Walking into a photograph...

I wasn't going to bother to go out today, but I'm glad I did. After all the turmoil of recent conditions the day broke with clear blue skies, and I had planned to shoot at low tide during late afternoon, but no sooner had I started to pack my camera bag it clouded over. Without some action in the heavens it could be a futile exercise, but cutting it somewhat fine in getting there, I decide to go anyway.

It is not very often that I can walk into a photograph, but today I did. I saw a sizeable flock of gulls on the shoreline as I walked - camera at the ready -, and thought it might make a good image as they rose up agains the setting sun, but before I got into position a dog being walked by its owner spooked them, and they were gone before I got the shot.

Up to that point there was little happening in the sky, but within moments the above opportunity presented itself as cloud built from the south west. I made a number of frames in both landscape and portrait formats, changing the composition slightly for each frame, but when the lone gull flew into the scene I knew I had what I wanted.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/8000 second at f/5.  - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

They think it's all over...

By all accounts, last night's storm was the worst of the lot, although I see little evidence of it until I reach the seafront, where the brunt of it was taken. For the first time to my knowledge, the local authorities had closed a section of beach for public safety. There were a number of beach huts strewn around the promenade, mostly floated off of their bases and deposited elsewhere, but several of the wooden structures had been smashed, no doubt, by the waves overnight.

By mid morning it was all but spent, although the winds remained strong until early afternoon. The Met Office are telling us that this is the last of the series; so numerous were they that none had a chance to be individually named. A shame, as it is something we have been good at in the past: The Hurricane of '87, or The Great Gale of 1824, for example. Not exactly creative, and it is only recently that one has been given a specific moniker - that of St Jude, last October.

I take the obligatory shots of rough seas and angry skies, but decided to use the one above. It has an untroubled quality about it, and I, for one, have had just about enough of it all. At least for the time being.



70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1000 second at f/5.6. ISO 320



© 2014

The last of the series...

With a month's worth of rain due to fall over the next 24 hours, the weathermen are suggesting that the current storm I am sitting through as I write will be the last one of the current series. After that, we should get back to typical British winter weather, which usually consists of wind and rain; maybe even cold. I'll be glad when it all stops, to be honest, and I can dispose of the use of the skylight filters I have on my lenses. These are things I don't normally use as I feel they take the edge off of premium glass, but they do make the cleaning of the front element that much easier and safer in the field when they become coated in airborne contaminates, such as salt spray.

The effects of spring are beginning to show in a local park - crocuses have been out for several weeks - but today I saw the first daffodil in full bloom. It was just the one head flowering, but a bit more colour nonetheless, unlike most of my photography of late. I am really enjoying producing black and white photographs when the image lends itself to the treatment, and this is mainly due to the versatility of Abobe Lightroom. I had dabbled with monochrome in Photoshop, but find Lightroom suits me better in the way I work.

I make no apologies for today's image being similar to that of last Friday's post (and almost from the same spot), but I liked the light and made the photograph.


24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. ISO 640



© 2014

Through the square window...

With the first "red warning" of the winter in place, and winds reaching 108 mph (174 km/h), across parts of the UK, it is business as usual for the foreseeable future as far as the weather is concerned. On top of that some parts of the country are told to expect a month's rain before Friday, so flooding is not going to stop anytime soon. In fact, some are predicting anther three months of of all this, and although I can get some drama in my photography it is beginning to wear a bit thin. In fact, Nic and I have decided to postpone a visit until next week, in the hope that travelling conditions will improve.

Today's storm merely grazes Dorset, from what I can glean on the evening's TV weather forecast, before heading up the western side of the UK, but it is still severe enough to make shooting very difficult, especially with a long lens. But it's not only trying to keep everything steady and dry; there are no subjects anyway. At its peak, I am the only person brave/daft/determined enough to be on the seafront for several miles, so getting anything other than the usual stormy sea images is proving fruitless.

