Response to Tutor Comments for Assessment 5

I chose this subject as I do have the ability to go back and retake shots, the area is very open and accessible and  fairly close to home - with the added attraction of Westfield Shops - just incase I need anything !

With the first image I was trying to emphasise the fact that the groups were led by Blue Badge representatives although I see my text is about paying, maybe a little off putting, although the website states that you can turn up on the day and join the group rather than pay/ book online, and this was more my thinking.

I may change my picture of the pumping station to image 5873, the Mill House.

.... and use this as my first picture.  This is where the tour starts and these are the original buildings.  The tour is more about the regeneration of the Stratford area.  It is as much about this as the Olympics itself.
And these buildings are exactly as they were in the 1800's, its nice too that some of this remains and it hasn't all been demolished.

With image 5885 of the houseboats.  This is the way the walk takes you, the route is along the river to the olympic site.  It is relevant as the banks are an ongoing development by both Tesco and Ikea, with housing and more.  I wanted to include the river because a lot of funds have gone into the improvement of the water for both wildlife and Houseboats, which is also ongoing.  Before this you wouldn't have wanted to moor your boat on this river and there were never signs of wildlife.
The flats in the distance is where you cross the road to the Olympic Park area.  It may be a little long winded and you could get off the train at Pudding Mill Lane and just view the Olympic site, but I did find all the snippets of information interesting, also seeing all the amazing improvements.  When I was younger we would avoid these areas at all costs.

Staying with the river theme, the next picture is of the river workmen, they are all men, and its shows that the river maintenance is ongoing.  The river goes right through the olympic site so needs to look fresh and shopping trolley free !!

Image 5833, the group of children on a school trip.  I didn't want to harass the group as the teachers may well have got annoyed at me taking the children's photos. So I was maybe holding back and trying for a general shot, but I could have got a better shot of them doing something or showing facial expressions, showing their excitement.

With Image 5938, the truck, I was trying to show the continuing works - workmen busy trying to complete all before the deadlines.  I note your comments on your eye wandering around the image - this one I shall try and retake, but along the same lines of finishing works.

As I said before, the olympic site is very accessible for me and although I may not go on the walk again, I can visit the site and improve the photographs that need enhancing.  There are other walks as an alternative - this I can do next week - Also I shall make all the suggested alterations in Lightroom, and try and improve these shots and adjust my Blog prior to my Assessment.

As per your recommendation I have purchased 'The Photographers Eye' to add to my reading - ordered from Amazon...

I feel that I have learnt so much from this course and I Thank You for all your comments.  Even though I may go on and make the same mistakes, it is slowly but surely, sinking in.

I feel at last I am gaining confidence with Lightroom / Photoshop - it terrified me before.  Also with my camera too, although still make silly errors, mainly due to panicking / rushing.

The next course Im looking forward to is Digital Photographic Practice, but have not sent off for just yet.

Assignment 5 - People and Place, on assignment.

I have been to see two more Exhibitions.  Scott and Shackleton.. The Heart of the Great Alone at the Queens Gallery, and The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Two very different exhibitions which I enjoyed immensely.
I have written in full about both of these under my exhibitions tab on this blog.

I have purchased a book called ... Jean Howard's Hollywood - A photo Memoir.  It was recommended on the TV, the pictures look great but I have only flicked through - I shall be looking at this in great depth soon. (hopefully)..

Crufts Link..... Crufts Pro shots
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PEOPLE AND PLACE, ON ASSIGNMENT


Professional photography is performed to order, to deliver results for a client. Here we have to take our photographs with a client in mind, to produce a body of work that is required.

Subject - People and / or the places they inhabit.
Client - Newspaper
             Magazine
             Text Book
             Publisher
             Advertising
             TV Graphcs

Purpose of Assignment   - Educational
                                          Informative
                                          Promotional

How will these images be used : to illustrate a story, or to sell a product.

Basic Brief : What your client might want.

Write a brief to refer back to ... then produce 8 - 12 photos with a short written assessment.

