I go walks at least twice a day but today I decided to go birding. I took my best birding lens and stuffed a 50mm in my pocket. On arrival at Loch Leven I was immediately drawn to a couple of Mute Swans.....wait a second, there was a duck swimming even further out. On perusal, a blasted mallard, a male one should anyone be interested. I gazed upwards and saw to my surprise a dozen Herring Gulls. I park at Burleigh Castle not at Vane Farm which is the posh RSPB end of the Loch. There is a beach at Burleigh and the dogs like a paddle. Half a mile away there is a hide. I don't take dogs into hides as I get mutterings and the dogs eat the birders pieces. Then it becomes shouting, which annoys other birders.....A piece round here is the same as normal folks snap or wrap. Can be anything from a Sandwich to a pastie or bridie as these heathens call pasties; a picnic for really posh folk.
I left the dogs outside with strict instructions to sit and stay. I didn't stay more than five minutes as I couldn't even see the Swans. Out I wandered and not a dog to be found. They know where the car is so I decided to take a snap or two on my wander back. I took two.
I like this and fortuitously it came out a bit sepia. It's times like this that I wish I had my film camera with me. It looks great cropped.
And contrast boosted.
The second was rubbish.
I strolled back to the beach and waited on a bench. My two Terrors poled up some ten minutes later accompanied by a pair of Spaniels. The Spaniels were followed by a breathless lady who said my dogs had led hers astray. I told her astray is what dogs do best. Best just to sit and wait for the little sods. She wasn't best pleased but one can't please everyone.
PS. I noticed that the winner and several runners up were all HDR images. I like them but as they are easy now I do wonder a little.
SEE
I left the dogs outside with strict instructions to sit and stay. I didn't stay more than five minutes as I couldn't even see the Swans. Out I wandered and not a dog to be found. They know where the car is so I decided to take a snap or two on my wander back. I took two.
The second was rubbish.
I strolled back to the beach and waited on a bench. My two Terrors poled up some ten minutes later accompanied by a pair of Spaniels. The Spaniels were followed by a breathless lady who said my dogs had led hers astray. I told her astray is what dogs do best. Best just to sit and wait for the little sods. She wasn't best pleased but one can't please everyone.
PS. I noticed that the winner and several runners up were all HDR images. I like them but as they are easy now I do wonder a little.
SEE
Well there were some good photos amongst those in the competition but I'm not sure that I'd have selected the winning photo as the winner. As for being led astray I learned long ago that 'astray' is a very flexible concept especially amongst breathless ladise.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I enjoyed the competition entries but found several over processed. A bit rich coming from me I know.
DeleteFine post. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGlad you popped by Cloudia.
DeleteI prefer your images, above, Adrian to a couple of those runners-up - but yours aren't taken in a National Park so I guess you'd be disqualified. I've nothing against HDR - it's just another of the tools such as colour balance, noise reduction, D-lighting, etc. readily available in this digital age. It means that there are so many more photographers out there now than there were in the days of film, and a muck-up shot can often be manipulated into something usable, rather than consigned to the bin as it would have been in 'the good old days'. However, the competition to be the best has become stiffer.
ReplyDeleteRichard, it amazes me that more digital photographers don't push the post processing. I find it the most entertaining part. There again I enjoy playing on the computer.
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