Nature doing its thing

The thin, pale, red glow between the grey cloud bank and the horizon didn't look particularly encouraging at first light today, and the dawn itself wasn't anything to get excited about. But within half an hour of sunrise the clouds part, and nature turns it on as only nature can.

© 2024

Weather? What weather?

The stereotypical belief that the British are always talking about the weather may have an element of truth to it, but recently that wouldn't have been the case... because there hadn't been any. For the best part of this month, a blanket of grey cloud has sat virtually motionless over much of Northern Europe.

This afternoon the cloud began to break up over the UK as the high pressure system that kept it there moves away, and we see the sun for the first time in ten days.

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Muddy boots season

It stopped raining just long enough for it to start again, on this morning's hike along the chalk ridge that is Ballard Down, Isle of Purbeck. The regular downpours; the low cloud; the rapidly changing light, are but three things that make me want to get out into the hills with a camera. 

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Missing out

Frequent bouts of heavy rain - followed by patches of clear skies, is what inspires me the most to get outside with a camera, and this morning has it in spades. The sheer drama of it all is worth the 4am alarm when conditions are this good, and trudging through the torrential downpours to reach a chosen location is all part of the fun. However, there are those I know that disagree with me. 

But then again, they don't get the shots that I get. 

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Making my own luck

At this time of year the sun has moved round far enough to start rising over the sea, heralding the start of my winter photographic season. A stiff breeze is blowing today, but sky isn't likely to provide anything memorable. There's also several other photographers dotted around the beach in a bid to catch some drama, and all of them are working on tripods with long lenses. In that case, I want something different.

The local pier has a colony of pigeons that roosts on its framework during the night, but descends to the beach in search of breakfast at first light. Positioning myself upwind, it's just a matter of waiting for a dawn dog-walker's dog to espy the flock, and gamely get them airborne. I get off three frames and select the second one for this post. The near-circular lens flare is the (accidental) icing on the cake.

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Animal, vegetable, mineral

I've borrowed the title of this post from a 1950s British TV panel show, as it's not immediately obvious as to what the subject of the photograph is. This, or course, this was my intention when I fired the shutter. What initially caught my eye were the patterns caused by the ripples of light, but having uploaded the file for processing, I noticed aspects of the image that suggest that it's a living organism.

It isn't. It's just water draining onto a local beach from a pipe in the sea wall, viewed directly from above in the early morning light..
 

 2024

The Purbeck chalk ridges

 

Walking the chalk ridges of the Isle of Purbeck makes for some good exercise, with stunning views thrown in as a bonus. It's early autumn, and the light during the day is beginning to exhibit promise, as shown in the photographs of Nine Barrow Down.

The top image shows the path that leads to the top of the eastern end, with the Dorset village of Ulwell and Ballard Down in the middle distance. Beneath that, the picture taken at the western extremity reveals the path that descends to the village of Corfe Castle, picked out in the early afternoon light.

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