Marsh ponies...

I've not been near a camera for the past two weeks: the light has been uninspiring, or other things have gotten in the way of me just being out there, shooting.
But today is different. An early (4.30am) sky inspection from my window reveals it to be cloudless ... and I already have a location in mind. Leaving the house shortly after 7am, I ride again to Stanpit Marsh, on the eastern side of Christchurch Harbour, Dorset; this time to photograph the ponies. A restricted number of unshod animals are free to roam the site for grazing purposes. The photo was taken a few minutes after sunrise, on a rising tide.

The marsh itself, declared a nature reserve since 1964, is a relatively new feature, geologically speaking - around 10,000 years old - and was formed as a direct result of the Dorset Stour and Hampshire Avon meeting as they flow into the sea and meet with salt water.

70-200mm f/2.8 APO Sigma lens. 1/100 second at f/5.6. -0.33EV. ISO 640

© 2010

Green rim of the rising sun...

The recent cold snap has passed, and today the temperature is expected to soar to 6˚ Celsius: more in keeping with this time of year. Overnight clear skies give hope that I will get a sunrise on the horizon, and I decide on a location close to sea level to shoot the event. At 8.01 our star makes its appearance.

It's not until I get the images into my computer that I see that one of the images of the sun has a green rim (photo). At first I suspect it is the green flash; visible for only a second or two and caused by refraction of light through the atmosphere, but upon delving into the subject it turns out to be just as the title of this post says: a green rim. This phenomenon is, apparently, present in every sunrise and sunset, but as it is extremely thin it is virtually impossible to observe with the naked eye. It's only with long lenses, or other optical aids that this can be observed.

It is always worth repeating: It is never safe to look at the sun through optical instruments  - or with the unaided eye, for that matter.
The photograph was composed using the Live View feature on the rear screen of my DSLR, so the sun was not viewd directly, and therefore, safe.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor with TC-14EII.  1/800 second at f/5.6. ISO 400

© 2010

Brass monkeys (out looking for a welder)...

Much of the UK is still gripped by below-zero (C) temperatures, and the cold snap is set to continue. Despite this, the afternoon weather looks good for a spot of snapping of my own, so it's on my bike and off to see what I can find to photograph.

It was this time last year that the water in Poole Harbour, Dorset, froze along its edges. Although the harbour is tidal it has a low salt content, and is relatively shallow, making ice formation more likely as the temperature drops. The photograph was made at Sandbanks today, during low tide.

12-24 mm f/4 Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/11. -0.33EV. ISO 400.  0.6 grey graduated filter.

© 2010

And now for something completely different...

It has been a year since I had the idea of buying a bike to use as a photographic gadget, and in that time I have cycled 3,300 miles (5,300 km). Without doubt, it has enabled me to shoot images I would otherwise have missed, or simply passed by. Money well spent.

The high pressure over the southern counties of the UK continues, and crisp, sunny winter days are the result. Once again more dawn frosts and frozen water present opportunities for winter scenes: but today I intend to seek out the less obvious. To achieve this I dig out my underused macro lens, as what I have in mind is to shoot patterns that occur in nature.

Random ice patterns are the subject of my lens as the sun crawls above the horizon. Like snowflakes, each pattern has its own unique abstract arrangement. It's just a case of finding a pleasing composition.

The past few days have seen exceptionally high tides in Christchurch Harbour. This enables me to get some unusual photographs of the waterfowl along its banks, and at high tide the Dorset Stour is beginning to flood Christchurch Quay when I arrive during mid morning. I utilise the same technique to photograph the resident swans as I did during a visit late last year - setting the lens to minimum focus; stopping the lens down; estimating the framing and shooting from ground level - but this time having the advantage of getting the camera at water level.

Top: 105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens. 1/320 second at f/6.3. -0.33EV. ISO 400

Bottom: 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Sigma lens. 1/800 second at f/11. -0.67EV. ISO 400

© 2010

Winter's morning...

I passed on the pre-dawn start today, despite the obvious good light shining through my window, and had an extra half hour in bed. I was, however, out an hour after sunrise and roaming through Wick Fields, Christchurch, with a camera. Overnight temperatures had dropped below zero, and there was a good ground frost, along with frozen standing water, and I didn't have to try too hard to make good photographs.

But once again the appearance of a Little Egret gets my full attention. Although it settles to feed too far away from my vantage point to get frame filling images, I do get one opportunity to photograph the bird in flight as it glides from one feeding spot to another.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/8000 second at f/4. -0.67EV. ISO 400

© 2010

More from the marsh...

The weather forecast actually matches what I see out of my window at dawn: Clear sky! So, once again I set off in sub-zero temperatures for Stanpit Marsh Nature Reserve and the early morning light. My arrival shortly before 8.00 am coincides with an ever rising, unusually high, tide, which is flooding much of the area. As I'm unsure just how much more water there is to come I restrict my movements into the marsh: I don't really fancy the idea of being cut off. As cautious as I am, there are parts of the main path that are now deep enough to come up to the axles of my bike once I decide to leave.

It's later in the day (and low tide) that I return to the marsh to photograph Christchurch Priory lit by the setting sun (image). As there is no cloud I boost the sky by attaching a polariser to the lens, and rotating it just enough to have an effect. It's all too easy to overdo the use of this filter, especially with wide angle lenses, but since I was using a telephoto zoom the changes are more subtle.

70-200 f/2.8 Apo Sigma lens. 1/125 second at f/5.6. -0.33EV. ISO 200. Polariser.

© 2010