Sheep etc.

[superpippo]

Even before setting off I was in a bit of a 'why do I do this' phase. Wondering what the bloody point is of taking these pictures to stick on-line where hardly anyone looks at them (even if they were 'liked' by thousands it would still feel futile) and having them clogging up my hard drives. There was another chap there yesterday taking photographs and I had a look at his Flickr stream last night. It made me think that doing this for a hobby is really just p***ing about.

Dave
Cheer up FGS
I real enjoy looking at these shots. They record part of the life of the sheep owning community and have small details which intrigue me. e.g. the record keeping at the trials,( much like the bookies board at the races); the clearing down of the course; the contemplative nature of many of the onlookers.
There are many shots on the forum of grand landscapes, beautifully shot and taking a lot of effort e.g up at dawn, but tbf, kind of seen one, seen all (obviously a big generalisation), whereas your year in the sheep country often brings images that are different, interesting, almost tantalising. I often feel that I should go to one of these events just to see it in the flesh.
I think that it helps that you have persevered because you have covered all of the seasons and weathers.
Two other points - the Ingmar Bergman shot is super. I would far prefer that on my wall than any of the shots of Langdale Pikes , including my own
Second, care to share the other photographers Flickr site so that I can look and see to what you are referring? I am not sure whether you are saying that he is brilliant and this makes you feel just a hobbyist or that he is on a par and you are both just hobbyists.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Dave
Cheer up FGS
I real enjoy looking at these shots. They record part of the life of the sheep owning community and have small details which intrigue me. e.g. the record keeping at the trials,( much like the bookies board at the races); the clearing down of the course; the contemplative nature of many of the onlookers.
There are many shots on the forum of grand landscapes, beautifully shot and taking a lot of effort e.g up at dawn, but tbf, kind of seen one, seen all (obviously a big generalisation), whereas your year in the sheep country often brings images that are different, interesting, almost tantalising. I often feel that I should go to one of these events just to see it in the flesh.
I think that it helps that you have persevered because you have covered all of the seasons and weathers.
Two other points - the Ingmar Bergman shot is super. I would far prefer that on my wall than any of the shots of Langdale Pikes , including my own
Second, care to share the other photographers Flickr site so that I can look and see to what you are referring? I am not sure whether you are saying that he is brilliant and this makes you feel just a hobbyist or that he is on a par and you are both just hobbyists.

Thanks for the encouragement, Alan.

To sum up my current mood: Last week I had no (real world) work to get on with but an idea to progress some photography which requires sunshine - it was miserable and dull. Today the sun is shining so I planned to go start on the photographs this morning when an e-mail arrived confirming the components I was hoping would arrive last week for work will arrive today. That's this week accounted for!

I'd rather not share the Flickr link - not least because I'm not 100% sure it's the same guy. The photos are good, no better or any worse than those taken of similar subjects by lots of other hobbyists and professionals. Which is what I'm driving at. I can't see the point of adding more of the same to the pile.

I'm never sure whether it's a good thing to search out other photography of the subjects I select. Ignorance might be bliss but I was taught that working in a vacuum usually leads to making work you imagine to be new that is actually the same as some already made. Sometimes looking at other people's pictures can inspire me, at other times it makes me feel the way I do at the moment. When I see it in books it makes me want to take photographs, when I see it on Flickr it all seems a bit pointless. Just more photos filling up the world to no real end. What I ought to do is grow a pair and actually make the effort and contacts to produce a real world book that is more than pictures anyone could have taken, from the outside as it were.

Maybe time for a change of subject to one where I already have the contacts?

Here's an out of focus pup to cheer me up.

 

[sirch]

I know what you mean Dave, I often think the same myself but I really do think a project like this has value, just make sure you print it off at some point as a book or whatever. People love looking at old photos especially of people and events and we only have old photos because someone took them in the first place and I think a concerted collection like this over a relatively short period of time is a great snapshot of a community.

