Signing-off for 2018

The last day of the year, and the weather forecast is anything but promising. It's going to be an overcast day all round, and too calm by half for any drama on the seascape front. Instead of getting out there with my camera, I spend the time tidying-up recent uploads in Lightroom in preparation for starting a new catalogue in the new year.

This action throws up two images that I had overlooked in my initial edits; something easily done when in the search for the image that defines a shoot. Taken during the past two weeks, I include both, so at least I can to sign-off the year with something.



Top: Bournemouth West Cliff in winter light.

24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Sigma lens. 1/80 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation ISO 100
       
Below: Bournemouth East Beach.

18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Winter Solstice

Having (yet again) discovered that the seven day forecast by the Met Office is anything but accurate, I set off for an early afternoon shoot. Unfortunately, the light isn't that great, and the images I do get tend to be somewhat flat and lifeless when shooting into it.

Fortunately, the gulls that are following me in the hope of food provide me with a subject. It is also a reminder that successful wildlife photography can be achieved through a wide angle lens.



18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2018

That's all it takes

Yesterday, I relegated a similar shot from the same position to an also-ran. Today I make use of the gorgeous light that happens as the sun drops low in the sky. That's all it needed, really.



18-35mm f/3.4 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/160 at f/11. Matrix metering.  - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Not always right

More often than not, when I choose a photograph from a shoot I go with my gut feeling as to which image to use as I scan through the uploads. If it jumps off the screen at me - and taking into consideration which frame I mentally selected as I fired the shutter - I'm usually right with my initial reaction to the thumbnails. But there are times when I change my mind during the editing stage. 

Taken within an hour of each other, the picture below was my original choice for this post, but I subsequently felt the one above better captured the mood of the morning.

Top: 18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/1600 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100

Below: 18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100. 

Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2

© 2018

"The dark times"

For the next twelve days there will be less than 8 hours of direct sunlight available at my latitude. The solstice occurs this week, and mid-winter is setting in with a vengeance. What little light I do get is often dramatic and ephemeral, and superbly photogenic.




18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Mid-day light

Mentioning the fact that at this time of year the Golden Hour lasts all day at my latitude, I thought shooting at noon might (should), produce some good results.

It's a good thing I did as there was a light window of only 30 minutes or so before grey cloud rolled in for the day.



24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Sigma lens. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Under scrutiny

          A casual stroll along the shoreline on a calm winter's afternoon, and I get the feeling I'm being watched.



18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 200



© 2018

480 minutes

There is barely 8 hours of sunlight available now, and at this time of year, at my latitude, the Golden Hour lasts all day. But it's the light at the very end (or beginning), that I find to be the most spectacular.


18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/400second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

If you go down in the woods today...

                                                                                 Hoads Wood in The Warren


18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

Another Time

Antony Gormley's statue Another Time - one of a hundred in the series - gazes towards the White Cliffs of Dover. This solid, life-sized, cast iron replica can be found in the half tide loading bay of the Harbour Arm, Folkestone.


18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/50 second at f/8. Matrix metering.  - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Spares save the day

The effects of sea air can be brutal on photographic gear. The constant battle against airborne contaminants on the front element of a lens never really goes away, but the biggest threat from salt-laden air is when it gets into the innards. That, and impact damage. Both of my regular lenses are packaged and are sat, waiting for the off to the repair shop. The wide-angle zoom got bent out of shape due to an accident whilst out shooting this week, and the 24-70mm is in desperate need of a service; its first in the 9 years I've had it.

But all is not lost as I resort to a couple of back-up lenses I keep for such an eventuality. Neither delivers the colour and quality of my preferred optics, but they are better than nothing at all at those focal lengths. However, it has been some years since I've used either, so I set off for a casual stroll along the beach, just so I can reappraise each lens.

Optical distortion is my main worry, and the wide zoom has it (not good when there is a straight horizon towards the edge of the image), but Lightroom - and some judicial cropping - is able to deal with it (as with the photo above).

The standard zoom is fine for what it is (an ageing Sigma 24-70mm D EX DG f/2.8), but using both lenses frequently catch me out in use. Neither are AF-S, and the focus ring rotates as the camera achieves focus; something I'm not used to when hand-holding. But again, First World Problems. Thankfully, I have both optics as spares.


18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 D ED Nikkor. 1/1600 second at f/8. Matrix metering. -0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

I dodged a bullet (apparently)

Before I committed to digital photography I gave some serious consideration to the 4x5 film format. At the time it all involved investing in a new system anyway, and large format had its appeal, however unwieldy such a camera may be in the field.

In the end I opted to stay with a smaller SLR system (switching from Olympus to Nikon), and with hindsight that was possibly a good decision. Today, I checked the price of what I would have to pay for "going large". At the time of writing, what with cost of sheet film (Fuji Velvia for preference), and processing, it would work out at £9.70 (€10.06 / $12.08) per shot. Okay, I would have got superb detail, but the aforementioned figures didn't involve digital scanning or making prints.

