Unavailable light photography

I thought that I would push myself a bit, today, and shoot after the sun had set. It's not something I do much of, to be honest, but I have had the idea in my head for the past week or so. It was now just a matter of when conditions were suitable to make my move.

Success with this style of photography relies on there still being some light in the sky - in this case 36 minutes after the sun had disappeared - whilst the tide pools created by the falling tide reflect the colour of the afterglow.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 4 seconds at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160. Tripod and remote release.



© 2015

Excitable dog

No two ways about it; nature is making me work at the moment. There has been the tantalising hint of light at the end of most days this week, but mostly a persistant bank of grey cloud streams up from continental Europe like a huge, grey streaming thing.

In spite of all this the light is quite beautiful this afternoon, and a sea haze is adding to the atmosphere. All I really need now is a focal point to finish the composition, and this excitable dog oblidges.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/3.2.  Matrix metering.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200. Monopod



© 2015

Leaving it late

The Golden Hour: that time an hour after sunrise, and the last hour before sunset, produces soft, diffused light much sought after by the outdoor phorographer. However, while many less-informed shooters will pack up and leave a scene the moment the sun dips below the horizon, better results can often be had after the fact.

There was little in the way of cloud in the sky, today, so long before I arrived at my location I had the idea of photographing the afterglow, rather than the sunset itself. This image, taken 15 minutes after the sun had sunk below the horizon, proves my point.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/2.8. Matrix metering. ISO 160. Monopod



© 2015

Lucky break

Uniform grey skies keep me in the for most of the day, and when I do decide to go for a beach walk during mid afternoon it starts to rain almost as soon as I am out of the door. It turns out to be only a shower, and I while away half an hour while it passes, talking the the chap that drives one of the local the cliff lifts (there are three situated along the cliffs of Poole Bay, Dorset),

This turns out to be significant as the delay keeps me in the area long enough to see the clouds part, giving me some glorious light shortly before the sun sets. It is all too easy to just point the lens at that, but sometimes the view in the opposite direction can produce something equally spectacular, or better.

Looking East, The Isle of Wight polar bear can be seen on the horizon, illuminated by the last rays of the sun, while the remnants of a rainbow lingers in the sky.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering.  -1 stop EV compensation, ISO 400



© 2015

On the ground

Somewhat unusual, but the Met Office web site was down this afternoon, so accurate planning of a landscape shoot wasn't possible. I frequently make use of their satellite radar images to plot where and when cloud cover will occur - if at all - but since none of that information was available I opt to see what can be found on the ground.

Autumn is making slow progress, but whilst the horse chestnut trees have lost almost all of their leaves, everything else seems to be lagging behind. It's foliage that I am on the lookout for, today, and in this image I like the way this wet leaf seems to coalesce into the concrete paving slab.





24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/60 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering.  - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160. Monopod



© 2015

Nature's treat

This time of year is simply my favourite for photography on my local beaches. No low tides today to help with the composition, but nature oblidges with a beautiful sky over Poole Bay half an hour or so before sunset.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 1 stop EV compensation. 0.9 Lee grey grad. ISO 160



© 2015

You're welcome

At last the sun is beginning to set over the sea on my stretch of coastline, and although the weather has been promising during the past few days all the images I made turned out to be near-misses. However, that mix of low sun and low tide combined late this afternoon to produce the above photograph.

Normally, I would (silently) curse if someone walked into my shot, but in this case the addition of a figure - another photographer - worked in my favour; his long shadow adding to the atmosphere of the scene.


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



© 2015

Lightweight

The weather forecast didn't offer much for this afternoon, and no matter how long I spent scrutinising the Met Office satellite map it wasn't going to change. I decided to take the chance anyway, and set out on my bike with little idea as to what I might shoot. In fact I almost missed my subject as he crouched down, preparing his paraglider for flight, but once the breeze caught his wing I started making photographs.

Light winds made it difficult for any enjoyable flying, but of the four fliers taking off from the same spot, two were successful.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/2500 second at f/4. Matrix metering. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2015

Too much blue

We have definately been in the clutches of a Indian summer this past week or ten days, and while clear blue skies are nice to be under they don't help much with photographing the great outdoors. But as the saying goes: Make the most of what you've got. I had intended to just have the featureless sky and a thin sliver of sea for today's image, but the small boat came along to create a focal point and I went with that.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/3200 second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2015

The moon and lunar eclipses, now 8% larger.

