Meanygate meanderings (and beyond) - a farmed landscape

It made me stop. Not sure if someone had bought some lettuce and discarded it or it is packaging that has escaped from a packhouse.



Thanks, that's an effect I've been trying to capture. When seen from a distance (if you can find somewhere higher than the flatlands) in certain light this stuff can look like ponds or lakes.
I thought it looked like gossamer, though that doesn't usually curve since it's directed by the wind.
 
It'll be a slow week this week as I'm pretty restricted for wandering time. Two quick walks haven't produced anything of note. I have thought up a new working title though - 21st Century Moss. It probably won't stick!

Seen outside one of the farm bungalows.

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A repeat view with progressed growth after rain and under different light.

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I keep trying to find a good angle to record this yard without much success.

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I hadn't intended going out today but on my way home from the dreaded 'big shop' I saw something I wanted to photograph. It'd be there all day so I did some work while the rain eased off, by which time I had nothing to do until some glue had set. When I got to where I hoped to get a pic or two it had gone! Not to worry. I still managed to add one pic into the files and got an idea.

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It must have been collection time because I had to get out of the way of a few wagons visiting the farms. This one wasn't in the best place to show the open landscape of the moss proper, but it shows the narrowness of the meanygates and is something to look out for in future.

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I'm not sure if this fits the project or not. Maybe if I end up with a small series about resurfacing the roads it might work in that context.

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There I was, lining up a 50:50 shot for @sirch when it got photobombed!

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The best laid plans, and all that. Got up early to a lovely sunny morning hoping to see some early work going on. By the time I'd had a brew and some toast the grey clouds had arrived. I went out anyway and there was nowt happening. At least nothing I wanted to photograph that was within range or accessible. I'd prefer to get in closer (within distancing limits, obvs), but a rather deep and wide ditch surrounds this field!

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Something I like to do with my pictures is include more than one point of interest relevant to the story telling. I managed two with this picture of a pump and bird scarer.

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That was about it. All very quiet out there this morning. I did manage an improvement on my pics of this pile of dredged up tree remains which I think is the best I'll manage.

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A sort of 50:50. I liked the way the two sides of the ditch were differently managed.

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It's become increasingly difficult to find fresh pictures now. This is reflected in teh number of frames I take on each walk. Down from three figures earlier to double digits. There is still new stuff now and then, or things which I become aware of what's going on.

When it comes to planting out I now see that the plantings in some fields are sometimes staggered. With that in mind I tried to make a pair of pictures which show this.

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I'd spotted some machinery yesterday in the rain and went for an early morning look at it today. I don't know what it's for, but the backlighting was quite nice!

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I know, I know. :rolleyes: Just can't resist the bird scarers!


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Grass. Missed it being cut so don't know what it was for. I thought it might be down for turf but it looks too weedy.

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More seedling trays. This time on a trailer.

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Close up of a hose reel. I don't know why pop-up flashes get such a bad rap. I like them. But I like kit and super-tele zooms too - most of the pics for this project have been taken with them. When I read the gear forum I often think I don't belong on TP!

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Being a bit soft is not the fault of the lens in the next pic - I should have checked sharpness before moving on. Still, display small enough and nobody can tell if it's a bit out of focus...

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This was an attempt to show old and new tractors at work. I don't think it does a very good job though. Something to look out for in future.

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All told nothing much added. However, a van pulled up and the driver asked me if I saw anything interesting on my wanderings. It's hard to keep a low profile on the raised roads in the flatlands. It was the chap hoeing in the photo in post 66. We had quite a long chat about how things have changed over the years before a couple of tractors forced him to drive on. Eighty one and still working the land. Another of the family farmers I spoke to the other week was a mere snip of a lad at sixty seven!

It's a funy thing, but people are often advised to photograph subjects they know. Yet I find I get more out of subjects I don't know, but am interested in. It's as much talking to people about what they are doing as anything. Learning why they are doing what they are doing. And when you show an interest they seem willing to put up with you taking photos. I also think that when you aren't familiar with a subject you are less likely to make clichéd pictures of it. More than one photogrpaher has said they take photos because they are nosey. I think that applies to me, although I'd say more inquisitive than nosey. Even at my age I like learning about new stuff, and photographing new things.
 
