Countryside Communications

[Donald]

Do you, like me, understand and acknowledge the need for effective communication systems, but still find the means of acheving this a bit intrusive?


40D, 70-200 F4 L IS @ 200mm. ISO 200. 1/10@f11. Circ Pol + 2-stop GND. Manual. Spot. 10:22am

[ScoutR]

Yes! Hydro poles and lines are worse though, these towers are actually a little photogenic - in a different kind of way

[Donald]

Did you just run outside and do that?

[rick55]

What a great shot, Donald. I've had the same kind of thoughts, when I see a beautiful hill, but there's a cell tower in every angle I can find. I debate whether to take the shot and spend the time in PS wiping it out. But you've "made lemonade" with this one. Great mood, with the clouds and subdued colors, and the bright covers of the microwave antennas sticking out like a sore thumb.

Cheers,
Rick

[ScoutR]

LOL, not quite, but i did just crop and resize an old one.

[ScoutR]

What a great shot, Donald. I've had the same kind of thoughts, when I see a beautiful hill, but there's a cell tower in every angle I can find. I debate whether to take the shot and spend the time in PS wiping it out. But you've "made lemonade" with this one. Great mood, with the clouds and subdued colors, and the bright covers of the microwave antennas sticking out like a sore thumb.

Cheers,
Rick

Agree - even with the towers it is a great shot and relevant to the way things are. I like the contrast of the tranquill countryside with the towers, even though if I were shooting it I'd be very annoyed that the towers were there. Hard to explain but it works.

[rick55]

Hi, Wendy;

Your shot has a similar story, with a different mood: the cheerful farmhouse under blue skies and puffy clouds, with that ugly steel structure stuck in there. Very nicely done.

These two pictures go well together. They show that the towers don't fit, they don't take on the feeling of the countryside. They don't get bright and comfortable-looking on a nice day, and they don't get as subdued as the rest of the landscape on a drab day.

Cheers,
Rick

[arith]

You've just about used everything on this; circular polariser, GND and it is getting complicated. Well I like it and my thoughts were where does that road go. This is the sort of thing I go crazy on and try to break every rule going ending up no doubt with something only I like, but what would it look like with the tower in the centre.

It is an absolutely wonderful image as it is and you got me thinking. cheers

[bleys]

I like your stuff, Donald. You seem to have found consistency within your own personal style.

[Wirefox]

Beautiful shot as usual Donald. The layering of the different components of the scene give it real depth. Nice work

Steve

[carregwen]

Very good shot, Donald. I like the great range of light and shade. It gives the shot real depth.

[CNelson]

Very nice shot. I also fight poles and towers and signs in landscapes. It is for such occasions the clone brush was invented. Sometimes it's worth the shot knowing you can "fix" it in post.

Chuck

[Donald]

Thankyou all for your comments.

There was strong sun yesterday morning and having been looking at the work of others in books out from the library, I went out with the notion of strong shadows, shapes and contrasts to the front of my mind. I also had one eye out for the the Themed Photo Challenge that's running at the moment, but there was nothing that fitted what I'm looking for.

I'm also conscious that my work has developed towards recording the impact of humankind on the landscape. All of my stuff features some sort of structure/artifact put in place by humankind (bridge, dwelling, etc). I might grow out of this, but for the moment ....

As I wandered around close to home, this image struck me as soon as I saw it. I knew what I wanted to do right away. It was an opportunity to try and say something about what we're doing to the landscape in the very understandable 'advancement' of technology.

The sun was coming out from behind cloud and hitting the dishes on the tower. I knew that if I got the sun fully on the dishes, I would also get a strong shadow from the row of trees to break up the rather bland field at the bottom of the frame. And as the clouds blew over on what was quite a strong wind, I could see that the sun was occassionally catching the shoulder of the hill down from the tower.

So, it was enjoyable seeing all the elements in the viewfinder and having the time to wait until everything came together, allowing me to fire off a few frames.