Meanygate meanderings (and beyond) - a farmed landscape

[Ed Sutton]

Way off patch this afternoon. Still on land that in the distant past was impassable swamp and is now rich, dark soil over deep peat, criss-crossed with ditches and drains.

.



All the drains end up at pump houses which empty into the river.



I find it hard to understand why people find mountainous regions appealing, I much prefer flatlands or the tops of the open moors. Here I get the former with the latter in distant sight.

One reason for going out there today was to look at one of the few trees to see how it had changed. It's had a bit of a battering since I first photographed it in 2012.

Now:


Then:


I couldn't replicate the older picture as the lower branch, and others, had snapped off a couple of years back making the tree look completely different, and the sky and light were flat.

My other reason for taking a camera out was to try the new-to-me lens that had turned up. Despite my dislike of ultrawide focal lengths I'd succumbed to GAS and bought another one. I have a use in mind for it with my sheep photography to justify it's purchase. But even the landscapes today proved that it keeps horizons straighter than the lens I already had. I'll be giving it a whirl at the sale on Saturday.

 

[Boots]

A rather different set today. And you even found some good light, albeit that you go back 11 years to find it!

 

[Ed Sutton]

A rather different set today. And you even found some good light, albeit that you go back 11 years to find it!

Slightly different landscape and farming is what I suppose accounts for the different pictures.

 

[Ed Sutton]

The moss is waking up. A last minute amble with just a 50mm - which was challenging.

Plenty of the usual springtime stuff.





A recently dredged up stump.



No idea what this is about!

 

[Boots]

I love the graphic field images here, and that you have shown in the past.

 

[superpippo]

#2

 

[Ed Sutton]

This is the field the sheep were on early in winter. Taken about a week ago. The grass had been sprayed off, You can see where the sprayer missed.



This is done to kill off the grass and any weeds before cultivating the ground for a fresh crop. Today a start was being made on that process.







The muck will go on later.



A couple of geometrics.

 

[Boots]

Really like the first geometric shot, and the second and third ploughing (harrowing?) shots.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Really like the first geometric shot, and the second and third ploughing (harrowing?) shots.

Thanks Paul.

Yes, power harrowing.

Coincidentally,, this just popped up on YouTube.

View: https://youtu.be/dk_KzpnNXy0?t=409

 

[Ed Sutton]

As seen in this thread.

View: https://youtu.be/8IzMbfP25bo?t=450


This is the Wareing's pile of 'bog oak'.

 

[Hadron]

Thanks Paul.

Yes, power harrowing.

Sumo Trio single pass jobbie (may not be the precise model). A power harrow has PTO driven rotating tines that break up clods on previously cultivated land, the single pass units tend to be a combination of tines, discs and a packer that aim to do everything in one go (sorry couldn’t help myself (someone on the internet was wrong))

 

[Ed Sutton]

Sumo Trio single pass jobbie (may not be the precise model). A power harrow has PTO driven rotating tines that break up clods on previously cultivated land, the single pass units tend to be a combination of tines, discs and a packer that aim to do everything in one go (sorry couldn’t help myself (someone on the internet was wrong))

Always happy to be corrected on stuff I know nowt about.

 

[Hadron]

Always happy to be corrected on stuff I know nowt about.

Sorry, I kind of feel bad for it but red rag to a bull and all that

 

[Ed Sutton]

Sorry, I kind of feel bad for it but red rag to a bull and all that

I can barely tell a Fendt from a John Deere, but the in-depth knowledge of agricultural equipment, and tractor models in particular, some people have no longer surprises me.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I'm tiring of photographing the same old stuff, but if I didn't take my camera out for a walk I'd only sit around vegetating so it gets me some exercise. Lapwings displaying today, and oystercatchers about. Not that it felt much like spring with the wind chill.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Please don't take this wrong, but the pictures reflect your stated mood.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Please don't take this wrong, but the pictures reflect your stated mood.

It started drizzling when I was half way round my walk. Cold and damp! I'm sure some warmth will perk me up.

 

[Ed Sutton]

 

[Ed Sutton]

A change of pump.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A bit of sunshine today.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A nothing photo, but they are still pulling out 'bog oaks'.

