The Wind in the Willows

[Pete Askew]

It was stormy out today and to get a bit of fresh air while waiting for the effects of eye drops to wear off I wandered down to the church to finish the postcard shots and from there to the river. Standing under the trees was impressive. The rattling noise the new branches made was like giant birds rattling their beaks against each other like some immense courtship ritual. I was impressed by how much the branches were moving and the swirling patterns they made and so I decided to capture some element of it (unfortunately no ND filters with me as I'd been shooting the interior of the church). In any case a coupe of the shots had potential.

Hasselblad 503CW + 60mm Zeiss Distagon f1:3.5 CFi onto a PhaseOne P45 back. ISO 50, 1/30s at f1:11. PP in LR and Nik SilverFX Pro 2.

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I had toyed with using a 150mm lens but, at the time, wanted a more 'immersive' view. But I think that might be quite effective as you can seen from this crop of another of the captures.

 

[Pete Askew]

And another.

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An 1/8s would have been ideal I reckon so I'll make sure to pack a ND filter next time!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Very interesting abstracts, Pete. Love the movement in the second, especially.

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks Rob. I guess they are more studies than final images. If it is still windy at the weekend I'll go back and shoot using a longer lens (either 150mm or 180mm) and maybe with an ND.

 

[Paul Lange]

Funny, I went for a walk at lunchtime and spent quite a while photographing trees swaying in the wind. No ND filter either so a struggle not to blow out the highlights. Not loaded them yet so not 100% sure what I have. I think the 2nd has the most energy and the slightly more stark look to it works well with the idea I think.

 

[Pete Askew]

I agree. The longer lens would have been the sensible choice as this crop is pushing it even from a 39MP back.

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Superb Pete. Strangely or not I had this exact idea today myself after rising as soon as I noticed the gale of wind. My idea was to use the wind blown trees like this, the attraction for me was to contrast it with a good fiery dramatic sky. I went out and parked when a branch came down on the car, not too big and no damage. with plenty of wind the tree branches bending well, but alas the sky was a bit to uniform. so took the usual nonsense of leaves and stones.

Looking forward to more if you do run with this idea.

 

[Nihat Iyriboz]

Beautiful set, Pete. Particularly, the first one. Right leaning top section of the trees, almost brushing the clouds, and the clouds' drama... Looking forward to the long lens versions.

 

[Brian Moore]

Fabuloloso Pete. ND or no! Love the movement branches. You can plainly see its offy blawy!

 

[Beth Anthony]

the first and second shots are amazingly well done. the third doesn't work as well for me, i think it's missing the mackillop motion blurriness of the second.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

That's copyrighted, Beth. He needs to pay an enormous fee before being allowed to use it.