The rain eventually stops by early afternoon and the sun appears, but the wind continues to howl. A few people that have emerged towards the end of the gales still shelter behind windbreaks on the local pier... and then I see him. A lone figure sweeping the beach with a metal detector, in search of anything of value that has been churned-up by the heavy seas. What kind people, I always think to myself, looking for valuables that they can then reunite with their rightful owners. Very public spirited of them.



70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1000 second at f/4. ISO 400



© 2014

Through the gap...

It has been the wettest start to the year in the UK for 200 years, the TV man tells me on the 6 o'clock news, and I believe him. There has been more poor weather today - although nothing like storm conditions where I am - and it is estimated that if it stops raining now then there will still be flooding for the next three to six months. There is more rain on the way.

There are days of respite, at least if you want to be outdoors, and today has a feel of spring about it. It is far from cold - despite the brisk wind - and the days are growing noticeably longer, and for the first time this year the setting sun shines through a gap between nearby buildings onto where I sit and work.



70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1250 second at f/5.6. ISO 320



© 2014

New boots and telephoto compression...

I'm breaking in a new pair of walking boots, so any excuse whatsoever at the moment to get out of the house - with a camera - and get shooting. Not that the boots need it. As long as they are the correct size then modern boots should cause no problems from the start.

There is a welcome break in the winter storms, today - such things now becoming "the norm" for the time being - and since my telephoto-zoom lens is no longer giving me problems (previous post), it will get some exercise. Despite the calm and sunshine, it is potentially a showery day, with the light constantly changing, and it is this that is the real subject for my lens today.

I'm also making full use of one of my favourite long lens effects: telephoto compression. It gives the impression that all the buildings are piled on top of each other, when in fact there is 350 yards (320 metres), between the foreground structure and the buildings at the top of the frame.

The next storm is due in overnight, with plenty more from where that came from, it seems.



70-200mm f/2.8 Apo Sigma lens. 1/1600 second at f/5.6. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2014

That sinking feeling...

Last week, whilst shooting with a telephoto-zoom lens, my camera LCD displayed the fEE error. This occasionally happens if the aperture locking switch gets inadvertently moved and the ring moves off the minimum setting. It is usually an easy fix, but everything was locked in place. I could stop the error by slightly twisting the lens on its mount, and made the mental note to clean the electrical contacts once I got home.

Having done this the lens still produced the error, but trying it on my spare camera the fault never showed, and other lenses mounted on my main body didn't display the error. I put it down to the lens mount of the zoom having become worn, plus the fact it is a third party optic. There is always some rotational play with longer lenses to allow for expansion in hot weather, so I wasn't unduly worried and forgot all about it.

Until today, that was, when a super-telephoto (my 300mm f/4 Nikkor) also started to create the error, and that sinking feeling of an expensive repair loomed large on the horizon. Once again I was able to get around the problem by applying some rotational torque to the lens whilst shooting, but having to constantly do that resulted in missed shots.

Once again I checked all the electrical contacts of both body and lens when I got home, but all seemed okay. I went online to see if there were any fixes available, but other than "lock the aperture ring to the minimum setting" - the first thing I checked - nothing helped.

Then I noticed a tiny lug around the lens mount on the body. I had never seen it before, but then I had no reason to look, and realised that it was moved by the action of a lens being mounted, and pushed it gently round with a finger as far it would go without excessive force. I repeated the move twice more and remounted the offending glass... and it worked! The error was gone. Woohoo! I put it down to the soaking the camera had endured over the past few weeks, and despite all the weather sealing some water or airborne contaminants had preventing the aperture coupling from going fully home if there was any slack in the mount.

                                                                                        ****************

It was still blowing a gale by mid afternoon, and apart from one heavy shower the rain held off. Strange that the wind and kite surfers should call it a day once it did start (above).



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/1000 second at f/6.3.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

Here we go again...

The calm between the storms: The wind has dropped and the sun shines, today, but it will only be short lived. The next low pressure system awaits its turn over the Atlantic and will sweep across the country overnight. Winds up to 70 mph (113km/h) are predicted, but it is not expected to bring as much chaos to coastal regions in the south west as Wednesday's offering, since when it hits the tides will not be high.

