Landscape Project "Attrition Systems"

The following pictures and comments are taken from my C&G submission.

	Castle of the Wind This is my favourite picture. It was taken on the Glyder Ridge in Snowdonia and is a good example of ice action on rock. Rain has settled in fractures in the rock and frozen over night, causing the rock layers to split apart and leave these dramatic jagged outcrops. The weather was poor and we were in cloud most of the time. I took a couple of pictures further away from the other side and then climbed the rocks to take a picture from this side. I knew I wanted a portrait format image with the 'weight' in the lower left third, as I had planned the panel layout by this time. Just as I was about to set up the tripod, a break occurred in the cloud. I quickly metered off the rock, placed it on zone III, and shot off a picture at f22. The sky then disappeared and I finished setting up the tripod with which I took two more pictures. Although they did not suffer from camera shake, they lacked the drama of this one. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/20s - Handheld Filter : Skylight
Glacial Valey I knew that I needed a glacial valley picture for my collection; however there are a great many to choose from in Snowdonia. I decided to avoid the most obvious 'postcard' pictures of the Nant Ffrancon valley and instead use something a little different. This picture was taken on a rainy day at Cwm Idwal looking towards the Nant Ffrancon valley. The mist is visible towards the back and left, providing some nice overlap perspective. The 'U' shape is clear and dominates the background. The glacier scooped out this area as it passed down towards the sea, via Nant Ffrancon. As it was raining, I had to work quite quickly. I had a plastic bag over the camera which I removed, and used the camera's spot meter to meter off the slate. I placed the slate on zone III, fully textured shadow. I then locked the exposure and used the exposure compensation facility to stop down two stops from zone V (mid-grey). I realised that the scene before me did not contain 7 stops between the extremes, but this could be compensated for by using a higher grade of paper. The result is printed on grade 4 and exhibits detail in the slate and grass, black in the lower left and paper white in the lake. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/20s Filter : Skylight
	Tree My wife and I spent the Spring bank holiday in Devon. One of the subjects I was confident that I would find there was a wind swept tree; I had spent my school years in Devon and knew the North Devon coast quite well. However, when we looked for examples along the coast, I was horrified to find no usable trees. I had given up hope when, on our return journey over Exmoor, an isolated wind swept tree appeared on the horizon. We stopped, and I took several pictures to experiment with the composition, placing the tree at different third points and using landscape and portrait formats. In the end I chose this one which makes good use of the red filter to add contrast to the clouds. The tree is very dominant in the composition and I have placed the horizon on the lower third. I knew the picture would be my top right image. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/4s Filter : Red
Footpath This picture shows the human element of erosion. The footpath winds its way up the side of a small mountain just outside of Beddgelert. Unusually there is a strong geometrical shape to the path, which is what caught my eye. In addition, the trees on the left are very regular in shape and line up nicely. This picture was taken across a lake using a telephoto lens. By this time I had planned my panel, and knew I did not want sky in the picture as this image was destined for the lower area of my panel. I therefore cropped the sky and also the lake, which was just below the tree at the bottom. The reason I removed the lake was to focus on the path. The lake was very light and would distract the eye from the simple shape of the path. My metering was not too good and resulted in a 'thin' or under-exposed negative. This resulted in printing on grade 4 to lift the detail. Technical Details Focal length : 200mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/125s Filter : Skylight
	Footpath 2 This picture illustrates how many of the footpaths in Snowdonia have become more formalised. As a result of so many visitors to the area, it has become necessary to take action to prevent further erosion of the landscape. In this case, a sympathetic footpath has been constructed using local stone. This picture has been printed 'mirror image' to provide me with a lower right hand image. The path diminishes nicely into the top left providing good perspective and leading the eye. I used the lump of quartz in the foreground for interest, but its light colour is perhaps a little too much. Overall it sits well on the panel and has benefited from the lack of red filter and from the zone system exposure. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/15s Filter : Skylight
Malham Malham Cove is a wonderful example of the action of rain on limestone. Over hundreds of years, the rain has dissolved the rock to form these great channels. This picture exhibits converging lines, from the channels in the rock. I have placed the fern in the foreground to try to give some interest, but I feel something more dramatic is required. The eye tends to travel up the rock to the misty hills in the distance and then back down. It was a windy day, and just about to rain. I was having problems positioning my tripod on the rock and this is why the image is a little 'soft'. The action of the red filter can also be seen: even though it has been printed on a low grade, there is little detail left in the shadows. The exposure has also been lengthened several stops due to the red filter. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/2s Filter : Red
	Beach This picture illustrates one of the most common sea based erosions, grinding of rocks to form pebbles. It was taken on a grey day on the North Devon coast. I used as small an aperture as possible to ensure the image was sharp from front to back. I have placed the boulders on the vertical third lines but not the horizontal. It could be re-framed placing the boulders a little lower, but I think the weight is about right. The original picture is much lighter at the top, which tended to drag the eye up, so the top has been burnt in to help reduce this effect. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/3s Filter : Red
Dune This picture of a sand dune was taken at Braunton Burrows in North Devon. It illustrates the way in which the wind has stripped away the surface sand to reveal the delicate structure starting to form below. Sand dunes are a very delicate balance between grass, sand and wind. Humans can upset this balance very easily and have done so in many areas of the country. The sand is, of course, also a product of sea erosion. Another windy day has upset my tripod and caused the picture to loose a little sharpness. However, I do like the converging lines in this picture, which has been printed 'mirror image' to sit correctly on the board. The red filter should not have been used here and has produced a poor negative, however I think the grainy image suits the sandy subject. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/2s Filter : Red
	Bridge I spotted this stone bridge while walking to Malham Cove. It is pitted with holes caused by general weathering and use by both humans and animals. I like the image because of the light reflecting in the pools of water on the bridge. There are some nice strong lines in this picture. The bridge is converging and leading from bottom left to top middle and the wall cuts across the top third. It is therefore suitable for a left-hand lower position on the board. Again the red filter has caused a loss of shadow detail, especially in the wall, and has made the image too contrasty. Overall, I feel this is the weakest of the pictures in this portfolio. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/3s Filter : Red
River This picture is intended to illustrate the general erosion effect of rivers. In this case the large boulders in the river at Dartmeet on Dartmoor have been smoothed over time by the constant passage of the water. I like this image because of the juxtaposition of the moving water and the static pile of twigs in the centre. The river is very dynamic and illustrates the erosion element, while the twigs are static in complete contrast. The red filter has pushed the contrast too far to retain detail in the twigs and riverbank. The slow shutter has helped blur the water to achieve the image of movement. Technical Details Focal length : 19mm Aperture : f22 Shutter speed : 1/2s Filter : Red