Mad dogs and Englishmen

It has been warm, bordering on hot in most places in the UK for the past couple of months, so any activity with a camera is restricted to either end of the day. In fact any real activity is restricted to the ends of the day. Not that it's a problem as once the sun gets up at this time of year the light is, in my view, un-useable.

So, it's down to the lake shortly after sunrise, to see if I can photograph a pair of grebes that have nested there. Conditions are ideal, and an early morning mist all but blocks the rising sun, creating beautiful, diffused light.

The grebes put in an appearance and I get something in the can, but once the sun has burnt-off the mist it's time to retreat for breakfast.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. Matrix metering. Tripod and gimballed head

Top: 1/640 second at f/4. ISO 250
Below: 1/250 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2018

The Old High Street, Folkestone

I've made numerous visits to Folkestone, Kent, but until today have never explored the town itself. The Old High Street is particularly interesting (images), and is an ancient route that runs down to the harbour through what is now known as the Creative Quarter.

Although somewhat narrow - it is closed to motor vehicles - it does have its charm, and is lined with a variety of quirky shops, cafés and pubs, most of which are painted in bright colours.

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 

Top: 1/250 second at f/5.6. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100

Below: 1/320 at f/5.6. ISO 100

© 2018

The occasional snap

The time of year has arrived when I seldom pick up a camera for fun - the light is just too vicious during the summer months for my tastes. However, it always accompanies me on the various trips I make to Kent, and there are moments when peering through the viewfinder inspires me to take the occasional snap.

Grey skies loomed low on our visit to Reculver this afternoon, but a break in the clouds produced a bit of decent light.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 sec at f/8. ISO 100. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2



© 2018

Not many fish about

It is some years since my (only) sighting of otter on the Dorset Stour, so I have decided to up the ante and search a location where they are known to thrive. It's my second visit in three days, and as with all wildlife shooting, the subject has little (read 'no') interest in co-operating with photographers. My quarry remains elusive.

Mind you, I'm not helping myself by arriving around mid-day; the light is far too brutal at this time of year to get anything worthwhile, and the otter are probably asleep anyway. Quizzing the locals goes some way to explaining their absence, as apparently there are few fish in the part of the river that flows through Stour Meadows, Blandford Forum, Dorset, at the moment. Of course, it follows that there are no predators.

I'm reliably informed that I should set up on the riverbank around dawn or late evening; something I knew, anyway, if I want any measure of success. In the meantime, I resort to shooting the flora that grows on the riverbank, as with this hogweed.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. -1.3 stops EV compensation. Tripod. Sepia toned in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 100



© 2018

Early birds

Cute, or what? Photographing wildlife - even if it is in the local park - doesn't come any better than when the young of a species are making their first tentative steps in the world. The important thing is not to stress the animals in any way just to get a shot, so I am using all the optical firepower I can muster to keep a respectable distance from the family of Greylag geese; the parent birds being just out of frame.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/800 second at f/4.5. Matrix metering. Tripod. ISO 400



© 2018

Bluebells in King's Wood

A visit to King's Wood in Challock, Kent, is usually on the cards at this time of year, purely for the display of bluebells, but as is often the case there is no guarantee that each annual event will be the same as the last. There are several places in the wood there are no bluebells to be seen, but there is enough going on to warrant the camera coming out of the bag

Whether this is down to the harshness of early spring, or that Nic and I are just too early, is a moot point. We dutifully take the standard shots of what's on offer, but it is at the end of the walk that I see the opportunity to get 'creative'. Developing my initial experiment in March with camera movement during exposure, this time I have more colour and shape to work with.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/10 second at f/11. Matrix metering and manual exposure. ISO 100



© 2018

All I need to know

My location scouting of Salisbury is pretty much complete, and as far as I am concerned I have all the angles of the cathedral at ground level covered. Today's reconnaissance was of a field just north west of Harnham, but the views of my subject are obscured by trees. All this probably explains why nearly all of the images I see taken of Salisbury Cathedral are from the same angles; there aren't any others available. Access to the nearby water meadows would change that radically, so over the coming months I will look into obtaining permission to spend a couple of hours shooting on them.