There are far too many pretty landscapes that get "good photo" comments on here that have next to no value in a year or two where as collected works like this are much slower-burn but have a much longer significance. I just need to find something like this or your chicken shack that I am motivated to shoot

 

[Ed Sutton]

I know what you mean Dave, I often think the same myself but I really do think a project like this has value, just make sure you print it off at some point as a book or whatever. People love looking at old photos especially of people and events and we only have old photos because someone took them in the first place and I think a concerted collection like this over a relatively short period of time is a great snapshot of a community.

There are far too many pretty landscapes that get "good photo" comments on here that have next to no value in a year or two where as collected works like this are much slower-burn but have a much longer significance. I just need to find something like this or your chicken shack that I am motivated to shoot

Thanks, Chris.

My mood has lightened somewhat as today has gone on.

I have done a Blurb book covering the shows from last summer- which I looked through again this afternoon and was still quite happy with. The sheep dog trial and auction photos will be Blurbed at some point, although there's still more to be done on both those two. Maybe someone will save my Blurb books from the recycling when I pop my clogs and all will not have been wasted!

 

[sirch]

I'm sure the books will be saved but things on a hard drive or the web will be lost. We've collected loads of photos and other odds and ends from relatives who have died over the years

 

[Ed Sutton]

I'm sure the books will be saved but things on a hard drive or the web will be lost. We've collected loads of photos and other odds and ends from relatives who have died over the years

I have old photos passed down through the years and have no idea who some of the people are or where they were taken because there are no details written on most of them. But they still feel worth preserving. There's seems to be an in-built reluctance to throw prints away for some reason. I've thought about getting batches of 5x7 prints made on a regular basis in the hope they might outlast me. Daft as it is.

 

[superpippo]

....I'd rather not share the Flickr link - not least because I'm not 100% sure it's the same guy. The photos are good, no better or any worse than those taken of similar subjects by lots of other hobbyists and professionals. Which is what I'm driving at. I can't see the point of adding more of the same to the pile.....

.....When I see it in books it makes me want to take photographs, when I see it on Flickr it all seems a bit pointless. Just more photos filling up the world to no real end. .....

Quite agree.
As to asking for the Flickr link, I was only trying to work out what you were saying - EITHER that his shots were better than yours so as a hobbyist you might be p... etc, OR that he was a hobbyist and that his efforts were no better, no worse.
But your explanation here is clear.

I try to print my photos in a yearly book and have done so going back to 2004. They tend to be family/record/holiday photos. My family can look at them - but they never see stuff on the PC. Also I find that printing is good for putting together shots from different eras and with different media. My favourite is a book I produced 4 years ago following the death of my mother which I managed to scan from a number of sources. It includes b&w shots of her an my father's early married years, newspaper photos, colour neg and colour prints. If they had stayed in a box or on my PC, no-one would even know they existed.

 

[superpippo]

I'm sure the books will be saved but things on a hard drive or the web will be lost. We've collected loads of photos and other odds and ends from relatives who have died over the years

Perfect for a family album (s)

 

[Ed Sutton]

My favourite is a book I produced 4 years ago following the death of my mother which I managed to scan from a number of sources. It includes b&w shots of her an my father's early married years, newspaper photos, colour neg and colour prints. If they had stayed in a box or on my PC, no-one would even know they existed.

I've recently done three Blurb books of scans from my negatives from 1978-82, and plan at least two more. And there's one I did a while ago of slides my late aunt took (and some of her) during her year in the USA. http://www.blurb.co.uk/books/6857802-shoebox-slides These are in addition to books of projects.

Some years back I put a slideshow of my old photos of Southport on Youtube.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=yBbBSacnZ4Q
Two people got in touch , one having seen herself in one of the photos and another seeing their old dog. It was rewarding to be able to send them copies.

I've no sheep plans for a few weeks now but I do have a plan for 'digital photostory' inspired by those of Daniel Meadows - https://vimeo.com/user15481435 I've done an outline, next I'll write a loose script and record it (and hate the sound of my voice...), then I'll take some fresh photos select some scans and make some other recordings. The laborious part will be learning the software to edit it.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I don't know if it was the sunshine or seeing a newt in my pond, but something cheered me up this week. Even though I wasn't able to get out with a camera until this afternoon due to work I've been thinking about photography. While stuck indoors I even ordered a couple more photobooks. I should have ordered another book case too...

