Assignment 2

Managed to snatch a couple of hours before sundown to get out and do some work towards the project 'Eliminating depth clues'. Had thought I would have plenty of time to dedicate to this over the weekend but circumstances dictated otherwise. I have an idea to use the prints of Hiroshige as a seed to base the images on, and using a telephoto lens to make landscape shots is something I have little experience of, so the process will be a new challenge and a learning experience.

Went out near Sale Water Park for a stroll along the Mersey, took the Pentax and Takumar 135 lens and tripod, as this combo is relatively lightweight and quick to set up since I had limited time. Everywhere was very busy with people enjoying the outdoors and making the most of the good weather. Found it hard to settle into the right frame of mind to 'see' images and ended up taking many 'snaps' but not much else. Finally got a shot I was reasonably content with looking towards Stretford with buildings of ( I assume) Salford in the extreme background.

Learning gained:

• Not easy to 'grab' time to do work after a busy weekend.
• Should have taken the compact camera instead, and treated it as an 'explore' session, gathering ideas for a variety of parts to the future project, rather than trying to cram something specific into the time.
• Sun-up time is probably better to do this kind of work, things are less likely to get in the way of going and there are less people about - light may be better too.
• Have a definite plan and use it as a starting point to see what develops, rather than a rushed, willy-nilly.

Although the above may seem a little negative, I spotted a good few potential patches to revisit with a view to using them in shots, so from an exploration point of view it was definitely a worthwhile outing.