• Members 3945 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 8:25 a.m.

    I agree with Wormsmeat regarding the outstretched "arms" 😊

    But you've left behind a lot of highlight headroom. The image looks much more compelling if you make use of it.

  • Members 855 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 11:31 a.m.

    yes, I didn't notice that JC had squashed the building a bit. But, of course, he can do anything he likes with his painting :-)
    I think he must have been using "a more wide angle lens" than I had with me ;-)
    Also the water level in the river seems quite a bit higher in my pic compared to when JC made the painting.
    It's a pity that the open view to the fields in the distance has now gone.

    On that day there weren't many people there at all, so no one was waiting to get to the spot.

    Here's a bit of trivia,... They now think that JC's wagon was not "washing its wheels" but that it had possibly just got a new set of iron rims around the wagon wheels and was standing there in the water for a while to harden the metal and make the wood swell a bit to fix them tight. Even if the rims were not new, just letting the wooden wheels swell up a bit helped make all the joints in the spokes expand and fit together better. In any case it looks like a good opportunity for a nice rest during the busy havest time.

  • Members 855 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 11:34 a.m.

    nice piece of artwork. Well captured and processed with all that contrast and negative space :-)

  • Members 305 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 11:39 a.m.

    Around Anglezarke Moor

    I'm still recovering from my diplopia incident over a month ago. The working diagnosis is still a persistent migraine and the most extreme symptoms have faded a little now that I'm finally on some form of medication, although after nearly two weeks taking the pills they haven't entirely gone away and certain visual sensory input, particularly moving through a large detailed expanse with lots of depth and perspective (such as woodland annoyingly) makes me feel weird and a little nauseous, so I'm not entirely sure if that diagnosis is precisely on the money.

    Anyway, that aside, I have managed to get out a little over the past week, mostly onto the local moorland and, not being one to shy away from discomfort, even a little woodland. So here's a random(ish) mish mash of shots from the various short(ish) walks, mostly taken with the Nikon Z8, but there are a few GFX100S shots thrown into the mix as well for good measure. See if you can spot 'em.

    Anglezarke Moor and Round Loaf

    DSC_7056.jpg

    DSC_7088.jpg

    DSC_7092.jpg

    DSC_7182.jpg

    Lead Mines Clough

    DSC_7286.jpg

    DSC_7307 1.jpg

    DSC_7323.jpg

    DSC_7335 1.jpg

    Spitler's Edge

    DSC_7367.jpg

    The Lower Flanks of Winter Hill

    DSCF9573.jpg

    DSCF9584.jpg

    DSCF9664.jpg

    DSCF9672.jpg

    DSCF9682.jpg

    DSCF9672.jpg

    JPG, 1.6 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSCF9664.jpg

    JPG, 856.3 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSCF9584.jpg

    JPG, 469.4 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSCF9573.jpg

    JPG, 625.7 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSCF9682.jpg

    JPG, 490.0 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7335 1.jpg

    JPG, 1.8 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7286.jpg

    JPG, 1.9 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7323.jpg

    JPG, 1.6 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7367.jpg

    JPG, 1.1 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7307 1.jpg

    JPG, 1.9 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7088.jpg

    JPG, 643.6 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7182.jpg

    JPG, 798.8 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7092.jpg

    JPG, 312.2 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

    DSC_7056.jpg

    JPG, 216.5 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

  • Members 867 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 12:59 p.m.

    That's interesting. That's the same concept as barrels I guess but barrels don't dry out once full. I wonder what would happen to the wheels once they've dried out again?

  • Members 855 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 12:59 p.m.

    Glad to here you are on the mend :-)
    Looking at the small images in your post here they seemed a bit dark and dreary, but they improve a lot when you open them up and looks at the full res shots
    Especially these from Lead Mines Clough.
    Some of them, like the first 2 that you originally posted, have some heavy vignetting, was that intentional ?

  • Members 855 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 1:06 p.m.

    ...maybe they'd get loose, and clatter more and more until they just fall off or fall apart at the next bump or sharp bend ?

  • Members 305 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 2:34 p.m.

    Yes, it's intentional. I always expose for highlights, often leaving a notably underexposed raw file, where I then bring up the areas I want to direct the eye to using elliptical masks. Generally, I try to be subtle with stuff like that, but it does look like I've been a bit heavy handed with that first group in particular. I seem to recall that afternoon being a bit flat in terms of lighting and it doesn't look like I've managed to shake that look in the edit.