Without any plan in mind I went for a drive round this afternoon and saw some sheep grazing the remains of a cabbage field. Although I stopped and took some photographs I wasn't happy with them when I got back home for tea. I'd managed to completely miss focus on one for some reason. Incompetence I expect. Expecting the electric fence to be moved I took advantage of the extra evening hour and improving light to go back for a second attempt. It paid off. Not only did I get the shot of the fence in focus the sheep didn't run away from me. What passing motorists made of someone kneeling at the edge of a field pointing a camera at cabbages I don't know!

These are a few pics which I hope show how the grazing system works. There is a bowser for drinking water and there was a mineral lick (not pictured here). Once this part of the field is done the fencing will no doubt be moved to let the sheep at more fodder.

Notice how the row of cabbage next to the fence isn't so well nibbled. That's because the sheep touch the fence with their heads and get a jolt!

At the other side of the patch the fence is a bit further from the last cabbage row.

A bowser makes a good scratching post.

Across the road there is a field of ewes and lambs. So here's a quick (almost) sheepscape to conclude - too much sheep, not enough scape.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Public service announcement. If you see a sheep on its back, turn it over or it could well die. This one managed to right itself when it panicked on my approach to help it.

It's still lambing season.

Supplement lick device.

A lambscape!

 

[ancient_mariner]

Public service announcement. If you see a sheep on its back, turn it over or it could well die.

Is that a kind of ovine suicide technique?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Is that a kind of ovine suicide technique?

One of many. A vet once informed me that sheep are always finding new ways to die. Some reckon that is their driving ambition!

 

[Ed Sutton]

In the past I have always driven on when I pass Pendle Hill looking photogenic on my way to the auction mart, but today I didn't. I probably could have done better but at least I made an effort. Photographing the landscape requires more patience than I've ever had.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I sometimes wonder if I'm being a bore posting endless pictures of sheepy subjects. But what the hell, here are some more!

A benefit of being both self-employed and work-shy is that I don't need much of an excuse to take a day off. With today's auction being billed as having a spring lamb show it seemed like it could be worth a visit. It turned out to be a bit of a let down, although still interesting to someone not of a farming background.

At previous sales I'd managed to miss the unloading of the livestock trailers by arriving too late. This time I took advantage of the fair weather and made an attempt. I rather botched it as I was using the flippy screen on my camera a lot of the time and it's not all that great for moving the focus point around so most shots were to blurry. The ones which would have worked best, of course.

1

2

3

The system for unloading the sheep is simple and effective allowing for two trailer to back up to a set of gates which block off any escape routes. In theory... No pics of the round-up I'm afraid!

Once inside the shed the sheep have to be directed to the correct pens.

4

5

There's a lot goes on inside the shed to ensure the right sheep are sold from the right pens which I haven't got photographs of yet, or not ones I'm happy with such as the scanning of the electronic ID tags.

6

I think this was the first sale of the year of 'ewes with lambs at foot'. As the season goes on I expect numbers will increase. Again I used the flippy screen to get to lamb-level, With the same focusing trouble. Mostly user error, I'll admit.

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8

With only a few sets of ewes and lambs being sold, and feeling a bit frustrated with the way things had gone I decided to leave early. From previous visits to sales I didn't think I'd be missing anything much from the main sale of sheep. Nothing I'd be likely to make much of in the mood I was in. Not that I'm in a giving up frame of mind. far from it. When I got home there was a link on a Twitter feed that perked me up and gave me renewed enthusiasm. That's a turn up for the books!

Back to the grind tomorrow. I have work to catch up with...

 

[sirch]

For whatever reason I haven't been getting notifications about new posts in this thread, you've been busy since I last looked in Dave and I'm glad you are sticking with it.

 

[Snapper67]

Here's one for all the forum sheep fans.

