Saturday, 15 December 2012
Seals at Horsey Mere
A few of us from the club spent last weekend Norfolk. wee started our couple of days with trip to Horsey to see the seals. Unlike Donna Nook, at Horsey there is no opportunity to get down on the beach amongst the bigger seals. Instead you are restricted to the path through the dunes. But many of the seals, especially the older pups, can be quite confiding, coming up onto the path. The light was very contrasty which made for a tricky morning's photography.
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Fungi Foray
Last weekend I joined other CCC members for a trip to Santon Downham and Brandon Country Park to take pictures of fungi and autumn colour. After a rather damp start the day slowly picked up with the sun briefly coming out in the afternoon. Despite the late sun, I didn't do too well on Autumn colour shots, but we were able to find a good selection of fungi.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Star Trails On The Beach
One last image from Cornwall. The cottages we were renting were just a 100 metres or so from the beach and maybe 1km from Sennen itself. With no other town in sight, the beach was free of light pollution, making it a perfect location to try a star trail image.
The beach was a little short on foreground interest, but we managed to find a few low lying rocks. We then sighted up on the north star to get a full circle. The final image is a composite of 67 separate 30-second exposures at f3.5 and ISO800, all blended using the software available here. For the last 10 seconds of the last shot I painted the rocks with a hand held LED torch.
For a first attempt at this technique I am pleased with the final result. In the high resolution original it is possible to make out the different colours of different stars. I am really looking forward to my next chance to try this again, hopefully in a location with a stronger foreground.
The beach was a little short on foreground interest, but we managed to find a few low lying rocks. We then sighted up on the north star to get a full circle. The final image is a composite of 67 separate 30-second exposures at f3.5 and ISO800, all blended using the software available here. For the last 10 seconds of the last shot I painted the rocks with a hand held LED torch.
For a first attempt at this technique I am pleased with the final result. In the high resolution original it is possible to make out the different colours of different stars. I am really looking forward to my next chance to try this again, hopefully in a location with a stronger foreground.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Cornwall - 7 Days in 7 Landscapes
After some delay, here is a selection of landscape images taken during my holiday in Sennen. One landscape for each day I was there.
Saturday. The forecast had warned that the best of the weather would be in the first two days. So as soon as we had unpacked, we headed off to catch a sunset at Porth Nanven (or possibly Cot Valley Beach, depending on who you listen to). Low tide at this beach reveals some impressive rock formations. Sadly, the tide this evening was very much in. And, as so often happens when I try to shoot a coastal sunset, the sun set behind a low lying cloud bank. But I did manage a pleasing shot of the after glow.
Sunday. A pre-dawn start and we were off to Marazion to shoot St Michael's Mount at sunrise. Just as the night before, tide and cloud weren't kind. So, we were denied the classic side-lit shot of the mount with partially covered causeway. With the causeway fully under water, I used a nearby concrete substitute as foreground interest,and whilst the mount never properly lit, the sky did briefly get some colour.
Monday. A foggy morning gave way slowly to drizzle and then flat grey skies. We headed to the tin mine ruins at Botallack and I tried some Ian style foggy minimalist shots. The shot below was as good as I managed. Not a successful day photographically, but we had a pleasant walk along the coastal path to Cape Cornwall and back.
Tuesday. This day set the pattern for the next couple. A rained off morning, followed by a pasty for lunch and an afternoon trying to get creative on Sennen beach. I tried various long exposure combinations of rocks and waves. However, my favourite shot of the day was a more standard arrangement, with a fortunately placed mother and child (and that all important splash of red).
Wednesday. Another wet morning and an afternoon of rock and surf shots. The weather improved a little toward evening, and we headed back to Botallack. For this shot of the cliff-side engine houses I used a 10-stop filter to lengthen the exposure to 70 seconds, allowing the crashing waves to turn to a white fringe around the rocks.
Thursday. More 10-stop work. This time of the underside of the lifeboat slipway at Sennen, taken whilst sheltering from another shower..
Friday. My last day. I had to leave a day early due to CCC duties. But I was compensated by one of the best mornings of the week. Vic and I walked the coast path from Sennen to Lands End. A short work beyond the tourist trap was a great view of a sea arch. We had to wait out a brief shower, but eventually the clouds broke and the low sun lit the arch. The 10-stop filter was deployed again to provide more white fringes. We headed back to the cottage, stopping for one last pasty, and cloud came back in as I started t pack.
Saturday. The forecast had warned that the best of the weather would be in the first two days. So as soon as we had unpacked, we headed off to catch a sunset at Porth Nanven (or possibly Cot Valley Beach, depending on who you listen to). Low tide at this beach reveals some impressive rock formations. Sadly, the tide this evening was very much in. And, as so often happens when I try to shoot a coastal sunset, the sun set behind a low lying cloud bank. But I did manage a pleasing shot of the after glow.