    The Lead Mines Clough shots were taken in light rain, which I was hoping would give a bit of a subtle mist effect, but it just got me and my gear wet instead, particularly when light rain changed to heavy rain, forcing me to retreat to the car.

    The best light was probably during the last two sets at Spitler's Edge and Winter Hill, different days, but right next to each other geographically. Even those have the same basic approach to processing, but I think I was working with better lit images, so it's not as obvious.

    Ironically, some of the best light I've seen all week was during a late afternoon / early evening walk I took last night. Of course I didn't bring a proper camera on that one, a fact I repeatedly complained to my companion about every time we came across some nicely lit trees or, worst of all, an open historic building that's usually locked and completely inaccessible, while the only imaging device I had on me was my phone. I have my camera bags packed, all ready for a revisit tonight, if it ever stops raining.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:12 p.m.

    An image, once seen, can't be unseen. Love processing.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:14 p.m.

    I'd framed second bit wider to have all the "thing" in frame.

  • Members 867 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:16 p.m.

    Maybe worth trip to an optician? Just wondering if it might be related to vision.
    There's a clear fav shot for me and that's Spitler's Edge.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:18 p.m.

    Great scene and colours. I'm not sure about horizon in the middle, I'd probaly taken shot from lower point and more toward sky to move horizon to 1/3rd from bottom. Or cut sky bit more.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:20 p.m.

    I love dusk shots where fading daylight and artificial light are nicely balanced.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:25 p.m.

    Great shots, in first I can see reaction of being photographed, but in other these little people are captured in their own world. BW works great here. Last one may be bit late but the facial expressions and poses are spot on.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:28 p.m.

    Great piece of art, looking almost like work of nature with these ornaments and flowing lines.

  • Members 355 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 3:35 p.m.

    Great shots, as expected. But this is my favorite, well spotted scene.

  • Members 1586 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 5:29 p.m.

    Good luck with your recovery. These things take time.

    A lovely set as usual, the woodland shots are always very nicely done. Splitlers Edge had had a bit of PP, I presumes. I like the treatment.

  • Members 3945 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 6:55 p.m.

    Yes I actually thought about that as well and tried different crops because I don’t normally put the horizon in the middle.

    Bit I didn't want to chop off the top of the clouds or the bottom of the rocks so settled for this crop.

  • Members 305 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 7:41 p.m.

    I did exactly that after the MRI scan came back blank (well, not blank, they found a brain and everything, just nothing apparently wrong with it). It turns out my eyes are pretty much excellent (they checked for misalignment too, it's all spot on), particularly for my age, it's just what they're plugged into that seems to have gone a bit wonky.

  • Members 305 posts
    Sept. 15, 2024, 7:47 p.m.

    Oh they've always had some level of PP applied to them. I was going to say, not as much as you might think, but looking back at the edit, there are three elliptical gradients, a big one central lifting the overall exposure and pulling back the highlights, one on the hill lifting the shadows and dropping the saturation a bit to give the effect of fogging it out slightly and one in the foreground bumping up the contrast on the grass to make it stand out a bit.

    spitlers-edge-edits.jpg

    spitlers-edge-edits.jpg

    JPG, 1.4 MB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 15, 2024.

  • Members 619 posts
    Sept. 16, 2024, 7:40 a.m.

    I quite like the heavy vignetting in this one. What's the heather covered hump on the skyline? Something ancient or just landform?

    Great sky here, and great composition too, with the leading lines and the clear sky over the focal point. The weather gods obviously approve the mast 😁

    The Lower Flanks of Winter Hill

    The textures in the foreground grasses are the main feature of this one for me. Nice.

  • Members 855 posts
    Sept. 16, 2024, 8:52 a.m.

    +1
    It is a good shot of an impressive building!

  • Members 855 posts
    Sept. 16, 2024, 9:02 a.m.

    Rusty things are always an attraction for me too.
    It looked like it was quite a dull day. Not sure if it would be an improvement or not, but maybe the photos could be made a bit brighter?

  • Members 305 posts
    Sept. 19, 2024, 10:14 p.m.

    Just realised I hadn't replied to this.

    That hump is my favourite local bronze age bowl barrow, Round Loaf. The bigger lump behind it is Great Hill.

    Here's a tighter shot (from the slightly further back, but with a longer focal length) with people for scale.

    DSC_7170.jpg

    The way the light is playing with the grass in the foreground was the main selling point for me with this image too.

    DSC_7170.jpg

    JPG, 283.9 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Sept. 19, 2024.