One point I would like to clarify in the assignment feedback is the mention of slow shutter speed. Although it may seem a little slow for hand holding, I was using a lens with image stabilisation - the Canon 24-105 F4L. I had this switched on for this shoot in an attempt to keep the ISO as low as possible as the weather was pretty grim. I was trying to prevent too much noise creeping in to the images. For other images I tried to capture a little movement in the tractor wheels or plough. Having said that, some of the images may have benefited from a slightly higher shutter speed.
Research
I first found out about the ploughing event from a sign I passed on the way to work. The timing was just about right for this to feature as my assignment so I set about finding out what I could. A search on the internet resulted in me finding this web site: http://chichesterploughingmatch.web.officelive.com/default.aspx.
I spent some time on here, looking at the images from previous years and getting some idea of how things worked. From this I drew up the list of shots I wanted to get. The list is outlined in the actual assignment.
The Images
Here are the images from this assignment. Clicking on an image will open it full size.!
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| Cover Image |
I wanted the cover image to be striking and be clear of the subject. Filling most of the frame with the tractor and ploughed field in close-up serves to let the viewer know that the article is about ploughing. I am happy with this side of the image although I do see that without the wording we would not know that this is a ploughing competition and may think it is just about ploughing. Maybe I should have included some more competitors?
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| Image 1 |
Image 1
This image was created to show that there was a variety of competitors attending. I wanted something more dramatic than a simply angled view across the fields. This straight on shot looks down across all the different equipment to show that there is a lot going on. Unfortunately I had a little trouble with the sky being very pale and did not have any graduated neutral density filters to combat this, so I had to make a decision on exposure and opted for the machinery and fields.
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| Image 2 |
Image 2
Really pleased with this image. I was happy I spotted this as it adds a more 'reportage' feel to the sequence. I chose a medium depth of field and this has worked well to highlight the subject of this image - the dog waiting for his master to return.
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| Image 3 |
Image 3
This image has been re-edited to lighten the face of the woman on the left and the furrow in the foreground. When viewing this in full size, you will notice the movement in the horses feet. I did shoot for this at 1/50 of a second. I don't think having the shutter any slower would have improved the image as this would have resulted in too much movement.
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| Image 4 |
Image 4
The purpose of this image was two-fold. I wanted to show the variety of machinery that attended on the day as well as add in some more human interest. If I had to retake this image I may have tried to re-frame to lose some of the clutter by the man's left arm.
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| Image 5 |
Image 5
The tutor feels this is the least successful image in this assignment which it guess it must be! The image was placed at the bottom of the right hand page of the article as it was meant to juxtaposition the shire horses at the bottom of the left hand page in an 'old' vs 'new' type of context. The tractor image itself is not really that spectacular although I do like the movement in the wheels and the plough.
I have lightened the tractor a little more as per suggestion of the tutor by using the 'Dodge' tool in Photoshop.
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| Image 6 |
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| Image 7 |
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| Image 8 |
Image 6, 7 & 8
I am very happy with this little series of images. I had spent some time photographing this chap and this is a small selection from many shots. The sequence has been included here so that the larger versions can be examined.
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| Image 9 |
Image 9
This image serves to show both a bit more of the scale of the event and also gives an idea of how the ploughing is carried out for a competition. This is a crop to get rid of some of the bland sky and foreground so as to focus on the action.
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| Image 10 |
Image 10
I included this image as it has such a strange machine and good detail of the guy using it. There are also some leading lines which draw you into the image.
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| Image 11 |
Image 11
A simple detail which shows the conditions but also encapsulates the day - mud, straw and machinery!
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| Image 12 |
Image 12
Here a view of the judges. It may have been nice if I had got a shot of the judge with the clipboard writing something down?
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| Image 13 |
Image 13
Again a detail shot to show some of the machinery in use. Perhaps a slightly slower shutter speed here would have given a bit more movement to the soil being turned over.
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| Image 14 |
Image 14
Finally, I needed an image to end on but I unfortunately couldn't be there the prize giving so I had to pick a suitable image from the shots I took that day. This was the best I could come up with but I admit it maybe isn't the best to show the end of the day.
