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

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