On a cold and frosty morning...

I rarely get snow, so I often have to use a heavy frost as a substitute to give the impression of coldness. The reality is, it is cold on a bike as I ride into the pre-dawn, and if anybody has the solution for keeping hands warm whilst riding at this time of year I'd like to hear from you.

The sky is overcast when I arrive at the river, and my early efforts have a monochromatic look to them, but as soon as the sky clears and the sun peers over the tree line the scene is transformed.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/14. ISO 400. Monopod



© 2014

Leaving it late...

This time of year does have its advantages. No, really, for whilst the majority are still putting finishing touches to their Christmas preparations - or in some cases, just starting them - I have a windswept beach at low tide all to myself. Taken shortly before sunset, the cloud broke for just a few minutes to give me a touch of colour.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/8.  - 0.33 EV compensation. Monopod. ISO 640



© 2014

Shapes of things...

Since the sun is at the same angle you'd think that the hour after sunrise would produce the same light as the hour before sunset, but to me it is always different, even if the effects are subtle. Maybe it's because any pollutants that collect in the atmosphere during the day tend to be absent - producing cleaner light -  but whatever the reason it certainly isn't the same. That's my theory, anyway.

Photographed a few minutes after dawn, today, it is just a case of waiting for the right water shapes on a local beach before firing the shutter.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/11. + 0.33 EV compensation. Tripod. ISO 200



© 2014

Solomon Browne...

In memory of the Penlee lifeboat disaster, on this day in 1981. In all, sixteen people died that night: eight of which were volunteer lifeboatmen aboard the Solomon Browne. The American pilot of a Sea King rescue helicopter from 820 Naval Air Squadron, sent to assist but was unable to save anyone because of the heavy seas, later wrote:

"The greatest act of courage that I have ever seen, and am ever likely to see, was the penultimate courage and dedication shown by the Penlee [crew] when it manoeuvred back alongside the casualty in over 60 ft breakers and rescued four people shortly after the Penlee had been bashed on top of the casualty's hatch covers. They were truly the bravest eight men I've ever seen, who were also totally dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the RNLI"



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/8. + 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

Nothing is coming up roses...

I always think it such a shame that beautiful flowers such as these can be discarded like they are, as in this instance. As I have mentioned before on this blog, they are often used as props during beach shoots for the happy couple after a wedding, but instead of abandoning them on the sand afterwards couldn't they at least offer them to passers-by? I suspect that someone has gathered the blooms together and made an unusual display by the sea, but one thing is certain: they won't keep very long like this.





85mm f/1.4 D AF Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/4.5. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

Fair trade...

For the most part of the day the winter's sky remained clear and blue, but instead of taking advantage of what precious little sunlight we get at this time of year I elect to indulge in more bribery in the woods, and some wildlife shooting. I am on the scene by mid-morning to photograph squirrels again (Nic says if I keep this up I'll start to look like them), but whether or not someone else has beaten me to it when it comes to free hand-outs is beside the point: there are none. I know they are there, somewhere, so maybe they're not hungry.

Fat chance. Once one appears it quickly gets busy, and for a quiet hour the squirrels and I trade images for peanuts.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. Tripod. ISO 400
Top: 1/500 second at f/4. - 1 stop EV compensation
Below: 1/250 second at f/4. - 1.67 EV compensation



© 2014

Crocus, catkins and nervy rodents...

There is less that 8 hours of sunlight now available at my latitude, with mid-winter almost here, but to look around you would think otherwise. Crocus are sprouting a good three inches above ground in a local park; catkins are hanging from a tree in a nearby garden and something or other is flowering in my own back yard: all signs of spring. On top of that insect activity hasn't really stopped, due, no doubt, to the mild weather.

What doesn't change is the voracious appetite of the local grey squirrels, and once again I tempt them before my lens with peanuts. I'm shooting from ground level this time - tripod legs splayed out flat - as I want to give the images a squirrel's perspective. For some reason they are more wary of my camera set up this way than they were when everything towered above them last week, but eventually the idea of a free lunch overcame any apprehension on their part.

To give them a greater comfort zone I am using a remote release to take the shots. This allows me to back away from the camera, having framed and pre-focused on one particular spot. Letting the rodents come to me is the thinking behind the setup, and as soon as one does, I shoot. This technique works well until the shutter fires: the click sending most of them scurrying away to a safer distance, but even this unexpected racket is soon dismissed by the more inquisitive, and I start getting the images I hoped for.

Shooting blind like this is always hit or miss, and my success rate is very poor, with nearly all the frames unusable because of subject blur. On the woodland floor light levels are always low, and these nervous animals are just so fast once they get on the move. For this picture I had balanced a nut on top of the lens hood, and whilst the squirrel was preoccupied with risk assessment I was able to get at least one sharp frame.

Time for a rethink, I fancy.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/11. ISO 640. Tripod and remote release.



© 2014

In tatters...

A tattered, single red rose, found atop a wall on the seafront and shot against the setting sun. Probably the remnants of a wedding beach shoot from yesterday; possibly the sign of a rejection.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/5.6  + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 500



© 2014

Worse than I thought...

Peering at the online weather forecast last night, I see that the stylised crescent moon that depicts clear skies over my area on the map features from the early hours onwards, so I make plans to get up early and see if I can get any good sunrise images.

I am awake at 5 am (although this was not part of the plan), but resign myself to that fact and start preparing my kit for the shoot. Just before I leave the house at 7 am it occurs to me that it might be wise to check the conditions myself by actually going into the garden to look. Sure enough it was the right thing to do, because instead of the crystal-clear sky I expected, I have cloud. And quite a bit of it to boot. I make the snap decision to ditch the super-telephoto lens I had intended to use, and pack a wide angle instead. Then I'm on my bike and riding into the gathering dawn.