__________________________________________________________


When I was looking ahead at this project I had in mind the Butterfly Park at St Albans.  I thought it would be colourful, butterflies, flowers, children  etc.. It could have been educational or Advertising.
However, its winter, and its shut !
Along with the Henry Moore foundation in Much Hadham, open again in April, so my plans we scuppered, these will be put on hold for another occasion.
My winter possibilities are ..
Colchester/Whipsnade/ London Zoo
Crufts
Olympic Walks 2012

The weather is driving me mad, on the days I have been able to go the weather has gone against me.  The Zoo was one option but I wasn't sure how busy it would be in the winter and in school time, but they are always open so there must be a certain level of activity, enough to produce some photos.
Crufts - well this still is an option as I am going on Sunday and will take enough photos as if I were doing the project as see what comes of it.  The only problem is that there is no going back for retakes, but this is the case for a lot of events.  It doesn't mean you don't take the photos.  I suppose I will just take more to over compensate.  And as a professional photographer you too would only have this one chance to get the require pictures.  I will take them as a promotional / advertising as see what I produce.

My main choice is of the Olympic Walks.  I was going today but got completely rained off,.. I shall try and stay calm.
I wanted to make a promotional / advertising brochure for the tours/ walks/talks. At this stage though I'm not sure what I will find.  Obviously, I know it is of the various olympic sites but I don't know how far away from the sites we will be and if we will be behind chicken wire etc.. In my mind I know what I will be looking for.  I want fairly close shops of the buildings, showing the architecture and shapes.
The assignment is for people and place, so I need 'people' and I'm not sure yet how they will fit into my photos.  Again I have ideas of what I would like but it will be a case of taking pictures of what is available on the day.
Things are never as you anticipate so I will have to test the water and see.

There are a number of walks so it might be a matter of going on a few until I find what I am looking for. Then revisiting on my own, if thats possible.  Im not sure what, if any, access problems there might be.  It does say on the web site that some pathways may close due to unexpected building changes.

Also, I need some literature to go with my photos, so Im hoping that they have some printed info so I don't have to take notes... have enough trouble trying to manage the camera.

Im looking forward to taking photos of something different, and hope I'm not disappointed - I'm hoping and expecting, to have lots of opportunities.  I hope they are there for me...

Client - Olympic Walks 2012
             Advertising
             Brochure to accompany the walk

Purpose - Promotional / maybe educational

The client will want a range of shots to show the extent of the walks, encouraging others to attend.
Ideas : Start points
            End points
            Various Stadium / buildings
             Blue Badge Tourist Guides
             Construction sites
             Security ?

I will want to put a set of photos together that will firstly grab your interest, ... then lead you to wanting more, and making you want to visit the site for yourselves.

Weather forecast better tomorrow.... it better be..................



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WELCOME TO OLYMPIC WALKS

You will be welcomed by one of our Blue badge Guides who will take your money at the meeting point, unless you have already paid online.

ISO 400     30mm      f 7.1        1/100



This is the victorian sewage works, a beautiful building, Abbey Mills Pumping Station, built in 1865. Obviously an important part of the olympic project, the new sewage pipes, two kilometres, will be under the green walk, which is the final part of the walk but the will lead to this building.  There is now a new Pumping station but this building remains.

ISO 400      55mm       f16           1/500


Here we have a memorial of two clasping hands.  It has replaced a cross which was vandalised.  The story it signifies is of four men who were working on the sewer.  The first man went down and was over come by fumes, and died.. the second man worried for his co worker went down to find him.  The same thing happened, he was over come with fumes, and died.  This happened four times before they realised what was going on. It was a tragedy.  This symbolises the men trying to help each other from the sewer.
lets hope this survives vandalism.

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The whole area has been completely revamped and the parkland areas have transformed Stratford.  Here we have granite table tennis tables, which are vandal proof - possibly !!! What a great idea, table tennis is a simple sport but great fun and anyone can play.  Hopefully these table are used for their intended use, Maybe produce a future champion, which is what it is all about.
A riverside London 2012 Garden stretches for half a mile between the Aquatics Centre and the olympic stadium, featuring 120,000 plants from 250 species across the world.  The parklands will be a haven for wildlife.  4,000 newts are going to be relocated from the olympic park to the waterworks nature reserve.

