Some canal shots from the UK

[pdk42]

All with the E-M1iii plus a mix of 12-40 and 40-150.

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The Tunnel Beyond by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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Three Boats by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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The Bridge by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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Tranquility by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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Hatton Locks looking towards St Mary's Warwick by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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Autumn on the Canal by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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Woodburner firing up by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

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Old Canal Bridge by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

 

[SteveAdler]

Magnificent photos. Just so beautiful.

 

[Avondale87]

Agree. Magnificent.
Love the compositions.
Very well done

 

[Bushboy]

Wicked!

 

[jbruce]

Paul,
Love the photos, but as one who has never even been near a canal or canal boat, are these boats in your photos used for commerce (transport), or for living upon, or? Please explain more about the current canal boating life and transport system.
John

 

[Delb0y]

Superb set!

 

[cedge]

Paul,
Love the photos, but as one who has never even been near a canal or canal boat, are these boats in your photos used for commerce (transport), or for living upon, or? Please explain more about the current canal boating life and transport system.
John

Living in the UK, the canal network for industry I would say is now mostly defunct, it is more for living and leisure purposes these days including photography ; excellent photos.

 

[Panolyman]

Wonderful photos Paul; you certainly made the most of the calm conditions.
Made me realise how much I miss my canal holidays on my mate's boat (apart from falling in!).

 

[pdk42]

Paul,
Love the photos, but as one who has never even been near a canal or canal boat, are these boats in your photos used for commerce (transport), or for living upon, or? Please explain more about the current canal boating life and transport system.
John

Yes, as @cedge says, the canals stopped being used for commerce a long time ago. However from about 1770 to 1840 the canals were hugely important in supporting the industrial revolution in Britain and huge sums were spent building them. At the system's peak there were about 4000 miles of canals and their construction led to a massive investment bubble (think ".com"). Because of the rapid success of the railways however, the canal system quickly lost its importance after that and fell into decline.

Interestingly, in continental Europe the canals managed to compete better with the railways - mainly because in the UK many canals were bought by railway companies who decided to not develop them further. As such, while many continental canals underwent a widening and modernisation programme in the mid 19th century in order to take wider boats, in the UK the canals were not upgraded and remained relatively narrow and uneconomic for transport. A nice consequence of this is that British canal system today remains largely as it was in Victorian times - quaint narrow canals (designed for narrowboats) and lovely old stone bridges and tunnels constructed to fine Victorian standards. Great for photographers!

By the 1950s the canals had lost virtually all their commercial relevance and many closed. Thankfully though there were some visionaries who saw the potential for them as a leisure industry. A chap called Robert Aickman formed an organisation called the Inland Waterway Association, and with the help of many local volunteer organisations, they managed to preserve about a half of the original network.

Today, the canal network is used both for vacationing (lots of boats can be rented) and also for residential use. A very good friend of mine sold his house just before retirement and has lived on a boat since with no regrets.

 

[moonraker]

Very nice set, love the processing...

 

[stagor]

Stunning photos beautifully processed. well done Paul.

 

[amit]

All with the E-M1iii plus a mix of 12-40 and 40-150.

View attachment 859933
The Tunnel Beyond by Paul Kaye, on Flickr



View attachment 859934
Three Boats by Paul Kaye, on Flickr


View attachment 859935
The Bridge by Paul Kaye, on Flickr


View attachment 859936
Tranquility by Paul Kaye, on Flickr



View attachment 859937
Hatton Locks looking towards St Mary's Warwick by Paul Kaye, on Flickr



View attachment 859938
Autumn on the Canal by Paul Kaye, on Flickr



View attachment 859939
Woodburner firing up by Paul Kaye, on Flickr



View attachment 859940
Old Canal Bridge by Paul Kaye, on Flickr

These are amazing...
Can I ask what editing software do you use ? And did you make local adjustments to photos 2 and 3 ?
Also , why f5.6 for these kind of shots? I usually go with f8 for landscapes .

I ask in order to learn

 

[pdk42]

These are amazing...
Can I ask what editing software do you use ? And did you make local adjustments to photos 2 and 3 ?
Also , why f5.6 for these kind of shots? I usually go with f8 for landscapes .

I ask in order to learn

Hi Amit - thanks for your compliments. To answer your questions...

a) Software - all shot in raw and processed with LR and with Nik's Color Efex 4.

b) Local adjustments - probably. There's hardly a shot I do that doesn't have some local adjustments - even if it's only a grad mask. Number 4 has lots of local adjustments to get the balance between the interior of the bridge and the bright sunshine in the distance. I did a write up on the processing here => https://www.e-group.uk.net/forum/fo...-notes-on-ev-bracketing-and-stacking-using-lr

b) Aperture - f8 is getting into minor diffraction effects and in any case most m43 lenses are sharpest at around f4 or f5.6. F5.6 also gives (usually) ample DoF so no need to a smaller aperture.

 

[Brownie]

Beautiful set!

 

[Panolyman]

Hi Paul, I've just looked at your above link and I'm amazed at the lengths you went to, but fully justified given the outstanding results.
I think I'll stick to my faithful old jpegs for now though.

 

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

Stunning shots Paul, and thanks for the history.

 

[jbruce]

Yes, as @cedge says, the canals stopped being used for commerce a long time ago. However from about 1770 to 1840 the canals were hugely important in supporting the industrial revolution in Britain and huge sums were spent building them. At the system's peak there were about 4000 miles of canals and their construction led to a massive investment bubble (think ".com"). Because of the rapid success of the railways however, the canal system quickly lost its importance after that and fell into decline.

Interestingly, in continental Europe the canals managed to compete better with the railways - mainly because in the UK many canals were bought by railway companies who decided to not develop them further. As such, while many continental canals underwent a widening and modernisation programme in the mid 19th century in order to take wider boats, in the UK the canals were not upgraded and remained relatively narrow and uneconomic for transport. A nice consequence of this is that British canal system today remains largely as it was in Victorian times - quaint narrow canals (designed for narrowboats) and lovely old stone bridges and tunnels constructed to fine Victorian standards. Great for photographers!

By the 1950s the canals had lost virtually all their commercial relevance and many closed. Thankfully though there were some visionaries who saw the potential for them as a leisure industry. A chap called Robert Aickman formed an organisation called the Inland Waterway Association, and with the help of many local volunteer organisations, they managed to preserve about a half of the original network.

Today, the canal network is used both for vacationing (lots of boats can be rented) and also for residential use. A very good friend of mine sold his house just before retirement and has lived on a boat since with no regrets.

Paul and cedge, Thanks so much for your responses and informative bit of history on the canals and canal living. I can understand how living on a boat would be interesting, though a bit confining for the guy who has lots of stuff. John

 

[Panolyman]

Traditionally the working narrowboat families had many children and they helped work the boats as well.
The tiny cabins meant they and the parents were couped up in very cramped conditions, as most of the rest of the boat was the hold, containing all the cargo.
If they could manage to cram them all in. I'm sure you'd find plenty of room for all your photo gear.
Nowadays of course, there's stacks of room inside a 60 or 70 foot narrowboat, with typically a separate bathroom, one fixed double bed, kitchen, and lounge / diner that converts into another double bedroom. Makes my 20 foot motorhome seem like a rabbit hutch in comparison.

 

[Cederic]

Love the compositions and the locations, and the photographs certainly have impact.

The colours and lighting just feel a bit too overprocessed for me. Too vibrant, and shadows in the wrong places.

But that's a personal thing. They've very pretty

 

[John King]

Simply excellent, Paul.