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Telephoto.Shots 4 & 5 - Telephoto or a soaking?
I was lucky with the wind direction too!
Meanygate meanderings (and beyond) - a farmed landscape
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I was lucky with the wind direction too!
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An unexpectedly fruitful walk this evening. As well as the pics in this post I got some others which may well prove useful. Very windy again but the sun came out, which was a blessing and a curse.
More crates in fields.
I took a few detail shots including these two.
Bird scarer. I tried lots of approaches to this. Close in, wide, fast shutter, slow shutter. The slow shutter didn't seem to do much except make the blades disappear! Settled on this one for now.
Solar powered electric rabbit fence. Again I went through many variations and chose this angle and framing. There's one with the mesh out of focus and the background sharper which I like but think it's a bit obtuse for this project.
Yet another place holder because of the backlit situation? Overdoing shadow recovery can give a fake look to pictures, but I reckon this is just about acceptable to my eyes.
Insect netting. Yet again!
More crates in fields.
I took a few detail shots including these two.
Bird scarer. I tried lots of approaches to this. Close in, wide, fast shutter, slow shutter. The slow shutter didn't seem to do much except make the blades disappear! Settled on this one for now.
Solar powered electric rabbit fence. Again I went through many variations and chose this angle and framing. There's one with the mesh out of focus and the background sharper which I like but think it's a bit obtuse for this project.
Yet another place holder because of the backlit situation? Overdoing shadow recovery can give a fake look to pictures, but I reckon this is just about acceptable to my eyes.
Insect netting. Yet again!
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Improved?
Nothing much had changed over the weekend, but I did photograph some drainage pipes I've neglected in the past because of the light, and took a different route home so saw some fresh stuff.
I know this is a mundane subject photographed mundanely but I like it. Even if that orange digger in the distance is trying to liven the picture up!
The base of one of the small scale operations.
Nothing much had changed over the weekend, but I did photograph some drainage pipes I've neglected in the past because of the light, and took a different route home so saw some fresh stuff.
I know this is a mundane subject photographed mundanely but I like it. Even if that orange digger in the distance is trying to liven the picture up!
The base of one of the small scale operations.
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Ta.That first new photo of the cabbage / cauli picker is a beaut.
I think it was worth making the effort to get out this afternoon. Not least because it's peeing down now!
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The weather's made it difficult to fit in any walking today, but I managed to time it right and stay dry. Pushing the limit of my self-imposed area again a bit with the first two by looking out from one of the boundary roads. But I don't stick to the rule of thirds either!
Very inconsiderate of the farmer to not stick some of the canes in closer to the ones left in a heap. Hence two pictures to try to get across what's what.
More agricultural architecture. I think there could be a whole project on farm buildings alone.
A barrow that's not going anywhere fast.
There is quite an acreage of arable in one section, but it's difficult to photograph in the syle of this project's landscapes. All green with no features (almost as bad as what I think may be a field down for turf), which is why this patch of potatoes surrounded by a grain crop caught my eye.
Radish remains. There'll soon be a new crop in there.
I've definitely reached the stage where it's getting tougher to move the project forward. I find I'm taking fewer shots each time out than when I started. Some of that's down to there being less change while crops grow, but mostly because repetition is creeping in. It's a good job I learned a long time ago that the way to make progress is to keep on keeping on and a breakthrough will come. Eventually. The important thing is to not worry about throwing away the rubbish made before that breakthrough. I think that's where some people come unstuck - thinking they have top make good work all the time, when good work is generally the icing on a cake of dross.
Very inconsiderate of the farmer to not stick some of the canes in closer to the ones left in a heap. Hence two pictures to try to get across what's what.
More agricultural architecture. I think there could be a whole project on farm buildings alone.
A barrow that's not going anywhere fast.
There is quite an acreage of arable in one section, but it's difficult to photograph in the syle of this project's landscapes. All green with no features (almost as bad as what I think may be a field down for turf), which is why this patch of potatoes surrounded by a grain crop caught my eye.
Radish remains. There'll soon be a new crop in there.
I've definitely reached the stage where it's getting tougher to move the project forward. I find I'm taking fewer shots each time out than when I started. Some of that's down to there being less change while crops grow, but mostly because repetition is creeping in. It's a good job I learned a long time ago that the way to make progress is to keep on keeping on and a breakthrough will come. Eventually. The important thing is to not worry about throwing away the rubbish made before that breakthrough. I think that's where some people come unstuck - thinking they have top make good work all the time, when good work is generally the icing on a cake of dross.
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“Very inconsiderate of the farmer to not stick some of the canes in closer to the ones left in a heap.”
Yes I’ve often thought they are very inconsiderate, especially when I’ve been walking over their ploughed fields, which I’ve done a lot of. The furrows are too close together to make for easy walking, we need a regulation.
