War of the Worlds - 21st C style... by vignouse

War of the Worlds - 21st C style...

You either love or hate wind-turbines: personally, I love the way that they stand tall and graceful above the countryside. There are those however who consider their dominant form a blot on the landscape, and that got me thinking that they stand sentinel like the malaevolent Martian tripod machines in H.G. Wells famous book - The War of the Worlds: I've tried to capture that here.

Saturday is also the day that I post at @se7en and if you slide on over to http://365project.org/se7en/365/2014-05-24 you can see a very different wind-turbine shot - one that emphasizes the dynamic function of these machines.
Wow, brilliant effect! I have to fav this - it drew my eye immediately.
May 24th, 2014  
I love them too Richard. For me they symbolise alternatives and clean energy. I like how you have processed this to focus on the turbine.
May 24th, 2014  
It does look like a sentinel watching over the field!
I like how your eye is drawn to the turbine.
May 24th, 2014  
Oh yes! This is fantastic! Great use of the LensBaby. What was your f/stop set at? I find that the wider the f/stop, the more of an exaggerated "LensBaby effect" I get. I've been keeping mine at f/5.6 and am happy with the balance.

This shot makes me feel like I am running top speed towards the turbine! And the contrast between earth and sky is fantastic.
May 24th, 2014  
nice DOF
I've heard about lens baby but never really figured out what it was.

I work for a utility company. We have nuclear, coal, and hydro plants. We actually have a rather large wind division too. It seems like no matter what direction we go there are always protests.
May 24th, 2014  
@thomastoth Hi Thomas & thank you. Certainly the LB effect is easier to manage at f/5.6 but I wanted a dramatic effect for this wind-turbine so I used f/4 here. I'm finding I get better results with the LB if I previsualise the effect that I want and then adjust the lens until I am actually seeing that previsualised image in the viewfinder.
May 24th, 2014  
@aponi Hi Kathryn - a Google will tell you all you could possibly want to know about the LB range of lenses. As to electricity generation - anything other than coal or oil is fine by me, including nuclear... and I just love wind-turbines!
May 24th, 2014  
Great shot!
May 24th, 2014  
Let me think. Tall things on the horizon and pollution that changes things negatively for ever. No, I'm with you.
May 24th, 2014  
Great picture. I think you have managed an impression of H G Wells tripods. War of the Worlds was one of the first sci-fi books I read. Katharine
May 24th, 2014  
Yep, wind turbines do it for me too. Very nice composition and again I think the blur really works well. The other one is my favourite though.
May 24th, 2014  
@happysnap Thank you Linda - the other one is my favourite too, which is why I posted it on se7en! I've got two more very different shots which I'll post here tomorrow - I visited these wind-turbines (there are six of them) on a spur of the moment whim, but it turned out to be a very enjoyable shoot.
May 24th, 2014  
Amazing effect, it worked. I#m basically in favour provided they're not too close to homes.
May 24th, 2014  
Great image and great effect - real feeling of movement in the image!
May 24th, 2014  
Superb shot
May 24th, 2014  
Really fantastic shot Richard... once again you have really captured the beauty and energy of these fantastic turbines! Fav
May 24th, 2014  
Tom
Very creative capture using then lensbaby
May 24th, 2014  
Cool shot Richard. I find those huge wind turbines so surreal.
May 24th, 2014  
Neat capture
May 25th, 2014  
magnificent shot with such a threatening sky. We have a lot of these in Texas and the state where I was born-Kansas. I didn't like seeing them messing with the landscapes there but I am getting used to them now. It has become a fact of life!! I love the old fashioned windmills I am more used to though and love when I can get them together for the contrast..
May 25th, 2014  
Very effective! Brilliantly conceived and executed! Fav!
May 26th, 2014  
Wind turbines … yes, I'm a fan. :)
This unusual shot does give this one menacing appeal.
May 26th, 2014  
Oh this is cool. Love the effect here.
May 26th, 2014  
Very nice LB shot!
May 30th, 2014  
cool image.
June 12th, 2014  
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