Ephemeral light and dancing leaves...

Summer is all but done; the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn and fall, and morning mists are becoming more frequent. It is also getting cooler. However, nature continues in all its glory whilst the changeable weather produces dramatic, fleeting light for the landscape photographer. (left)

I was beginning to think that I was not going to get anything worthwhile with my camera, today, but for a few moments it all came together and I was in the right place at the right time on the Dorset Stour Local Nature Reserve (left).

The other image simply presented itself to me as I rode past. The brown, dry leaf, caught in a spider's web; fluttering and dancing on the breeze; the blue painted wall and oblique angle of the sun's rays, and it was too much to resist. I simply had no choice but to stop to make photographs.


I love this time of year and I love this light.















Top: 12-24mm f/4G AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/11.  -1 stop EV Compensation. ISO 400
Right: 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/8. - 0.33 EV Compensation. ISO 400



© 2013



   

Weedy reflection...

Making the most of what is possibly the last of the summer weather, I'm out on my bike again in the late afternoon with a camera and three lenses.

As it happens, I only needed the one when I come across this feeding Grey Heron on the Dorset Stour. It keeps a respectable distance from me for the hour I stand and watch it feed, so frame-filling images were not going to happen. But no matter. I am more than content to portray the bird in its natural environment, allowing the weeds and reflections make the shot. There was little else I could do, really.












300mm f/4D AF-S Nikkor. 1/2000 second at f/5. -1 stop EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod



© 2013

Common background...

Another glorious late summer's day (but there's rain on the way by the weekend), and it is out on the bike with a camera, following the same route as yesterday. I am pleasantly surprised to find the revamped footbridge across the Dorset Stour at Throop open for business - two days before the official opening. I stop briefly to record the occasion for posterity (it still isn't quite finished), before continuing to the local nature reserve.

I have dragonfly in mind. I did yesterday, but none were close enough, or still enough, for my lens. Today I was lucky. Although being somewhat elusive, it was quite by chance that I spotted a Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) land on a grass stalk as I rode along the footpath on the river bank. There is always a tense moment as I unpack the camera, mount it on a support of some kind, and start shooting. All too often the subject gets spooked by the attention, or simply flies off because it was bored with being where it was.

I get but two shots of the darter set against a background of floating weed, thrown completely out of focus by the wide aperture set on the lens, before it is gone. Quite possibly the same one returned a number of times - they are very territorial - and I continued photographing it, but the background was not as good.


300mm f/4D AF-S Nikkor. 1/2000 second at f/5.6. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 400. Monopod



© 2013

The Leaden Stour...

Although some regard summer as being over at the end of August that still leaves a three week gap of nothingness, apparently, before autumn starts. However, judging from the weather at the moment, summer continues for the time being here in the south, at least.

I went for a ride today, mostly for the fun of it, but also to check out my mountain bike. Yesterday I gave it something of a much needed overhaul, replacing the chain-set and crank; gear cassette; chain; rear derailleur and front and rear gear cables and housings, and needed to make sure all was well with an extended test. It was.

I chose the Dorset Stour as the basis for the trial, stopping here and there to make photographs when something appealed to me. The image is taken on the Leaden Stour at the site of a Ford  - known locally as Pansy's Bathing Place - after a local resident's golden retriever. The Leaden Stour, which branches off from the main river at Throop, Dorset, is as its name suggests: a much slower moving body of water, that eventually rejoins the main waterway roughly 1.4 miles downstream.



24-70 mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/80 second at f/10. - 1 stop EV compensation. Polariser. ISO 500



© 2013

Bournemouth Air Festival: Day 4...

The forth and final day of this year's Bournemouth Air Festival - the largest of its kind anywhere in the world - drew to a close with the almost inevitable cancellations and disappointments, both for the crews and the crowds. Just short of two hours into the display schedule it was announced over the tannoy that the Avro Vulcan was not making its appearance due to a fuel leak. This aircraft was undoubtedly the big pull of the day, and once the news sank in a good many people began to drift away for home. The Sea Vixen was also a no-show at the event, but for reasons that have so far eluded me.

Although the weather remained very good during the four days - Super Saturday (as it has now been dubbed) having the best with perfect flying conditions - today it was very bright but hazy. Now generally this can be very good for photography, but I always try to follow the bird shooters maxim: never shoot under anything but blue skies. It really does need a bit of cloud mixed with the blue for appealing images. After all, there are only so many shots I can use of a fast jet with condensation forming over the wings in a tight turn...