ISO 400    34mm      f 16       1/400

ISO 400        28mm             f 14               1/320

The waterways have been dramatically cleaned - with ongoing works - to get the rivers back to a safe and desirable standard.  Already wildlife is returning to the waterways.  The rivers are now a more pleasurable place to be - above are the houseboats that people live on.  All of the area is being regenerated,  Tesco and Ikea are both involved in developing housing in the area, which is still in the very early stages, and will continue on long after the Olympics is over.

ISO  400           55mm         f11        1/250


The area is of interest to all, especially children from local schools who are lucky enough to see the ongoing development, making the Olympics more exciting for them.  Hopefully they will be able to use the facilities when they are older to become our future athletes - lets hope it inspires them.

ISO 400           49mm          f 14         1/320


Development is ongoing ..... lets hope its finished in time ...... not long to go now !!!

ISO 400        55mm          f 14           1/400

Here is the impressive Olympic Stadium, with a plan / map of the area in the foreground.  The whole of the top of this building is removable, if we hadn't found a use for this stadium then it could have been taken to pieces and used for another venue or the next olympics. The centre piece of the games, the 53m high olympic stadium, has an 80,000 seat capacity, which will be reduced to 25,000 afterwards.  The building you can see here doesn't have any toilets !! The only one toilet is for the Queen..  all facilities and refreshments will be at the base
otherwise the building would have had to have been a lot bigger allowing for toilets / refreshments / people queueing etc..  Also the tickets are sold in two hour slots so go beforehand. The main food contractor is McDonalds.

ISO  400          18mm          f 14         1/500

This red steel construction is not a roller coaster but a viewing platform, The Orbit. It was designed by Ariah Kapoor and structural designer Cecil Balmond.  The tangled steel lattice incorporates the olympic rings, it has been built with 1,500 tonnes of steel.   During the games it will be used for VIPs and corporate functions.  After the games the public will be able to go up the tower to view the Olympic park, it is expected to attract a million visitors a year. However, there is a lift up, but you have to walk down the spiral staircase, about 700 people an hour will be able to go up it.

This is as tall as the Statue of Liberty, USA !!!, 22.7m.

ISO  400       47mm          f 20      1/500

There are various stadia some of which are temporary, like the waterpolo.  The swimming is permanent but has extra seating which will be removed after the games.  There is a media centre which has no windows so that broadcasting can happen to various countries and the presenters stay in their countries time zone, it is 29,000 sq feet.  Also there is housing for all the athletes and restaurants producing 15,000 meals three times a day, the dining room is the size of three football pitches and seats 5,000. The Velodrome is permanent and in the 35m high Basketball Arena all the doorways are over 8 feet high.

ISO  400      24mm     f 14          1/500 

Finally just one stop on the DLR from Pudding Mill Lane back to Stratford International you will find yourself at Westfield Shopping Centre. This is going to be the entrance to the Games. If you go to the Olympic gift shop on the third floor of John Lewis, there is a viewing window where you can see the olympic site from another angle.

ISO  400        22mm             f 11        1/320

__________________________________________________________________

I was happy with my final choices and I think explains the walk well or should I say compliments the walk as an informative brochure.  

I didn't come across too many problems.  There isn't any one taking any notice of you as everyone has a camera and want to take pictures.  There wasn't any security issues and I suppose the only problem if any was that you couldn't get really close, to maybe get a more exciting view, or different aspect to the norm.  The weather was on my side and buildings always look better against a glorious blue sky.

Because I knew the area I didn't have too many surprises, it was mainly what I had planned in my mind. Some of the shots didn't come off, but that always seems to happen.

I did also go to crufts and took a variety of pictures, although they were not as good as I had planned.  Some of them I may use at a later date, but not for this exercise.  I have written below my experience.

MY CRUFTS EXPERIENCE

I have taken a set of photographs from Crufts yesterday but decided against using them on this occasion.

Here I found it difficult to concentrate on the task in hand.  As always these shows are very busy but I found myself getting distracted, taking pictures of things I liked instead of what was required.  I could have taken just pictures of all the lovely dogs and nothing else.  I felt myself competing for space with some professional photographers - who had a challenge to perform - but mainly with children and adults who all want the same cute shot as I do.  You have to hustle for space and then line up your shot for someone to block your view.  The whole pace of the environment is very quick and lots of bustle.  A little frustrating if you have an idea of what you would like to take, your planning seems to go up in smoke.   I then had a lot of dog pictures - which although was the main subject - would need a bit more variety for a publication.

