This very fine windmill can be found at Cley Next The Sea, on the North Norfolk Coast. The last light of the day fell on the mill and lit up the white painted sails, the terrace of village houses and the reeds in the foreground. Minutes later the sun had dropped below the horizon and my camera was packed away in its bag, waiting for the light of another day.
Mist on the Test
I can’t describe myself as a fisherman, but when a good friend of mine invited me to join him for a day of fly fishing on the River Test in Hampshire the answer was always going to be yes please! I had been fly fishing before, but never caught anything apart from a few weeds and the odd tree branch when my cast was less than accurate.
We wanted to get to our destination quite early as we had booked a gillie for the morning. Hopefully he would teach us a thing a two which might increase our chances of success. As we drove towards the village of Timsbury, which is just to the north of Romsey, the morning mist had yet to clear, so I had already anticipated there might be the chance of a quick photograph before the sun burnt through.
When we arrived no one else was there so we pieced together our rods, attached the reel, chose our flies and prepared ourselves for the first cast. All this time I was admiring the scene that surrounded me. The mist rising from the river, obscuring the view of the fields in the distance. It was calm and serene but I knew it would not last long. The camera came out and ‘Mist on the Test’ was taken.
We saw a fleeting glimpse of a pair of kingfishers, watched grebes diving for their food and swans enjoying the beautiful spring sunshine, but neither of us caught a single fish; in fact we didn’t even get a bite. But it was a glorious relaxing day if a little frustrating at times. I also committed the cardinal sin of not charging my batteries over night, so the low level battery warning was blinking before the day had even begun. Even the spare battery had little or no charge. So I gave up the photography and concentrated on the fishing. Little did I know that the first release of the shutter turned out to be the best catch of the day.
And just to prove we were fishing here is my friend Nik making his first cast of the day.
First cast
Chimneys and cobbles
Vicars Close, Wells
Last weekend I was staying near Bridgend in South Wales so that I could attend a ‘Monochrome Masterclass’ being run by Andy Beel FRPS. It was an excellent day. Cameras never saw the light of day but the four participants, including myself, had the opportunity to share our work and discuss ways in which our monochrome images could be improved. Andy provided a comprehensive set of notes for us to take away, as well as showing us many examples of his own work to illustrate the points he wanted to get across.
For me it was a very thought provoking day. So often my photography is reactive, not planned, and I realise I need to give much greater thought to the images I am taking. Why am I pressing the shutter at that particular moment and from that particular position? What do I want my images to ‘say’ to the viewer? Am a trying to put together a body or panel of work? Am I working on a particular project, whether short or long term? Do my images have a certain style? Does it matter if they don’t? After all an image can stand on its own, although a collection of images can work even better if you are trying to tell a story or make a statement. All these questions require thought and hopefully some answers. In many ways they are not just about photography and could be applied to many other art forms.
The workshop took place on Saturday. I stayed overnight and planned to return home on Sunday, picking my daughter up from Bath on the way. This would give me some time on Sunday morning to take some photographs. Unfortunately the weather was appalling. Heavy rain and strong winds ruled out any outdoor photography, so I decided to head for the Cathedal City of Wells which is about a 20 minute drive from Bath. It would give me the opportunity to take some images inside the Cathedral and in and around the city if the weather improved. Wells is a small and beautiful City and with hardly any tourists around there was plenty to see and photograph. The wet conditions actually worked to my advantage as the photograph at the top of this entry illustrates. I think the wet cobble stones really add something to the atmosphere of this shot.
Here are a selection of other images –
The Scissor Arches
The Nave, Wells Cathedral
Underneath this stone
I particularly like the above image. The light on the line of chairs and on the memorial floor stone are ideally suited to monochrome. The fact the chairs are empty, could be interpreted as people who are no longer with us but the inscriptions in the slabs mean that their lives will be remembered forever.
The Cloisters in Wells Cathedral
A classical and arguably a rather cliched view of the cloisters but one that just had to be taken.
Cloisters in Wells Cathedral
Cloisters’ End
South Aisle, Wells Cathedral
Something I learnt on the workshop – From a compositional point of view something on the the edge or in the corner of an image can work well; you don’t always have to apply the ‘rule of thirds’, in fact it can be rather boring and repetitive if you do!
‘Vicars’ Staircase
This staircase and doorway leads from Vicars Close back towards the Cathedral. Warn steps and doorways have great appeal to me. You just can’t but help wonder how many people over many centuries have walked up and down this staircase and opened and closed the arched door.
Wells Cathedral
An empty cafe on a wet day, overlooking the Cathedral
I thoroughly enjoyed my short visit to Wells and like so many places it’s definitely worthy of a return journey. Nor will I worry if it’s raining or not. In fact the inclement conditions kept the crowds away and in the case of ‘Chimneys and Cobbles’ made the photograph all the more interesting.
All of the images in this post were taken with an Olympus OMD EM1 and Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 lens, processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro2. Click on any of the images to view a larger version.
Finally a big thank you to Andy Beel and to the other participants of the Monochrome Masterclass. In March I didn’t post a single entry on this blog but hopefully my creative juices have started to flow again!
At about 3.30 yesterday afternoon our cocker spaniel wanted to be taken for a walk. He always does at this time of day, and the temptation is to revisit one of many well trodden paths because it’s familiar and easy to do. On this occasion I decided to go somewhere new. So I took him in the car, and with a camera in my coat pocket we headed towards a part of The West Dean Estate to the north of the village of Chilgrove and walk from there. There was some lovely late afternoon sun mixed in with light and dark clouds. I just love these weather conditions for both walking and photography.
By way of some background, The West Dean Estate covers approximately 6,400 acres (2,590 hectares) along the Sussex South Downs. It stretches over 6 miles (9.7 kms) from the South Downs escarpment overlooking the Sussex Weald to the edge of the Trundle Hill overlooking the English Channel and the Isle of Wight. While much of the village of West Dean and West Dean College is sheltered within the Lavant valley, the Estate rises to its highest point of almost 750 feet (280 m) on the top of the Downs. The estate is a mixture of farmland, commercial woodland and is home to West Dean College and the village of West Dean itself. There are about 20 miles of footpaths and bridleways, including a section of The South Downs Way.
Interestingly all of the heating and hot water needs of West Dean College (and parts of the village) are met entirely, and on a sustained basis, by using wood fuel grown on the West Dean Estate. The biomass district heating scheme was one of the first, and remains one of the largest of its kind, in the UK.
I was pleased I made the effort to walk our spaniel along some new tracks. Wherever I go I always find something to photograph and in the space of just an hour or so, I was able to return with some images hopefully worth sharing on my blog.
All of the photographs were taken with an Olympus OMD EM5 and 1.7mm f1.8 Olympus lens and processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro2.
Buckingham Palace
I was in London recently for business purposes. A rare occurrence, so rather than waste the opportunity I took my camera with me in the hope that I could take a few shots at the very end of the day before catching the train home.
I also wanted to take a look at a second hand 90mm f2 summicron lens being sold by Richard Caplan in Pall Mall. The lens appealed to me but when I tested it on my camera it did appear to be ‘back focusing’. I tried a couple of other lenses including my own 50mm summilux and the results were the same. In real world use it probably wouldn’t be a problem but I was left pondering whether or not the rangefinder on the camera needed a fine adjustment. They did offer to send it away to be repaired but I decided not to do anything there and then, and simply make my way home.
By the time I left the shop in Pall Mall it was already dusk, so I walked down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, heading for Victoria Station. I had joined the commuter conveyor belt all heading for the next train back to the comfort of their home.
The Queen’s Gallery
alan frost photography 