Not that there wasn't plenty to see in the air - as well as the static displays on the sea front - and once again the annual event must be considered a great success. After yesterday's record breaking crowd numbers it was hoped that the weekend's attendance figures would break the one million mark. Not bad for only its sixth staging. Next year's event is already confirmed.



Top: Gerald Cooper in his Xtreme Air XA 41
Second: Royal Navy Merlin helicopter
Third: Gloster Meteor
Fourth: Patrouille Reva French display team, in their home made aircraft (no, really).
Below that: Faiery Swordfish
Last, but not least: The Blades (all ex-Red Arrows pilots).



© 2013

Bournemouth Air Festival: Day 3...

Day three and it is perfect flying weather. Only the wispiest of cloud in the sky, and what materialised evaporated in the heat of a late August afternoon. It was the last performance of the Red Arrows at this year's festival, and although I still used a super-telephoto lens to pick out tight groups of aircraft, I also used a telephoto zoom to create a different feel to some of the images - lens ghosting and all.

The Royal Marines also performed for the record crowd of 404,000, showing just how they deal with a terrorist threat. I hope to add more images from their display in a summary post about the festival, once it is all over.







Top three: The Red Arrows
Fourth image: The Royal Marines on the beach
The Tigers Parachute Display Team
Bottom. Eurofighter Typhoon


The Red Arrows - 70-200mm f/2.8 Apo Sigma lens
All other images: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter




© 2013

Bournemouth Air Festival: Day 2...

Day 2 of the Bournemouth Air Festival and I'm adopting a different approach for some variety. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of shooting an air display with a super-telephoto lens and miss out on the bigger picture. So, today I am carrying a second camera body and two other lenses - a standard zoom and a wide angle optic.

Although long lenses will remain the workhorse for such events, it is nice to occasionally add a bit different to a shoot.



Top: Merlin helicopter dropping anti-missile flares.
Second: The Red Arrows
Third: Sally B, B-17 Flying Fortress
Fourth: Faiery Swordfish (set against the Isle of Wight, some 12 miles distant)
Last two:: Eurofighter Typhoon


Top two: 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor
Other images: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter



© 2013

Bournemouth Air Festival 2013: Day 1...

Unlike last year, and certainly the year before - when the opening day of the Air Festival was washed out entirely by rain - this year's weather forecast looks very promising.

Without going into much detail, here is a selection of images from day one.








Top: Avro Lancaster
Second Row: The Battle of Britain fly-past, featuring the Avro Lancaster, Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire.

Third Row: (left) Patrouille Reva (French display team - with a certain je ne sais quoi)
                (right) Gerald Cooper, in his Xtreme Air XA 41

Row 4: The Tigers Parachute Display Team (well, two of 'em)

Bottom two: The Red Arrows




All images - 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter



© 2013

There, out of my system...

Okay, that's enough! Cricket and fireworks have dominated this blog for the past month but both subjects are now laid to rest for the time being. This is the last match I have the opportunity to shoot until next year anyway, but I thought I would add just two more images before I go. There. Thank you.

My favourite season is just around the corner, and I already have in mind one or two projects to shoot. However, later this week there should be several posts connected with flying.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. Tripod

Top: 1/2000 second at f/5.6. ISO 400
Right: 1/6400 second at f/4. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2013

Fisheye fireworks...

After several weeks shooting, and going from my longest focal length lens to the shortest, I finally end up at the water's edge alongside Bournemouth pier, Dorset, to photograph a local firework display with a fisheye.

I had to get as close to the sea as possible, otherwise I ran the risk of spectators standing in front of the lens, but I also needed to keep a wary eye on an incoming tide. Twice, advancing waves threatened to engulf my camera bag; twice I had to retreat to prevent that happening.

As usual, it is guess everything for a shoot like this, including getting the horizon straight - particularly tricky since it was dark before I set up - but I wasn't too worried considering the distortion I was going to get with the lens. Shooting an event like this with such a wide optic is something I have had in mind for quite some time, and I am rather pleased with the results (pats self on the back).



10.5mm f/2.8G AF Nikkor Fisheye. Bulb setting at f/11. ISO 200. Tripod and remote release.



© 2013

Hogweed, specular highlights and the right moment...

