Spring fever

Snowdrops have been out for a while and the daffodils are threatening to put in an appearance, but for me spring starts when I get blossom on the tree in my garden. I first noticed it two days ago - and there is not much of it - but it's enough to get me in the mood.



105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens. 1/200 second at f/11. Matrix metering + 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 320. Tripod and remote release.



© 2015

Chancing it

I rarely seem to get it right when it comes to photographing water sports from the local beaches. Usually I just chance it when shooting casually, but more often than not I am toting long lenses and there is no-one to be seen, or I have wides in my bag and you can't see the horizon for surfers of every kind bobbing about in the waves. A bit of forward planning on my part wouldn't go amiss, but even then finding surfers who can stay on the board long enough to get good images can prove difficult when I do get it right.

Of the dozen or so "riding the waves" this afternoon, this chap was by far and away the best at his craft. Unfortunately, the fading light and outgoing tide put paid to an extended shoot.



300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/320 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. + 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 500. Monopod



© 2015

No waves, but a nice sunset

It has been a while since I have been out with my camera, partly due to spring not advancing as quickly as I would like, and partly because I have been resting a knee injury. My doctor thinks it isn't anything serious and sent me packing with a two-week prescription of something or other to help things along, and having nearly completed the course he seems to have made the right decision. Good man.

The photograph of a surfer on a local beach was taken during the lowest tide possible for a given area (0.0), although quite what he expected to do with a surfboard on a flat calm sea only he knows. It makes a nice picture, though.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2015

Slow news day and the Greenland Block

That rarity that I mentioned at the end of last year; snow, made an appearance here overnight. It was a light dusting of a few millimetres and nothing more, but the local online news feed attempted to make something of it. Obviously a slow news day since there was nothing that might cause any disruption, it all disappeared quickly once the sun rose high enough in the sky. But as I say, in this neck of the woods we so rarely get it that even a few flakes makes the news. I have no doubt that this weather phenomena was caused by the current Greenland Block (no, me neither), so I won't go into that here..

What I do know is this meteorological feature appears to be bringing cold but calm conditions, enabling me to calmly take photographs of calm scenes. Like this one.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2015