Cornish Walk (when the wx was a lot better, few weeks ago!)

A few images I took with the good old kit lens DA 18-55mm, all taken on a monopod, it was actually a very overcast day and most were taken in woodland.
All were RAW with just minimal PP.

I was trying to capture the atmosphere of the summer and countryside near where I live, comments welcome please

I like 1, 4 & 5 very much. I think the first one would be better without the brown leaf tip and the last would be improved immensely by having gotten rid of the bramble shoot but I think it really gives the atmosphere of a cottage garden. The woodlaand stream might work very well in B+W too.

Ken

Thank you Ken, I at the time thought of removing that little brown mark too on the leaf, but something told me it looked too perfect then, maybe just me, I will have another go at it!
I did also try to remove the bramble, but, when I did, something was missing, I suppose it is a real art to decide how far one must go with editing and also quite subjective, thank you kindly for your comments.

However, just for you here is no 4 in Mono:

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nice work!

Very nice, I like the bent up pettle in no.2 gives it character but I think personally I would have liked the whole front flower to be in focus.

I also really like no 4, it really draws you in.

well done

I'm not one for going that far in post production so I really meant that it could have been removed before the picture was taken!

I do like the monochrome shot, does anyone know how to achieve a gold or platinum toned look in PS?

Ken

All very, VERY nice Lilly.

#1 Please don't change it. That is how you found it, why change it to so called "perfection"? That's life - that's death and decay, that's how the real world is. I like it a lot...as is.

#2 A scene that one often finds in nature but you captured it well. Are you tempted to change the one less-than-perfect petal? I hope not, it makes it real.

#3 The underexposed background makes the common Foxglove stand out beautifully here but so often it can look phoney, like a black velvet cloth hung behind. But, because of the fading foliage behind the subject you certainly made it look very real in this capture. Your choice of the four stalks in different stages of development is a great composition too.

#4 How many times have I come across a scene just like this in the 40+ years of my photography hobby? HUNDREDS!! How many shots have actually turned out this good for me? Well, embarassingly...none. Unless the original scene looked waaaay better in real than it shows up here...then, very well captured indeed.

#5 Amazing what a low angle and the addition of one out of focus tower will do to turn a mundane scene a great photo. Great composition Lilly and great to see ideas like this implemented.

In my opinion you have totally suceeded in capturing "the atmosphere of the summer and countryside near where I live" in all five of these photos. Great work! It just goes to show what the lowly 18-55mm on an overcast day can produce in the hands of someone with an "eye". In my mind , these photos are far and above most of the "snapshots" we usually see posted here for critique despite having top of the line cameras. Keep up the great work Lilly. YOU have created some great images regardless of your great equipment and post processing skills.

BTW: I don't think #4 looks nearly as good in B&W as it does in the moody green colour. But hey, that's me.

Regards

Drew

I think Drew properly translated my three happy faces.

Five nice shots Lilly, my favourite's number 1, probably just because it's the sort of shot I like to take.

Tried that one coverted to B&W and liked it like that too! I tried a hue/saturation layer set to colorize (Hue 45, Saturation 5, Lightness 0) and then a Brightness/Contrast layer (B -10, C +20).

Lovely pic, keep 'em coming!

Dan

Thank you, all you fellow nature enthusiasts for your encouraging comments, I will endeavour to keep the images coming.... Lilly

Please do. These were, without exception, lovely.

By the way, your sig is, I think, not quite correct. It's one of my favourite quotes, too, but I believe it should be: "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits". Just one "just".

Google says that it was coined by an American baseball player, but I think it sounds better in a good West Country accent - perhaps more Somerset than Cornwall.

G

Thank you George for correcting me, must have been bugging you for a few months!
Lilly

Actually, I've only just noticed it. And further research suggests it was Thoreau, the hermit philosopher, not some baseball player, who coined the phrase.

G