Warming up...

Temperatures are rising and a weekend heat wave is predicted for the UK. On the south coast the mercury rose to 24ºC (75ºF) today and is predicted to hit 30ºC by Sunday. This will create the inevitable stampede to the beaches.

Under clear blue skies of late afternoon I take a telephoto lens to the entrance of Poole Harbour, Dorset, specifically to photograph people enjoying the water. There are all the usual suspects; para-gliders, wind surfers, jet skiers and boaters of all kinds in general, so I'm not short of a subject. Although most jet skiers keep a good distance from the shore a rider occasionally comes close enough to get a decent image (below). Unfortunately, they do most of the "interesting" stuff much further out.

As well as numerous water enthusiasts getting the weekend off to a good start there are a good number of boats returning after a day at sea.The second photograph shows a private boat approaching the harbour entrance during early evening, with the affluent West Cliffs of nearby Bournemouth in the background.

300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor (VR off) with TC-14EII converter.

Top: 1/1200 second at f/6.3. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 200
Below: 1/2500 second at f/4.5. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 320
Monopod

© 2010

Run, rabbit, run...

This post, the 353rd, celebrates 4 years of blogging...and still free of advertising! Despite encouragement from various web sources my sentiments concur with that of George Orwell: Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket.

We will continue to remain bereft of such apparatus.

So, how to celebrate this anniversary? For the third consecutive day I ride into the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, in search of  photographic subjects. Quite by chance, during early evening, I come across a field on the edge of Studland Bay that has a number of wild rabbits present.

I've never tried to photograph rabbits before, but have glanced through a number of articles on the standard procedure: get down wind of them, keep low and remain very still - and be patient.
I decide to give it a go.
Of course, my arrival makes nearly all of them scatter into thick bracken, but applying the four advisory points proves to have its worth, and after fifteen minutes or so they re-emerge and continue feeding - which is when I make my shot.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/800 second at f/5.6. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 640. Handheld.

© 2010

Cows coming home...

Around a year ago a trip to the Isle of Purbeck on a mountain bike would have been a major event: this evening I cycled the round trip of 28 miles (52 km) just for the fun of it. The ride culminated at the obelisk on Ballard Down, part of the Southern England Chalk Formation that runs down to the sea and forms Old Harry Rocks, a local landmark at Handfast Point (see June 27, 2009 post). The peace of the evening is only broken by the skylarks: there is no other human presence.

The photograph below is of a herd of meandering cows, and was taken during my descent of Ballard Down. The chalk cliffs of both Alum and Scratchell's Bay, Isle of Wight - some 15 miles (28km) distant -  are at the top of the image and are a continuation of the same chalk ridge mentioned above.

Once at Handfast Point I stop to photograph the nest of a Herring Gull, perched on a ledge of the vertical cliff face, shown here with one of the chicks beginning to test its wings in preparation of its first flight. The young birds are superbly marked (there are two), blending well with their surroundings. Even the parent bird was, at first, difficult to spot against the chalk cliffs.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor lens.

Top: 1/1000 second at f/8. ISO 400

Below: 1/400 second at f/8. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 640. Monopod

© 2010

Solstice dawn...

Keeping a close eye on weather satellite images is one thing, but a visual inspection of the dawn sky at 3:30am confirms that I'm going to get the light I want for this morning's shoot. Today is the summer solstice.
The word derives from the latin: "sol" - sun, and "sistere"- to cause to stand still - and the event is traditionally recognised as the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere.

I had a primary and secondary location in mind for photography before setting out, but opt for the latter on a hunch at the last minute and head for the Dorset Stour on my MTB. What the weather forecast didn't tell me was the formation of localised mist along the river banks; an added bonus for a touch more atmosphere.
The sun rose at 4:54am, but because of the distant tree line it was not visible for several minutes: the photograph of an oak tree at Throop was made at 5:15am. I had to work quickly as the light changes rapidly at this time of day, but local knowledge and experience enable me to get a number of useable images.
By 5:40am the sun had become too bright to manage and the shoot was over.

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8. ISO 400.

© 2010

Avoid clichés...

like the plague - it may well be something to bear in mind from a creative point of view, but I think most photographers have been guilty of the cliché at some time or other. I just don't care.
In fact it's difficult to resist as summer gets into full swing in the UK, and poppies are now rife on the edges of most cultivated farmland. They are, to say the least, somewhat photogenic, with the red flower being a subtractive primary colour and the green of the fields being its secondary, complementary colour. Red is, in itself, an effective device from a photographic point of view, as its wavelength is at the long end of the visible spectrum and focuses slightly behind the retina in the eye. This makes the brain work harder to interpret the hue and is thus more stimulating to the viewer.

This example, photographed during early morning at Hurn, Dorset, is the culmination of a 4:20am start and a twenty mile bike ride. A fresh breeze was blowing at the time, forcing me to shoot wide open to achieve a shutter speed fast enough to freeze any movement.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/4000 second at f/4. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400.

© 2010

Ugly ducklings...

Today I found the time to spend the afternoon on, or around, the banks of the Dorset Stour, and it is there that I photograph the swan family in the picture. I hadn't planned on seeking out any particular wildlife, but couldn't resist the opportunity when it arose.

Danish author Hans Christian Andersen possibly had it all wrong when he penned his literary fairy tale, although at this stage of the cygnet's development they can seen a tad ungainly.

It's just a matter of time.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/3200 second at f/8. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 640

© 2010

The Matthew...

Following up a tip-off I made an early morning visit to Poole Quay, Dorset, to photograph the Matthew, a full size replica of the ship John Cabot sailed in over 500 years ago. The design is based on archaeological data and period illustrations since no original plans are known to exist. It took shipwrights two years to build her. Usually based in Bristol, she has been berthed in Poole for the past few days due to a pump failure.

The ship does have a number of modern advantages not found in ships of the day, such as radar, GPS and an engine. Compared to ocean-going ships of today the Matthew strikes me as being tiny for such an application, but its size - as were all ships of the period - is restricted by the keel length, which had to be a single piece of straight hard wood.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor.  1/250 second at f/11. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200

© 2010

Worth the wait...

As the summer solstice draws near I have to be out earlier and earlier to catch the dawn light, and today I set off at 4:55am to visit the swan family that I have been observing during the past month or so.

The five cygnets, hatched on 24th May, are growing at an alarming rate - necessary in nature to increase their chance of survival - but are still small enough to fit under mother's wing for protection. Four nestled in this fashion for over an hour, presumably sleeping, while one climbed onto its mother's back. In a bid to get into a comfortable position its head briefly appeared, producing this image.

300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/7.1. ISO 640. Monopod

© 2010