I spotted these sheep doing exactly the same thing the day before this shot (01/07/2018) on route to Dunkeld.

Managed to park up and get a few pics of this scene on the return journey the following day. High res pic if you click through.

This was shot not far north of Perth I'm sure....

SheepinShade-h by Dougie Lindsay, on Flickr

 

[Ed Sutton]

For whatever reason I haven't been getting notifications about new posts in this thread, you've been busy since I last looked in Dave and I'm glad you are sticking with it.

Thanks Chris. I'm not sure if I'm sticking with this because I'm obsessed, stubborn, or have nothing better to occupy my mind these days.

So long as it offers up problems to solve and other challenges I'm sure I'll carry on.

Here's one for all the forum sheep fans.

I spotted these sheep doing exactly the same thing the day before this shot (01/07/2018) on route to Dunkeld.

Managed to park up and get a few pics of this scene on the return journey the following day. High res pic if you click through.

This was shot not far north of Perth I'm sure....

SheepinShade-h by Dougie Lindsay, on Flickr

On Saturday it was quite warm in my sheep country and there were a few ewes lying in the shade of stone walls. They follow the shadows as they move. Not as daft as people think, sheep aren't.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I hear a lot of talk about food waste these days. Those sheep in the cabbage field are doing a grand job of clearing up what would have been ploughed in. They don't leave much, and manure the soil while their at it. A return of The Golden Hoof!

Sheep stare at you in a different way than cows do.

Another lambscape.

I'll give it a rest now.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I've hit the inevitable wall of repetition with the sheep dog trials. Yesterday I took a few shots of the action then lost interest. Not being a sunshine lover and having a little bit of back ache (which got worse as the day went on) might also have put a downer on my attitude.

The course was different to what was used for the nursery trials, longer with the sheep released from the top of the hill. Trying to get a picture which conveyed this without the distant sheep becoming unrecognisable specks proved beyond me. There was a heat haze which didn't help matters in respect of retaining detail, but did convey atmosphere. Having walked up that hill last year and regretting it I can have to admire the way the dogs run up it!

1

It being a longer 'fetch', around half a mile, there was a lot of time before the sheep and dog would be in range for photographing the action. Certainly with the focal lengths I have available. This is one area where different gear could make for better, or maybe different, pictures. Those not being the sort of pictures which interest me, although they probably interest sheep dog handlers, I'll not be shelling out on any longer lenses. I used the down time to wander around looking for details and pictures which might help show what it's like at a trial. Which included the inevitable dog-in-back-of-vehicle pictures. I tried my best to take pictures which had something different about them.

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3

And some which showed a wider view. I hoped the water bottles and panting dog put over the idea that the day was hot.

4

Another attempt to illustrate the heat with the dog bowl, but also showing the social aspect, and the fanaticism with the vehicle artwork..
5

A detail of the booking in and running order sheet is something I've been looking for for a while.

6

Continued in next post as there are some photos to put in sequence and the picture limit will be exceeded for this post.

 

[Ed Sutton]

At lunchtime there was something else new to me, a brace trial. One handler, two dogs gathering two packets of sheep from opposite ends of the hillside. The sheep are then brought together and both dogs guide them through the same course as run in the singles. At the penning the handler doesn't leave the post but has to get the dogs to pen the sheep. Finally the sheep are split into two equal packets again. This all proved too difficult for a couple of young dogs.

How to sum that all up in a few photos? Not having seen this going on before I was starting from scratch. I wanted two dogs in the frame, but they didn't come close to each other all that often. I tried the wide view, a tight shot of two dogs when they were fairly close, and a better idea that I messed up with the framing (or maybe not?) and focus. I think I'll have a better idea how to approach a brace trial in future if I get the chance.

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2

3

Despite a slight lack of enthusiasm I seem to have come away with a few new pictures. I also took a casual 'portrait'. I'm not sure why I don't take many of these, or even ask people to 'pose'. I think it's because they are there to enjoy themselves rather than for my convenience. That's one of the odd things about photography like this, it can feel like its all take and no give. It was the strings of whistles round his neck that attracted my attention. I might have mentioned that I have a half-baked idea of photographing these whistles as a series.

