For the best...

It's not too often that I get the local pier to myself - there is usually at least one fisherman in situ -  but today's winds and rain keep even the most ardent angler away. I'm initially there in the hope of shooting something at low tide, but it soon becomes obvious that all I will get is grey sea and grey sky, and that is too much grey for this photographer today. Instead, I march purposefully towards the end of the pier in the descending gloom and driving rain, and photograph the structure against its setting on the coast.

I make no apologies for the continuous use of black and white imaging, but at the moment there seems to be so little colour to use. Besides, with subjects like this the light, shape and form work better with such an approach.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/50 second at f/7.1.  - 0.67 EV Compensation. ISO 800



© 2014

Forced photographs...

I read an article by a well known photographer today, that covered the topic of the "forced photograph". He was referring to the type of image we all make when there is nothing of real value to shoot; the light is flat and the shapes and forms required to make an interesting picture are simply absent. There may well be times when we might stop and go home, yet for some reason we refuse to be beaten and record something anyway.

I do it all the time: take boring snaps, but that doesn't mean to say that anybody will see them. They are always deleted after editing, but today being a "nothing" day I decide to attempt to produce something out of nothing and publish the result.  The day is windless; the light is flat, and my subject is tiny in the frame, but I fire the shutter anyway. One of six frames for the whole afternoon.

Whether or not the photograph works - or even if there was one to be had in the first place - is beside the point. It didn't take any effort to capture, nor was there any great feat of post processing, yet it captures perfectly a winter's afternoon from where I was stood at the time.

The well known photographer concluded in his article that on such occasions as 'nothing days" you should not take the photo in the first place and just be satisfied with the effort and time behind the camera. I see his point entirely, but that won't stop me. Ever.

Shoot and be damned, or shoot and be happy.



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1 /320 second at f/8.  + 0.3 EV Compensation. ISO 320



© 2014

A late decision...

I wasn't going to bother with a post from today's shoot, but some late evening noodling in Lightroom convinced me that it might at least be worthwhile to post a photograph. The low spring tides predicted for later in the week are beginning to happen - the lowest of 0.1 occurring over the weekend - but it seems that the weather is against me. I like nothing better than to capture a dramatic sky and its reflection in the resulting tide pools as the sea retreats, but it seems that this month I won't get what I'm after.

Not that it will stop me roaming the exposed sands of the local beach come late afternoon at low tide. Who knows, maybe the weather people have got it wrong?



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8.  - 0.33 EV Compensation. ISO 320



© 2014

Tick follows tock...

Ahab says: "I don't care who you are, here's to your dream". Well maybe not quite the intensity of a famous TV advert for the popular Irish dry stout, but a sole surfer waits for a wave on a local beach this afternoon.

Subject placement and composition can make or break a photograph. I have read of famous photographers telling pupils to stick the subject in the centre of the frame and shoot, and I have witnessed a professional shooter berate a student on a field tutorial for having the horizon half way up the frame in a image. Handy rules they may well be; sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, but I stick my subjects where I please - without hesitation - and done with it.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/6.3.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2014

Playing chicken...

More bad weather, but at least we're consistant. It seems to be never ending at the moment and I feel we are living up to the rest of the world's notion that the UK has nothing but cloud and rain as the mainstay of its climate. Of course, this is not true; we have wind, snow and flooding as well, but joking aside it is beginning to wear thin with the rest of us. On top of that it is forecast to get somewhat colder as we move into February. What fun.

As more storm-like conditions lash-in from the south I decide to venture out to the beach for a morning walk. Predictably, the beach is deserted - with only a few early Sunday joggers and dog walkers present - and this family on the surf line, playing chicken with the waves. If you think positively you can have fun if you try, no matter what the weather.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/5.6.  +1 stop EV. ISO 640



© 2014

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?...

Rain; mist; wind; drizzle and general dreariness sums up the weather of late, but there is one thing missing that distinguishes all this from a typical English summer's day: the cold. At the time of writing temperatures on the south coast have yet to come close to freezing this winter. Cold conditions have been trying to envelop the UK from Scandinavia for a while now, but weather systems to the west have kept them firmly over mainland Europe. At least for the time being, anyway. I was joking about it being similar to an English day during the summer months, but to be honest I have experienced worse in July on occasion.

The fact that winter has not really shown its claws yet is confusing nature to some extent, with daffodils coming up earlier than usual and crocus already flowering in a local park. I had intended to get some photographs as evidence but the grey light kept them firmly closed today. 

50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/5.6.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400 

Lone chestnut tree...