The last time I tried to photograph a total lunar eclipse was in 2008, and I made something of a hash of things. The build up to the event went okay, but during totality some problems arouse that I hadn't bargained for and the results were a disaster. I was determined not to let this happen a second time.

The top photograph is, in fact, a colour image, and it shows the "supermoon" around 45 minutes after moonrise. The one below was taken around 8 hours later at 03:28 GMT, shortly before total eclipse. I had set the alarm on my phone for a 3am start, and was delighted to find that I was able to set up my tripod on my doorstep and didn't have to travel off into the night to get a good view of the event. Even so, as the moon appeared to turn a blood red the same difficulties I experienced on that night eight years previous reared up once again: the subject was now very dim, and it was moving.

Using my longest glass, plus an extender to get a decent sized imge, I was forced to shoot wide open and raise the ISO settings to figures my camera body was barely comfortable with. Even then shutter speeds were agonisingly slow. The results were disappointing, and once again I retired defeated. I enjoyed the spectacle for what it was but resigned myself to the fact that I simply don't have the setup for this kind of photography. Still, 10/10 for effort.

To redress the balance to some extent I set out during late afternoon with my camera, taking advantage of the unseasonally good weather the south of the country is currently experiencing. On top of this there are some low tides predicted for the next few days, although the weather is set to be too perfect for my taste. Instead, I use what I have and take a number of images of the Egging Memorial*, situated on Bournemouth's East Cliff.

Glad to have a bit of normalcy once again.


*For Flt. Lt Jon Egging of The Red Arrows RAF Aerobatic Display Team


Moon images: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. Tripod and remote release. Mirror lockup.
Top: 1/160 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering.  -3.33 EV compensation. ISO 160
Middle: 1/6 second at f/4. Matrix metering.  -3 stops EV compensation. ISO 800

Bottom. 12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 160



© 2015

Back in the fold

I was rather pleased with this photograph. Not because it is anything spectacular, content wise, but because it told me I was beginning to 'see' subjects once more. When I have had a substantial break from shooting it takes me a while to get my eye in again. Sometimes it can happen relatively quickly, as when faced with a stunning vista, but today's image is just the way I found it. Simply light coming through my window and striking folded material on a chair; something I might have easily ignored.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 3 seconds at f/11. Matrix metering. 1⅔ stops under exposed. ISO 160. Mirror lock-up. Tripod and remote release.



© 2015

Flagging

Now that autumn is here things are beginning to look good as far as photography is concerned. All those glorious days when the light is just right, and the big skies that come with it all, are now just around the corner. Days, albeit somewhat cooler, when I get my beaches back and it is a joy to be out there shooting.

It is something of a slow process returning to making photographs, but I feel that once I get a couple of good images in the bag it will become less of a struggle and more of a passion (again).


12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/800 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 160



© 2015

On reflection

Okay, I'm back. The seasonal job has come to an unexpected end seven weeks premature and I am itching to get back out there with a camera. The problem is, what do I shoot? It is still too early for autumn to reveal its colours and summer - or what we had of one this year - still lingers. In fact this week has produced some of the best weather of the past four months.

Inspired by a song by British prog rock band Gentle Giant, I cycle to Christchurch at the mouth of the Dorset Stour and photograph the light playing on the surface of the water next to the moored boats.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400



© 2015

The Bournemouth Air Festival, 2015

Avro Vulcan


The 2015 Bournemouth Air Festival couldn't have got off to a worse start as the entire flying programme for the first day was cancelled due to bad weather. After that, anxious eyes were being kept on the forecasts for the weekend in the hope that the whole event wasn't going to be a wash-out, but the elements eventually fell in our favour and we were treated to some excellent flying conditions by day four.

It was the Sunday that interested me the most as it was the last time I would ever see the Avro Vulcan display anywhere. Sadly, this is the last season that she will ever fly, after which the delta wing Cold War bomber will be grounded permanantly.

