Lindasfarne (Larger view available)

I have posted a series of three images taken with a Samsung P & S.

Other than a some very slight sharpening and cropping on one of

them (Lindasfarne) there has been no alterations to the images. This

is how they came out of the camera.

I can't claim any credit for these images, I just pointed this tiny

contraption in the general direction of the scenes I wanted to capture

and this is the result.

But I thought they were worth posting as I was quite impressed at the

quality of the images

Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated. Thank You.

While I like the composition of this shot, and the subject material, I find this one the weakest of the 3 posts. There's a lack of fine detail, and a lack of contrast, that I would attribute to the use of the P&S. An interesting looking place though that I'd like to see more of. Thanks for sharing Alf!

All the best,
Neil

Alf,

I had to comment on this and ask is this the same Lindisfarne that the Vikings destroyed in the 9th Century?

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughts regarding this image. Of course I like to hear why people don't like an image just as much I like to hear why they do, so thank you for being honest.

I think the camera likes fairly bright conditions, and on this day it was dull and overcast and the light was very flat. I suppose i could have added contrast in photoshop, but I was keen to show the images without the bare minimum of processing. I thoght the detail, particularly in the stonework on the cottages didn't look too bad in the larger view, though the distant castle does lack definition.

The place itself is magical, I would love to have been able to spend more time there.  Particularly at dawn and dusk.

Cheers Neil!

Alf

JOE

This is the very place that was attacked by the Vikings. The first time at the close of the 8th Century in 793 AD, signalling the beginning of the Viking age. The island of Iona was attacked some two years later.

The attack on Lindasfarne is dramatically recorded in the "Anglo Saxon Chronicles in the year of the Lord 793 AD (Anno Dominus DCCXC111)

AS FOLLOWS : -

"In this year the forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians, and miserably terrified the people: these were extraordinary whirlwinds and lightnings, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air.  A great famine soon followed these omens, and soon after that, in the same year, on the sixth day of the ides of lanr, the havoc of heathen men miserably destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne though rapine and slaughter"

The island has to be approached via a causeway by car, and its surprising just how many people get stranded. Despite the widely publicised tide tables and warnings, you always get people trying to drive over the causeway as the tide comes in, only to realise too late that the water gets very deep very quickly!

For this shot, I just liked those little fishermans cottages.

Thanks Joe and Best Regards

Alf

I think the image is very good considering it was a P & S. Such history behind this place, so fascinating. The cottages are quaint and very appealing, I'd love to see inside them.  It is hard to believe Lindasfarne has been there for so long, I am sure you will return one day.

Another place on my "must see" list. Your little camera handled the scene well!

There is something about those cottages that drew me like a magnet, even now as I look at them I can't figure out what it is. Maybe the impression that they have been put there with an artists brush. But the whole place was extraordinary, even on a dull wet day, the magic was still evident.

Sincere Thanks for your thoughts and kind words Gail.

Best Regards

Alf

PAT

There is accomodation on the island should you choose to say there. But personally I would recommend staying in Almouth or one of the other little villages in Northumberland, and visit Holy Island for a day or two. If you stay on the island, it is great to be there for dawn and dusk, but your moevements on and off the island are always restricted by the tide.

Many Thanks & Best Regards

Alf

Composition and light - so well controlled and balanced.  You seem to have captured the stillness of the place.  Beautiful work, Alf.

Lovely shot Alf; please don't make apologies for using a point and shoot - every photo I have posted on this site was taken with my very own little point and shoot! This looks like another location that would be interesting to visit when I get over there...   Thank you for sharing! :)

Hi Alf, Fine composition and decent color make this image more than acceptable. I suppose it does lack some of the fine detail I'm accustomed to seeing in your images but that doesn't detract from enjoying it. I think sometimes we get lucky with P&S cameras and I love the mobility they give us. Take care.

BR,

Holger

Really a wonderful image of a wonderful place, so far from our usual way of life! Thanks, my dear friend!

The job of the camera, Alf, is to render whatever it is pointed to as accurately as possible. But luckily, we do not yet have cameras that choose for themselves what to shoot. As long as the P in the P&S is still there, you can have your credit.

Fact is that even this concept starts to get blurred, as you can have cameras that give you a full rendering of everything around and then you will be able to choose what you want to show from the information jungle thus created. But as long as you have to choose, you are still there and so is the credit.

I still think being there and experiencing the place while you are shooting is essential (as long as we agree that the purpose of the action is to capture and hopefully pass on what I felt).

Regards, Tibi

A very nicely composed beautiful shot, Alf!

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful feedback much appreciated!

I'm glad that the stillness and peaceful atmosphere was communicated so well Wayne, it is a special place, and to get that message across was more than I'd hoped for.

Best Regards

Alf

TRISHA

Yes! You must visit Northumberland  (Lots of amazing Castles and historic buildings) and in particular Lindesfarne (Holy Island) which is steeped in history and folklore.  I hope you have about 6 months to spare when you get here Trisha, I think you are going to need at least that amount of time to see everything : - )

No you are right, there is nothing wrong with P & S cameras I think that point and shoot cameras are the future of photography, the DSLR will become extinct and a new more sophisticated and truly amazing P & S will take thier place, bigger sensors, controls that become more intergrated with the smaller camera body size yet still accessible, and  huge optical zoom range and software that will enhance the technology is all but a few steps away.

But for now, its back to the DSLR for me.  Though I will always keep the P & S with me, its just so good for catching the ones you wouldn't otherwise have without it.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards Trisha

Alf

HOLGER

The subject matter of the cottages really captured my imagination, and I liked the subdued kind of hues.  The detail would never compare to that of a full frame DSLR of course, but as you quite rightly point out, the mobility they allow is brilliant!  And so like most things its a trade off.  I wouldn't be without my DSLR, but there are times when its just great to have a camera in my pocket.