Inspired by yesterday's shoot, I return to the same spot on the Dorset Stour to either improve on what I already have, or, more likely, come up with something different. It is surprising the variety of images that can be made at one location, using a different optic or a different mind set.

I am busy creating photographs where the lens adds significantly to the overall effect - either by stacking plains upon each other, or producing indistinct, out-of-focus areas and specular highlights, when I happen to turn at precisely the right time.


At that moment the Grey Heron flew in and perched on the fallen tree trunk. It remained for less than a minute, before dropping to the ground; judged the potential for a meal, and then flew off out of sight. Although not a frame-filling shot, it does portray the bird in its natural environment - something often lost when using super-telephoto lenses - and is just as valid a 'wildlife' photograph as when the subject dominates the frame.



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. Monopod

Top: 1/1250 second at f/11. ISO 400
Middle: 1/1250 second at f/5.6.  + 0.33 EV compensation. ISP 250
Below: 1/1250 second at f/5.6. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2013

Nothing more...

I couldn't decide upon what to do today, but all it took was starting to watch a YouTube video on telephoto lenses, and inspiration struck.

Without anything preconceived in mind I set off on my bike to the river, armed with a super-telephoto lens and a converter (should I think I need one), just to see what's what.

I love the pictorial effect these lenses produce - especially when the subject is at near minimum focus distance - and the images of the cabbage white butterflies I photographed this afternoon are included here for just that reason, and nothing more.




300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. Both images:  1/2000 second at f/5.6. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 320. Monopod



© 2013

Biased woods...

As archetypal an English summer scene as it is possible to get - alongside that of cricket on the village green - the game of lawn bowls can be traced back to the 13th century.

I had initially made the mistake of taking my camera for a stroll along the sea front, but it completely slipped my mind that a warm, sunny day during the school holidays amounts to it being busy; too much so for what I had in mind. There are some very low early morning tides that I hope to get around to shooting later in the week, but the calm haven of the Boscombe Cliff Bowling Club green this afternoon had the greater appeal over a busy beach.



24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/11. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200



© 2013
 

One man's rubbish...

After last night's perfect conditions for the fireworks display - clear sky and no wind - it couldn't be much different today. It rained on and off, and the wind blew off and on, which, to me, are ideal conditions to get out with my camera.

I have made several posts that feature items exposed at low tide on the sea shore, and now it is becoming habit to look for any suitable subject on the ground - often not given a second glance - nor considered a subject for a photograph.

The discarded wrapper of a well-known Swiss chocolate bar contrasts nicely against the greenheart planking of Boscombe Pier, Dorset, on a wet Saturday afternoon.




24-70mm f/2.8 G AF-S Nikkor.  1/400 second at f/5.6. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2013

Animal, vegetable or mineral?...

It has been a while since I have been to the beach, so today I thought it about time to take my camera out in the summer rain and see what could be found.

It is a gloomy day, although the sky brightens as I search for something to point a lens at. It's the same old deserted beach scenario...until I come across this (left). For the time being I'm not saying what it is, and will leave it up to the interpretation of the viewer.




As I write, the early evening sky is clear. It looks promising for a fireworks shoot.







24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/8. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2013

Bournemouth fireworks...

There is no doubt about it: getting in close produces the best results for a fireworks display. The photographs were made adjacent to Bournemouth Pier, Poole Bay, Dorset.

Enjoy
















12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. f/11. Bulb setting. Tripod and remote release. ISO 200



© 2013

Looking back...

I thought I'd chance it, today. It was a summer's afternoon: blue sky; fluffy white clouds - that sort of thing - and I still had a hankering to shoot some cricket. To my surprise, I find some being played locally. Now, I am not trying to turn this blog into a sporting affair - why, there is an air show coming along at the end of the month for a change of pace - but I am learning a great deal about the timing of action photography in doing this type of imaging.

What action, you may ask. It's cricket, after all, and that is how it may come across to the casual observer, where nothing perceivably happens from one over to the next. But you'd be wrong. There are intense moments; bursts of action and drama, albeit short lived, and that is what I am trying to capture with my lens. One thing is clear in my mind: I am better at this that shooting fireworks.

300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter.

Top: 1/3200 second at f/5.6.  - 0.67 EV compensation
Middle: 1/2500 second at f/5  - 0.67 EV compensation
Below right: 1/4000 second at f/4  -0.67 EV compensation

ISO 320. Tripod and remote release



© 2013