4

Now for the waffle!

I've been thinking about the nature of documentary photography lately. This was sparked off by purchasing a copy of Seabird by Damian Bird (http://www.damianbirdphotography.com/seabird/index.htm) which is a book of pretty straightforward photographs which don't try to be art in the way some of what I see calling itself documentary photography does these days. The book also has short passages of what seems to be recorded conversation from the fishermen in the pictures (as per the link). It's got me thinking that what might be called 'serious photobooks' which don't have text accompanying the pictures are getting away from effective story telling. Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but are they the right words? I'm not so sure. I've started messing around with video editing software making slide shows (my previous PC was too slow for this) and it's making me rethink the sort of pictures I take as sequencing decisions change, and how I can incorporate text or audio. More experimentation is required.

Damian Bird's pictures of Dartmoor farming life can be seen on Life Force Magazine and I'm told will be a book later this year. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[droj]

Do you know the work from Devon of the late James Ravilious?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Do you know the work from Devon of the late James Ravilious?

I do indeed.

 

[Ed Sutton]

As I've been using the tilting screen of my DSLR a bit recently but finding it frustrating I got myself a cheap Panasonic a few weeks ago. Today I took it for a run out to a rare breed auction. I don't know why I bothered. I've had Panasonics before and got rid of them for various annoyances. This one's' no different. I felt like taking a hammer to it when I got home!

I don't know if I'm unusual, but I often use a camera's ability to select the focus point for me. I work on the assumption that it will focus on whatever is closest to the lens. If I'm photographing a group of sheep then the sheep nearest the camera is the one I want in focus. Saves me moving the focus point around. The camera does this just fine. Except... Whatever focus mode it's in if you touch the screen it switches to single point. Either my thumb is too big or the camera is too small but it was forever going into single focus point mode when I didn't want it to. It also defaults to 1/60th when in aperture priority and auto ISO. Once I realised this (after far too many shaky shots) I stuck it in shutter priority and stopped the motion blur. High ISO noise wasn't too bad, but not good enough to use at Clitheroe which is much gloomier. A faster lens would help but I'm a cheapskate... I might borrow one from a friend when he gets back from Mull. In the meantime it's back to the drawing board for low level pictures for now.

The tilty screen does make lamb-level shots easier, and using a camera with no viewfinder can be useful for candid shots of people. Although I prefer using a viewfinder even close up. Enough moaning! Some pics.

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5 Jacob/Valais Blacknose cross lamb.

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On my way home I called in at a tackle shop to take some photos in their new premises to wrap up the project I started over a year ago. Then it was on to a sheep dog trial, stopping off to look at the memorial gates to a sheep dog mane of repute. I messed up the photo of the gates but I did manage a sheepscape from the back of the church when the clouds parted in the distance.

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At the trial the wind was so bitter and the rain showers so heavy that I only took one photo from afar and gave up. When I looked at it back home I wished I'd stuck around. But that was because the photo doesn't convey how bitingly cold the wind was. I doubt I'd have lasted long and everyone was sheltering in their vehicles anyway.

8

It feels like crossroads time on this, the sheep dogs in particular which I now think of as a separate project to the shows and sales. That's one of the problems of starting an open ended project. It could go on indefinitely adding odd new pictures over time. Maybe I need to take a look at what I've got, try to put it in some sort of order and then work out what's missing?

 

[EightBitTony]

Even before setting off I was in a bit of a 'why do I do this' phase. Wondering what the bloody point is of taking these pictures to stick on-line where hardly anyone looks at them (even if they were 'liked' by thousands it would still feel futile) and having them clogging up my hard drives. There was another chap there yesterday taking photographs and I had a look at his Flickr stream last night. It made me think that doing this for a hobby is really just p***ing about. I

If I'm only doing this photography thing for my own amusement I'm not sure I want to bother any longer. Perhaps this is because in the past when I've dreamed up writing projects I've carried them through to conclusions which resulted in something tangible -dozens of articles and three books. Perhaps I need to start telling the world I'm working on a book (a real one to make some cash, not a self-indulgent Blurb creation), on the basis that then there would not only be a purpose but no going back!

