City - Lynmouth State - SOMERSET, FRANCE Country - United Kingdom
About
Great stuff, thatch! Great for birds and spiders and all kinds of other creatures, who build their nests in it and gradually eat it away!! But it's also great for photographers, because it's very picturesque and photogenic ~ and, probably, lots of other long words beginning with 'P' ~ unti it gets old, that is!!
Then it goes grey and 'orrible and isn't very photogenic at all! Which is why I hand painted the two thatched roofs in this photograph. Not, literally, of course, (that's Mrs. S's job! Though I've given her a 2-week sick note on account of her op!) But, no, I did it in PS7, without, I may add, the owners' permission!
The hill leads down to a rocky beach, which you can see in the top right corner ~ and, on the other side of the stretch of water, (which is about 25 miles across), is the South Wales coast.
I hesitate to play around with other people's pictures, and very rarely do it. But here's what an attempt to correct the verticals did. It destroys the excellent balance of your crop, Chris, so I think yours is still the better picture, but I don't think it's just a matter of the buildings themselves being a little out of kilter. That's my instinct...
WOW, Chris... this is just gorgeous! my Compliments for sharing with us such a fine place and the sea and flowers on street welcoming pedestrians, visitors, tourists! i wished i was there too!!! *sparkle* i especially found harmonious what you did on the roof of the building near the shore that made me smile! keep up the great work and have a good Sunday! 7 +, Regina
No problem getting a thatcher round here, John, though it won't be cheap!! You'd probably have to plan ahead a year or so but there are still some good craftsmen about. Thanks for the comment! Kind regards, Chris
Knew there was something about the thatch before I read your comment, by the way Chris Is it still possible to get thatching done these days, I would have thought all the thatched dwellings I have seen would have been over 300 years old?????
Hi Chris! Good Sunday to You! I suppose Your at church by now.Just wanted to say how beautiful this photo is ! It,s such a great image because it puts You right in the middle of that nice little walkway! What a wonderful place! The colors are so nice and the composition is first rate as always!!! My best to You Chris, have a blessed day My friend!.....JOHN
Well, good morning Roger & Linn!! It's 7.56am and I shall be off to the church to set up stuff for the music group in a few minutes, but just time to reply to your kind comments first?
I, too, was a little troubled by the slant that you've mentioned, but only because I felt there might be one or two who'd be similarly bothered by it!! :>)
Of course Roger's right about all cameras splaying verticals, etc., but whilst there may be a little of this going on there is also undoubtedly something of the Lynmouth effect!! i.e. Houses that were built several hundreds years ago, on a hill, at the bottom of a very steeply rising bit of land!! Look at them with your naked eye and you can see that very little is truly straight or level!!
In fact, I commented on this when visiting a National Trust property in Avebury a little while ago. Many lines that should have been straight, simply weren't!! Very frustrating for a photographer and a bloke who likes thing symmetrical and otherwise neat and tidy! :>)
I will fess up - I opened up your image and closed it because something bugged me about it. Went about doing some cat duties, came back and was pleased to find Roger's comment as he confirmed exactly what was bothering me!
I also feel that the structural part of the image is leaning to the left. Yet when looking at the horizon and shore-line, it is perfectly lined up. Could it be the woodwork in the foreground that is giving the impression of leaning? When looking at the pathway, I can see that it naturally slopes. So then what is it that gives the impression of a lean? Mystery! :-)
Apart from that - yet another Spracklen image that is full of colour and detail. I would never have thought that you did any PS on the thatch - looks very natural. I (obviously) like all the floral detail, and I can just imagine how pleasant it must be wandering down that little pathway - experiencing the shops and people. Walking but uphill will be a huff-and-puff experience though! :-))
While your D70 obviously doesn't plague you with the same barrel and pincushion distortion as your former camera (Fuji, wasn't it?), it will still splay verticals with the best when you point it out of the horizontal. But the horizon doesn't look as far out of line as the houses, and the effect is worse the more you get to the left-hand side of the picture. There seems to be something odd going on. Perhaps a rotation without a perspective correction? Or a partial crop from a larger imager? Anyway, for me it's an unsettling element within such a beautiful view. On the other hand, your painting of the thatch looks quite natural and I wouldn't have guessed if you hadn't 'fessed.
Actually, Peter, the precise readings were 1/200th second at f14, but the Usefilm system doesn't allow for those figures! Thanks for your comment! Kind regards, Chris
0 
![[]](http://thumbs.imageopolis.com/images/3/9/3/3/3933/1006970-Micro.jpg "[]")
{K:86139} 7/12/2004
