Simon's 52 in 2022

Curves: a great set Simon. I think that you're right, the b&w is a much stronger image. The train shot would be really good with a longer shutter speed capturing the train in motion and the brick shot is one that I would go back to, to try and capture someone walking past
Tool(s): Great capture with not just the tool itself, but the use of the tool as well!
 
Darkslinger said:
Curves: a great set Simon. I think that you're right, the b&w is a much stronger image. The train shot would be really good with a longer shutter speed capturing the train in motion and the brick shot is one that I would go back to, to try and capture someone walking past
Tool(s): Great capture with not just the tool itself, but the use of the tool as well!
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Thanks as always for the constructive feedback Bill!
 
Fits the theme nicely. Wouldn't fancy working there in these temperatures...
 
HelenC said:
Fits the theme nicely. Wouldn't fancy working there in these temperatures...
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Thanks Helen - temp wasn't too bad last week in these parts, but Baltic now, albeit without any frost or snow!
 
Week 50 - Construction

Busy week just before Christmas, but out for a walk earlier today and shot these two frames of a building under construction/renovation at Ogmore by Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan. Struggling to choose between them. The first taken from behind shows the fabulous sea views this will have once finished across the Bristol Channel towards Exmoor. The turbulent water is about 1-2 miles offshore and is Tusker Rock, a notorious flat rock reef (named after a viking Lord - Tuska), that has claimed many ships and lives, and remains strewn to this day with wreckage.
Shame about the power line in the middle, but too difficult to clone out.

The second shot is taken from the grassy area that runs adjacent to the foreshore here. Perhaps not so generally interesting as the first, but the sunlight makes the colours nicer, and I'm choosing this one because of the bonus Stonechat on the gras sin the foreground!

(Whoops - just found another, closer shot lurking on my SD card)

From the rear

Construction Back by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

From the front

Construction Front by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

Close up

Construction 3 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
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The third one has a bit more interest with the scaffolding, and more obviously juxtaposed with the old stone wall, but your chosen one has more context and texture.
 
AlanDorset said:
The third one has a bit more interest with the scaffolding, and more obviously juxtaposed with the old stone wall, but your chosen one has more context and texture.
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Cheers Alan - bit of a see and snap (as usual with me).
 
All fit the theme and an interesting narrative. I do love it when we get some background details. The reef looks deadly. I can't see any buoys marking it.

I like your chosen shot for the colours. What a lovely spot for a house. I had to go searching for the stonechat :)
 
Bebop said:
All fit the theme and an interesting narrative. I do love it when we get some background details. The reef looks deadly. I can't see any buoys marking it.

I like your chosen shot for the colours. What a lovely spot for a house. I had to go searching for the stonechat :)
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Thanks Bee - there is a bouy far side but I think just out of shot on left.
 
All nice ticks for the theme. Hard to chose a fave.
 
Week 51 - Christmas(y)

Ok, a bit of a back story to this, as @Cobra mentioned in the reveal "...anything that means Christmas to you"

I'm 63, so no young whippersnapper and have obviously see quite a few Christmases in my time. Whilst I think the "magic of Christmas" feeling disappears quite quickly as we age, the one constant is the Christmas Tree. I still remember quite vividly the sights, smells and even sound (of tinkling glass baubles) of the tree from when I was a child, and getting very close to the tree and peering through it's branches - when we were kids, my parents gave us "main presents" on Christmas morning, and we had "tree" presents (smaller and usually much cheaper!) after tea on Christmas evening - it certainly prolonged the excitement, and peering into the tree to spot presents secreted within was always special.

Whilst those days are long gone, the one thing that makes me feel really Christmassy (is that a word?) is waiting until everyone else has gone to bed, switching of all the lights bar the trees, and getting up close to peer into the branches, with the lights and reflections. A few minutes doing this can bring back all those early memories.

So, for you I have two shots, as we're lucky enough to have two trees. In the living room we have the main tree, a 6ft real Nordmann fir decorated with all manner of things collected over the years, and a smidge under 1,000 assorted lights (I do like a Christmas tree light!). I've chosen this as my theme photo because it's closet to what we had as kids. It's not a particularly well executed shot with my Sony RX100vi, but for all the reasons above, I'm sticking with it.

The second shot is our second tree which sits in the dining room - it's an articial one with fake snow, and much more elegantly decorated with warm white and warm white very slightly flickering firefly lights and baubles of a consistent colour. This was taken with my iPhone 14 Pro in Portrait mode. I think it's the better shot of the two, but my reasons for posting the other are set out above.

