Pockets of colour...

I've had enough of the beach...too many people. So, back to the New Forest and time to do a bit of exploring. As usual, it's the 300mm lens that gets into my back-pack for the day; that, plus a flask of hot soup and a wide zoom, just in case. I was quite surprised at the location I was shooting at, as there was more colour than I expected for the time of the year. By now, all the leaves have usually been blown off the trees by strong winds, but this year they have not come.


© 2007

Boscombe Spa Village update...

I mentioned the progress with the building of Boscombe Spa Village in the last post, but at the time of writing I had no suitable current image. The image here was shot just after sunrise this morning.

© 2007

Old Rope...

Boscombe Spa Village is now taking shape at an ever quickening pace, with most of the steel framework having been assembled, and in some cases, roof timbers being put in place. This work contrasts with the progress being made on Boscombe pier (pictured). The pier should have been re-opened to the public last month, but the work is still nowhere being completed.

The artificial surf reef, which was due for completion this autumn, is now to be started during the spring of next year.

© 2007

No idea, mate...

This weekend the weather is more in keeping with UK patterns for the time of year, and the settled conditions of the past few weeks have been blown away overnight. Still, I'm not going to let a spot of drizzle stop me from venturing into the great outdoors to shoot some images. My original idea was to photograph people struggling against the bad weather, but it seems that most had more sense and stayed at home. I did, however, notice that renovation work on Boscombe pier was in progress despite the conditions. The work should have been completed some time ago, and the pier re-opened last month. I asked a hard-hatted, high-visibility vest clad man when the public could now expect the use of the pier. "No idea, mate", was his reply.

© 2007

All the leaves are brown...

This morning's dawn patrol in the New Forest was all but fruitless from a photography point of view...until I crossed the road. For an hour or so, the ponies I was photographing were more intent on feeding than being the subject of my lens. Sure, I got the usual token shots just to get the creative juices flowing, but the images I wanted were not happening. It was then that I spotted a lone pony on an adjacent hill and decided to concentrate my energies in that direction. I was surprised to find that the pony in the picture was not only tolerant of my approach, but adopted a variety of poses (obviously a pro), one of which is included here.

© 2007

Little Scotland...

Despite the fact that the weather in the southern UK has remained relatively stable for a number of weeks now, getting images that merit a posting here are few and far between. It's not for the want of trying, it's just that sometimes no matter how hard you try, it just doesn't come together. This morning's trip to the New Forest produced some of the best images for a while, and temperature inversions and an overnight frost helped things along.
The pony in the image was shot at a location I now know to be referred to by the locals as Little Scotland. Although I have been familiar with the area for over twenty years, I had not heard it described as such before.

© 2007