Of course, I take the obligatory shots of the building while I am in the area, just because I can, because it would be a shame to waste decent light. However, after an hour or so the clouds roll in from the west and (surprisingly for the time of year), it begins to hail. It's at this point that I decide I'm done, and withdraw.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Top: 1/400 second at f/8
Below: 1/250 at f/11



© 2018

A walk in the park

The original intention in visiting a local park this morning was to see if the waterfowl had produced any young yet. Still a bit early in the year - there not being any is testament to that - but the spring flowers are giving dazzling displays.

The colours of the red and orange tulips in Pool Park, Dorset, are enough to knock your eye out, and too much to resist photographically. I have to be careful not to blow the red channel out on the histogram, and underexpose accordingly to retain the hues and detail.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/5000 second at f/2.8. Matrix metering. -1.33 stops EV compensation. Monopod. ISO 100



© 2018

On location

The frequent visits I am currently making to Salisbury are essentially me scouting for locations. Although spring is just hitting its stride here, my thoughts are already turning to autumn and winter; eyeing-up what might look good when the season dictates.

It's a grey day by the time I arrive, and monochrome conversions are already in the back of my mind should I start shooting. I'm doubtful I will get anything, but obligingly two sheep stand still long enough on Harnham Water Meadows for me to use the shot.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering. Mono conversion and selenium toning in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 100



© 2018

In the footsteps of John Constable

Today I'm back in Salisbury for some shooting around the Harnham Water Meadows. I made the decision last night, having scrutinised the weather forecast and found it to be clear skies for today. However, my main worry was that the light might be too good, but on the journey there I was pleased to note that some fluffy clouds were beginning to bubble-up.

Inspired by the John Constable paintings of the area, I roam the Town Path to find a composition that incorporates the cathedral, but frequently find the best angles are blocked by trees, or I'm unable to gain access to the water meadows for a clear shot.

But it's when I round the corner by the Old Mill at West Harnham that I am confronted with a scene that positively screams pastoral England. The fisherman in the mill pond, with the 12th century Grade 1 listed building in the background and the trees on the river bank, is about as Constable-esqe as I can get.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

I'll be back

Another trip to Salisbury to photograph the cathedral, and once again the weather changes en route to something less favourable; the weather forecasters are playing games with me. I do get a brief burst of light from a crack in the clouds so I can't really complain, but it disappears just as quickly as it arrives.

The scaffolding adorning the eastern end of the building is there for the final stages of the current restoration work; a part of the cathedral that has remained essentially untouched since 1270.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

(It's) been a long time

There are some subjects that I return to frequently, shooting time and time again, but the last time I took photographs from this spot was in July, 1986. The water meadows at Britford, near Salisbury, are probably not the same ones that John Constable painted in the 1820s, but one thing is for certain, the scene has changed for both of us since either of us visited last.

Trees now largely obscure the view of the cathedral at this location, and I had hoped for better light, but used what I was dealt with on the day. I sepia toned the monochrome conversion, and added the border to 'jazz it up' a touch.



70-200mm f/2.8 EX Sigma lens. 1/320 second at f/4. Matrix metering. Monopod. ISO 100. Sepia toned and border added in Silver Efex Pro 2



© 2018

Rule book, anyone?

                                                                                         Trees by the river


Occasionally, it's good to tear up the photographic rule book (is there such a thing, anyway?), just to see what you can come up with. During the winter months I made numerous seascape images using long shutter speeds, allowing part of the composition to blur through motion, but always using a steady camera support to keep the rest of the image sharp.

Today, with the rule book well and truly ripped asunder, I made photographs by deliberately moving the camera during exposure to blur everything. The results are rather hit-or-miss, and I took many frames before I started to come up with something pleasing, but experimentation is the key with this technique. Just choose the subject wisely.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/10 second at f/14. Camera moved vertically during exposure. Polarising filter to help get the shutter speed down. ISO 100



© 2018

Salisbury Cathedral

Winter has now officially gone, although the temperatures would suggest otherwise. The weather forecast for Salisbury advises that it will touch 9ºC today, although the wind chill factor will make it feel more like 6º. Wonderful. However, it's a bright sky in the Wiltshire city, and thoughts of monochrome photography whilst travelling there by bus gets the creative juices flowing; those blue skies are going to look good in the black and white conversions.