Occasionally I still crop to the 4:5 ratio just to see what I am missing in that respect, but the cost of it all tells me I made the right decision.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 4 seconds at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. Tripod and remote release. ISO 100



© 2018

Not what I had hoped for

Low tide (and not an especially low one at that), is to occur some 45 minutes after sunset this afternoon, and I plan to shoot at around that moment. There should still be enough residual light in the sky to keep things interesting, and enough exposed wet sand for some good reflections. I set up and wait.

Unfortunately the afterglow that I had hoped for didn't happen, so I use an insurance shot - the second exposure I made shortly after my arrival - instead.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/8. Matrix metering. Tripod and remote release. ISO 100



© 2018

The lowest of the low

The first of the lowest low tides of the month, and I am stood alone on the beach wondering what I am doing here. The light is dreadful and the cloud cover is a solid grey. I contemplate packing up and going home, but out of nowhere there appears a crack of light in the sky.

I have to work quickly as the shape is rapidly changing, and manage to shoot several frames before it's gone. This was the best of the sequence.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 200



© 2018

Back to square one

It's back to Boscombe beach for low tides, and those oh-so-wonderful reflections in the wet sand when the sky is doing its thing. Anywhere else just doesn't seem right to my eye, and the pier doesn't dominate the view as much as its big sister, a mile or so along the coast.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

No light, so black and white

Showers and a blustery wind is the order of the day, weather wise, and by the time I reach the beach this afternoon it is all but deserted. As there is no spectacular light to be photographed - but enough break in the scudding clouds to make things interesting - I shoot with the conversion to black and white in mind.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 1 stop EV compensation. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 125



© 2018

In need of boots

Autumn has arrived good and proper as temperatures drop to single figures. As a result, casual walkers stay away in droves, leaving the windswept beaches to the more committed outdoor type... and photographers.

I needed a pair of boots to allow me to get into the water to make the most of the reflections; something I didn't have today. However, there are low tides during late afternoon come the weekend, and all I need for photographic bliss is good light... and that pair of boots.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering.  + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2018

Avoiding the weekend rush

Catching the light at the end of the day is one thing, but to be assured of the beach to myself - at least on a week day - an early start pays dividends, as with this pre-sunrise image of Boscombe Pier.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/11. Matrix metering. Monopod. ISO 200


© 2018

The best place to be

It's a blustery day, with showers blowing in off the Atlantic, and there's only one place I'm going to be come late afternoon. The brisk wind continually moves the cloud, producing ever changing light, and the low tide is the icing on the cake.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/80th second at f/11. Matrix metering. + 1 Stop EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2018

When the guns fell silent...

                                                                     For all those who fought, on both sides.



© 2018

To the point

                                       "There are two times of the year: Autumn and waiting for autumn."


A quote by persons unknown, but it sums it up perfectly for me.




300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/1250 at f/2.8. Matrix metering. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Two's company...

... three's a crowd.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

The "thing" on the end of the pier

The "thing" on the end of the local pier, as it is sometimes labeled by the curious (and usually from a distance), always reminds me of a malevolent alien that you might find striding the landscape in a sci-fi film (The War of the Worlds springs to mind). The reality is it is nothing more innocuous than the starting point for a zip line that runs to the beach.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

Short but sweet

I get around 5 minutes of good light during late afternoon, and I happen to be in the right place at the right time. After that the cloud covers the sun again and the transformation of the seascape has ended.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/7.1. Matrix metering. +1 stop EV. ISO 200



© 2018

On the waterfront

Although much grander in design my main local pier, in my view, doesn't have the same photogenic qualities as the other one in Poole bay. It lacks the skeletal construction which silhouettes nicely against a late afternoon sky in winter; and low tides don't expose large expanses of wet sand, so useful for reflections in compositions.

But that's not to say it doesn't merit my attention. During the coming months I plan to photograph the pier in a light so often missed by the tourist or day tripper, such as this shot, shortly before sunset.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 200



© 2018

Jazz hands; not revelo*

British Summer Time has come to and end and we are back on GMT. This has two immediate effects: firstly, the sun sets during the afternoon now, and secondly, all that low, raking light is beginning to draw me back to the beach.

Although the 'jazz hands'  appear to be in relief, they are in actual fact, impressions, left there by someone who couldn't resist the urge to leave their mark in wet cement.

* Latin: To raise


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

The X3

It's October and I have a photographic itch to scratch. There are no low tides to lure me to the beach - nor anything meaningful in the wildlife department - so landscape it has to be. I admit I'm being somewhat impatient waiting for autumn to show its colours; for all that light to start happening, but that doesn't stop me from jumping onto the X3 bus to Salisbury and getting stuck in.

Upon arrival I head for the water meadows at Harnham - the very same that John Constable used for his paintings of the cathedral - since it is along the Town Path and surrounding area that I will gravitate to when the trees turn and I start photography with significance. In the mean time I just enjoy what's on offer on a warm autumn afternoon.



