To kick, or not to kick...

The sky at 4:00am looked promising: clear, with a waning crescent moon and a waxing Venus, both shining brightly to the south east. Inspecting the conditions two hours later - and seeing there is still no cloud - I decide on a dawn shoot and head off to the beach an hour before sunrise.

Unfortunately, cloud cover rolls in as I arrive, and it's obvious I won't be getting anything spectacular in the way of light. Now improvising, I fit a x10 ND filter to the lens and start making long exposures of what's on offer. It's becoming an overused technique (and I am guilty as anybody in this respect), but short of kicking the tripod during the shot, I can't think of anything else to make it different.



18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 60 seconds at f/8. 10 stop ND filter. Tripod and remote release. ISO 200



© 2019

Signing-off for 2018

The last day of the year, and the weather forecast is anything but promising. It's going to be an overcast day all round, and too calm by half for any drama on the seascape front. Instead of getting out there with my camera, I spend the time tidying-up recent uploads in Lightroom in preparation for starting a new catalogue in the new year.

This action throws up two images that I had overlooked in my initial edits; something easily done when in the search for the image that defines a shoot. Taken during the past two weeks, I include both, so at least I can to sign-off the year with something.



Top: Bournemouth West Cliff in winter light.

24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Sigma lens. 1/80 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation ISO 100
       
Below: Bournemouth East Beach.

18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Winter Solstice

Having (yet again) discovered that the seven day forecast by the Met Office is anything but accurate, I set off for an early afternoon shoot. Unfortunately, the light isn't that great, and the images I do get tend to be somewhat flat and lifeless when shooting into it.

Fortunately, the gulls that are following me in the hope of food provide me with a subject. It is also a reminder that successful wildlife photography can be achieved through a wide angle lens.



18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 320



© 2018

That's all it takes

Yesterday, I relegated a similar shot from the same position to an also-ran. Today I make use of the gorgeous light that happens as the sun drops low in the sky. That's all it needed, really.



18-35mm f/3.4 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/160 at f/11. Matrix metering.  - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Not always right

More often than not, when I choose a photograph from a shoot I go with my gut feeling as to which image to use as I scan through the uploads. If it jumps off the screen at me - and taking into consideration which frame I mentally selected as I fired the shutter - I'm usually right with my initial reaction to the thumbnails. But there are times when I change my mind during the editing stage. 

Taken within an hour of each other, the picture below was my original choice for this post, but I subsequently felt the one above better captured the mood of the morning.

Top: 18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/1600 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100

Below: 18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 100. 

Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2

© 2018

"The dark times"

For the next twelve days there will be less than 8 hours of direct sunlight available at my latitude. The solstice occurs this week, and mid-winter is setting in with a vengeance. What little light I do get is often dramatic and ephemeral, and superbly photogenic.




18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Mid-day light

Mentioning the fact that at this time of year the Golden Hour lasts all day at my latitude, I thought shooting at noon might (should), produce some good results.

It's a good thing I did as there was a light window of only 30 minutes or so before grey cloud rolled in for the day.



24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Sigma lens. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Under scrutiny

          A casual stroll along the shoreline on a calm winter's afternoon, and I get the feeling I'm being watched.



18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 200



© 2018

480 minutes

There is barely 8 hours of sunlight available now, and at this time of year, at my latitude, the Golden Hour lasts all day. But it's the light at the very end (or beginning), that I find to be the most spectacular.


18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/400second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

If you go down in the woods today...

                                                                                 Hoads Wood in The Warren


18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

Another Time

Antony Gormley's statue Another Time - one of a hundred in the series - gazes towards the White Cliffs of Dover. This solid, life-sized, cast iron replica can be found in the half tide loading bay of the Harbour Arm, Folkestone.


18-35mm f/3.5 - 4.5 ED Nikkor. 1/50 second at f/8. Matrix metering.  - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

Spares save the day

The effects of sea air can be brutal on photographic gear. The constant battle against airborne contaminants on the front element of a lens never really goes away, but the biggest threat from salt-laden air is when it gets into the innards. That, and impact damage. Both of my regular lenses are packaged and are sat, waiting for the off to the repair shop. The wide-angle zoom got bent out of shape due to an accident whilst out shooting this week, and the 24-70mm is in desperate need of a service; its first in the 9 years I've had it.