I have just looked on the internet and the crufts images there are exactly what I had in mind but didn't produce. ( See CRUFTS link above ).... some of mine were similar but just not as good.  I noticed they have used a telephoto lens.  I had not taken mine as I thought it might be too busy with people getting in the way of the shot, but I should have taken it with me, my error.

The good thing about Crufts is that you are expected to take photos - everyone is - and people do not get annoyed with you, many are proud of their animals and want you to take pictures.  

Another difficulty is it is all flash and you have interior lighting to consider and reflections.  The flash itself caused me a couple of focus problems - so I should have gone armed with long lens and flash gun. Also I noticed the light has caught the dogs eyes in a number of pictures.

Even though I haven't used this set of photographs I have learnt a lot, with light, distractions, fidgeting dogs and children, how my emotions were affected taking you off your intended track. I needed to stay focused as these were not my best photos which was disappointing but I learnt a lot from my errors.

Considerations for Assignment 4

BURY ST EDMUNDS




IMG 5544

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IMG  5580

IMG 5600

IMG 5606

IMG 5609

IMG 5610

IMG 5620

IMG 5628

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IMG  5647

IMG 5649

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IMG 5660

IMG  5661

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IMG  5483

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Assignment 4 : A sense of Place

BURY ST EDMUNDS


I decided to chose Bury St Edmunds for my six page travel publication.  I don't know the area well but do know that it will be instantly interesting - a combination of the very old and new, historic areas and modern shops all within quite a small area.  It will be interesting for me to investigate and visit.

I have always wanted to visit the Christmas Market but had never gone, so one of my visits was when the Christmas Market was on.  It was enjoyable but I think like many things, it didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I did very much like Bury.  On further visits without the Market there you could see the real Bury St Edmunds.  From a photography point of view it was a lot calmer - when it was Christmas Market time the sheer numbers of people made photography difficult.

I have found the winter sun hard to deal with, I tried to vary visiting times, and weather conditions. A reference book I have is full of lovely summer shots, but my assignment cant wait for the summer unfortunately.  Also because the weather was so cold people were not relaxing in the parks and obviously no-one sitting outside cafes, and children were not in the park.  I am happy with what I have produced but feel they would be a completely different Bury in the summer.  I might return for a comparison.

I feel I have produced some good photographs for my 'client'.

IDEAS FOR PHOTOGRAPHS / CLIENT REQUIREMENTS


To tempt tourist
Encourage visitors
Christmas Market
Opportunities for children
Play areas
Shopping facilities
Eateries
Bars
History
Places of interest
Local people
Transportation

Prior to my visits I had looked at some reference books and made a list of picture possibilities...

Bridge
Great Abbey Gate
Red Brick at St Marys St
Brewery - Westgate Street
Corn Exchange
Whiting Street - Listed buildings
The Nutshell Pub

Keeping in mind....
6 page travel publication
Character of people and place
variety of subject matter and scale
record meta data and any lighting problems

I had a selection of ideas together before my visit to Bury.  The visit when the Christmas Market was on  was so busy, a lot of shots were obscured by pedestrian traffic. I really struggled to get unhurried shots, without people walking across the lens.  It did give me the opportunity to look around and take notes for another time.

I have made a final shortlist of the following 12 pictures, taken from and initial larger choice which are on my blog.

My photographs as a publication can be seen here......Bury St Edmunds
I had been planning to produce 6 A5 pages, as you were to use a final selection of 6 photos, I have condensed to three A4 pages, and use this just as an example of how I imagined my work to look for the client.  I have sneaked two extra inset pictures, but these obviously can be removed.. if need be.  I was pleased with the outcome and did make an alteration to one of the pictures as it didn't look quite right when I put it all together.




