in style.  There have been some alterations over time, but most are old and form part of the character of the building.

The site has been visited on a number of occasions to gain an understanding of what is there and how colours chnge with differing light conditions.  The site is open with some trip hazards otherwise fairly safe paths. I have spoken with a keyholder for the church and have arranged access at a later date to photograph the inside of the building in exchange for access to any images.  This visit is to capture external images.  Equipment to be used is Olympus EP-1 + standard kit lens, Poloriser and tripod. 

The building is of a pale stone and the aim was to enhance colour, taking advantage of early morning light.  In practice, although the morning was bright it had characteristics of later in the year, being very pale, with none of the autumn gold that I had hoped for.  The cirrus clouds were almost wintry, closely followed by a solid bank of cloud that indicated an approaching weather front.

This first image is taken of a gate that is set into the curtain wall of the cemetery.

Barrow upon Trent i

25mm, 1 sec, F5.6, ISO100

There was a very short window of time where the light added some colour to the stone of the church.

Barrow upon Trent ii

19mm, 1/4th, F11, ISO100

Some of the history is there to be seen by those who have the ability.

Barrow upon Trent iii

33mm, 1/2sec, F8, ISO100

Barrow upon Trent iv

20mm, 1/2sec, F16, ISO100

The sky became wintry.  I was not able to achieve what I had hoped with the building.  It did give an opportunity to attempt photographing silhouettes against the sky.  Used small aperture to increase depth of field and to allow elatively slow exposure without bleaching the sky.

Barrow upon Trent v

14mm, 1/15th, F16, ISO100

Barrow upon Trent vi

22mm, 1/3rd, F16, ISO100