Photo of the Month: August 2015

Legoland

25th August 2015, St Monans, East Neuk

After finishing a commission in St Monans I spent the remainder of the afternoon in the East Neuk.  The late-summer sun was too strong and high for landscape photography so I concentrated on the harbours to see if they would yield an opportunity. I didn't have to go too far. This is Virgin Square just along from Mid Shore where I had been working. I have always been drawn to this scene for its angular look.  The architecture is typical of the East Neuk but today there were two other factors which made it stand out. The strong lighting has created deep shadows which has given the scene an almost 3D appearance and the lack of vehicles which are usually parked in a line on the street. My Canon tilt-shift lens was put to good use here.  It is a specialist lens that gives me the ability to keep vertical lines straight as opposed to creating a wigwam effect, where the vertical lines appear to be converging, which happens when a standard lens is used. Very little post processing was done too as I used one of my own Picture Styles created within the camera menu to give me the look I was wanting. 

  
Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mk II
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II tilt/shift lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / f/13 / 1/125 sec 
Lee filters: None 
Picture Style applied in camera: Landscape / Sharpening: +4 / Contrast: +3 / Highlight: +2 / Shadow: +1 / Tone: -1 / Saturation: -2

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP


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Photo of the Month: February 2014

Seafield, Kirkcaldy, Fife

16th February 2014, Seafield, Kirkcaldy, Fife

The Fife Coastal Path at Seafield, Kirkcaldy.  This is one of the most interesting areas in Fife for the photographer who likes to seek out their own compositions along a particularly rugged section of coast. Below Seafield Tower, the sandstone rocks have been eroded by the action of the sea creating little rock pools. I have used this composition before in less favourable light. Sunset is about 30 minutes away with the soft pastel sky stretching over the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh on the other side. 3 frames were taken in portrait format and stitched together in software. 

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 4 sec @ f/11 x 3 frames,stitched
Lee filters: 0.6 Soft GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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