Llyn Ogwen & Waterfalls

Racecar81

Racecar81

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Richard
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Nice set of images Richard

I agree with the first being the best. On critique would be that I feel it needs a tiny bit more head room above Tryfan.
 
jerry12953 said:
No 1 is great. I just can't bring myself to take the camera out on cloudy days - my own loss, I think.

Is it a stitched panorama or a crop? (or is that full frame?)

I love the remains of that little stone bridge underneath Telford's bridge in No 2.
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Hi Jeremy - it is just a single shot. I used a Tokina DX 11-16 lens on my D810 - at 16mm you get no vignetting using the DX lens in FX mode. Just saving up for a 'proper' wide angle lens for the D810 :)
 
Nice set but the first is the pick
 
jerry12953 said:
not native......
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"Pollen records from N & S Wales show pine to be present in all horizons from the Pre-Boreal onwards." (Bill Linnard). This would've been Scots pine.

There are prehistoric Scots pine stumps exposed at low tide on Borth beach (along with oak and birch). The Scots pine bark is distinctive, as is that of the birch. I haven't seen any oak bark there, but the wood can be recognised by its equally distinctive grain.

Native (= Scots) pine might've become extinct in Wales though, but only a few hundred yrs ago, & has been re-introduced. But on that basis the species (Pinus sylvestris) remains native & has a 'right' to be here.

In a way it's not native to Scotland either, but crept in after the last ice age, since when it's endured mixed fortunes - (1) climate change, & (2) exploitation.

I'll be seeing some remnants of the ancient forest of Caledon again, hopefully, in spring 2019 ... & I'll have my camera ...
 
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Richard Breland said:
Trip out to the Ogwen area in Snowdonia yesterday. Weather was 'OK' - just started raining as I was climbing back down the mountain, but otherwise, not too cold ! The first is my favourite. All comments gratefully received :)
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Richard - your framing's very good, but your images above look rather brittle and over-processed. Tune into that, if you can. It's not a hymn to nature, to murder it with technology.

This isn't meant to be insulting & I hope that you can take it on the chin!

You've got the guts, but you need to develop your sensitivity.
 
Droj - do you have a reference for the Linnard comment about pollen? My assumption has been (partly based on the shapes of the trees) that the pines planted in Wales are not the same variety of P.sylvestris as those native to Scotland and which would have occurred earlier in Wales.
 
@droj - I really appreciate the comments regarding the processing. My problem is....my brain ! I believe there are two types of brain - one is 'scientific' and one is 'artistic'. I fall into the scientific category as this is what most of my life has been based around (engineering, computing, etc.), so I do find it difficult to be 'artistic'. Which is why I love Photography as it is something of a challenge to bring out the artistic side of my nature (if it exists!). I only took up photography a couple of years ago and it is only with comments from people like yourself that I can hope to get better, so appreciate the help. When I look at the above images, I can see now that all (except maybe no.1 ?) are a bit 'sharp' and 'brittle' - I think the lesson is to do some initial processing and then step away from the computer for a few hours, then come back and 'tone it down'. It is tricky, but thats the challenge. Thanks again :)
 
JohnFar said:
Droj - do you have a reference for the Linnard comment about pollen? My assumption has been (partly based on the shapes of the trees) that the pines planted in Wales are not the same variety of P.sylvestris as those native to Scotland and which would have occurred earlier in Wales.
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My understanding is just that they are all the same species. Current 'wild' examples in Wales could be feral survivors of estate plantings through the 1700's & 1800's whose provenence I don't know but could well have been raised in nurseries - more reading would be needed.

References:
1. Welsh Woods & Forests - History & Utilisation, William Linnard
2. Trees & Woodland in the British Landcsape, Oliver Rackham.
 
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Richard Breland said:
Thanks again :)
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It's seductive that we have all these sliders (eg in Lightroom) to knock our images about with! And maybe it's easy to fall into a mindset of wanting to impress both others and ourselves with our prowess at dramatising reality.

It's always a balancing act. But whilst working on an image, it's possible to enlarge it periodically to check for problems to do with edges and granularity that might result from our tonal shenanigans and sharpening whims.
 
Thanks droj; the general view in stuff I've seen (eg Plant Life in Snowdonia; Mitchell's guide to UK conifers) is that the only post-glacial survivors are in Scotland and that those in Wales and England are planted or have spread from plantings. I'll chase the Linnard. As ever, it seems that opinions are propagated without new evidence; wonder if anyone's done the DNA?
 
JohnFar said:
Thanks droj; the general view in stuff I've seen (eg Plant Life in Snowdonia; Mitchell's guide to UK conifers) is that the only post-glacial survivors are in Scotland and that those in Wales and England are planted or have spread from plantings. I'll chase the Linnard. As ever, it seems that opinions are propagated without new evidence; wonder if anyone's done the DNA?
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My understanding is also that there are no native scots pine trees anywhere in Wales. Perhaps my post above should have a bit less concise.......;)
 
The species itself, though, is native to Wales ... so that might seem to be a fine distinction ... although the presence of the living species has been discontinuous and its genetic diversity might have suffered as a result if as it seems, the present 'wild' stock consists of specimen plantings and escapees from managed plantations.

Yes a genetic audit would be interesting, especially if it included samples from the Scottish wildwood survivors, and preserved remains at various locations if that's possible?
 
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First one is indeed the best. The rest personally are grey misery defined -- really needs some light and greenery.

The water stream really makes the first image. The sky has a bit of a magenta cast (plastic fantastic filter?) and to be honest it could do with a little bit more sky. Black and white may work better as you have next to no useful colour there anyway.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
First one is indeed the best. The rest personally are grey misery defined -- really needs some light and greenery.

.
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This - greenery - altogether wrong time of year to work for me. Bare and brown, yuck. In summer with some golden light and some light clouds that would be a delightful picture. I've never understood the fascination in the landscape photography community with shooting over the winter and avoiding the summer.
 
I don't think it's about avoiding the summer, Steve - not for me anyway. You just get so few opportunities to get out in the landscape in winter in good light; partly because the days are so short and also when there is a gap in the clouds the sun is so low in the sky that is difficult for the rays to find it and illuminate what you want them to.

Personally I think the first picture in this thread shows very well that everything is not just bare and brown in winter. there's plenty of colour there. I think it's a great image.
 
Really great set of images. May I ask what filters you used to get the 0.5 sec exposures, which by the way seems to be about the perfect choice.

Ken
 
Thanks @ElmerFudd. I only had a polarising filter on the front, so I guess it could be around a Stop or so? It was fairly gloomy, so getting the half second shutter speed was easily achievable.
 
Great Set, I rather like number 5, the water leads you up through the shot and I rather like the dark sky and the way the top of the mountain is partially obscured.
 
Scott Robertson said:
Yeah, quite like the first. Looks a fantastic location within easy reach too. Had no idea Wales had Scots pines.
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A few sporadic ones about but not many. very easy spot to get to. just need the right conditions.
 
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