First Post of 2017..

[Don Railton]

And there it is, right in the centre..! Taken early this morning from my new back yard in my PJ's after attending to an early morning wake up from my grandson.

I have been absent for a few months on this forum, because.. well, quite a lot has happened in my life recently. I have retired (after 37 years in the same job..) , sold my house and bought another 3 hours south of Perth. All this was not suppose to happen for a few years yet but we found a house that was selling well below replacement value that we absolutely loved and when we put our house on the market it sold in 48 Hours, above asking price...!! the change was Obviously meant to happen.. So the new property is in the country and close to where my daughter and husband have a farm.. So now I can get regular baby sitting duties or be the unpaid farm helper..Love it. I have also taken another grandson to NZ to visit my sisters and hometown where i grew up. This was planned years ahead and booked so I had to leave my wife to pack up the house while I went cruising overseas...oops.. While this was happening my mother in law also passed away...so we also had to arrange a funeral. As you can imagine, life has been too busy to stop and photograph anything or contribute to this forum...

So back to my image... Taken with a 50D and a Canon 70 to 200F4 hand held. It was just lying around in the study and I was still half asleep so I went with what gear was handy.. settings were 106mm @ F14, iso 100. Converted to B&W in ACR, I then used a few masks in PS6 to pull back the brights and the lift the darks slightly. Its full frame. Interested to know what you think..

Don

[Andrew McLachlan]

Now that is an awesome backyard Don!!! Congrats on the retirement and the new house but sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. The only thing I would change in the photo is those sticks in the lower right...an easy fix and the bottom edge will look cleaner with a continuous line of grasses. Looking forward to many more images from around the new home :)

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Don, it sounds like turbulent times for you! I like how the mist emphasizes the layered structure of the landscape. As a city dweller in one of the most densely populated countries in the world, I can only dream of a window view like this! The sticks are indeed a little distracting. It would have helped to have slightly more of the FG in the frame.

[Don Railton]

Thanks Jerry & Andrew.. I do indeed feel luck to have bought this place, the downside there is a lot left to finish off and most evenings I am physically exhausted. One of the great pleasures is sitting down in the evening (with a drink and a few snacks) and watching the light change slowly and observing what that does to making ridge lines and tree stand out. In this image the layered structures created by the fog also appealed to me. I missed the sticks however, although I do have another with more FG. I will try and become a little more regular with contributions again.. Happy new years to you both..

DON