Close up of a hose reel. I don't know why pop-up flashes get such a bad rap. I like them. But I like kit and super-tele zooms too - most of the pics for this project have been taken with them. When I read the gear forum I often think I don't belong on TP!

I don't really care about cameras that much*, nor technique**. They're a means to an end. It's the photographs where my love lies.

* Well, I do - I get G.A.S. as much as anyone else. But it's purely out of interest in the photographs that might come out of them, rather than interest in the kit itself.
** Again, I do , but only enough to let me make the photographs I want.
 
I don't really care about cameras that much*, nor technique**. They're a means to an end. It's the photographs where my love lies.

* Well, I do - I get G.A.S. as much as anyone else. But it's purely out of interest in the photographs that might come out of them, rather than interest in the kit itself.
** Again, I do , but only enough to let me make the photographs I want.
I'm old enough to have started with one camera and one fixed focal length lens, and used that for years until I could afford a second fixed focal length lens. All bought because it was affordable rather than because it was top notch. In fact the second lens was a 28mm because it was cheaper than the 24mm I thought I wanted. Turned out that 28mm and 50mm suited me great - and I could still live with those two focal lengths if I had too. Simpler times with less decisions to make!
 
some interesting shots here, i will have to see if there is anything interesting in my area. i have farms near by
 
some interesting shots here, i will have to see if there is anything interesting in my area. i have farms near by
There are interesting pictures to be found everywhere once you start to think outside the 'stunning photograph' box. :D
 
Early walk today on another morning which was sunny when I got up and grey by the time I walked out the back door.

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Grabbed this. Decent idea but...

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Veg growers are as daft as poultry and sheep keepers.

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Slim pickings this morning. I was hoping for sunshine, but it only made brief appearances - mostly when I was in barren country for subject matter.

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This is really great. A lot of the images don't hold my interest but that is besides the point. What I really can appreciate is that you are forcing yourself to work the subject matter and it definitely shows.

I can see the style evolve over this thread and the images improving a lot as the thread moves on. Less sky included is the most noticable thing to me, which I think has contributed to the better images in a large way. They've gone from seeming attempts at capturing the landscape - which is actually very dull in that sense - to capturing what is happening within it which is far more interesting and has made much better photos overall.

Have you thought about doing any black and white versions? I feel like some of them would be really suited to it.
 
This is really great. A lot of the images don't hold my interest but that is besides the point. What I really can appreciate is that you are forcing yourself to work the subject matter and it definitely shows.

I can see the style evolve over this thread and the images improving a lot as the thread moves on. Less sky included is the most noticable thing to me, which I think has contributed to the better images in a large way. They've gone from seeming attempts at capturing the landscape - which is actually very dull in that sense - to capturing what is happening within it which is far more interesting and has made much better photos overall.

Have you thought about doing any black and white versions? I feel like some of them would be really suited to it.
Thanks for the comments, Craig. It's always good to get the opinions of others.

In the past I've tried to make my pictures of these flatlands interesting using the usual landscape photography tropes, whereas the area is really, really boring and the pictures should maybe reflect that. I hope that when I get round to gathering a set of the geometric, farmed, landscapes together they'll make a visually coherent set which is more interesting than the sum of its parts.

But yes, what takes place is more engaging and has become much more what I'm looking for these days. I'm not sure the pictures are any better, though! :D

I'm not dead against black and white, but I am always wary of the layers of nostalgia or artiness which black and white can add to pictures, so it is something I try to avoid. Maybe one or two pictures might work in monochrome but I'd not see them as part of the project.

It probably seems a bit odd, but I'm becoming less interested in making good individual pictures than in creating bodies of work which hang together. Of course, I still try to make each picture as good as I can, but a picture which isn't very good or interesting on its own can appear differently when paired with another picture. The concept of taking pictures which I have seen on TP described as 'wall worthy' is something I am trying to kick back against!
 
There is something ironic about this project. If it hadn't been for lockdown it would never have got started, yet as it develops the need to 'distance' is stopping me doing what I realise I'd like to - photograph those who do the work up close to show how things are planted and harvested. So I'm stuck with photographing stuff in fields and work from a distance.

A bit of a poor show today. Two that might could have been better if the sun had been in a different place or I could have got a different angle.

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At this stage, however, one picture worth adding to the collection from a walk is OK. I've already got a few pictures of the little yellow labels by lettuces but I think I made a couple of better ones today by getting close and low down. As these show, not only are plantings staggered, different varieties are used too. Flippy screens are a great invention!