Bury Ruins
Img 5513

1/500   f13   ISO 400

My first choice for this first picture was of the silhouette cathedral, which I like but after speaking with my tutor realised there was too much dark area to the base of the picture showing no detail.  I have gone with this picture and now putting it on my trial publication, I think I prefer it.  I have raised the brightness 40% and the shadows just a little.  The ruins are an important part of Bury so I was happy to include them.  The sunlight was quite harsh around the ruins and the low sun gave heavy shadows.  My picture here the sun is shining on the ruins showing the texture, there are dark shadows in the foreground.  It is a good shot showing the ruins of the Great Abbey Church.  It is nearly impossible to take a picture here without shadow of some sort.



Arch
IMG 5609

1/160    f 10   ISO 400

I had taken a picture of these beautiful buildings which I was going to use in the first place, but then on a second visit I took this one through the arch to give a different feel and again hopefully add something a little different.  The sun highlighted the buildings well, the sky and trees are interesting and the railings and bicycle add interest. This was taken through the Norman Tower, adjacent to the cathedral. I have cropped my original picture to reduce its weight.


Cathedral


Img 5544

1/500       f16          ISO 400

This is my second choice Cathedral picture.  My first one I felt was very dramatic however the shadows were dark to the lower half of the picture (img 5527). The image looked heavy in the publication compared to this one.  I have cropped slightly to remove some of the tree shadow and made a slight adjustment to shadows in Lightroom.


Rose Garden 


Img 5747

1/200    f 9.0     ISO 400


My first picture choice was of a wall plaque, the plaque on the old wall, with twine crawling over and with a plant climbing up, with its autumn colours.
But I was advised not to use text, so I had some other choices and have decided to go with this one.

Even though there is no sign of roses, the bushes have been trimmed neatly for the winter.  The box hedging leads to the sundial and the memorial beyond.  The backdrop is of the Cathedral which is nice.  The actual garden does run away to the right a little and the winter shadows were still quite harsh.  I did twiddle with the brightness and raised the shadows to get a better image.

The Garden was constructed due to the generosity of an American friend of the Borough, Mr John Appleby, who was stationed near Bury St Edmunds during the war whilst a member of the United States 8th Air Force.

Small Pub
Img 5665

1/160     f 5.6   ISO 400

I wanted to include the pub as it is famous for being the smallest pub in the country, it measures 15 feet x 7 feet.  I took a number of shots here of different crops, and this is my final selection.  This part of town was very shaded with only a small amount of sun to the top of the building. The trees just softening the corners.  The interior and exterior lights are on giving a cosier feel, letting you know its open for business.
In Lightroom I raised the shadows by 35% and reduced the highlights by 21. To balance the light top half and darker base area.

Reflection
Img 5661

1/125    f 8.0   ISO 400

I wanted to include shops in some form and the shops at Bury are very nice, new and traditional.  The photograph here is of one of the old fashioned shops facing the Great Gate, the entrance to the Abbey Gardens.  I took my first shot of the shop ( img 5660 ) where I had to be careful not to get myself in the reflection, so had to make sure I was standing at the correct angle.  Then I noticed that the Great Gate was reflecting in the window, so I tried to combine the interior of the shop with the reflection of the Great Gate.  The reflection was clearer when I was actually there at the time, clearer than it came out in the photograph. But I was satisfied with the outcome and wanted to include it.

Statue
Img 5534

1/200    f 10    ISO 400

Here I have taken this picture of the Statue of St Edmund by Dame Elizabeth Frink, it stands besides the cathedral, it was commissioned in 1974, and was originally intended for the town centre. I have noticed that it is used a lot in other publications and initially I wasn't going to use it, this is now one of my 'extra' pictures that can be removed, it is quite a good image to pop in as I have done on my publication.
I took a couple of shots of this - full length and half - and this I have taken with the flash, the shot I took on av came out with the body of the statue being a lot darker losing all the detail.

One Man Band
Img 5482

1/100    f 8.0   ISO 400

The One man band I have included as he was the spirit of the Christmas Market, everyone having fun. OMB always make me laugh, their out of tune nonsense.  The lighting wasn't good here as the road was in shade,  this was my second selection the first choice was a little too dark in the shaded areas showing no detail, so I have used this one which is a better exposure. I have cropped this slightly, along with a slight increase of brightness.  He is another of my extra additions, who can be removed.  Its very difficult selecting just 6 photos.