I take a number of exterior shots of the cathedral upon arrival, but decide to nip inside to inspect one of the four remaining copies of Magna Carta whilst the sun moves round to light the western end. I hadn't given any thought to shooting inside the cathedral since I wasn't sure if photography was allowed, but was pleasantly surprised to be informed by a guide the not only was it permitted, it was positively encouraged. Of course, I wasn't prepared, and consequently struggled with the eternal triangle of shutter speeds, apertures and ISO settings whilst trying to do the architecture justice.

Even more surprising - to me at least - is that although flash photography is generally frowned upon, and refused altogether in the Chapter House that has the Magna Carter on permanent display, the use of a tripod is deemed acceptable. This fuels the idea of making subsequent returns to make a better fist of the subject.



Top: Western facia and spire. 1/250 second at f/11. Matrix metering. -0.33 EV compensation. Yellow filter and blue toned in Silver FX Pro 2. ISO 100

Middle. Choir and organ, looking East. 10.5mm AF-S f/2.8 Fisheye Nikkor. 1/13 second at 5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 500

Bottom: High Altar. 10.5mm f/2.8 AF-S Fisheye Nikkor. 1/5 second at f/5.6. . Matrix metering. +0.67 EV compensation. ISO 500



© 2018

What's going ON?

For the second time in two weeks I have snow. It's not the latest I have known it to snow where I live (that in itself is rare enough),  but this amount a few days from the Spring equinox is something worth noting. Caused by cold air moving in from Scandinavia, it will, thankfully, be short-lived.


105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens. 1/8 second at f/14. Matrix metering and manual focus. + 0.33 EV compensation. Tripod and remote release. Mirror lock-up. ISO 200



© 2018

A watchful eye

Although too early in the year to photograph any birds with young, the would-be parents are now looking their best in a bid to attract a mate. This mute swan - busking at the time - is defending territory from an intruder on a lake in a local park, whilst keeping a watchful eye on me.


300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/3200 second at f/4.5. Matrix metering. -0.67 EV compensation. Monopod. ISO 100



© 2018

Concessionary travel

Last week's horrendous weather appears to have slowed the onset of spring, although what had already appeared seems to have, in the most part, survived. Today, I visit the nearby town of Christchurch, partly to photograph some of its main features, but partly because I now qualify for concessionary travel on local bus routes in the UK; something I intend to use with a vengeance.

The 900 year-old Priory - the longest parish church in England - itself has many stories; the Miraculous Beam being the most retold, but finding different angles from the norm to shoot it needed a bit of footwork, and a lens change or two.



Top: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. -0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100
Below: 10.5mm f/2.8 AF-S Fisheye Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/8. Matrix metering. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

It's Spring!

From a meteorological point of view, today is the first day of spring. So what have I got? Snow.

The blast of cold air that has swept in from Siberia over the past couple of days has produced sub-zero temperatures during the day, but now Snow Storm Emma in hitting the UK, and I am on an amber warning, weather wise.

Blizzards are predicted for tomorrow. What fun.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f5.6. Matrix metering. +1 stop EV compensation. Monopod. ISO 400



© 2018

No guarantees

Recent surgery (nothing serious), has prevented me from picking up a camera since the beginning of the month, but today I was determined to get out there and start shooting; Spring is beginning to arrive. There is blossom appearing on the trees in my garden, but high enough off the ground to make the flowers inaccessible for good results, so I go down to ground level in a local park.

I consider a focus stacking technique for the image of a crocus, but since there is a breeze blowing occasionally I am getting too much subject movement for guaranteed success. Instead,  I focus the lens on the stigma of the flower, stop the lens well down, and hope for the best.


105mm f/2.8 Sigma macro lens. 1/4 second at f/14. Matrix metering and manual focus. Tripod and remote release. Mirror lock-up. ISO 100



© 2018

Another mass deletion

Two very low tides this week - all due to the supermoon, no doubt - and two days scrambling about on the beach looking for a composition. Yesterday, there was little of the way of sky interest, and a great many images I shot were deleted once I had viewed them on my monitor.

However, today the sky produced the goods, with enough breaks in the cloud to make the light interesting.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. Tripod and remote release. ISO 100

Top: 1/250 second at f/11. Matrix metering.  + 1.33 EV compensation.
Below: 1/25 second at f/11. Matrix metering.



© 2018