But all is not lost as I resort to a couple of back-up lenses I keep for such an eventuality. Neither delivers the colour and quality of my preferred optics, but they are better than nothing at all at those focal lengths. However, it has been some years since I've used either, so I set off for a casual stroll along the beach, just so I can reappraise each lens.

Optical distortion is my main worry, and the wide zoom has it (not good when there is a straight horizon towards the edge of the image), but Lightroom - and some judicial cropping - is able to deal with it (as with the photo above).

The standard zoom is fine for what it is (an ageing Sigma 24-70mm D EX DG f/2.8), but using both lenses frequently catch me out in use. Neither are AF-S, and the focus ring rotates as the camera achieves focus; something I'm not used to when hand-holding. But again, First World Problems. Thankfully, I have both optics as spares.


18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 D ED Nikkor. 1/1600 second at f/8. Matrix metering. -0.67 EV compensation. ISO 100



© 2018

I dodged a bullet (apparently)

Before I committed to digital photography I gave some serious consideration to the 4x5 film format. At the time it all involved investing in a new system anyway, and large format had its appeal, however unwieldy such a camera may be in the field.

In the end I opted to stay with a smaller SLR system (switching from Olympus to Nikon), and with hindsight that was possibly a good decision. Today, I checked the price of what I would have to pay for "going large". At the time of writing, what with cost of sheet film (Fuji Velvia for preference), and processing, it would work out at £9.70 (€10.06 / $12.08) per shot. Okay, I would have got superb detail, but the aforementioned figures didn't involve digital scanning or making prints.

Occasionally I still crop to the 4:5 ratio just to see what I am missing in that respect, but the cost of it all tells me I made the right decision.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 4 seconds at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. Tripod and remote release. ISO 100



© 2018

Not what I had hoped for

Low tide (and not an especially low one at that), is to occur some 45 minutes after sunset this afternoon, and I plan to shoot at around that moment. There should still be enough residual light in the sky to keep things interesting, and enough exposed wet sand for some good reflections. I set up and wait.

Unfortunately the afterglow that I had hoped for didn't happen, so I use an insurance shot - the second exposure I made shortly after my arrival - instead.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/8. Matrix metering. Tripod and remote release. ISO 100



© 2018

The lowest of the low

The first of the lowest low tides of the month, and I am stood alone on the beach wondering what I am doing here. The light is dreadful and the cloud cover is a solid grey. I contemplate packing up and going home, but out of nowhere there appears a crack of light in the sky.

I have to work quickly as the shape is rapidly changing, and manage to shoot several frames before it's gone. This was the best of the sequence.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 200



© 2018

Back to square one

It's back to Boscombe beach for low tides, and those oh-so-wonderful reflections in the wet sand when the sky is doing its thing. Anywhere else just doesn't seem right to my eye, and the pier doesn't dominate the view as much as its big sister, a mile or so along the coast.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100



© 2018

No light, so black and white

Showers and a blustery wind is the order of the day, weather wise, and by the time I reach the beach this afternoon it is all but deserted. As there is no spectacular light to be photographed - but enough break in the scudding clouds to make things interesting - I shoot with the conversion to black and white in mind.


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 1 stop EV compensation. Mono conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2. ISO 125



© 2018

In need of boots

Autumn has arrived good and proper as temperatures drop to single figures. As a result, casual walkers stay away in droves, leaving the windswept beaches to the more committed outdoor type... and photographers.

I needed a pair of boots to allow me to get into the water to make the most of the reflections; something I didn't have today. However, there are low tides during late afternoon come the weekend, and all I need for photographic bliss is good light... and that pair of boots.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/160 second at f/8. Matrix metering.  + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2018

Avoiding the weekend rush

Catching the light at the end of the day is one thing, but to be assured of the beach to myself - at least on a week day - an early start pays dividends, as with this pre-sunrise image of Boscombe Pier.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60th second at f/11. Matrix metering. Monopod. ISO 200


© 2018

The best place to be

It's a blustery day, with showers blowing in off the Atlantic, and there's only one place I'm going to be come late afternoon. The brisk wind continually moves the cloud, producing ever changing light, and the low tide is the icing on the cake.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/80th second at f/11. Matrix metering. + 1 Stop EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2018