More Cambridge Night Shots

Last Sunday, a small group of CCC members met up in Cambridge for some night photography.  We started off before sunset along Kings Parade, taking shots of the shops in the gathering dusk.  For the blue hour, I was keen to get a shot of the Corpus Christi Clock. This had been on my night shoot 'to do' list for a while, since I had seen the potential of cars turning from Bene't Street onto Trumpington street to leave lovely curved light trails.  After spending ages on this single shot, I switched to the Lensbaby for some more shop window pictures, before meeting up with the others in the small fair on Parker's Piece.

Samba Band

On Saturday I went to the Mill Road Winter Fair in Cambridge.  As much as I enjoy street photography, when big crowds are involved, I often struggle to find good images.  It can be difficult to separate individuals from the numbers that surround them.  This time was no exception, and I had taken very few shots before I encountered the Samba band.  After watching them for a while, and taking a few straight pictures, I felt my images weren't successfully capturing the vibrance and mood of their performance.  So I chose instead to take some intentionally blurred images.  These I feel better capture the spirit of the performance.

 

Waves at Hartland Quay

Last week I was down in Devon for a few days visiting family.  I managed to get out with my camera to Hartland Quay for a few hours on the Saturday afternoon.  It was a sunny, with little cloud except a thin band the the horizon.  This meant a decent sunset was out of the question.  So instead I chose to concentrate on images of the breaking waves lit by the low afternoon sun.  There were a couple of surfers playing out among the breakers, but as I didn't have my long lens I could only manage scenic shots of them.

Cambridge Night Shots

A few night shots taken after the recent visit yo the Botanic Gardens.

 

Autumn at the Botanic Gardens

Last Saturday, a group of us from the CCC met at the Botanic gardens in Cambridge for an afternoon's photography.  On most of my previous visits, I have headed for the glass houses and not ventured my further.  This time I chose to explore the gardens fully, capturing some autumn images.

 Eventually, I did move inside for a few shots before the glass houses shut.

Poppies At The Tower

Like millions of others, I recently visited the installation, 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red', at the Tower of London.  A total of 888,246 ceramic poppies will fill the moat by 11th November, one for every British life lost during the First World War.  The title comes from a poem by an unknown World War 1 poet.

The blood swept lands and seas of red,
Where angels dare to tread.
As God cried a tear of pain as the angels fell,
Again and again.
As the tears of mine fell to the ground
To sleep with the flowers of red
As any be dead
My children see and work through fields of my
Own with corn and wheat,
Blessed by love so far from pain of my resting
Fields so far from my love.
It be time to put my hand up and end this pain
Of living hell. to see the people around me
Fall someone angel as the mist falls around
And the rain so thick with black thunder I hear
Over the clouds, to sleep forever and kiss
The flower of my people gone before time
To sleep and cry no more
I put my hand up and see the land of red,
This is my time to go over,
I may not come back
So sleep, kiss the boys for me

Deer Watching in Richmond Park

Last week, I spent a morning in Richmond Park photographing the deer.  Despite having a friend who lives just around the corner, it was my first visit to the park.  It took me a little while to find the deer, but once I did, I spent a few hours shooting them in glorious light.