I love them both, and for me, they're the things that really make Christmas for me.

Thanks for reading.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Natural Tree & coloured lights
DSC02526-DeNoiseAI-standard by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr

Artificial tree and warm white/firefly lights
IMG_2395 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
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Great back story and I can see that in both your photos.

It made me think about it and as you say it's the tree that is constant.

We used to put little chocolate coins and figures in our tree when I was a little lad and we had to look into the tree for that reason so your photos also bring back those memories for me.

So thank you for that.

Merry Christmas Simon

Pete
 
seaodyssey said:
Great back story and I can see that in both your photos.

It made me think about it and as you say it's the tree that is constant.

We used to put little chocolate coins and figures in our tree when I was a little lad and we had to look into the tree for that reason so your photos also bring back those memories for me.

So thank you for that.

Merry Christmas Simon

Pete
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Cheers Pete - and Merry Christmas to you too!
 
Catching up

Construction: a good shot Simon, don't know what a stonechat is though
Christmassy: love both of these shots

Have a great Christmas Simon!
 
Darkslinger said:
Catching up

Construction: a good shot Simon, don't know what a stonechat is though
Christmassy: love both of these shots

Have a great Christmas Simon!
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Thanks Bill.
a stonechat is a small bird found often on coastal areas - brownish, with a white throat and black head. On the grass bottom left.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!
 
Both lovely shots and I agree, the second would be my preference but I understand your choice. The fairy on my tree is as old as I am. I inherited her why my mother died and she brings back many fond memories (despite having an eerie resemblance to Mrs Thatcher!
 
HelenC said:
Both lovely shots and I agree, the second would be my preference but I understand your choice. The fairy on my tree is as old as I am. I inherited her why my mother died and she brings back many fond memories (despite having an eerie resemblance to Mrs Thatcher!
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Thanks Helen! Hope you’ve had an enjoyable Christmas!
 
Both good for the theme Simon.
Good exposure to capture the accurate colour palette on the first.
 
Week 52 - Showcase

I've been unbelievably luck in the last 12 months to have some great holidays with masses of photo opportunities, some of which you've seen here. However, the shot I'm posting, is far from my "best" shot of the year, but it's certainly one of my favourites.

I took my wife on a trip to Skomer island in Pembrokeshire in June for her birthday - she's always wanted to go and see the puffins. Whilst there, we could get within touching distance of them, and my little Panny FZ330 bridge with a 1:2/3 sensor did me proud capturing some decent images of birds on the ground close up - but trying to get one in flight - they're trick and very fast little blighters, but I did manage a couple of shots that whilst not standing up to IQ scrutiny are acceptable on screen. This is the best of them with a fir bit of cropping thrown in for good measure.

That's Grassholm island in the distance, one of the biggest gannet colonies in the UK.

P1060770 by Simon Hiscocks, on Flickr
 
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Fuji Dave said:
What a great showcase shot Simon, would be over the moon if that had been mine.
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Thanks very much Dave! I wanted a closer one and one with a beak foul of sandeels, but to be honest they were so fast (and small), that it was very much a question of aim and hope one flew into the frame. Have to have some respect for those bird in flight photographers that make this look so easy!!!!!!
mind, you, I was there with my little FZ330 bridge, but there were some humongous lenses on show from other shooters. But you could get so close some of my best shots on the day were taken with my iPhone.
 
well caught. Not an easy shot to get but this has turned out very well.
 
Nice shot Simon, I have not had any success with BIF. Try losing a bit of the right hand side and bottom of the photo, so the bird is not so central as it appears to be leaving the frame.

Pete
 
seaodyssey said:
Nice shot Simon, I have not had any success with BIF. Try losing a bit of the right hand side and bottom of the photo, so the bird is not so central as it appears to be leaving the frame.

Pete
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Cheers Pete. It’s already cropped, and I’m not sure it’s big enough to lose any more. I might have a play with it though whem I’m back from our New Year escape.

I don’t really have the right gear for BIF. My biggest sensor at the moment is a 1” Panasonic FZ2000 bridge and a 1” Sony RX100vi having sold both Canon 77D DSLR and Fuji X-S10 for the convenience of a decent bridge (the FZ) and a decent pocket/travel camera the Rx10). I have to say I'm regretting that decision - (not the bridge, which is excellent for what it can do), but not having a bigger sensor camera available, so might be dipping back in soon…
 
That's a lovely showcase shot. I don't have the "right gear" for birds either so I would be very pleased to capture this too. Well done!
 
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