I get this all the time. I remind myself (and this works for me, it may not work for others), that doing it for my own amusement *is* the most valuable part, and if nothing more than amusing myself comes from it, it was still worth it.

I'm never sure whether it's a good thing to search out other photography of the subjects I select. Ignorance might be bliss but I was taught that working in a vacuum usually leads to making work you imagine to be new that is actually the same as some already made. Sometimes looking at other people's pictures can inspire me, at other times it makes me feel the way I do at the moment. When I see it in books it makes me want to take photographs, when I see it on Flickr it all seems a bit pointless. Just more photos filling up the world to no real end. What I ought to do is grow a pair and actually make the effort and contacts to produce a real world book that is more than pictures anyone could have taken, from the outside as it were.

And here, I think you might be talking about me specifically. I jokingly describe my tombstone epitaph as 'Easily Discouraged'. If someone else is doing what I'm doing, but better, then what's the point of me doing it. If I'm not adding value, then why bother. Is there really a need for my average shots of a subject when better shots of a subject exist.

I have no good answer to that other than to remind myself again, that I enjoy taking the shots and that, for the most part, good or bad, the actual photographs I take are unique. And that uniqueness has to have some value.

I've enjoyed reading this thread this morning, my favourite shots are the detail shots, the close-ups, the true moments. Keep it up or give it up, either way, I've enjoyed the journey so far.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I have no good answer to that other than to remind myself again, that I enjoy taking the shots and that, for the most part, good or bad, the actual photographs I take are unique. And that uniqueness has to have some value.

I've enjoyed reading this thread this morning, my favourite shots are the detail shots, the close-ups, the true moments. Keep it up or give it up, either way, I've enjoyed the journey so far.

I'm pleased that you've enjoyed this so far. It will carry on in one form or another because I've no fresh ideas! As you say, good or bd all our pictures are unique in some way.

Things have been quiet of late. There haven't been any events I could spare teh time to get to. Bank Holiday's are dire because everywhere is busy. However I got off teh beaten track a bit today and managed a sheepscape or two in the Dales. Pleasant as the scenerey is I find it a bit too pretty. I think I'm going to stay clsoer to home in future. It'll soon be show season, anyway.

 

[EightBitTony]

Third one is my favourite of that batch, a proper moment.

Dude, get off our road.

 

[Ed Sutton]

As we move into summer it's open trial season where more experienced dogs are run. Being a new venue for me I tried to get a shot or two to show the landscape. Never easy, but at least the light was nice.

1

There was a cold wind picked up and drove most people inside their vehicles which put paid to my idea of photographing people more than the action. The layout of the course wouldn't have made that easy in any case as the first part of the drive ran close to where most of the vehicles were parked. There's always some challenge.

Out of the wind it was warm when the sun was shining. I took a few pictures of dogs resting.
2

People with dogs always make good subjects.
3

One good thing about the layout was the exhaust gate being where you entered the field and on a slope. Standing to one side, so as not to stop the sheep going through the gate, I was able to get a reasonable angle on them being driven towards it - without having to kneel down. having a near head on view meant that I could get the sheep and dog tightly framed, even if it meant one or the other being a little out of focus. That these three sheep are Lonks was a bonus for me.

4

I'm not sure why but I prefer photographing sheep being driven as a flock rather than as small packets round a trial field. When it was time to gather them up to take back to the release pen I was almost in the right place. Getting the three elements - sheep, dog and shepherd - together is down to luck I reckon. One of those subjects to keep trying until it clicks.

5

The route back up the hill was along a single track road. There wasn't much traffic on the road, but as soon as it was full of sheep...

6


I'm posting the next two pictures because the second one was the result of me persevering for longer than I often do in the hope of getting a better picture. It's not perfect. I'd have liked a sheep dog and sheep in the distance, but it's not too bad of its sort.

