My nightmare day ends in photos

vulkan75 · 27-08-2007, 7:13 PM

Well yesterday was quite a remarkable day.

I took the family out for the day visiting ogmore by sea and southern down.... and we had a fab time..kids paddling in the sea icecream blah blah blah!
About 4 O'clock we started heading back to the car and then it hit me as I checked my pockets, my car keys were gone....after searching my bag and pockets and retracing my steps for the next 2hrs..yup they were lost.(probably on the beach)
so my wife sheepishly asked someone in a litlle cottage nearby for a yellow pages,so that we could contact an auto locksmiths.Got hold of some guy who was in the middle of a loft conversion, but he reluctantly said he'd come down and see us.After sitting on the grass for an hour waiting for him,I get a call from his wife who gives me some cock and bull story that he's not coming because all of a sudden he hasnt got the part he needs ,which he had previously told me he had

as you can imagine I was bouncing..

Meanwhile my wife falls down the bank and gets cut to shreads and bruises her bum the kids are screaming cos they are tired and cold and times getting on.

To add to all of this my mobile is down to one bar and its touch and go whether we will be able to phone anyone else.anyway managed to get through to a recovery company who agreed to come and get us for £150...then the phone go's dead.
Anyway to my wifes fury, I just had to go and take some pics....partly because I needed to calm down and partly because there was nothing else to do whilst waiting for the recovery lorry.

After a hour and a half and it now being dark...we were starting to get worried he wasnt coming either...and then we see the truck coming over the hill.

Anyway just when we think we were saved..the lorry gets stuck in the grass before he even gets to the car

can you believe this

After about half an hour, he frees up and positions himself to pick the car up.Then he discovers he hasnt got a towing eye and asks for mine which of course is in the locked boot of the car..

So searching around under the car for a support ,by the light of his mobile,he eventually straps the car, telling me theres a risk of damage....Tough! just do it I said.and he did.....and can you believe it ......The car was fine,I wasnt expecting that.

anyway off we go heading home about 35miles away and arrive about 11.00pm.
Then I realise, my house keys

(oh come on this is just amazing )were on the same bunch as the car keys

Anyway I have to break in to my own house,so I can get my kids who were already sleeping, to bed(without their tea love em)

Im still locked out of my car and cant get in until at least wednesday(bank hols

)and even then its going to cost an extra £140.

Anyway after £300 and a near divorce from my children and wife..this is a sample of some of the shots I got awaiting our rescue..

Hope you enjoyed the story and the pics

richard plumb · 27-08-2007, 7:18 PM

beautiful - you should get locked out of your car more often :P

Mind sharing some info on how you took these? Always admire these soft shore shots.

wobblebottom · 27-08-2007, 7:23 PM

Wonderful Set

to End a Crappy Day

Oh dear.. rotten luck

Again a classic set of Vulkan-ized shots.. Love them all

Especially number 3 &4

vulkan75 · 27-08-2007, 7:33 PM

Thanks.

These were basically taken at around F11 using Nd8 and a Nd4 grad between 10 and 30 secs.

the last one was taken using a sunset warmup filter as well as a tobacco grad.

PP was pretty much just levels adjusments and a bit of dodge and burn.

I cant remember which one but one of them had the black card trick done as an experiment.

bodoman · 27-08-2007, 7:49 PM

I think i can see your keys in the 3rd one

I think we have all had one them days sometime if our lives, Vulkan aleast you still managed to get some photograhy in, nice photos

vulkan75 · 27-08-2007, 7:55 PM

Funnily enough Bod,ive been going through some 100 pics seeing if I can spot them

so much for my cheap day out

macker2006 · 27-08-2007, 8:03 PM

What a day, but what a set of pictures to remember it by !

Gadget Daddy · 27-08-2007, 8:04 PM

fantastic photos (As usual), hope you get sorted with the other stuff

So whats "the black card trick"

Liquid101 · 27-08-2007, 8:06 PM

Now you're a fully paid up member of the wet pebble society, you should just come clean. £300, hungry kids, and a seriously miffed missus is a small price to pay for just a few more minutes with the damp rocks. I know you didn't lose the keys

- you need to face up to your addiction and stop this pointless denial.

Anyway - great shots. fantastic colours. Well worth the money

Sorry to hear about the troubles my friend - next time, just give me a call and i'll come straight down..... To keep you company on the beach.

jonnypb · 27-08-2007, 8:09 PM

cracking set of pics

those pics make me think should i buy the cokin filter set off tobers

can you not bung a local chav a tenner to break into your car!?

cedmondson · 27-08-2007, 8:17 PM

Bad luck mate

. As Bodo says, I guess most of us can identify with a similar experience at some time or other. I was half expecting you to say the keys turned up in your camera bag when you came to edit your images

All great stuff (as always) but I think it's #2 for me out of this lot. The colours are a bit more subdued than the others but you've got more texture going on in the foreground.

vulkan75 · 27-08-2007, 8:25 PM

[QUOTE=
So whats "the black card trick"

[/QUOTE]

Because of the huge contrast of the picture, it is not easy to have normal exposure on all parts of the picture.

The most common way of shooting this kind of picture is by doing double exposure or HDR, but it has to be taken more than twice before getting a satisfied photo.

a popular way of capturing good landscape picture is called "shaking the black card". Capturing a good picture can be done in one shot.

A black card is just a regular cardboard paper. The key point is the color black. Black absorbs light. Therefore, the camera will not capture the black card.

When shooting, use spot metering to measure the sky and the sea level. In the same aperture value, Its been found that the sky needs four seconds shutter time, but 40 seconds for the sea level.

If you use a 40 seconds shutter time to make sure the sea level is exposed normally, the sky will be over exposed.

To solve this problem, I used a black card. First, I covered the sky using a black card. Shook the black card gentlely in front of the camera for 36 seconds. Removed the black card, exposed it for 4 seconds and then closed the shutter. By doing so, I got a photo with normal exposure.

You may want to know the reason why I shook the black card. If you don't shake the black card, it will leave a very clear line on your photo.

When using a black card, an abundant exposure time is needed. Filter ND8 or ND64 is suggested while using the black card.

part Quoting the person who taught me this