Winter Scenes

[Rachel]

These are some pictures taken with my "new" Praktica FX3" with 50mm Tessar lens on Fujifilm Superia 100ISO. It was my first roll through the camera and I hadn't quite got the hang of the waist-level finder yet ...... also my hands were freezing cold

I've just scanned and resized the prints ... no other tampering.

[vintageslrs]

Hi Rachel

Nice job!!
Love the first and third ones!!



be well.......have fun
Bob

[John Parry]

Hi Rachel,

So you managed some snow on your side - we haven't seen anything really yet. Lovely shots - see you're like me in liking overhangs, tree tunnels, and lanes disappearing into pastures new. The FX3 is obviously working perfectly. Gave up on the VLC - got a couple of Exaktas instead. What a learning curve on the operation of these old beauties!

Regards - John

[Rachel]

Thanks Bob and John.

John, we had some snow here in the East of England just after Christmas and it lay for about a week. Unfortunately after taking these pictures I fell ill so missed some good opportunities to get some wintry scenes.

The only other cameras I have with waist-level finders are a Mamiya 645 (lovely big screen), some Exaktas and a Miranda. Apart from the Mamiya which is a joy to use, the Exaktas have quite good finders. I've never used the Miranda finder. I expect that the Praktica finder just needs some getting used to. I was quite impressed that the Praktica shutter was working so well. My Pentacon FM, which must be only a little older, is having shutter problems.

[GeneW]

Rachel, I think you've had more snow than we've had in Ontario! LOL

I like the way the paths lead the eye into the scenes in these shots. There's a nice, bright, wintry atmosphere to them.

Gene

[PeterW]

Hi Rachel.

The FX3 seems to be performing very well but, as always, it's the person behind (or in this case looking into the top of) the camera who makes the picture.

The first one looks a really chilly winter day. I thought about the blue cast ... and then I thought why not? It suits the picture. I like the way the road comes in from the bottom left and then curves round before it gets to the middle of the picture. The only thing I can think of the might have improved it would have been a car going away from you and just entering the bend, or one coming towards you and just leaving it, just add a little to a point of interest.

The second, of the lych gate, is a nice shot but it doesn't really do much for me, sorry. Maybe if a person or group of peole had been coming out ....?

Number three, of the avenue of trees, is lovely. I love the single point perspective - it can break as many 'rules' about 'thirds' as it likes. I like the way the branches in the middle distance arch over to form almost a vaulted roof but enough of a skeleton not to block out the church which is just hazy enough to be in the distance to give added interest and not intrude.

The fourth one - umm. again a nice shot but again it doesn't do anything for me. Sorry!

Number 5 is completely different. I like the interesting way it starts with a heavy mass of trees on the right, and then the path curving round and leading under an arch or trees to frame almost a cameo in the distance. I suspect you moved off the path to the left to get this viewpoint, and that made all the difference. Well spotted viewpoint!

The last one ... again a nice picture but for me it doesn't have quite the interest of 1, 3 and 5. Hope I haven't been too destructive. Three really good shots from a first roll on a 'new' camera isn't a bad average. I wish I consistently achieved that! Your trip out, and the cold hands, certainly paid off.

Peter

[mickeyobe]

Rachel,

Thank you for those lovely winter scenes. They brightened my day.
I was beginning to wonder if there was winter anywhere in the world.
I love snow but now when I go out to shoot some pictures of the stuff, here in the land of ice and snow, all I see are puddles.
And those rain drops keep falling on my head.
My huskies all have colds. I may trade them for dolphins.

Mickey

[Rachel]

Thanks Gene, Peter and Mickey.

Gene I thought that you always had regular snowy winters in Canada. As the UK is a small island the weather is always "interesting" but I thought that on the big continental land masses it was more regular.

Thanks for the assessments Peter. I left out the fuzzy and out of focus pictures Regarding the colour cast in the first picture, in general I'm not keen on the modern trend to warm pictures up. When I used to use protective filters on my cameras I always preferred a colourless UV filter rather than a pinky Skylight one. Of course I came across the perfect scene when I had finished the film .... a bright red Royal Mail van in the snow

Mickey, we usually only get a week or two of snow each winter but what we need now is some rain ...... plenty of clouds but it doesn't rain and the garden needs it Send us some of yours

[GeneW]

Rachel, you're right. We usually have snowy winters. This winter is eerily mild and nearly snowless in the Toronto area (global warming?). It's nice in some ways, but I miss the photo ops of a proper winter.

Gene