What drew me to the scene initially was the two men and their dogs having a near symmetry. I positioned myself to get the judge's 4x4 in the frame and the handler (he's 92 by the way) at the post. The first frame here (I took a few more) was not too bad but I moved a little to my left to separate the vehicle from the chap on the left. Then waited until both dogs were looking at the sheep. I was hoping to get both men in profile, as they were chatting, but settled for one. It wasn't until I got the pics on the PC and was toggling between the two I thought worked best that I realised that the guy on the right had crossed his legs mirroring the pose of the other chap and making the picture. I'm not sure that having both faces in profile would have improved the shot. It might have been too 'static'. It's funny how little things in pictures can make big differences. Something else I only noticed later on was that the right hand dog lead is a contrasting colour to the bloke's jeans. Nothing much, but it helps the story, I think.

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More trials and sheepy events coming up. I might ditch the longer lenses and heed the maxim of getting in close. Or will I bottle it?

 

[sirch]

Great to see this project continuing with more really good photos.

 

[Ed Sutton]

Great to see this project continuing with more really good photos.

Thanks Chris. I keep on keeping on!

 

[Ed Sutton]

I forgot to mention that at a trial back in March one of the handlers asked me if I sold my photographs. I prevaricated! anyway he asked me how much for taking a photo of his dog and supplying a print. I tried to get out of it so plucked a figure out of the air and he handed over a fiver more. Long story short his wife phoned to thank me for the 'lovely picture' when they received it and when I saw him on Saturday he said the picture is framed and on their wall. Phew!

As with all animal portraits it took a few tries before the dog got bored - and I was knelt in the middle of a country lane. It's not the best 'pet portrait', but so long as the recipient is happy that's what matters. That's the third print I've sold in 40 years. I don't think I'll be making a career move at this stage!

 

[ancient_mariner]

I've sold a few over the years, and I agree it's really hard to price your work. That's a nice doggie portrait.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I've sold a few over the years, and I agree it's really hard to price your work. That's a nice doggie portrait.

Thanks, it was the best of the bunch. The only one it looked at the camera in fact.

I've quoted more each time (they have all been within the last eighteen months) and they have all been accepted. I learned not to under-price when quoting for rod repairs. They can be a pain to do, but if the price is right.

 

[Alan White]

Now watching this project Ed, I was not expecting a Sheep thread after the Chicken One to be honest.
I was thinking you were being a bit 'Baahmy'

Great Images, somehow this topic is more engaging than the Chickens.
Perhaps it is because is has the animals in a more 'natural' setting?

 

[Ed Sutton]

I was thinking you were being a bit 'Baahmy'

Great Images, somehow this topic is more engaging than the Chickens.
Perhaps it is because is has the animals in a more 'natural' setting?

Maybe sheep and sheep dogs are more 'cuter' than chickens?

 

[Ed Sutton]

I left the sheep dog auction early today unsure there's anything mroe I can make from them. Started culling my pics and had to make this sequence into a gif.

EDIT : Gif removed and replaced with a link because it got annoying!

GIF LINK

 

[Ed Sutton]

Crikey that gif's annoying! I think I'll change it to a link.

The culling process revealed that I didn't gather many pictures that have anything new about them, and this forum's eight picture per post limit really helps the editing process in making me weed out the 'nearly' pictures from teh better ones.

The auction wasn't as well attended as Februray's and people weren't spending money. I also got there a bit later than I'd intended which meant I didn't have much time to try get decent pictures of the microchip scanning. I got a couple, but I'll have to give it another try I reckon. These two serve as illustrations, but they're nothing more.

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I was on the look out for detail shots. I tried quite afew but there weren't many 'working'. The lot number tags are on my imaginary list of subjects.

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One detail I made an effort to frame so I wouldn't have to crop was something I could imagine as a cover shot or intro shot to a picture essay.

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I didn't spend much time round the puppy ring this time. Not sure why. Again, not very busy.