 

[Ed Sutton]

This dry spell has seen a bit of activity in the fields.The farmer has generously left the unoficial footpath out to the moss along the side of the field that had sheep in this winter.



Shooting into the sun always makes for tricky exposures, and I didn't get anywhere near with this one of bags of seed on a trailer with the setting sun behind.



This is spring barley going in late, but the first time it's been dry enough and it's going to rain for a week from Monday. I know this as the farmer was in the field when I was on my way back.

 

[Ed Sutton]

The other evening a farmer called me over and invited me to visit his irrigation pond to photograph the swans that are nesting on it. Why does everyone I meet when out walking the moss assume I'm wanting to photograph wildlife? Regardless of the swans it was permission to have a nosey about off the beaten path.

The pond/reservoir is quite overgrown with reeds. and the nest all but invisible! Maybe some potential for someone interested in that kind of thing, but my wildlife photography days are long behind me.



A slightly different view of the moss I suppose.



Sadly there wasn't much else to see.



Greenhouse interior shot through windbreak material.



Windbreak material close-up.



I think I'm about burnt out on this project. Maybe when more fieldwork starts I'll get inspired again. Trudging the same few circuits has got more than a bit tired. Either a new way of looking at the area is required or a change of scenery.

 

[Boots]

A nice set, but I think it shows that when you have something different to photograph a fresh energy seems to be injected.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A nice set, but I think it shows that when you have something different to photograph a fresh energy seems to be injected.

There are only so many times I can look at something before I stop really 'seeing' it.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A cheapo lens arrived yesterday which I bought in the hope it would serve as a fishing/walkabout lens. It was dismal yesterday so not a fair test of any lens, but today the sun has been shining. I managed to get out just after three and go give it a try. As a result I shot a lot of rubbish but did find a few things to add to this project, even if they are only incidentals. The lens won't appeal to the pixel peepers but it's sharp enough at all focal lengths at my usual f-stops and doesn't have too much distortion at the the wide end. It's a keeper!

A nothing shot really, but the curves in this appealed.



A repeat from previous springs IIRC.



There was some drainage work going on a while back but I managed to cock up the focus on the few pics I took. this is the current state of play.





A greenhouse abstract. Couldn't get quite enough detail in the houseplants being grown.



Yesterday I discovered how Youtubers make those 'editing' in Lightroom videos. So I've had a go myself. No sound as I don't have a mic.It's a bit long at 11 minutes but it includes making the edit AND processing the pics above plus a few others. I've seen (not wtahced) some videos that spend that long on one bloody picture!

It might give an insight into what catches my eye that doesn't make the cut, and how I make my choices. Or not... Let me know if it doesn't load.

View: https://youtu.be/lKm5FmPC6SA

 

[gjhill]

Interesting video, please enlighten me as to how you achieved this?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Interesting video, please enlighten me as to how you achieved this?

How I recorded the video? I downloaded FastStone Capture - https://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm

 

[Ed Sutton]

There's a lot of chat on t'interwebs at the moment about black and white photography. My attitude is that if that's your bag, knock yerself out. But I think it's too easy in some ways as all you have to think about are shapes and tones. Lack of colour can take away a lot of annoying distractions too. On an overcast day you can easily put some tone in the sky without it looking crap. For anything of a documentary nature, however, eliminating colours is throwing away information.

Having said that I've converted a few of today's snaps to B&W! I didn't set out to do it, it was a whim when I got home. Most of them were pretty much black and white to start with TBH.













Being quite graphic they work well enough in monochrome - as pictures. I can't take them seriously as documentary though. And documenting stuff is what interests me most these days more than making 'great photographs'.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Here they are in colour. What I have noticed when playing with black and white conversions is that it can be a good way to process pictures and then switch them back to colour. Not always, but sometimes. These just needed a slight extra tonal adjustment in curves.













Much better.

 

[sphexx]

For anything of a documentary nature, however, eliminating colours is throwing away information.

Ummm … I think that’s often true and maybe technically always true if one is considering information in a pictorial (?) sense but there was an awful lot of effective B&W documentary photography before colour became common.

I’m not sure where “information” sits in this but I find a lot of war photos (from Ukraine currently) look ’pretty‘ rather than terrifying whereas I don’t remember that being true of photos from Vietnam and earlier wars which were mostly in B&W.

