I think that the steps to or from a building or area are supposed to give you a particular impression, that is how they are designed, not just as a way of getting from one level to the next.  If a building is well maintained then the original impression may remain.  These steps however, are being taken back by the ivy that is climbing from the bottom.  The tendrils seem alive and in the process of going further; the peeling paint on the woodwork is not the only thing that gives away the fact that this house doesn’t have regular visitors.

What do I like about this photo apart from the fact that it has steps in it?  I like the fact that the ivy growing up the stairs leads the eye into the picture, the wood of the porch continues the journey, but there is nothing but the corner of the doorway at the top, so you are left to imagine what the house is like.  The steps aren’t very well worn, so maybe the house isn’t that old, or maybe there is another way in?  I also like the warmth given to the steps by the Winter sun, even if the house isn’t inviting or maybe because it isn’t, there is a reason to linger on the steps and not go in.

This was again taken with my 50mm lens, this time ISO200, f/11 and 1/250 secs.

I have recently started taking some shots using film, but am still learning about the development process, but I have found that when I do take my digital camera out now I am taking about half as many shots as previously.  It would also appear that I am starting to think about my photos a little more.  Today I decided to go out to try and capture the Winter light.  I had been thinking about getting up early and catching the sunrise, but that would mean going out in the cold and scraping the ice off the car!

I set off towards the Northamptonshire countryside and, as usual saw lots of photo opportunities.  Unfortunately what I didn’t see was somewhere to stop the car!  I therefore made a stop in Preston Capes, the second village I came to.  This is somewhere I have driven through, but never stopped in, mainly due to the aforementioned lack of somewhere to put the car.  Today I was in luck and quickly abandoned the car on the main street and made my way to the church, partly in the hope that I could get some views of the countryside as well as pictures of the church.

I saw this picture and, although it wasn’t the one I set out to get, it came out in the camera exactly as I had hoped when I pressed the shutter.  Well, almost, what I didn’t notice until I put the image into Lightroom was the transmitter showing behind one of the trees and, I am ashamed to admit it, I am tempted to try and clone it out should I wish to enter any competition.

However,  the light, the shadows, the rolling landscape, are just as I wanted in the photo.  This was taken with my 50mm lens, ISO200, f/9.0, 1/320secs.

I usually take a shot which shows all the architectural features of the church (and I do have one of these for Great Brington) but on this occasion I prefer this one taken from the back of the church.  The churchyard was a very peaceful and rural place where I felt totally relaxed and apart from the world.  I could have spent hours there and will possibly go back at some point.  The area close to the church was well kept, whereas further away from the church it had been allowed to grow wild.  As a result there was  profusion of flowers moving in the breeze and the sound of grasshoppers and crickets in the afternoon sunshine.   I think that this photo therefore sums up the place better than a full on shot of the architectural details.  I had my 17-40mm lens on the camera and used settings of ISO100, f/9.0 which resulted in a shutter speed of 1/160secs at a focal length of 40mm.

However, when I zoomed in on the tree on the left I was struck by how sharp it was and how much detail had been captured (although it is not entirely obvious from this crop).

Whilst I like this group of trees I have since decided that I do not like the crop – I think that it is unbalanced, all of the trees are in the centre, but there is nothing to hold the picture in.  In the original picture there were more trees to the left and I think that helped with the balance.

I have included more of the picture in the shot at the bottom.  This is an improvement in terms of balance, but because the field slopes to the right, and there are no strong features on the right I think the photo is falling out of the frame.  What do you think?

Camera settings 1/200secs, f/8.0, ISO100, 50mm focal length using my EOS 400D.

However, what hadn’t been apparent was that the poppies were in the middle of the field, and nowhere near the bits I could get to.  This is the best shot I could get without trampling the farmer’s crops – not really the thing to do.

I decided to make the best of it – the idea was to concentrate on the lonely poppy in the foreground and try to get the blurred poppies in the background to provide a context and a contrast – a single poppy against a mass of poppies.

Things to be improved – many – the most obvious is the seed head in front of the poppy – a pair of shears would have been an ideal addition to my photography kit.  I also think a few more poppies in the foreground would have helped, as would a better sky, it was mainly a sunny day with a blue sky and fluffy clouds, except for the time during which I was taking photos.  Also, more poppies in the background would have been better – or maybe edge to edge poppies – as I was initially hoping for.

In order to actually get anything in shot I had to use my macro lens, ISO200, 1/160secs at f/11.

Last week was different.  There was a brilliant sunset the week before, and the weather (as you may have noticed) has barely changed, it has merely become  hotter.  So, with James suffering from a cold that I accidentally (honest) gave him, I was at leisure to stop on the way back.  With hindsight I should have taken a larger camera, but there is always next week.

Has the picture turned out as I had hoped?  Using the idea of the picture being able to reflect the mood at the time, then I think it does.  The foreground could be a little better exposed, perhaps a little more fill light is in order, but I like the colours, the reflection of the sky in the canal, the sweeping curve of the path and the position of the narrowboat on the left.  The sunset is even in the top third of the picture!

The settings used by the camera (Canon S90) were 1/100secs at f/4.0, ISO 80 and 6mm.

For the record, I took this picture with my Canon IXUS 60 compact camera which doesn’t allow many changes to settings, the settings it chose were 12.1mm, f/8.0, 1/500sec and, I think, because it keeps it a secret from me, I had it set on ISO100.