Top: 12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/11. Matrix Metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100
Below: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. Matrix Metering. Polarising filter. ISO 200



© 2018

Warming up

Last week, the people that do the weather predictions told those living in the UK it was time to say goodbye to summer. True, it is now well and truly autumn, but temperatures touch 19º C at the beach today.

In spite of the Indian Summer we are enjoying there were few people taking advantage of it, and whilst I stood taking photographs the Bournemouth Wheel (above), had no passengers.




12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 100. Mono conversion and selenium toned in Silver Efx Pro 2



© 2018

Just off the high street

                             Painting on a wooden door

                           
                             Faces stencilled on a wall
                           

                           
                             Torn poster
                           

                             Wall stencil

    Café sign

The fruits of an afternoon's ramble along the Old High Street in Folkestone, Kent. It's not long road - and certainly not what you would call wide - but the photographic subjects abound if you take the time to search them out.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. Matrix metering. ISO 400

1: 1/125 second at f/2.8
2: 1/200 second at f/5.6
3:1/400 second at f/5.6
4: 1/200 second at f/5.6
5: 1/4000 second at f/5.6



© 2018

Port of Dover, and the famous White Cliffs

It's a two mile hike from the South Foreland Lighthouse near St Margarets Bay (where Nic and I parked the car) to overlook the port of Dover. It's a gateway to continental Europe via ship - or tunnel under the sea - and has been a focal point to enter and leave England since Roman times. The internationally known White Cliffs are 140 million years old.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

Eastwell park

For the most part the fields have been harvested. Only the root crops - probably grown to feed livestock during the winter months - remain in the ground at Eastwell park, Kent. It's one of those glorious late summer/early autumn days, and the shifting light over the landscape just demands to be photographed.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

Itchy finger(s)

The first hints of autumn are arriving in the UK; trees are beginning to change colour, and although the weather is taking a nose-dive - for the next few days at least - temperatures hover around 19º C.

I take my first coastal stroll in 6 months today, heading into winds gusting up to 48 mph. Although no rain is forecast the conditions blow up some good skies, producing dramatic light. My shutter finger begins to itch...



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

Stained glass

Although I am anything but pious, there is something about stained glass windows that I find fascinating. I have turned my lens to such subjects before, but never really got up a good head of steam with them as a photographic project.

Today, I am back in Salisbury Cathedral, but the windows pictured here were not my primary subject. However, since I had a lens long enough to do them justice I thought it might be interesting to see what I can come up with. Of course, it's impossible to get up to the same level as the windows without clambering over ancient artefacts and tombs; something that didn't cross my mind for one second, so I have to attempt to correct perspective distortions in post processing. In most cases I was successful.

The inside of such buildings are usually dimly lit, but photographing the windows is easy since they are illuminated from behind and shooting hand-held presents no problems. What is frustrating is that with some windows high up in the cathedral they are difficult to see, let alone interpret the story being depicted. Odd, really - and a shame - that such beautiful work is placed beyond the average unaided eye of those inside.

I'm going to need a bigger lens next time.



70-200mm f/2.8 Apo EX Sigma lens. Matrix metering. ISO 400

Top: 1/500 second at f/4.5
Middle: 1/320 second at f/5
Bottom: 1/125 second at f/4



© 2018

You have been watching... Bournemouth Air Festival 2018 - Day 4

Muscle Biplane - Rich Godwin

BBMF Dakota - painted in D-Day markings - making a "dirty pass", with the Isle of Wight in the distance.

SuperAerobatics Wingwalkers

                             Breitling Jet Team

                             Breitling Jet Team finale

    RAF Chinnok

Mig 15

The final day of the annual air show, and despite the glorious weather the event is sparsely attended. This is almost certainly due to a rail strike and the fact that the roads are extra busy because of the weather, and people don't want to risk a trip back that will take many hours.

It's a shame as there is still a lot of flying on offer, although the biggest draw - the Red Arrows - are not performing here today; another factor in attendances. The beaches are relatively crowded, but finding a cliff top space to shoot from today needed no elbow-barging, nor bribery with bags of toffees. The Tannoy announce that over the ten years of the event being staged it has entertained some 9,500,000 visitors, which in itself is a good thing for the town.

One this is certain: if they keep up the standard organisers achieved this year, next year will be something to look forward to.



Lenses: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR with TC-14EII converter and 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkors. Tripod and gimballed head / hand-held

Top:

Bournemouth Air Festival 2018 - Day 3

The Great War Display Team:

    Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c

 
    Fokker Dr1 Triplane

    Fokker Dr1 Triplanes  

Saturday is traditionally the busiest day for the Air Festival, and the warm weather brings visitors in the hundreds of thousands. It's the first time this weekend that the Great War Display Team put in an appearance, all the more poignant because of the ending of the conflict 100 years ago.

These aircraft are particularly easy to photograph as they don't move very fast, but you still need to get that prop blur.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. tripod and gimballed head.

Top: 1/500 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100
Middle: 1/320 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100
Bottom: 1/640 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018