Weybourne

The weather hasn't been playing ball this past week and it's proved quite frustrating, sitting around twiddling thumbs waiting for it to improve. I decided to venture out anyway and recce' a few new coastline areas I hadn't visited before and I stumbled upon Weybourne. This is so completely different to the areas around Wells-Next-The-Sea as it has a pebble beach and mini cliffs giving it a completely different vibe. There were a couple of old tractors rusted by the salty air and a few small boats scattered about, all taking in the vast expanse of the North Sea, the angry waves crashing just yards from the small car park that lay somewhat vulnerably behind. I took this shot on a bit of a whim but am actually quite fond of it, the lobster pot making for a great lead in line. I have a few more ideas that I would like to try out along this bit of coastline so weather permitting, I will be back in the near future.      

Old Workhorse

Ice Giant

Taken during a particularly cold spell in February 2012 this magnificent tree looked somewhat imperious as it's crown, a full 80 feet tall burst through the dense fog that had formed after the nighttime temperature had fallen to -15 Celsius. The branches were covered in a thick hoar frost and the tree had taken on a ghostly white colour. Everything was silent, save for the sound of a large crow cawing as it sat atop a neighbouring tree, observing its surroundings. The sun had suddenly penetrated the fog above a height of 30 feet or so and the sky had become a vivid blue, the Ice Giant stood silent and tall in all its glory. A couple of minutes passed and the scene was no more, the fog enveloped the tree once again, the scene just a memory.

The Ice Giant

    

A bride on the stairs

I'm a candid wedding photographer so I typically like to take images of the day as they happen, capturing those moments that you just can't set up. The one exception for me is taking a posed shot of the bride and I personally think it's one of the most important shots of the day. The bride will have spent months looking for the perfect dress, her hair and makeup will be immaculate and the bouquet stunning. I've always wanted to take a shot of the bride on some beautiful stairs with gorgeous banisters, ancient brickwork and lovely ornaments and decoration. The opportunity finally arose at a wedding in December, the location of which was the grand old Allington Manor near Grantham. I had looked around the property about a month before the wedding day and recognised the potential for a cracking shot on the stairs. It was tight, I didn't have much room to play with, but helped by the natural window light felt I could capture the shot I was after. A reflector was used to bounce light back from the window towards the bride giving some lovely illumination on the face and highlighting detail on the dress. I thought the window light would trick the camera into under exposure but the Nikon D4 has an uncanny knack at nailing these types of tricky situations. Cranking up the ISO to a value of 1600 allowed for a shutter speed of 1/80 sec at F3.5, just enough to freeze any motion there may have been. I fired a quick burst, aiming to capture a natural smile and relaxed pose, and this was the frame I chose. I love the natural feel to the image, almost as though the bride has started to walk down the stairs and stopped, glanced over her shoulder, a smile on her face... knowing she's ready for the biggest day of her life.        

Beautiful bride

'Last Light'

Standing at the edge of the creek, watching the geese fly by in search of their nearby roosting grounds, I had mixed emotions running through my head as I waited for the light to become 'just right' thereby allowing me to trip the shutter of my trusty Nikon D4. It was a beautiful end to what had been a lovely day on the North Norfolk Coast. Burnham Overy Staithe was tranquil, the sun just beginning to set behind the attractive white boat house on the little quay front, the light disappearing fast. It's at times like these that you can't quite imagine just how hostile the British coastline can be and it takes certain events to snap you back into reality. Not eighteen hours earlier, just several miles along the coast to the east at Cley Next The Sea, four American servicemen had lost their lives in a tragic helicopter accident whilst out on an exercise, their bodies yet to be recovered. At the time of writing this it is not known what caused the helicopter to crash, but it is believed the aircraft may have hit a small flock of geese as it passed low over the marshes bringing it down. I think the reason why I had mixed emotions at that time, standing there in such peaceful surroundings, was because it really made me think about the little things in life and how much we take them for granted on a daily basis. We can be here one minute and gone the next, events can happen incredibly quickly. Sometimes it pays to just stop for a while and take in the beautiful scenery and natural history that we have all around us and appreciate it for what it is, no more no less. The noise of a jet aircraft caught my attention, snapping me back to reality, and as I looked skyward I saw a Tornado GR4 flying above me performing tight turns and a couple of barrel rolls and loops. It looked to be having such fun for several minutes until finally it levelled out, lit it's burners and sped off  in a South Easterly direction, the crew no doubt smiling and laughing at their antics. The noisy engines a vivid bright orange against the darkening sky fading into the distance, everything becoming quiet once again. Bad weather was approaching, the Cirrus clouds gave indication to this, but they also completed the composition I was after. The boat, the boat house and now finally the sky were how I envisaged them so I pressed the shutter release, happy I'd captured the image I desired. I carefully packed my gear away and started to walk back to the car, mixed emotions still running through my mind, the events of the last eighteen hours still raw. But I was satisfied. Satisfied because I'd somehow managed to capture my own thoughts and emotions in this one photograph. As time ticks by the image will provide me with many memories of that one cold day in the depths of winter, both good and bad, tranquil and even melancholic... As a photographer that's all I can ask for.

