Working the lock.., a photo from Oxfordshire, England

Photographer's Note

The Cropredy Oak, the destined to be famous eponymous subject of the COAA, can be seen in the background of this image of lock 25 on the Oxford Canal, taken from bridge 152.

Much heated discussion about the merits of this tree and its suitability as a photographic subject was had over this last weekend, at the Cropredy Summit, as recounted here

For the keen viewer of exif data, the ISO setting was an oversight from the previous evening's excesses !

RhodieIke, annjackman, Kielia, maloutim, emka, ikeharel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Keitht (1274) 2011-09-04 10:59

At least you didn't have any problem freezing the action :-)
Very nice English rural scene. The trees lining the banks lead the eye in very nicely to the main areas of interest. Quite simply a very pleasing image.

eldancer1 (17316) 2011-09-04 15:21

How come she is working the lock instead of him! Equal opportunity? Is this lock self-service? Great capture of canal travel. Good pov and dof with nice details. Wonderful colors. Well done, tfs.

RhodieIke (9207) 2011-09-04 23:47

What a fantastic photo the Oak in the corner is the best i have seen, the lock and narrow boats are fine, Well done oak, Cheers Iain.

jhm (123116) 2011-09-05 4:33

Hello Martin,

What plesant image with the old boat middle of the lock.
All service with the hand if long time ago.
I can not find which type lens you use.
Composition and presentation are truly wonderful.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

annjackman (13463) 2011-09-05 4:46

Hi Martin,
Superb - you have all the ingredients for this rural canal view including the Copredy oak! Great quality and a fabulous reminder of Saturday and COAA.
Great to see you all again.
Best wishes, Ann

SnapRJW (19188) 2011-09-05 10:38

Hello martin - A lovely visual reminder of a superb weekend. I do feel that the oke should be doing the heavy work rather then his wife though! BTW.... did I leave my parasol behind? I cannot find it anywhere. best regards Rosemary

Ricx (13453) 2011-09-05 13:20

It would be totally amis of me not to comment and add my two pennies worth (in this case points) of your latest image. I am most concerned that it is nearly totally void of any reflection (with the exception of a tiny fraction in the said fg).. I find that the image is packed full of interesting facts and activities and your small aperture gives great DOF.. Personally I would not have cropped the Great OAK in half- it does the tree and the image a total injustice and therefore I can only give you two points (would love to give the extra half).. However I would like to congratulate you on the activity shown in the image, frozen by the fast shutter spped (or the slowness of the paddle being wound up - due to the lack of grease on the gearing system making it a tough job to do).. further I would like to congratulate you on capturing a modern and total democratic society where Men sometimes take the commanding position at the tiller.. Over all it is a superior image and hope you dont mind me pointing out some areas that you could improve on.. R

PS I would like to propose a name change of COAA to CROAPS - The Cropredy Royal Oak Appreciation Preservation Society or maybe makes it CRAPS for short

emka (58982) 2011-09-05 14:33

Hi Martin,

Very nice photo, I can easily imagine that I am working this lock :). I see it is the women's job. Excellent perspective, natural colours. Great sharpness. I like a lot of green here and the piece of the white fence. Delightful view

Warm regrads

Malgo

Is it Me too? Had you also a bit of the cruise? I see you had even more fun than in Keswick.
Malgo

lakshmip1949 (19110) 2011-09-06 3:27

Hello Martin,

A good capture of this old boat in the lock. Nice canal with the trees lined up on both the sides. Very beautiful colors. The lady seems to be doing the hard chore. Nice sharp image.

Lakshmi

Kielia (20657) 2011-09-07 4:41

Hi Martin,
an interesting photo with a nice mood. It is very well composed and you have chosen an excellently working POV; with the lady in action. The slightly autumnal colors are very beautiful. My compliments, also for the nice note!
Warm regards
Harriet

maloutim (8744) 2011-10-20 4:09

Hi martin,
Busy time at Cropredry lock. Nice to see a boat actually in the lock and the lady operating it, with very good details. Makes one feel as if one was there.
It also makes for a colourful photo with the colours of the different boats and the fading leaves on the trees.
Lovely capture.
Best regards.
Marie-Louise.

ikeharel (38062) 2012-03-07 4:45

Hello Martin,
Strolling through your gallery, I found this interesting shot of locks activity. For me this would be unique as we don't have canals and locks in Israel.
Fabulous end-of-the-summer light and colors, grand view on far side with the lovely surroundings.
Cheers,
Ike