Many Thanks Holger & Best Regards

Alf

MAURIZIO

It was like stepping back in time.  As we arrived on the island the pace of life slowed down visibly, people had time to stop and talk, there was no rush of traffic and an aura of peace pervaded the very air that we breathed.

Many Thanks for your thoughts and kind words!

Best Regards

Alf

TIBI

Your second opening line raised a smile "But luckily, we do not yet have cameras that choose for themselves what to shoot"  Can you imagine the possible chaos and embarassment that that could cause!

I agree with everything you have said regarding choice of where and when to point and shoot, and indeed for taking the credit for making the particular choice. Perhaps what I should have said in my opening narrative was, I cannot take the credit for adjusting the aperture, metering the light or choosing the ISO, and I cannot take the credit for the sharpness or depth of field.

The convenience of having all these things chosen for you by automatic settings has their obvious advantages, speed and ease of use being the two most predominant that spring to mind. However I can't help feel that the loss of control is somehow a backward step.

I'm trying to think of an analogy that would demostrate why I feel uncomfortable with the "machines taking over"

Best one I can come up with is mobile phones. Before mobile phones, I could remember 50 - 60 telephone numbers that I used for personal and business use, the names and adressess of most of thier owners too.

Now the mobile phone remembers them all for me and another bit of my grey matter has become redundant.

How long will it be before the fully automated camera will do the same for photographers, and the skills used today become a thing of the past.

Maybe a "good photographer" will then be judged purely on the ability to choose "when" and "where" as the "know" and "how" are taken out of the equation by the cameras themselves.

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful and interesting feedback, I think you may have opened a bag of worms with this one : - )

Cheers Tibi!

Alf

RUUD

Many Thanks for your interest and kind words, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

Well, Alf, even in engineering (that is still my main profession), for years there is talk about the fully automated design ("engineer in a box" they used to call it in some of the menacing articles about it), and indeed more and more routine tasks are being done by the machine. But luckily I am not yet out of a job.

Regarding the debilitating effect of the gadgets, I agree with you. I am sometimes afraid our children will be unable to locate the toilet without a GPS navigator. If we end up in a world where our one and only task is to consume things (gadgets or whatever) that perform all our tasks, then the feeling will be like being in a zoo on the wrong side of the fences.

Regards, Tibi

This is a very strong photo with respect to feelings in it, reminding me poetic writings of german novelist/painter/photographer, Hermann Hesse, with strong feelings in his stories with very calm and even/flat paintings. The photo itself is weak with respect to p&s camera drawbacks, but have a nice composition and characters of Alf Bailey brand! I specially liked contrasty red colors and textures of the walls. I also enjoyed the historic story behind the castle. 

My best regards,

Hamid.

Very eloquently put!

GPS is a great example of the comparative new found reliance on technology and the amazing speed at which we readilly give up our own powers of reasoning and skill of map reading!  Our common sense seems to have give way to a £99.00 plastic box that was designed by mankind with all of his technological brilliance and all of his mistakes therein contained.  The consequences of which are stranded motorists that have driven through rivers (Because the sat-nav told them to) and even HGV drivers that end up down narrow country farm tracks, wedged firmly between the tight walls of tiny lanes designed for cart horses.

Scary isn't it!

Cheers Tibi!

Alf

HAMID

You are quite right there is a flat kind of appearance to the image, a consequence of the light, but I share your apppreciation of that very factor.  There is a stark quality to the scene that led me to take the photo in the first place. Unfortunately we only spent a few hours here on a very wet and windy day, but the photo opportunities would be fantastic in the right kind of light.

Many Thanks for your thoughtful feedback Hamid, it is always a pleasure to read your constructive analysis.

Best Regards

Alf

Sharp image with the good light.  Just think that the clouds above helps controlling the light.  Best Regards,

Many Thanks for your thoughts and kind words.

It was a dull kind of day and the light was very flat, and yes you are right it was due to the cloud cover.

Best Regards

Alf

A little straighten (it tilts to the right) and a more vivid approach to coloring, maybe, could give something different.  Take care Alf!

Beautiful picturesque scene...congrats Alf...regards....David

Many Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions, very much appreciated.  Yes I can see the tilt to the right, I didn't really do any of the usual PP to the image apart from some sharpening as I was keen to show the images from the P&S as near to how they came from the camera as possible.

Kind Regards

Alf

DAVID

It was a wet and dull day, and to me it still managed to look beautiful, I guess on a different day it would look stunning.

Many thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback.

Kind Regards

Alf

Hi Alf,

I like this image as shot and displayed.

I am around all the finest cameras and lens in the world daily, and I do not have any reserve to use one of my P&S cameras for many applications. I have had wonderful results using a P&S camera from macro work to shooting through a telescope (Afocal Projection).

Basically, a well designed P&S camera uses a good lens that matches the sensor, and accomplishes what the user wants to do. The limitations are often the user; but in this case and others that you have posted, you did a fine job with your very good P&S Samsung camera.

Best Regards my friend,

Mike

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful comments much appreciated.

The speed at which technology advances is almost scary.  I have just read that the worlds first smallest full frame compact camera has been annnounced by by Sony. The RX1 has a fixed Carl Zeis 35 mm F2 lens and sounds like a quality piece of kit.  I hope you get the opportunity to test this one, I'd be interested in seeing the results.

Cheers Mike!

Alf

There are times when a lack of detail is entirely compatible with the mood of the subject.  This is one of them.  The overcast sky is somewhat gloomy, but the overall setting is bucolic and peaceful.

My best,

michael