My trusty Canon DLSR comes with me when I go exploring for picturesque places and despite not yet owning a wide-angle lens which would be perfect for shooting landscape/architecture, I have still managed to capture some photo's that I'm happy with.
This bridge structure was captured in Dyrham Park, Bath.
Converted to black & white in Picassa.
Camera settings - ISO400, F8, 1/160sec.
I think there is a little too much white in the top left hand corner of this image, and use of a polarising filter may have helped bring out the detail in the sky.
Converted to black & white in Picassa.
Camera settings - ISO400, F8, 1/160sec.
I think there is a little too much white in the top left hand corner of this image, and use of a polarising filter may have helped bring out the detail in the sky.
These stairs lead you up to the bridge in the first image. I like the way the angle of this photo draw the viewer's eyes up the stairs and to the archways.
Camera settings same as above - ISO400, F8, 1/160sec.
'Traditionally English' in Lacock, Wiltshire.
This street is slightly curved so I found it difficult getting a good composition, but I'm pleased with the final image.
Converted to sepia in Picassa.
Camera settings - ISO400, F/5.6, 1/250 sec.
I wanted a photo of my favourite pub in Lacock, 'The Sign Of The Angel', and as luck would have it, at the exact time I was about to press the shutter, an old car slowed down to allow me to take the picture ... but I decided the photo would look nicer with the car in it! As I was using an 18-135mm zoom lens instead of a wide angle, it was difficult to get the vertical angle of the building correct (the pub was in fact a little wonky!), and to get the whole building into the frame. I like the composition though, the position of the car.
An old cottage, Lacock.
Camera settings same as above, converted to sepia in Picassa. The sky is too bright and lacks detail, and the verticals could be straightened in Photoshop (see my 'Lydiard Park' post for details on how to straighten Converging Verticals).
'Sitting Ducks' - Bourton-on-the-Water.
Using the same zoom lens, I attempted to shoot this picture so that the viewer's eyes would be lead along the curved waterside. Looking at this image, I see people relaxing on a peaceful mid-summer's day, trying to cool down by dipping their feet in the water. I think that converting the image to black & white has made it lose some of that 'summer' feeling though. Had I captured the blue sky, used a polarising filter to enhance this, used a wide angle lens to fit more of the river into the frame, and retained the colour of the trees, this image would've conveyed the true feeling of summer much more.
