*** This Week Through Your Eyes 2023.08.05 ***

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Woodsider79
Members 779 posts

Aug. 8, 2023, 11:06 a.m. Aug. 8, 2023, 11:06 a.m.
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@SteveMonks has written:

Not Quite The Set I Had Planned

1. On The Hunt

The Kestrel glides effortlessly back and forth high above the moors searching for prey, while the photographer below tracks it, with apparently far more effort. For landscape photography the Z7 autofocus is largely bulletproof, but in this application it wasn't really putting much effort in at all, yielding way more out of focus images than in focus ones (AF-C, limited focus range, mid or large focus box). More practice is required I think. Or a Z8. In reality, I can't blame the Z7, at the sort of distance this was taken, it was a really small target to lock onto, but occasionally it did and this one caught it at a pretty nice angle.

11. Return To White Coppice

As I scrambled down into the Black Brook gorge, I was treated to this view. The texture and light on the rock face on the right particularly caught my eye.

The kestrel portrait is great. Such characterful little things, I always think they try so hard to be tough and ferocious like their bigger cousins. The light in the last one is beautiful - the upside of unpredictable showery weather!
Sorry to hear your trip to Dufton was such a disaster! Better luck next time. We had friends leave here with a plan to climb Pendle Hill last Saturday - needless to say they abandoned that idea and went into Manchester art gallery instead!
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OpenCube
Members 861 posts

Aug. 9, 2023, 7:25 a.m. Aug. 9, 2023, 7:25 a.m.
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Daneland
Members 1079 posts

Aug. 9, 2023, 7:31 a.m. Aug. 9, 2023, 7:31 a.m.
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@SteveMonks has written:

Not Quite The Set I Had Planned

Last weekend's trip to Dufton was supposed to be the opening act for a number of hikes throughout the week, but we tend to expect a certain kind of summer weather here in the North of England and this year did not disappoint, with heavy rain and high winds in most of the places I'd planned to visit, scuppering that plan.

The weather picked up towards the end of the week and I planned out a more extensive afternoon exploration of the hills above Dufton for Friday, only to be scuppered by that other guaranteed component of a British summer; roadworks. Firstly a two hour delay on the motorway for no obvious reason, then, 70 miles later in the middle of nowhere and just four miles from my destination I hit a road closure. The best route around it I could work out would have taken an additional 30-40 minutes, by which time I'd have risked getting stuck on the fells in the dark, which, as this is "shake hole" country, I didn't fancy, so I just turned around and spent the next 90 minutes driving back home in quite the gloomy mood.

The weekend opened to more torrential rain, but on Sunday, the weather forecasts were all over the place and, having not walked anywhere all week, I decided to just chance it and spend the afternoon on the local moors.

As it turned out, I managed to almost completely dodge the rain during the three hours I was wandering about. Of course, when I reached the wind break on the summit of Great Hill and sat down to enjoy a pork pie and some water, that's when it started to rain, forcing me to don my jacket and move on. Naturally it stopped again shortly after.

Anyway, seemingly vindictive weather aside, I had a really nice walk and was lucky enough to spot some Kestrels hunting above the moors, which kept me occupied for quite some time as I wrestled with the Z7 trying to photograph them.

11. Return To White Coppice

As I scrambled down into the Black Brook gorge, I was treated to this view. The texture and light on the rock face on the right particularly caught my eye.

It has been a great summer so far :) But I wont complain, if I have to pick between 35C + heat waves to this weather, I would pick great British summer.
I am sorry to hear you caught up with essential works and traffic management. I think a serious part of GDP is generated by traffic management companies here. But everything has to be safe, doesnt it ?
Loved kestrel photos but the last one, goodness me! It is so good
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Fireplace33
Members 1139 posts

Aug. 9, 2023, 10:20 a.m. Aug. 9, 2023, 10:20 a.m.
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@SteveMonks has written:

Not Quite The Set I Had Planned

11. Return To White Coppice

As I scrambled down into the Black Brook gorge, I was treated to this view. The texture and light on the rock face on the right particularly caught my eye.

