Coming home

                           TS Royalist sails past Brownsea Island and into Poole Harbour, as the sun sets.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 160



© 2016

Sitting on a park bench

Today, I was actually working to a plan; to record the colours of autumn on the ground. Leaves are starting to fall in greater numbers, but not enough to produce any striking compositions, so I concentrate on individual elements.

A single leaf rests on a specifically designed bench; itself part of a permanent sculpture inside a circle of six trees in Shelley Park, Bournemouth.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/4. Matrix metering. ISO 160. Monopod



© 2016

L'art pour l'art

As a rule, if I use any digital manipulation at all for images I make sure the viewer is oblivious to the fact. But once in a while it is nice to go overboard and make no bones about it: These images have been through the grinder. No, really.

They started off as straight shots of a firework display from the end of Bournemouth pier, Dorset, this evening, but the individual frames didn't have much impact. So, into Affinity Photo and the Mirror effect in the Filters menu they went, and they came out looking like this. That's much better.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. Bulb setting. Tripod and remote release. ISO 160. Affinity Photo editing software.



© 2016

It takes two

The second day with the lowest tide of the month, and it almost coincides with sunset. However, it's not until after both events have occurred that I start to make photographs. Experience tells me that the high, thin cloud to the West on the satellite weather map will produce an afterglow, so really I just need me a focal point.

A woman playing with her dog on the surf line had the most potential, but neither move into a position to be big enough in the picture to count. Then out of nowhere a couple stroll into the frame, and I know I have the shot.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/30 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. Lee 0.9 grey grad. Tripod and remote release. ISO 160



© 2016

I needn't have worried

The partial beach replenishment in April, although necessary in order to preserve the coastline, had me worried for a time. With all that extra sand - about 126,000 cubic metres of it - piled up like it was, it eventually dawned on me that low tides might not have the photogenic quality to which I had become accustomed during the winter.

However, wave action over the past seven months has done its job of reducing the beach to a more natural shape; this being taken into consideration by engineers during the planning process. Which is nice, because I have my beach back the way I like it.

  

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 0.7 EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2016

Go! Go! Go!

Low sun, low tide and reflections; It doesn't get any better than this for me. The local Surf Rescue team sprint down the beach, doing a spot of training. Perfect.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/1250 second at f/8. Matrix metering.  - 0.6 EV Compensation. ISO 160



© 2016

Restricted freedom

Whereas I enjoy the mobility of shooting hand-held, I equally enjoy the freedom that the tripod gives me when using one to support the camera. For one thing, the composition stays the same once I have lined everything up, and for another I am able to use what ever aperture/shutter speed/filter/ISO combination I choose for total control over the image. On top of that, with correct use you are assured of sharp images.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 10 seconds at f/11. Matrix metering. Tripod and remote release. x10 ND filter. ISO 160



© 2016

Thinking about it

Taken from almost the same spot as yesterday's image, but a few minutes later in the day, it illustrates the difference between an impromptu shot and something far more considered. Planned in advance, I used a tripod instead of a make-shift rest, allowing a long shutter speed to be used to blur the waves of the sea; something I wanted as a strong element in the composition. However, with such a long exposure I would never have captured the lone figure on the beach as I did yesterday.

I am not saying that one photograph is better than the other; that would be up to the viewer to decide anyway, but they both have a divergent feel about them, created by a different thought process.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 15 seconds at f/11. Matrix metering. Tripod and remote release. ISO 160.



© 2016

Steady, now

Packing up your photographic gear and heading for home once the sun has disappeared below the horizon can often be a mistake as good images are still available, especially when there is water involved. Taken 25 minutes after the sun had set, the lone figure on the surf line makes the shot. Light levels were very low, and to keep everything steady I wedged the camera between a lamp post and guard rail on the local pier.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/25 second at f/2.8. Matrix metering. ISO 250



© 2016

More beach huts

A break in the cloud during late afternoon was the signal to get on my bike and go and photograph something. It had been quite breezy all day, but the calmness that arrived with the good light gave a mirror-like reflection of the beach huts on Mudeford Spit.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 160



© 2016

Sand and water

Water from a cliff outfall swirls to shape wet sand on the beach, whilst the sun reflects off of the ripples created by the stiff wind. Moments after taking the shot the flow increased and the effect was lost.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/6.3. Matrix metering. ISO 320



© 2016

£1200 per sq/ft, anybody?

Mudeford Sandbank, at the entrance to Christchurch harbour, Dorset, where an 8 berth beach hut can cost you £265,000 to buy. Add on a sizeable annual ground rent of up to four grand and you have yourself a bargain. Although they can only be used for sleeping in overnight between March and October, the lucky owners have the freedom to visit at any time of year.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8/ Matrix metering.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 250



© 2016

Double the fun

Long before the Internet, when photographic magazines were king, you would always find a slew of articles on darkroom techniques amidst their pages as autumn moved into winter. These were designed to tie-in with what was traditionally known as the "darkroom season" for the enthusiast; a time to put the camera down and spend the long winter nights printing negatives shot during the summer months. It was only the very hardy (or those oblivious to tradition), that ventured outside with their cameras as the nights drew in.

That never seemed like good sense to me, because it is only at this time of year that I start to shoot with any conviction. Sure, it's colder out there, and I haven't made a wet print in I don't know how many years; but miss all the fun with that glorious light? No chance.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 160



© 2016