Sunday. A pre-dawn start and we were off to Marazion to shoot St Michael's Mount at sunrise. Just as the night before, tide and cloud weren't kind. So, we were denied the classic side-lit shot of the mount with partially covered causeway. With the causeway fully under water, I used a nearby concrete substitute as foreground interest,and whilst the mount never properly lit, the sky did briefly get some colour.
Monday. A foggy morning gave way slowly to drizzle and then flat grey skies. We headed to the tin mine ruins at Botallack and I tried some Ian style foggy minimalist shots. The shot below was as good as I managed. Not a successful day photographically, but we had a pleasant walk along the coastal path to Cape Cornwall and back.
Tuesday. This day set the pattern for the next couple. A rained off morning, followed by a pasty for lunch and an afternoon trying to get creative on Sennen beach. I tried various long exposure combinations of rocks and waves. However, my favourite shot of the day was a more standard arrangement, with a fortunately placed mother and child (and that all important splash of red).
Wednesday. Another wet morning and an afternoon of rock and surf shots. The weather improved a little toward evening, and we headed back to Botallack. For this shot of the cliff-side engine houses I used a 10-stop filter to lengthen the exposure to 70 seconds, allowing the crashing waves to turn to a white fringe around the rocks.
Thursday. More 10-stop work. This time of the underside of the lifeboat slipway at Sennen, taken whilst sheltering from another shower..
Friday. My last day. I had to leave a day early due to CCC duties. But I was compensated by one of the best mornings of the week. Vic and I walked the coast path from Sennen to Lands End. A short work beyond the tourist trap was a great view of a sea arch. We had to wait out a brief shower, but eventually the clouds broke and the low sun lit the arch. The 10-stop filter was deployed again to provide more white fringes. We headed back to the cottage, stopping for one last pasty, and cloud came back in as I started t pack.
Friday, 19 October 2012
Wire Wool Spinning
Last weekend I got back from a holiday in the far west of Cornwall. I had spent a week based in Sennen, with my long time hillwalking/photography/drinking buddy Vic and some of his new friends from the Preston Photographic Society. The weather was mixed, with a fair amount of rain. But we managed to get out and take pictures every day (between pasties and pints of Tribute).
Regular readers of this blog will know that I am always a few days behind in posting about even an afternoon's shoot. This is largely due to the amount of time it takes me to sort through the pictures, picking the wheat from the chaff. I have spent the last week slowly sorting through the hundreds of images I shot in Cornwall and will post a few updates over the coming days.
Starting with something different. One of the Preston guys had experience of wire wool spinning and the rest of us were keen to try it out. We only managed a couple of evenings with weather good enough to try.
First we did some shots amongst the tin mine workings at Botallack. We found an old stone archway that made a great frame.
But sadly, after only a few shots, the rain came in again. So we tried again the next night on the beach just below our cottage. The rippled wet sand made an interesting base to the images.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I am always a few days behind in posting about even an afternoon's shoot. This is largely due to the amount of time it takes me to sort through the pictures, picking the wheat from the chaff. I have spent the last week slowly sorting through the hundreds of images I shot in Cornwall and will post a few updates over the coming days.
Starting with something different. One of the Preston guys had experience of wire wool spinning and the rest of us were keen to try it out. We only managed a couple of evenings with weather good enough to try.
First we did some shots amongst the tin mine workings at Botallack. We found an old stone archway that made a great frame.
But sadly, after only a few shots, the rain came in again. So we tried again the next night on the beach just below our cottage. The rippled wet sand made an interesting base to the images.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Shoreditch Street Art
A couple of weeks ago I spent the day strolling around Shoreditch taking photos of the street art. Thanks to other committments, it has taken this long to post the shots.
"This picture just shows other people's art" is an oft used criticism by camera club judges. However, just showing "other peoples art" isn't always a bad thing. Especially in the case of street art, which by its nature is ephemeral. I doubt any of this work will exist the next time I visit.
"This picture just shows other people's art" is an oft used criticism by camera club judges. However, just showing "other peoples art" isn't always a bad thing. Especially in the case of street art, which by its nature is ephemeral. I doubt any of this work will exist the next time I visit.
Finally, whilst not exactly art, this images shows the humour of the area. It also speaks to the dichotomy of Shoreditch. An area in the process of gentrification. Here moneyed hipsters with city or media jobs rub shoulders with those who have no jobs. I saw a dozen or more trendy little designer clothes boutiques and this place all within a couple of streets. In its way this is another piece of ephemera. In a few years there will be no room places like this in the old East End.
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