When I arrive on the beach it is worse that I thought: cloud all the way down to the horizon, but I decide to at least wait for sunrise itself - which today occurred at 8 am - before throwing in the towel. There were two other photographers nearby, similarly disappointed with the Met Office and what was promised, and both withdrew as a result before the sun had even broken the horizon. The thing is, you have to give yourself a chance. Leaving before the event itself means you severely limit your chances to nil.

Undeterred, I find myself a quiet spot by the water's edge; set up my tripod; and wait. There is nothing spectacular happening at sunrise itself, but 30 minutes into the event I am at least getting something worth firing the shutter for (above).



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/11.  + 1 stop EV compensation. Tripod and remote release. ISO 200



© 2014

Jay...

Whilst photographing the squirrels in a local park last weekend, I couldn't help but notice this little guy waiting in the wings for anything that wasn't immediately snapped-up. It is, of course, a Jay: a colourful member of the crow family, and mainly found in woodland. A shy bird, it rarely breaks cover, but now that the leaves have gone from most trees it is easier to see.

At this time of year - with food harder to find and hunger playing its part - the Jay waited for its opportunity of a free meal on a nearby branch, as near to the action as it dared. Whilst in the process of luring the local squirrel populace into range for my lens, I would occasionally throw a peanut specifically for the bird, well away from the melee of rodents in front of me. When it felt sure of scoring a successful strike the Jay would swoop with precision to the woodland floor; take its prize and be away again almost in one movement. To get the image below I had to prefocus and attempt to land a nut on my chosen spot, firing the shutter immediately once the bird landed.

300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. Tripod
Top: 1/640 second at f/4. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400
Bottom: 1/640 second at f/4. ISO 400



© 2014

A nut by any other name...

Galvanised by the recent impromptu shoot in a local park I think it prudent to have a second bite of the cherry, but this time with all the proper tools for the task. This includes an incentive for my subjects; that way both parties will benefit.

Making a special trip to the supermarket to buy some tempting tidbits I am foxed by the fact that food displays have been re-located to different parts of the store since my last visit (so what's new?), and finding what I want is not going to be the swift operation I had hoped for. Asking an employee where they have now hidden the peanuts seems like a reasonable question, but I am merely directed to the ready-salted, processed, party-ready variety. Definitely not what I - nor the squirrels - would want. My fault for not being specific enough, I fancy.

So I ask another in-store worker as to their whereabouts - this time being very specific - and am rather helpfully guided from one end of the shop floor to the other, only to be pointed to the same shelves as before. I explain that I want nuts that are still in their shells, but he seems a tad perplexed by such a request. It is at this moment that I see them for myself, nestling almost out of sight on the bottom shelf further along the aisle. I  pick up a bag to show him.

"Oh, you wanted monkey nuts in shells", he said (for that is how they are named on the packet). "You asked me for peanuts".

I point out that these are, in fact, peanuts, but he emphasises the phrase 'monkey nuts' before going about his business, confident that having pointed out my error he has duly served another customer to his - and my - satisfaction.

Below the header on the bag, is slightly smaller letters, it says: Peanuts from the USA.

A one-all draw. This time.




300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/3.2.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 320. Tripod



© 2014

The formula fails...

High atmospheric pressure and clear skies overnight had me out of bed shortly after 6 am today, and making my way to the coast for some dawn photography soon after. The thermometer hovered around 1º Celsius as I set off in the dark, hoping to improve on yesterday's shoot, but once again cloudless conditions didn't yield anything that I hadn't already got the day before. I stayed long enough to record the sunrise itself, but by 8 o'clock it was all over for me.

It remained cloudless, so not wanting to waste a perfect winter's day entirely I visit a local park during the afternoon with a long lens, just to see what was what. The local squirrels are often quite amusing as they play amongst themselves, and since they are used to human presence, relatively easy to photograph. They are also willing to pose (top) if they think food is in the offing.

I had hoped for the kestrel to appear on the cliff top - hence the long lens - but today there was no sign of her. Instead, a pair of Stonechats flew in as an unexpected subject, allowing me to get several images of the female (above), at close quarters. Once again the sun set in a cloudless sky, and once again the pictures I took of the sunset were formulaic, even with the pulling power of a super-telephoto. Time to move on, I feel.



Top: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/2.8. - 1.33 EV compensation. VR on. Monopod. ISO 400
Below: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/500 second at f/5. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 250



© 2014

On the beach...

I always say that there is no such thing as bad light for photography; just different light, but walking along the beach today I find myself wishing it wasn't quite as good as it is. It's all fine and dandy to have such clear weather, especially at this time of year, but for my taste I could do with a bit more going on in the sky department.

Nevertheless, I work all the standard angles as the tide drops in an attempt to get something interesting, but it's this grab shot from this afternoon that works the best in my view.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/3200 second at f/9. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

Quiet sunset...

Less is more, they say, and the plain can be equally valid as the spectacular in photography (I say). Today's sunset on the Dorset coast.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/11. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 250



© 2014

A cold wind...

In to December and the first real indication that winter is on its way is born out during a trip with Nic to Reculver, on the north Kent coast. The gusting wind probably hasn't slowed any since it left Scandinavia, nor warmed at all by its trip across the North Sea. The intermittent rain doesn't help, either, making it all the more uncomfortable to be out there for long, but least we are dressed for the conditions.

We manage a few shots of the ruined church with its 12th century towers, standing alongside the remains of a Saxon monastery (above), before beating a fairly hasty retreat to Café Reculver for hot drinks and cakes.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/7.1. ISO 500



© 2014