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More failure today. I think I was just going through the motions.

A 'bespoke' planting thing.

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A tractor with what looks like a compressor attached. Not in action. There's a lot of old tractors in use on the moss.

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Trying something different. I'd never noticed before that there are different fitments on the conveyor for different veg. Bowls for lettuce and these elongated 'baskets' for celery.

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A decent idea for a pic thwarted by a big ditch and a load of foreground weeds on the bank restricting my viewpoint.

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I've been getting some encouraging feedback on Twitter for this project which is keeping me going.
 
It's an interesting and worthwhile project, with anything longer term I guess there are always going to be some hit and miss days.
Thanks.

That's true enough about long term projects.

Also today saw the return of poultry auctions, but with no onlookers allowed, so I was feeling a bit cheesed off to start with.
 
How long are you hoping to run the project for Dave? I know you said in the initial post that you weren't sure, but I wonder if, a quarter of a year later, you have a better idea? It would be interesting to see a full year's worth of activity on the landscape, although I'm not sure how the winter months affect activity in terms of planting etc.?
I'm hoping to keep it going into winter at least. Cereal harvest can't be far off now, and there's still cultivation and planting going on as crop follows crop. I expect there'll be leeks and maybe sprouts to come.

The landscape will change as we get into winter. If it's wet there'll be waterlogging for one thing. There's other work than ploughing and planting, Ditches will be cleared during winter for example. So still plenty to look out for, and as I've mentioned before I'd like to get pictures of people at work and make some environmental portraits. I'm slowly working on that. But it's not going well at the moment!
 
As the Grandson of a spud farmer who did contracting for other types of Farmers this is quite an interesting project. During lock down I have unfortunately been working longer hours and in isolation, even now I am not allowed to return to the office. I love how you have used your daily walks for reportage if your local environment, I do hope it continues so you can show a complete agricultural year.
 
Plenty going on today. I got a bit bolder when I got a thumbs from the people in the pics below but didn't push my luck elsewhere so just one set of work pics. fairly satisfied with these though.

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More stuff in fields.

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And more geometric veg.

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A quick walk (just) before the rain came back. It's got to the stage where I can't remember if I've photographed things before or not!

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Another variation on an existing theme.

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A new subset emerges. Portaloos in fields.

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Not much gleaned in the way of pictures but learned a lot from a brief chat with the old farmer I met a while back. He pulled over on his way back home from pulling onions with his son. It seems the dry summer of 1976 was good for lettuce. Not a drop of rain from sowing (they didn't plant seedlings in those days) until cutting and the lettuce were "beautiful". He also reckons they have fourteen feet of peat on the land they work. He would have talked all day, I'm sure, but his son was closing in the tractor! This was five in the afternoon and they'd started work at six this morning. Once more carrying a camera has brought me insights into a world I knew nothing much about before.

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Had hoped to get out early this morning but I stopping out fishing a bit longer than planned last night meant that didn't happen. Only a short walk as trying out a new pair of boots. A couple of different pictures added though.

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Not strictly within my defined area, but I'm getting a bit flexible with that.

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Another warm and sunny morning walk prior to settling in for a masochistic day listening to the Test Match... It's odd but there's a three day sheep dog trial on this weekend, and regardless of Covid-19 distancing rules and all that I don't feel like I'm missing out by not going. I was getting less motivated as it was, so this change of direction might have come about anyway. There's still other sheep related things I want to photograph though, but for the present veg growing is what I'm preoccupied with.

It's not clear in this photo but there's nobody sat in the tractor as it progresses slowly! I'm assuming it's being steered by GPS.

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A forlorn bird scarer.

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Not sure about this one, but it's an idea I might try to work on.

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I could do with some stuff turning up so I can get on with some paying work and keep me from wandering around aimlessly with my cameras! Sunday's are quiet as a rule so I went into a field for some celery related pictures.

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Some fleece stuck in a hedge. There's a vague hint of autumn in the hedges and verges. I expect the change of season will make the pictures look different.

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Some work going on in more summery light. Just a snap.

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The weather forecast said the rain would arrive after dark, so I set off after lunch without a jacket. Once out on the moss I saw rain in the distance. Maybe it would pass over to the south...