Thanks for your interesting trip details :-)
The weather has been lousy here in Austria too :-(

I really like this last image. The light is wonderful. It might benefit by cropping off some of the sky, to concentrate more on that good light on the land.
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SteveMonks
Members 370 posts

Aug. 9, 2023, 12:30 p.m. Aug. 9, 2023, 12:30 p.m.
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@Fireplace33 has written:

@SteveMonks has written:

Not Quite The Set I Had Planned

11. Return To White Coppice

As I scrambled down into the Black Brook gorge, I was treated to this view. The texture and light on the rock face on the right particularly caught my eye.

Thanks for your interesting trip details :-)
The weather has been lousy here in Austria too :-(

I really like this last image. The light is wonderful. It might benefit by cropping off some of the sky, to concentrate more on that good light on the land.

I nearly threw away this last image, as I'm rarely satisfied with pictures I take looking into this quarry because they somehow never seem to capture the splendour of it, so I'm glad I persevered with this one a bit. I did also prepare a 16:9 aspect version of it, but chose this full ratio image instead because I felt the cropped version lost some of the impact from the sky. I've attached the cropped shot below for comparison.

DSC_7048 1.jpg
JPG, 832.6 KB, uploaded by SteveMonks on Aug. 9, 2023.

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OpenCube
Members 861 posts

Aug. 9, 2023, 5:08 p.m. Aug. 9, 2023, 5:08 p.m.
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Wormsmeat
Members 974 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 11:48 a.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 11:48 a.m.
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@SteveMonks has written:

Not Quite The Set I Had Planned

Last weekend's trip to Dufton was supposed to be the opening act for a number of hikes throughout the week, but we tend to expect a certain kind of summer weather here in the North of England and this year did not disappoint, with heavy rain and high winds in most of the places I'd planned to visit, scuppering that plan.

4. Distant Dockland

A group of cranes, roughly 25 miles away on the docks in Liverpool. Looking at this I find myself reminded of the scene from Jurassic Park, showing the herds of dinosaurs grazing beside a lake for some reason.

11. Return To White Coppice

As I scrambled down into the Black Brook gorge, I was treated to this view. The texture and light on the rock face on the right particularly caught my eye.

My pick.
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simplejoy
Members 1662 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 11:57 a.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 11:57 a.m.
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@SteveMonks has written:

11. Return To White Coppice

As I scrambled down into the Black Brook gorge, I was treated to this view. The texture and light on the rock face on the right particularly caught my eye.

Great shots! I agree with @Woodsider79 - that's an excellent shot. Love how varied the landscape looks. There's so much texture, so many different tones, it's wonderful to look at. 👍
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simplejoy
Members 1662 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 11:59 a.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 11:59 a.m.
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@OpenCube has written:

Well done capture and great use of (what I assume to be) the lens baby filter system once more! Really emphasizes the expression.

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OpenCube
Members 861 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 1:02 p.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 1:02 p.m.
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AlanSh
Forum Admin 2965 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 5:05 p.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 5:05 p.m.
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That is lovely. Did you some PP to get the colours or is that natural?

Alan
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AlanSh
Forum Admin 2965 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 5:06 p.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 5:06 p.m.
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This one caught my eye when I went out early evening

FSCF0014 (Large).JPG
JPG, 503.6 KB, uploaded by AlanSh on Aug. 10, 2023.
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OpenCube
Members 861 posts

Aug. 10, 2023, 7:13 p.m. Aug. 10, 2023, 7:13 p.m.
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@AlanSh has written:

That is lovely. Did you some PP to get the colours or is that natural?

Alan

There is always some post-processing. Bit extra on this one.
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OpenCube
Members 861 posts

Aug. 11, 2023, 4 p.m. Aug. 11, 2023, 4 p.m.
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