Yes I’ve often thought they are very inconsiderate, especially when I’ve been walking over their ploughed fields, which I’ve done a lot of. The furrows are too close together to make for easy walking, we need a regulation
.
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We're entering peak picking season now so a fair bit of work going on and a lot of 'mess' being made. Some less 'geometric' pictures from this morning.
I spotted a farmer getting a bird scaring kite out of his truck so hug around to watch. I asked if they work. He shrugged his shoulders and said at least it made him feel happier, but he'd prefer twenty people running around waving their arms all day!
I spotted a farmer getting a bird scaring kite out of his truck so hug around to watch. I asked if they work. He shrugged his shoulders and said at least it made him feel happier, but he'd prefer twenty people running around waving their arms all day!
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I think an electric powered hawk-shaped drone that could fly back to a charging point might do it
. I don’t think he’d be happy if he saw 20 people running over his ?lettuces all day .
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I was going to suggest that there'll be a drone which can be programmed to autonomously fly a set route as a bird scarer some time - then I googled it.!I think an electric powered hawk-shaped drone that could fly back to a charging point might do it
https://bird-x.com/bird-products/drones/prohawk/
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It doesn’t seem to mention flight time or refuelling which would be necessary — though I haven’t looked too hard, not in the market fo one
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There was another one I found which said 25 minutes battery life. Which isn't long, and while recharging the pigeons would return.It doesn’t seem to mention flight time or refuelling which would be necessary — though I haven’t looked too hard, not in the market fo one
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Exactly, I would think it would need to take off, short flight until pigeons cleared, maybe move on to other fields, and then go back and sit on it’s charging station. If it just circled they would soon get used to it. The other problem though is the good eyesight of birds.There was another one I found which said 25 minutes battery life. Which isn't long, and while recharging the pigeons would return.
A farmer near me used to make brilliant scarecrows that “lurked” near hedges etc and had “guns”, like pigeon shooters. No idea if they were effective, I used to spot them driving past — a bit distracting
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As I doubt I'll be able to get out for a wander until midweek I went out after lunch today. No sooner had I stepped out the door than I felt rain. Quick change of jacket and off I went as the rain had stopped. There were three brief showers, two of which I managed to find shelter from. Not easy out on the moss. Sundays are quiet as far as field work going on. A different route from yesterday was required if I was to find anything fresh. With that in mind I went down the only track I've not walked so far because I wasn't sure if access was allowed with it going beside greenhouses. It is.
The greenhouses produce plants for gardeners rather than vegetables. This should really be a separate project I think, but there are pictures to be made, even from outside the glass.
The land behind the greenhouses is not as flat as most of the moss, which made for something a bit different.
I always struggle to decided where to focus for pictures like this, particularly as I'm not using a tripod and have to compromise on shutter speed and ISO. Still, display/print small enough and nobody will notice the shallow focus!
This track is lined with permanent irrigation outlets and is where some irrigation equipment is stored. I'll return one morning when the sun will be behind me to see what I can make of photographing it.
Reaching the end of the track I was back on yesterday's route so hurried along it to make another turn on to a track I don't visit often, stopping to photograph some well developed lettuces under fly netting.
By now it was brighter and warmer and it was back to geometric veg pics and the focus point problem before I'd had enough.
Thinking about this project this morning it occurred to me that when it comes to agricultural subjects photographers tend to be drawn to those which are seen as in danger of dying out, or are in some other way outliers from the mainstream. That can often be the case with other subjects. I think it's one reason Martin Parr has photographed the middle class when everyone else was pointing their lenses at the poor and marginal subcultures. While it is important to record what is passing or on the edge in some way it's just as important to record the centre ground, the average, the normal. In time it might become endangered and a record of it in its heyday would be valuable. Just a bit of rambling thinking for a Sunday evening!
All comments (on photos or words) welcome, as ever.
The greenhouses produce plants for gardeners rather than vegetables. This should really be a separate project I think, but there are pictures to be made, even from outside the glass.
The land behind the greenhouses is not as flat as most of the moss, which made for something a bit different.
I always struggle to decided where to focus for pictures like this, particularly as I'm not using a tripod and have to compromise on shutter speed and ISO. Still, display/print small enough and nobody will notice the shallow focus!
This track is lined with permanent irrigation outlets and is where some irrigation equipment is stored. I'll return one morning when the sun will be behind me to see what I can make of photographing it.
Reaching the end of the track I was back on yesterday's route so hurried along it to make another turn on to a track I don't visit often, stopping to photograph some well developed lettuces under fly netting.
By now it was brighter and warmer and it was back to geometric veg pics and the focus point problem before I'd had enough.
