Path to Light

Thanks for looking!

Yes Conrad it was a bit of a walk!

Karen, Keith and Steve, it is a good critique. Yes the sky was very dark because some high clouds moved or the top of those clouds. But anything less than a 0.9 blew out the highlights. This is exactly the way the sky looked in the raw file. It was very dark.

And yes, I was down at that tree for quite a while, but the angle of the hills made it difficult to do much with it. I do have other shots that I made from there that I may post later as a comparison.

LOL - Keith.....thanks...

Good point Ade...he's just a rookie! ( running for cover....)

Patrick

Thanks Di.

LOL Ian, I thought I'd mix it up a bit with this one. I rarely get clouds suitable for 'painting with light' sorts of shots. And I have lots of other shots from here that I may upload later, we will see.

Patrick

Thanks for looking. The path in front drops off at about 30 degrees of slope and is difficult to walk up or down!

I know what you mean Edgar. That is why I had to come back so many times and I may go back a few more times.

That is what I was hoping for Lisa.

It is a great place to live Ron. The only problem is that the weather is 'too good' and I don't get many dramatic clouds like in the UK.

I like it too Tony.

Patrick

Thanks for looking.

Thanks Dave. The high clouds moved over the lower ones and it was very dark in spots. I might have another go at processing the sky, though it looks like this in the raw file. But maybe I can soften it up a bit.

Anybody else think a softer sky will help?

Patrick

Thanks for looking! Perhaps I'll upload my landscape version with less sky next time. We'll see since I have lots of more dramatic stuff I might upload.

Dennis (chamberlain), I know what you mean. And I have other ones that are different. Most EPZ'ers dont' realize that we only get a couple of months when things are this green and there are alss decent clouds in the sky. The pressure is on to get all the green grass shots with good light that I can!

Yes Kris and Dave, maybe the landscape version or a square crop of this might be the solution.

True Janet, I can experiment a lot here so I'll return at least a couple more times before it dries out and the clouds go away until November.

LOL Paul, you are genetically programmed for the drama of the sea so I 'see' your point! I do have a few good seascapes up my sleeve that you may like more.

Patrick

Thanks for looking!

Edmund (GlosTomcat), there are lots of great views, but the terrain is very steep and it is difficult to get unobstructed views.

LOL Steve, You've hurled! But I have other versions of this that will make you 'unhurl!' Actually I may make a square crop out of this.

Yes Mark, I was going for the top third to be sky. Usually I dont' care about the rule of thirds, as I usually go 60/40 or eve 50/50 on a lot of my shots if I get decent sky. Here, the camera was pointed downwared at about a 30 degree angle. It is steeper than it looks.

LOL Ian... Now would I ever suggest for you get off of your lazy something and go take a few shots? Me?

Patrick

Thanks for all of your comments!

LOL Martin, yes I made sure you saw them. I guess a aquare crop will work on this one. I do have a landscape version that works well too.

Yes Mac, lots of people agree. It was very unusual.

Thanks Sara, I like it too.

Terry, yes the layers were very unusual for around here and yes, the dry season is coming soon. So the pressure is on to get those green grass and light shots. There should still be some green in 3 weeks, though the clouds will by shiveling up by then. But you can still expect a couple more rain events before it all goes away until November. And yes, there are lots of updrafts here and the birds hang motionless in the air for long periods of time.

Dan, about the shot itself; the clouds are as they were in the RAW file and I left them alone when I processed it but they were extremely dark and contrasty to my eye. I actually have a landscape version that might work better, as there is less sky. And I'll be reprocessing this one to reduce the contrast in the clouds. Good idea about the longer focal length issue. I actually changed lenses a few times to isolate elements with the 24-105, but I need more practise at that as I'm not quite happy with them. And it took too long to change lenses and the light I saw disappeared too many times.

And I agree with your second comment. See right below.

Keith (ringyneck), thanks for the complement, but I've also made lots of typos in my own comments as well. I often discover them after the one hour limit and then I can't correct them. I have slight dyslexia and am constantly reversing letters. I proofread every comment but they still slip by. (I've corrected 3 just while typing this comment so far) But I still think I make good comments. Also, I want people to feel free to tell me how to improve my shots. So don't attack anybody here. Check out Dan's work and you'll see that he knows a thing or two about photography!

I'll try Tony.

I hope so John!

Patrick

Thanks for your comments! I'm way behind in commentinng but I'll catch up soon.

Yes Nikki, it can be a paradise sometimes. Often a dry and hot one but still quite nice.

Too bad you can't go up here Alex. Though you may not like the ankle breaking rocks hidden in the grass, or how when the grass dries up, you get millions of stickers in your socks.

Yes Greg, but this green will only last about another month. I've got to get out and get lots of 'green grass' shots.

Dan, I was wondering what happened. I'm glad you sorted it out with Keith (ringyneck). I don't think anybody thought you were doing anything more than analyzing the shot.

I wish we did get more dramatic weather. For example, it is crystal clear right now and the sky is almost black when you look straight up. Not good for photography!

Patrick

Thanks for your comments!

Yes Jan, these hillsides are steep and there are lots of crumbly rocks hidden inteh grass. Not good for knees!

They are Laura. I am in better shape thanks to photography.

Yours are fine Adrian. I'm just slightly insane about getting a shot of a place right in the water or up a huge hill.

Thanks Walter. This makes me want to try a B&W conversion. And actually the square cropped version looks good.

Paul, at the top (behind the camera abuot 2000 feet up the slope) they do lots of hang gliding.

Patrick

Thanks for looking!

Patrick

Thanks for looking. I did a square crop and it looks good.

Patrick