No-one, I think, is in my tree: a post for Beatles fans

It was a grey day when Nic and I visited Knole Park, in Sevenoaks, Kent, but there were two things on the agenda. She wanted to photograph the deer in the park; my interest was in The Beatles.

It is 50 years to the day since shooting took place for the video of Strawberry Fields Forever, and I wanted to find the precise location. The tree, no longer there, was already dead when Swedish director Peter Goldmann chose it to be part of the strange musical instrument that features in the film.

It was reportedly blown down in the storm of 1987, and its original location is now disputed. However, lining-up land features in the distance with the original footage - and the proximity of a road that runs through the park, just visible in front of the trees in the middle distance - leads me to believe that this is, indeed, the right place. It's not much to look at now, but it appears that the stump in the right foreground is all that remains of the oak.

The B side (in fact it was a double A-sided single), of the release was Penny Lane, and footage was shot the following day to accompany the music. Again, the area near The Birdhouse in the park was used as a location. In the images above the arch that the band rode through on horseback can still be seen, while the pond where the banquet table was situated still looks very much like it did on that winter's day in 1967.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. Matrix metering. ISO 200

Top: 1/200 second at f/8.
Middle: 1/250 second at f/8
Bottom: 1/250 second at f/8



© 2017

A bit of warmth

                    After two days of fog it's good to see a bit of colour before the next weather front rolls in.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2017

Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs

The fog that enveloped me yesterday still lingers, and again atmospheric conditions are too good to pass up. Cemeteries can be good places to work in under such circumstances; the frost and strongly diffused light adding to the ethereal character of the photographs.


I borrowed the title for the post from Richard II, by William Shakespeare.



Top: 70-200mm f/2.8 Sigma EX DG Apo lens. 1/1000 second at f/2.8. Matrix metering. + 0.7 EV compensation. ISO 320
Below: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. + 0.3 EV compensation. ISO 320

Hanging in there

Fog and freezing temperatures combine this morning; ideal conditions to be out with my camera and in search of images. I was quite surprised to find a lone leaf still clinging to its tree in a park.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/80 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 160



© 2017

Too fierce for my own good

No doubt about it, photography has become a struggle once again. I'm out there shooting, but the images I am getting aren't giving me any sense of achievement or satisfaction. Being your own fiercest critic has its good aspects, but it can, I think, also lead to nagging self doubt.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the photograph, and I can't say I've seen it all before because every day on the beach produces something different. It's just that at the moment I don't feel like I'm trying.

Time to get that well-worn thinking cap on again.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/50 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 400



© 2017

The first snap of the year

It has been a lean 4 weeks or so in the photography department, but as I mentioned in the solitary post I managed last month, it's not for the want of trying. I have been taking photographs, but nothing was coming up to snuff image wise. I was either faced with grey conditions to blank, blue skies (when it wasn't raining), and none of the pictures were particularly inspiring. Thus they never see the light of day.

The afterglow and the excitable dog give me a little of the something I have been looking for.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 320



© 2017