Guy Davies, EPSA  

Rooflines by Guy Davies, EPSA

May 2023 - Rooflines

About the Image(s)

How I Did It:
Unfortunately I have been physically limited for the last three months after breaking two vertebrae in my lower back so I have been trawling back through old images. Some time ago I started thinking about a small project to do with the small town we live in. It is quite old and there is some interesting old architecture in the town centre, built before the days of planning regulations so there is no boring similarity between adjacent buildings, meaning that heights and widths of the buildings are quite random. The project I started on was Roof Lines and this is the first one I took on this theme. It was taken in July 2021 on my Lumix G9, hand held in strong sunshine. Exposure was 1/800 at f/8 and ISO 200. The lens was the Leica 12-60 at 38 mm. The image was taken into ON1 RAW 2023 and NoNoise AI applied as I find this helps to improve sharpness as well as eliminating noise. Little adjustment was needed to increase the contrast and to bring up the colour temperature slightly to warm up the light. Then I applied a Curves adjustment to darken the sky slightly. The image was cropped to cut out unwanted detail at the sides and the bottom. Perspective was also adjusted to correct the verticals.

This round’s discussion is now closed!
10 comments posted

Vella Kendall   Vella Kendall
Sorry to hear about your physical limitations. I totally understand. What an interesting collection of different styles and materials. I assume they were put up at different times. How old are these houses? Interesting perspective from the new cars to the old houses. I enjoy the different looking windows. What are the metal structures on the roofs? The different heights are add interest. Exposure looks good considering the time of day.   Posted: 05/10/2023 14:16:01
Guy Davies   Guy Davies
Hi Vella. The town is called Stokesley and was granted its charter as a town by King Henry III in the year 1223, although people were living here for many years before that. The Domesday Book records a watermill here in the year 1086. The current buildings in the town vary in age although none go back that far. The town centre is now a protected area so any building and repair work is very strictly controlled. The metal structures on the roofs are TV aerials which were permitted because originally the signal was quite weak and indoor aerials simply did not work.   Posted: 05/11/2023 05:24:42
R Gary Butler   R Gary Butler
Guy, first I am very sorry to hear tat you are laid up with your back and hope that you are much better soon.

I thought about the subject you were trying to capture and thought I would have a bit if fun with the image. Ti me, if the housing variation, focusing of the roofs, is the key topic, I thought let's get rid of the distractions. So as you can see in the VF I cropped all the cars and roadway. Next to make the roofline standout I increased the contrast of the buildings only. Lastly I darkened the sky a bit to make the rooflines jump out more. So here are "just" the rooflines.

Get well quickly!!!   Posted: 05/10/2023 19:56:39
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Guy Davies   Guy Davies
Gary, my first thought was to do something similar to your crop, but mine was even tighter on the bottom edge and I left in more sky. After a second look, I was not very happy with the crop so reverted to the one I showed. I like your crop better although I think I would include just a little more sky.   Posted: 05/11/2023 04:34:14
Vella Kendall   Vella Kendall
With Gary's crop the roof textures are more prominent.   Posted: 05/11/2023 09:07:19
Ian Chantler   Ian Chantler
Hi Guy
I send my sincerest best wishes for a speedy recovery,what a great idea taking an intimate view of various aspects of where you live,I also had thought of the crop but having seen it and I mean no disrespect to fellow Group members my choice is for the original image as it shows more of the enviroment of the building and sets them in there place it sits better with me I love the old gas lamp on the wall of the yellow building.
Great idea and for me a success.   Posted: 05/11/2023 15:28:45
Guy Davies   Guy Davies
Hi Ian. Thanks for your good wishes - recovery is very slow so photography helps to keep me cheerful. The gas lamp you refer to is electric now, but the lamp has to be in the same style as it would have been in the gas lamp era. Glad you like my crop.   Posted: 05/12/2023 04:18:34
Ian Chantler   Ian Chantler
Gas or electric Guy it costs an arm and a leg to light in the current economic climate.   Posted: 05/12/2023 15:50:57
Dr Isaac Vaisman   Dr Isaac Vaisman
Guy, I second all the group members in wishing you prompt recovery. As we can see, our appreciation and interpretation of the images varies, and everybody is right in their own way. I kind agree with your suggested crop, keeping all the sky available in the frame. The image is sharp.
In the year 1086, America was still evolving and separating from Africa.....   Posted: 05/12/2023 13:52:43
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Erik Rosengren   Erik Rosengren
Hi Guy, back problems are never fun but we have an advantage with our love of photography. It can remove us from a difficult situation and bring a smile to our face. Roof lines can be a viable project in a Country that has a long and varied history. My eye prefers the car crop. Get well soon my friend.   Posted: 05/16/2023 20:06:35