Last Light

       

Big Skies, Small Boats

Captured on my last visit to the North Norfolk Coast, this image shows Beach road, the mile long path which connects the bustling little town of Wells-Next-The-Sea to the beach itself. You can see people walking along the route which can become very busy during the warmer summer months and crowded with the beautiful vibrant blue Viper's Bugloss wildflower. The eagle eyed may spy the lifeboat house just to the right of the walkers in this image. It was recently breached by the tidal surge that caused such havoc amongst the local communities. Norfolk is famous for its open spaces and big skies and I wanted to try and convey this in my image. Amber, the little sailing boat, the perfect subject to use as a focal point helps add to the sense of scale.

Big Skies, Little Boats

Olympus om-10

Olympus OM-10

The Olympus OM-10 has got to be one of the most popular film SLR's of all time. Olympus designed this as a more affordable version of their single digit OM series of cameras. That doesn't mean to say that the OM-10 feels cheap in the hands, far from it. Its angular metal construction is reassuringly solid and all the dials and switches feel as though they could take some real abuse. Released in 1979, the OM-10 is an aperture priority camera, meaning the user sets the desired aperture and the camera selects the correct shutter speed. However, an optional manual exposure adapter could be purchased and fitted which allowed the user to set a shutter speed from 1/1000 sec to 1 second. In the hand the camera feels good, quite light, but as I mentioned before, nice and solid. The 50mm F1.8 lens is good although I have to say the scanned negatives from this camera don't look quite as sharp as the images from my last camera, the Miranda MS-3. This particular example is in excellent condition, I was fortunate to have been given the camera and I do enjoy using it on a regular basis. The images shot for the purpose of this post were again captured on a cheap Agfa Vista film. I may treat myself to a more expensive roll of film in the near future and really see what the OM-10 can do.          

The on/off switch and film rewind lever 

Film advance lever, shutter button and ASA dial 

The 50mm F1.8 lens

20p View

Horses at sunset

Pheasants

Toucan in the playground

Colour Impact

Another post on flower photography, again shot in a simple small studio setup. This was one of my first attempts shooting indoors under 'controlled' conditions. This time I used a Gerbera flower on a white background. I was drawn to this particular subject because of its bold colours and beautiful symmetry. Again, natural light was used coming from a window to the left of the flower as we look at it, and a small reflector was used to the right of the flower to fill any harsh shadows. A white background was employed as I felt this suited the subject and showed off its colours to best effect. This image has been quite successful for me, winning a distinction in a national competition, printed in a national publication, and also selling on craft sites. It's amazing what you can achieve with a bit of space, a few camera accessories, a bit of imagination and of course a beautiful subject... Go on, give it a go.

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8, tripod and cable release.

  

Yellow Lily

As well as photographing landscapes and the Natural World around me, I like to photograph flowers, both in a studio setup and also where they may be found growing outside, both in the wild and in the garden. Most of the posts I have shared so far have been of naturally growing specimens from around Lincolnshire and Norfolk. However the Calla Lily featured below was shot in a simple studio setup with natural light, some subtle fill flash and a black background. Using a tripod to set up the composition I was happy with, I then looked at the lighting and introduced a flash to the right of the flower to lighten shadows caused by the natural window light that was coming from the left. It was important for me to show the vibrant yellow colour of the flower against the dark background as it would show off its lovely clean curves. I purposely left a black border around the whole of the Lily as this card has been sent to stock sites where potential clients will be able to alter the dimensions to their particular requirements.

Calla Lily

How Rude!

It's been a very frustrating few days since arriving in Norfolk on the 30th December. It's difficult because you're trying to get back into a routine with work but certain companies you supply images to don't return from the Christmas festivities until the first full week of the New Year. That means this year things don't really settle down until the 6th January. I have images awaiting QC with stock agencies and other possible business replies that I haven't received yet. So I've tried to keep busy with landscape photography but to be completely honest the weather has been truly awful, mainly because of the wind. The water around the coast is too choppy to allow me to capture the images I want at present and the long range weather forecast isn't much better. The only thing left to do is to wander around Wells and see if I can shoot any street scenes, people, places, unusual things. I noticed that a sign on the side of a cottage in the village had been tampered with, most probably on New Year's Eve as I hadn't seen it before and I walk past it most days. I imagine that the people that own the property haven't seen it either otherwise they may have cleaned it off. Juvenile humour admittedly but it did bring a smile to my face.

Fuji X100

If you are curious, it should read 'Luggers Cottage'