I guess I’m saying , in part, it depends on the subject and maybe what “information” you want to convey.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Ummm … I think that’s often true and maybe technically always true if one is considering information in a pictorial (?) sense but there was an awful lot of effective B&W documentary photography before colour became common.

I’m not sure where “information” sits in this but I find a lot of war photos (from Ukraine currently) look ’pretty‘ rather than terrifying whereas I don’t remember that being true of photos from Vietnam and earlier wars which were mostly in B&W.

I guess I’m saying , in part, it depends on the subject and maybe what “information” you want to convey.

Information as in the colour of someone's eyes, or the colour of motor cars. Black and white doesn't reveal the hideous orange and brown colour schemes of the 1970s! That's what I mean about information.

Of course there was lots of great documentary photography before colour became prominent, because subject matter is all important, and 'composition' in the sense of framing and capturing gesture. It was of its time though. Doing documentary today in black and white strikes me as an affectation, and maybe even a desire to be seen as an artist.

I think that a lot of current photojournalism, in general, is too pretty. I see a lot of shallow depth of field stuff, which again throws away information this time in the sense of location/context. Digital can also have a tendency to prettify things as it's almost too perfect. Many news photos also seem to have the sharpening turned up to eleven - I guess because they are quickly transferred jpegs straight out of camera..

I looked at black and white from 1976 when I got my first 'decent' camera and was inspired by the usual suspects of the day, shooting black and whitet until 1983 or so when I switched to using slide film and then digital in 2002/3. I only got back into taking photograpjy seriously in 2010 when I went back to look at my old favourites. I quickly learned that things had changed since 1983 and soon found it hard to look at black and white with any great interest, unless it's 'vintage' stuff. Even then I find myself wondering if the likes of Cartier-Bresson being so highly regarded held photographers back. In terms of com[position and the use of colour.

There's probably a lengthy article to be written about this nonsense, but my brain's too addled to do it. And I'd rather be photographing sheep than writing arty waffle these days anyway!

 

[Boots]

Well, as you say, the original images didn't have much colour to begin with. But I think those that did have a bit of (green) colour had more impact in B&W. B&W also responds well to a bit of contrast boost, which helps with graphic images (for me).

Anyhow, a strong set of images either way, I like them.

 

[sirch]

i've not dropped by this thread for a while and it is great to catch up. I particularly like the semi-abstract nature of some of the mono conversions

Also good to see the processing video

 

[Ed Sutton]

Also good to see the processing video

I wasn't sure if anyone would find it interesting without a commentary. What has been good for me is that playing it back I always make the same choices for rejection and selection.

 

[Ed Sutton]

A cracking morning to be on the moss today. Sun shining and lots of field work going on. Typically I couldn't stop out long as I have a delivery due bringing me stuff to work on after having next to nothing to work on for over a week when the weather was not so good and the fields still wet and empty.

This was too far away, so cropped in-camera, and I didn't get it sharp.



This scene had potential but I was shooting into the sun.







In both cases if I'd had time I could have waited until the tractors were closer and maybe got better pictures, but I wanted to make sure I was back home in good time.

Let's see if black and white can save them.

 

[Boots]

Perversely, today I prefer the colour versions. There's no pleasing some people. The first is my favourite.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Perversely, today I prefer the colour versions. There's no pleasing some people. The first is my favourite.

I like the first one, but it's not really sharp enough - wobbly hand syndrome being the culprit.

 

[Ed Sutton]

There's a bit more activity on the moss now.

Looking north yesterday.



Turning round to look south.



This is the spring barley that was drilled a few weeks back.



I'll keep wandering the meanygates for somewhere to go and because I like being out on the moss, but going there to take photographs has become a bit of a chore if I'm honest, although I'll take a camera with me. When I started during lockdown I could get out there in the morning or early afternoon when there'd be work going on. Nowadays I can't make it at those times so easily. By evening most work is over for the day. It's the work that interests me most as subject matter. So that's me about done with this thread now. Thanks for all the likes, comments, and feedback.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I know I said that would be it, but it's not every day there's a chance to celebrate a coronation AND scare pigeons!