Thinking about this project this morning it occurred to me that when it comes to agricultural subjects photographers tend to be drawn to those which are seen as in danger of dying out, or are in some other way outliers from the mainstream. That can often be the case with other subjects. I think it's one reason Martin Parr has photographed the middle class when everyone else was pointing their lenses at the poor and marginal subcultures. While it is important to record what is passing or on the edge in some way it's just as important to record the centre ground, the average, the normal. In time it might become endangered and a record of it in its heyday would be valuable. Just a bit of rambling thinking for a Sunday evening!
All comments (on photos or words) welcome, as ever.
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The shallow DOF on the undulating ground probably works better than on flat ground as it seems to enhance the curvature somehow. I took one of a level barley field that was similar in DOF degree and it looked rubbish!
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Lots of noise out on the moss today. Which means work in progress and a change of visual approach.
But first a picture of hopes dashed.
There was other work going on elsewhere but mostly it was planting out. The 'new' track proved worth a visit.
And a tractor portrait to close.
But first a picture of hopes dashed.
There was other work going on elsewhere but mostly it was planting out. The 'new' track proved worth a visit.
And a tractor portrait to close.
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Stop me when you're bored! 
Roasting hot this afternoon and nothing much going on or different to see. I did get one picture I've wanted after taking a place-holder in the wrong light. The big salad businesses are part of the global economy. Not only do they employ migrant workers they import veg from Europe - mostly from Spain as this sign illustrates. At some point I'll try to get some pictures of the wagons which bring this over and distribute it around the country contributing to congestion in the village and the poor state of the primary roads across the moss.
A sign of modern times.
Other that that it was aftermaths of harvesting, churned up soil, and crops. Again.
And...
Roasting hot this afternoon and nothing much going on or different to see. I did get one picture I've wanted after taking a place-holder in the wrong light. The big salad businesses are part of the global economy. Not only do they employ migrant workers they import veg from Europe - mostly from Spain as this sign illustrates. At some point I'll try to get some pictures of the wagons which bring this over and distribute it around the country contributing to congestion in the village and the poor state of the primary roads across the moss.
A sign of modern times.
Other that that it was aftermaths of harvesting, churned up soil, and crops. Again.
And...
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It seemed like one step forward and two steps back today as I tried to break out of the geometric type of picture. Throw in nothing much going on and the sun turning hazy and this was the result.
This next picture really needs some explanation. The big shed is built behind where a shingle bungalow, one of two in the area, used to stand. The rest of the site will no doubt be developed further. There's already an irrigation pond been dug.
Here's a snap I took of the bungalow in 2013, intending to return and make a better pic but not getting round to it..
Although this was taken in the village centre it's given me a clue as to how to show the big wagons. Better get a wider lens!
This next picture really needs some explanation. The big shed is built behind where a shingle bungalow, one of two in the area, used to stand. The rest of the site will no doubt be developed further. There's already an irrigation pond been dug.
Here's a snap I took of the bungalow in 2013, intending to return and make a better pic but not getting round to it..
Although this was taken in the village centre it's given me a clue as to how to show the big wagons. Better get a wider lens!
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I like that as it is, gives an impression of size
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The angle helps, as does being forced to crop the cab out. Maybe just repeat out on the moss?
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I’ve not been out this way on my bike for a few weeks as I’ve been heading up to the hills for a change, so it’s good to see what’s going on. The massive warehouses seem so out of place in this rural landscape, but in reality it’s as man-made a landscape as the industrial landscapes I photograph - it’s just that the processes of ‘manufacture’ are different.
The point you make about the state of the roads is spot on, the constant stream of 40 ton artics is tearing them up. Gorse Lane looks like it’s been shelled in some places, definitely need to be careful on a pushbike.
The point you make about the state of the roads is spot on, the constant stream of 40 ton artics is tearing them up. Gorse Lane looks like it’s been shelled in some places, definitely need to be careful on a pushbike.
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Only a brief foray this evening, more to get the exercise than anything having been rained off yesterday and this morning. I made the bold move of fitting a 50mm lens. I knew that would mean seeing something that needed wider or longer. It actually worked out quite well.
Greenhouses are becoming more of a feature of this project.
But I still keep looking for variations on themes. I think this one probably makes more sense larger so the plants under the netting can be discerned better.
This patch of grass has been surrounded with three strands of electric fencing suggesting livestock may be on their way. This evening it was being mown. I took one with and one without tractor to give me two options for sequencing or whatever.
Gradually I'm amassing a collection of pictures of tractor tyre marks of various kinds.
Greenhouses are becoming more of a feature of this project.
But I still keep looking for variations on themes. I think this one probably makes more sense larger so the plants under the netting can be discerned better.
This patch of grass has been surrounded with three strands of electric fencing suggesting livestock may be on their way. This evening it was being mown. I took one with and one without tractor to give me two options for sequencing or whatever.
Gradually I'm amassing a collection of pictures of tractor tyre marks of various kinds.