In the northern hemisphere we are just three days away from what is, on average, the coldest day of the year. This is due to the 23.4º axial tilt of the Earth and the imbalance of heat coming in and going out. Without delving too deep into the mechanics of how it all works it is odd that it is generally getting colder, despite the fact that the winter solstice was several weeks ago.

However, where I live it has remained relatively mild, although we in the UK have been - and are still being subjected to - strong winds and rain. I can't even lay claim to a frost as yet, although I suspect next month at least will bring me the kind of conditions I need for some winter scenes. Maybe even snow?

I've spent several days this week further east in the country; Kent, to be precise, with Nic. There was nothing too spectacular weather wise - although she did tell me that they have had several frosts during the past few weeks - but there was one day when the sky played ball and I got some photogenic light during late afternoon. Time for some serious shooting. The photograph was taken in Eastwell Park, and is of a lone chestnut tree, still sprouting life despite severe damage to the main trunk.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/80 second at f/11. ISO 320



© 2014

Since 1979...

"A lot of weather we've been having lately", said Oliver Hardy to the Sheriff''s wife in Way Out West, and I echo that sentiment. An inch (25mm) of rain has fallen during the past 24 hours, and a severe flood warning is again in place on the Dorset Stour. A local riverside park has been inundated three times in the past ten days as the waterway remains in flood, with some residents losing everything. It has worsened since the weekend, and a high spring tide just after noon exacerbated the situation. Several locals I speak to say it hasn't been this bad here since 1979.

The river is not tidal at this point, but all that water entering the local harbour forces the water to back-up, resulting in closed roads, sightseers, and TV crews aplenty. It rains heavily several times whilst I'm recording the event for posterity (photograph), and if the water levels rise above the arches of Iford Old Bridge in the background then the water has nowhere to go except back upstream, causing more mayhem.

An idea of just how much water is now flowing through the area can be judged in the top photo in this post, which is of the same bridge a month ago. It will take quite some time before river levels return to normal, as water is still draining into the Stour from hills and fields along the 55 miles that is still upstream.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2014

Little chance, and getting worse...

Although there is seemingly no end in sight for the continual bad weather in the UK, at least the flood warning on the Dorset Stour has been lifted. That's as may be, but the flooding has already happened and likely to get worse as more rain arrives during the morning. This is unwelcome news to a local riverside home park, with more than 100 residents having been evacuated because of the rising river and little chance of them returning before Monday.

I had intended to walk the distance to make some photographs of the freshet, as the wind was still strong, but a lull in the conditions encourages me to ride instead. I arrive at the location - along with a fresh bout of rain - dodge two TV crews that are reporting at the scene - and get shooting. The floodwaters have dropped slightly since yesterday, and the earthwork defences are doing their job, but the actual river normally flows beyond the trees in the photograph, which illustrates the extent of the problem.



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/8. + 0.67 EV cpmpensation. ISO 640



© 2014

The unexpected...

There are several low spring tides this week, and although occurring frustratingly late in the afternoon I decide that I will make the attempt to photograph what amounts to a much larger beach. Hopefully nature will also play its part. I had the idea to use a 10 stop ND filter to create blur in both the sky and sea, but since nature refuses to perform today the shots are simply not working as I had hoped.

Once I open the files on the computer I see some potential in one or two exposures, but since there was no real colour amongst the clouds - and therefore the sea - I convert just one finished image to mono for inclusion on here. Having made what I consider to be the best job of the file, I casually click one of the last frames I shot before packing up and heading home, and it is immediately obvious that this photograph is far more successful.

The fact was the technique I had been employing was just not suited to the subject, and by the time I had framed a picture, and made anything up to a three minute exposure with the ND filter in place, it was clear that light levels were just too low for such a technique, so I removed it and took several  frames without. The sun had set some 40 minutes earlier, but there was still enough light in the sky to produce something quite beautiful.

Lucky me.



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 3 seconds at f/11. Tripod and remote release. Mirror lockup. ISO 200



© 2014

Sit...

The stormy weather continues, with the wind blowing and the rain, er... raining, but I am determined to mark the start of 2014 with some photography. On days like this I tend to head for the sea, and watch the few people who brave such conditions deal with with whatever nature throws at them. Dog walkers are a favourite subject at such times, as whilst their owners try to keep a respectful distance from the surf, their pets tend to do the opposite.

There are not many in evidence, today, and standing on the beach in the pouring rain is beginning to get the better of me as the light fades, but eventually my perseverance is rewarded and I get the shot. Keeping the front element of the lens free from raindrops is a constant battle, but I don't let it concern me unduly. I even add a grain effect to the finished image in Adobe Lightroom, which helps convey the grittiness of the afternoon.


12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/4. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 800



© 2014