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The landscape may be flat and featureless, but the skies can be dramatic. If you like that sort of thing. Undeterred I carried on. Planning a circualr route to take me past some fieldwork.

.The aftermath of a celery harvest was being worked back in. I got a 50:50 shot and one of the work. rather than include the whole tractor I thought a tight framing might be better, and fit the visual theme of the project.

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One tractor, two implements. Crop remains chopped at the front, incorporated into the soil at the back.

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Most of the curtain-sided trailers are anonymous, but some of the larger operations have theirs branded.

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This is a rubbish photo but it maybe illustrates different attitudes to photography. The guys gave me a thumbs up and made 'photie man' gestures, clicking at imaginary cameras, So I obliged! Quite different to the suspicious looks and comments I've sometimes had in towns.

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That was when the rain hit. It wasn't heavy but it was enough to make me change direction and seek the only shelter there is. That took me off my intended route and I called it a day. Nothing earth shaking achieved but the tractor pic was worth getting. As the tractor turned near me I thought the driver might be stopping for a word and he was. I always think that if something like this happens it's better to hang around and chat rather than scuttle off. Not least because there's info to be gleaned. Dry weather is preferred on the moss because the land is naturally wet, as I've heard before. I'd always assumed that for growing vegetables rain was desirable. What do I know? Outdoor planting is coming to an end now so there won't be many more opportunities to photograph that in coming wanders.

With thunder storms promised I'll not be venturing into the flatlands when they're imminent!
 
Seeing my back garden half flooded after the tremendous thunderstorm last night I had to go out for a look round the fields this morning. I knew my walk out alongside a ditch would be out of the question so I drove and parked up.

Sure enough there were flooded fields and the automatic pumps were running. I'd love to take a trip back in time to see what the area looked like before it was drained. When it's as wet as today I do get a feel for what that might have been like when I look at the brim full ditches and fwaterlogged fields.

Difficult to make pictures of pools of still water under a grey, cloudless sky. A little easier when there is something in the water - and with the sun behind me.

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Not just fields that were under water.

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Some of the last set are really very good IMHO, particularly 1,3 & 4
Thanks, Chris.

I felt a bit rushed as I had to get back in case a parcel was delivered early -it wasn't... So I'm quite pleased with what I managed to get.

I'm not sure about No1. I maybe prefer this one.

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Or this one. Too many decisions aren't good for me! :LOL:

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For me No. 1 is compositionally much better but I guess one of the other two may be more your style :)
What, if any, other pictures one is used in conjunction with might also affect a final (?) choice.
 
I misjudged that. After two days I expected the water to have subsided along the field path. Wrong. By the time I overtopped my new boots it wasn't worth turning back so I did the next four miles with wet feet! Although they didn't feel wet and my trousers soon dried out in the sun. On the moss the water had gone down in places but not in others and pumps were still in operation.

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Some work had been done to speed drainage.

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Where water had lain and drained the effect was like that on a sandy beach when the tide ebbs.

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Drier out on the moss now, but still water laying in some places. Nothing in the landscape I hadn't already photographed time and again, although I did get a decent fieldscape of some celery. The celery not so small it could be anything, and not so large the individual plants can't be discerned.

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Some work going on but either too far off or where I'd have been shooting into the low sun. I looked for details and close ups instead. The stacked crates suggested tower blocks to me.

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I misjudged that. After two days I expected the water to have subsided along the field path. Wrong. By the time I overtopped my new boots it wasn't worth turning back so I did the next four miles with wet feet! Although they didn't feel wet and my trousers soon dried out in the sun. On the moss the water had gone down in places but not in others and pumps were still in operation.

...

Where water had lain and drained the effect was like that on a sandy beach when the tide ebbs.

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Has the mud submerged the crop in this scene Dave? It looks like a tide of earth has washed over them. Nice photo.
 
Drier out on the moss now, but still water laying in some places. Nothing in the landscape I hadn't already photographed time and again, although I did get a decent fieldscape of some celery. The celery not so small it could be anything, and not so large the individual plants can't be discerned.

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Some work going on but either too far off or where I'd have been shooting into the low sun. I looked for details and close ups instead. The stacked crates suggested tower blocks to me.

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Agree about the tower blocks thing.

Shot four is wonderul. The mesh looks like a wave on a beach taken with a slow shutter speed.
 
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