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An unexpected opportunity to get out this afternoon. Potatoes coming into flower now, so might get some different (better?) pics soon. The acreage down to spuds still amazes me.
This was lettuce 'waste' a while back. All being ploughed back in now. Nothing stands still for long.
Small scale planting. The rig the two blokes are sat on is powered and crawls forward very slowly.
The inevitable...
This was lettuce 'waste' a while back. All being ploughed back in now. Nothing stands still for long.
Small scale planting. The rig the two blokes are sat on is powered and crawls forward very slowly.
The inevitable...
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Like the rebellious element top centre
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Like the rebellious element top centre
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I wasn't expecting the sun to shine today so even though I didn't think there'd be much to photograph I went out for the exercise more than anything. Very blowy which is a bit of a b****r for using longer focal lengths.
Still searching for the perfect kite picture. I think the one with the farmer setting one up is probably it though.
Pumps fascinate me for some unaccountable reason. I've got quite a few pictures of them from other areas in my files.
Farm implements left in fields are another irresistable subject for me.
Veg.
Still searching for the perfect kite picture. I think the one with the farmer setting one up is probably it though.
Pumps fascinate me for some unaccountable reason. I've got quite a few pictures of them from other areas in my files.
Farm implements left in fields are another irresistable subject for me.
Veg.
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Another Heath Robinson contraption seen today. It was going at a fair old lick, and annoyingly visible through the only gap in the only hedge for miles! Hence poor pictures. The hopper on the front feeds pellets (I assume fertiliser granules) on to the inner two rows - just about visible at this size, but clear at 100%. At the back two sets of three tines rake the outer two rows the wheels run in.
A radish field being ploughed with fleece being laid out just visible in the distance. I took another frame of this with the tractor coming towards me but it didn't make as much sense because the plough can't be seen. I considered having the tractor closer, but thought that would become a picture of a tractor. instead of a picture of ploughing.
Shopping for courgettes?
Something I'm trying to get to grips with are pictures of veg which show the veg and the setting, as per the earlier potato picture.. Finding the right balance between viewpoint/focal length and depth of field is what's required. And that may vary from crop to crop.
A bit of a repeat here, but posted to say that I now know the planting rig is transported on the trailer attached by the small Kubota tractor in the distance. No photo of that because I'd swapped lenses when I saw it as I made my way home. That'll teach me to leave my do-it-all super-zoom at home...
While I like the geometric landscapes in their way, I do find pictures with people in them more interesting to look at. Even pictures with machinery or crates hold my attention longer than the empty landscapes. These are what I seem to be looking for more as things progress.
A radish field being ploughed with fleece being laid out just visible in the distance. I took another frame of this with the tractor coming towards me but it didn't make as much sense because the plough can't be seen. I considered having the tractor closer, but thought that would become a picture of a tractor. instead of a picture of ploughing.
Shopping for courgettes?
Something I'm trying to get to grips with are pictures of veg which show the veg and the setting, as per the earlier potato picture.. Finding the right balance between viewpoint/focal length and depth of field is what's required. And that may vary from crop to crop.
A bit of a repeat here, but posted to say that I now know the planting rig is transported on the trailer attached by the small Kubota tractor in the distance. No photo of that because I'd swapped lenses when I saw it as I made my way home. That'll teach me to leave my do-it-all super-zoom at home...
While I like the geometric landscapes in their way, I do find pictures with people in them more interesting to look at. Even pictures with machinery or crates hold my attention longer than the empty landscapes. These are what I seem to be looking for more as things progress.
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Late out today and changed my route on a whim. Which to me possibly missing a useful wagon picture as I saw, from a distance, one negotiating the meanygate I was going to walk along. Oh well.
Mostly the usual stuff, but the sun was shining - which has been rare of late.
Plus a couple which could be either 'fillers' or out-takes.
The passing gull was a bonus!
Mostly the usual stuff, but the sun was shining - which has been rare of late.
Plus a couple which could be either 'fillers' or out-takes.
The passing gull was a bonus!
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I like the last two. The lettuce bag made me chuckle and adds a dimension to the project I quite like.
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It made me stop. Not sure if someone had bought some lettuce and discarded it or it is packaging that has escaped from a packhouse.
Thanks, that's an effect I've been trying to capture. When seen from a distance (if you can find somewhere higher than the flatlands) in certain light this stuff can look like ponds or lakes.
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I went 'off piste' as part of my wandering today to look for greenhouse, but still managed to find a couple of subjects which relate to the project. They were almost within range.
First were trays of celery (?) plugs.
Second was the poly tunnels where the strawberries are grown - I think hydroponically.
Within the project zone I had a go at some flowering potato pictures, and one about the constant need for draining the land.
First were trays of celery (?) plugs.
Second was the poly tunnels where the strawberries are grown - I think hydroponically.
Within the project zone I had a go at some flowering potato pictures, and one about the constant need for draining the land.