The Red Arrows

As always, the RAF Aerobatic Team, aka, The Red Arrows, put in three days of displaying, and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. However, on this occasion they were in danger of being upstaged by the Vulcan.

 B-17 "Sally B" Flying Fortress

Over the 8 years of the festival in its current format a number of other aircraft and displays, both vintage and modern, have also become firm favourites with the public, such as Sally B, Flying Fortress (above); the Eurofighter Typhoon (below), as well as the The Tigers Parachute Display Team of the Princesse's of Wales Regiment.

Eurofighter Typhoon

 The Tigers Parachute Display Team



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor, hand held and on a monopod



© 2015

A poor innings

The summer job I am working, mentioned a couple of posts ago, drags on, and with the peak of the season imminent I am not looking forward to the rest of it one bit. Trying to juggle the creative with the mundane is admittedly a struggle but I am doing my best to keep a hand in with everything so as not to have to start from scratch again when the time comes in early November.

The music aspect is surviving relatively well but the photography is suffering badly. I am losing the edge somewhat, even when I do get the urge to go out with my camera. I decide to visit a local park for some cricket photography, just for something to shoot. It isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a fast game, so I should be able to get something, even this far out of practise. The sad fact is that my heart isn't in it, and I only stay for one innings before packing up and cycling home. Out of the hundred or so frames I take only two are useable (above).

Oh, dear me.



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

Top: 1/2500 second at f/5.6. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 160
Below: 1/4000 second at f/4. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2015

Botany Bay

No, not the one in New South Wales, Australia, but more likely a much older one if only in name, and situated on the north coast of Kent, UK. It's Nic's birthday today, and we spend the day drinking tea; eating cake and visiting the two locations above.

In fact, the top image is of Kingsgate Bay - adjacent to Botany Bay - and the castle, built in the 1760s, has now been converted to apartments. Both locations are popular with photographers and as film locations.



Top: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/8.Matrix metering. ISO 160
Below: 12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/320 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2015

Just keeping my hand in

As the title says, I am just keeping my hand in (or eye, if you prefer), as far as photography goes. The problem being is that I just don't have the time at the moment. This is purely down to the fact that I have a full time summer job that I am working so as to bolster the coffers for a new iMac and a camera body. As always, doing one thing to finance another never works successfully, as the very thing you are raising money for suffers as a result.

Roll on the end of October; maybe sooner.


Eastwell Park, Kent.  24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor.

Top: 1/100 second at f/8. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160
Below: 1/40 second at f/6.3. - 0.67 EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2015

1066 country

Hastings, on the East Sussex coast, is probably more associated with the famous battle that bears its name. However, the actual fighting at the time took place some seven miles to the north, but on this occasion Nic and I are there purely for the atmosphere of a seaside town, and to take a few photographs whilst we were at it.


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor.

Top: 1/250 second at f/11. Matrix metering. ISO 160
Below: 1/320 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160



© 2015

Britain's desert

Dungeness, a shingle headland on the Kent coast, has both a nature reserve and a nuclear power station. It is also Britain's only desert, as classified by the Met Office. All that notwithstanding, it is also a fine location for photography. Apart from the numerous small buildings that make up the hamlet on the site there are a good number of abandoned - and seaworthy craft - to make any self-respecting shooter foam at the mouth in anticipation.

Places like this, plus the clear skies on the day, cry out for black and white photogrphy.



24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor.

Top: 1/320 second at f/10. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160
Middle: 1/250 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160
Bottom: 1/250 second at f/10. Matrix metering. 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 160


© 2015

Stealing the show

 

Nic and I went to Capel-le-Ferne on the Kent coast today, primarily to witness the ashes of Mike Llewellyn MBE, being scattered as his last request from a Spitfire as it flew over the White Cliffs of Dover. The founder of the Battle of Britain National Memorial, it was his dying wish to have his remains  disposed of over the iconic cliffs.

Unfortunately, the two aircraft (the other was a Hawker Hurricane), were an hour and twenty minutes late in arriving, so to pass the time I took the opportunity to photograph two other masters of flight that were circling or hovering overhead. The top image is of a kestrel whilst the lower one is of a Peregrine Falcon.

300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 

Top: 1/800 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 160

Below: 1/1600 second at f/5.6. Matrix metering. ISO 160

© 2015