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Something I am learning is that it pays to have patience and wait for things to come to me. Not something I'm good at, but I'm trying harder! In this case rather than trying to photograph dogs and sheep at long range I positioned myself where they sometimes come close to the fence at an angle that provides a background which is relevant.. It doesn't occur ever time a dog is running, but often enough. Maybe one time I'll get a shot where the frame is filled convincingly.

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I took a lot of the usual close ups of dogs watching sheep and 'characters' looking at dogs. Run of the mill fare. One of my general views, however, revealed something a little surreal that I didn't notice until I looked at it on the bigger screen.

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One of those outings where I learned more what not to do in future.
As usual there is a gallery/album on my website -https://photo.dlst.co.uk/albums/skipton-sheep-dog-auction-may-2019/

There are two more auctions this year which I'll probably attend for completeness and to try to improve on some shots. Three sheep dog trials I could go to over the weekend. Not sure I can face them to be honest!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Three sheep dog trials I could go to over the weekend. Not sure I can face them to be honest!

Actually it was four trials, and I could face two of them. Although I didn't make early starts and didn't stay long at one. Which by my reckoning makes me as daft as the sheep dog folk. Some of them attended all four trials, running more than one dog in each trial! The two trials I went to were charity opens. It only seems fair to put something in the collection. Today that saw me having a mug of tea and a scone 'forced' on me. As with the poultry shows I've found that when you show a genuine interest in what's going on at an event people are welcoming.

I look at a fair bit of documentary photography and it seems to fall into two styles. There's the hit and run stuff where the photographers often take liberties to my mind. They get 'edgy' pictures from one day engagement with their subject. You can get away with that sort of in your face approach if you're never going to see those people again. Then there's the slow burn style where the photographer gets to know their subjects over a longer period and the pictures are less dramatic but more intimate. Both approcahes have an agenda, I suppose, but I prefer the quieter style..

It's getting harder to find interesting pictures of the trialing itself. Today I went for a more landscapey approach to kick off, but the light wasn't great making for grainy shots which really need to be clean to show the fine details of subjects small in the frame. This was the same venue as last week.

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I also practised my long lens panning and tracking techniques. Again the pics were a bit grainy and frame filling pictures of dogs are not really my thing. It takes me back to the spell I had of photographing kite surfing action. I got fed up of that pretty quickly, but I did end up with a reasonable set of pictures of 'behind the scenes' pics. I sold my long zoom to stop me going back so I'm resisting the temptation of buying another to photograph sheep dogs. Although I am wondering if that sort of picture might be saleable...

Back on track. I spent a bit of time up the hill by the release pen where one of the volunteers asked me if I had a website as I'd photographed one of his dogs at a previous trial. I gave him a card and later in the day he'd already seen the pic. I'm not a technophobe but I do forget that most people use their phones as computers!

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Detail pictures are somthing I struggle with at trials. This weekend I made a bit of an effort to look for them. I liked the way the booking in sheet/running order was on a Land Rover. It seemed fitting.

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Yesterday had a bit of a vertical feel to some shots. I try to avoid verticals as they don't fit too well in a slideshow format, or in landscape orientated books. They can work well, so that doesn't stop me taking them.

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The law of diminishing returns is definitely kicking in now. Which is having an effect on my motivation. It's the thought that there might be a breakthrough round the next bend that keeps me at it. I think that comes from my time in the art department where the advice when you got stuck with a piece of work was always to 'work through' the block. You make a load of crap doing that, but something good will happen eventually.

On my way home from yesterday's trial I had to pull over to photograph a sign by a cattle grid. Maybe I should have used a slower shutter speed.

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[ancient_mariner]

On my way home from yesterday's trial I had to pull over to photograph a sign by a cattle grid. Maybe I should have used a slower shutter speed.

There would have been a certain amusement in getting the cars blurred & all else sharp.

 

[Ed Sutton]

I was doing a good deed taking a friend for a day out to scout photo locations to get him going again. I didn't have sheep in mind but... You know how it is.

Too sunny to drag the shutter, and no traffic anyway.