Pretty Houses
Img 5530

1/250     f5.6     ISO 200

I very much liked this picture and was in my mind for selection as the houses are so pretty.  The houses are situated adjacent to the Cathedral and its a beautiful contrast of buildings, and styles.  Firstly I was using a signpost picture, but was advised to not to use text for photographs. I must say I am quite partial to a signpost picture but understand what I am being told.  So anyway I have replace the signpost with this.  I have +25 the shadows, just to brighten it a little.


Gateway
Img 5657

1/50     f 11  ISO 200

This is the Great Gate, the entrance to Abbey Gardens.  This was a straight forward shot apart from standing in the way of, luckily not too much, traffic. I like this because its of both the Gate and the gardens beyond, which are very popular. There is an unavoidable shadow to the right.  The path leads you through the gate and down through the gardens.  There was quite a lot of tweaking to this picture to recover the detail to the left of the shot, including shadows, brightness, blacks, fill light, highlights and exposure.  Im quite pleased with the outcome.




Marks & Sparks
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1/400    f 13   ISO 400

This wasn't in my first selection as there was a lot of pictures I preferred to this one but it did show the other side of Bury which is the relaxed shopping area which has all the regular shops and this is where all the people are milling around.  This is a contrast to my other photos I feel.  I did raise the shadows +69 here and cropped it further to avoid shadows on the floor.



Benches


Img 5757

1/500    f 10    ISO 400

This is now my final image 12.  After tutor advice I have not gone with the silhouette Cathedral.  The above image here I was pleased with as it is in Abbey Gardens, and these benches are little sun traps where everyone stops for a warm or rest.  I had my lunch here on one occasion, sharing my sandwich with a robin, then a squirrel, then some mallards, then a whole gang of seagulls.  The next time I kept my sandwich hidden, as the wild life became a little intimidating...
So this is an image that you will always see at Bury, people using these seats constantly.  It was absolutely freezing on one occasion but it didn't stop people warming in the sun.  There wasn't too much need for photoshop as it was quite a good exposure, I raised the shadows just a fraction.


Silhouette Cathedral  - NOW CANCELLED
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1/500    f11   ISO 200

Here I was walking through the gardens after lunch and the sun was shining strongly in my eyes.  I had taken most of my shots by this time and decided to try something different, try to make the sun work for me rather than always against me.  Once I was in the shadow I walked until the sun was in the correct position - just shining through the window.
I took a couple of shots here, the first one I set my camera to auto, just to see what the camera made of it.  Then changed my camera settings to AV and took further shots.  The picture taken in auto gave a darker sky, darker than I remembered it.  This image that I have chosen I like as the sun has made a star shining through the window, the silhouette is perfect and the sky is more as I remembered it. Included is a well timed crow!

I did like this picture as it showed something different, I was advised by my tutor that there wasn't enough detail in the shadow areas, so I have cropped it a little removing some of this black area to the base of the picture. After changing this image, for the one of the ruins on the publication, I think I prefer how the publication is now after the changes. This picture looks better standing alone maybe not so good alongside others.   ( THIS IS NOW NOT IN MY FINAL 12 )

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I feel I have achieved what I set out to do, I had an idea of the look of Bury St Edmunds and I feel that I have brought this home with me.  I do feel you get a real sense of the character of the place.  As I said before if it were summer time the feel would have been different again, but this doesn't take anything away from the photos.

There was no problem with access which was an advantage and I didn't feel like I was bothering anyone to get the shots I wanted.  However the drive to get there was a long one so you wanted to make sure you used your time efficiently and there was no popping back to get a sunset shot.  But this didn't hinder this project.  Some of the ideas that I had before I left home I was unable to take.  One example was of Abbots Bridge - I thought this was a dead cert.. but the wall was high, there was heavy shade, and the sun was shining straight through the arch into the lens - disaster.  A couple of other things I couldn't actually find.. but it was fairly trouble free.

If I didn't have the project in mind I could have happily snapped at all the various sites, and I did to a certain extent, but you know you have a few special shots to work with, before you leave for home, so you work harder to look for good opportunities, concentrating more on whats around.  Sometimes you find something that surprises you when you get back, but normally you know your winners.