All of this must seem like a bit of a whinge, as there are other parts of the world that suffer much worse - and probably for longer - but we are simply not accustomed to this sort of thing in the UK; well, not all at once. But I'm sure we will deal with it in much the same way as we have done so with adverse situations in the past, and one day old men will talk about such times in hushed tones to anyone willing to listen.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. ISO 200



© 2014

Blow the wind southerly...

What was part of seven miles of sandy beach that lined Poole bay, Dorset, now appears to have gone as a result of the recent storms. All of the area to the left of the groyne posts in the photograph is usually sand, but nature is seemingly rampant at the moment, with no signs of the bad weather coming to an end.

600,000 cubic metres of sand were dredged-up and pumped ashore along three miles of coast in the winter of 2005/6 as an ongoing replenishment scheme, but having lasted this long the majority of it has now been washed away. Fortunately, the sea walls have (so far), held up.



70-200mm f/2.8 Apo Sigma lens. 1/1250 second at f/8.  + 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 640



© 2014

This can't last forever...

A watery sun peers through the growing cloud bank of an advancing storm, this afternoon, and as I write the umpteenth gale of the year blasts in from the southwest, causing more disruption and misery for those most susceptible. Global warming may be a contentious subject, but one thing is clear: climate change is very real and happening right now.

This weather pattern is set to continue for the rest of the week, but next week looks promising as it is only supposed to be "very windy". That'll be a nice change.



70-200mm f/2.8D Apo Sigma lens. 1/1600 second at f/8.  - 1.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2014

Close enough...

A stiff southerly breeze and high tide combine to produce an interesting sea this afternoon, and I'm back - fuelled-on by yesterday's success - for some more bird photography on the beach. Conditions are ideal, with a bright but steely-grey sky, and more importantly, no rain. However, the wind does make it tricky to keep a big lens steady, even on a monopod. With such rough seas and such small subjects, the autofocus on the camera at times struggles to lock on to what I consider important, and as a result my hit rate of successful image is quite low. Ultimately, there are enough useable frames to make the shoot worthwhile so one again I chalk-up another successful day.

Post processing: I am using a trick employed by Hollywood film makers to make the subject more appealing to the viewer on this one, where the shadow detail is blue tinted and the main subject a warmer, orangey/brown hue. Although not direct opposites on the colour wheel, they are close enough to have a similar effect. That, and the translucent feathers on the wing of the Herring Gull, make the shot.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/640 second at f/7.1.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2014

Tick follows tock (slight return)...

Today I made my own luck to get a photograph. Intending to prowl the local cliff tops in search of the local kestrel, I arm myself with a big lens and go out. The timing of my arrival at first seems to be perfect, with said bird hanging motionless on the wind not 50 yards away, but by the time I have unpacked a 300mm lens she has decided to fly to a different location to hunt. Sometimes that can be it for many hours, especially is she makes a catch in the mean time, but like the surfer mentioned in last Monday's post... I wait.

And wait. I pass the time photographing passing gulls, whilst all the time keeping a watchful eye for that signature stationary speck in the distance. I deliberately avoid any conversation with passers-by so as be not distracted and miss my quarry, and after an hour or so of watching the sky I am rewarded.

Still over a hundred yards away, I hope she will oblige and fly to me, but sensing it will be last opportunity today I elect to chance it and close in; something that not always works. However, this time I am lucky and get a good number of useable frames before the light goes and she moves off on the wind again.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/500 second at f/5.  + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2014

At last...

As if the perpetual wind and rain isn't enough, hail storms add yet another dimension to the endurance test that has become the British weather. What's more there is no sign of it letting-up during the forthcoming week, and more unfortunate souls will be subjected to flooding. I think we can count ourselves lucky that temperatures are staying well above freezing, otherwise that would compound the misery.

The good thing - at least at present - is that it is showery rather than constant rain, and this can be wonderful for the landscape photographer, creating constantly changing light and skies. Having dodged several intense bursts of the aforementioned hail the cloud moved on during late afternoon to produce some very welcome colour. There you go, Spanner, the English coast does have its moments.



12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. ISO 400



© 2014

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