Frost covered grasses
I often walk past this particular area and have never given it a second look, well certainly not with the intention of taking a photograph. However a change in weather when coupled with the right light, and a dull scene can be transformed.
This frame was taken last week, when a harsh frost covered the landscape and the low angle of the early morning sun made the grasses sparkle.
Do click on the image to view a larger and more detailed version.
Although I am often awake early, I have to profess that getting up and heading out with the specific intention of taking photographs is not one of my strong points. Probably because up until recently I would either have to get ready and go to work or walk the dog, neither of which are conducive to taking pictures. Now my circumstances have changed; I took early retirement in April, there are more opportunities to venture out, particularly at this time of year when it doesn’t get light until nearly 8 o’clock.
Earlier this week the weather forecast predicted cold nights and a harsh frost. That was enough to persuade me to put on some warm clothes and enjoy a crisp cold morning with my camera.
This is just one of a number of images from that outing. A view towards Bosham Church from the foopath at Chidham. The sun had just risen and it wouldn’t be long before the heat of the sun would melt the frost. After about an hour in glorious surroundings it was time to return home, but it did convince me that I need to get up and get out with my camera more often!
This line of trees appeared in my last post ‘Just before the dark’ and I decided to return to the same place a couple of days ago as the late afternoon light and cloud formations suggested the possibility of a colourful sunset. As you can see from these three pictures I was not to be disappointed.
Sunsets are such a popular subject for photographs and it’s easy to understand why. In fact its something of a cliche, but the sheer variety of colours on display is nature at its best, so it’s very hard to resist getting out the camera and releasing the shutter a few times.
The most dramatic skies often appear just after the sun has dipped below the horizon. By this time there is less chance of a blown out area in the frame, as the sensor struggles to cope with the dynamic range of the scene. The light though was fading fast, so a monopod or tripod helps, but both are clumsy items to have with you on a dog walk, so these shots were all handheld. I left the aperture nearly wide open as I wasn’t too worried about depth of field as there was nothing in the foreground which needed to be sharp.
A photographic cliche perhaps, but beautiful all the same.
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Just before dark
I always welcome this time of year. Yes I know the clocks have gone back, so it’s dark well before you sit down for your evening meal. But the colder and shorter days bring great skies and once the leaves have fallen, the true splendour and skeletal shapes of a line of trees can be really be appreciated.
Do click on the image to enjoy a larger version.
I was asked recently if I had a favourite image which I had made? In all honesty I don’t think I do, although there are a number which I could name in a top ten. I do though remember reading that someone else when asked the same question replied – ‘The next one I am going to take.’ I rather like this response as it suggests a desire to constantly improve, believing that your next photograph will be better than the last and all those in your back catalogue. It also infers that the last image taken must be a favourite for at least it’s tangible and not a figment of the imagination – or is it? I’ll come back to this question later, as it’s relevant to the photograph in this post.
As far as a ‘favourite camera’ is concerned, well that’s easy for me to answer. It’s my Leica M Monochrom which I have been using for the last couple of years. It’s built like a tank, feels so good in the hand and the simplicity of its controls put me in complete control. It doesn’t have a multitude of programmable buttons, nor pages and pages of menus, which only serve to confuse, and nor does it come with a manual which might take the best part of a week to read, let alone understand. More importantly though the Monochrom together with the exceptional Leica lenses produces the images I am seeking to achieve with post processing and careful printing. The next incarnation of the Leica M Rangefinder must be just round the corner but I think its unlikely I will want to upgrade. The Monochrom has many idiosyncrasies, but I love it and the cost of upgrading is quite likely to be prohibitive anyway.
Given my feelings towards the Leica Monochrom, I am not that interested in the latest camera technology although to digress for a moment I was intrigued to learn about a new camera being developed by a company called Light. The camera is called the L16 and has the appearance of a large mobile phone, but instead of one lens and sensor there are 16. On pressing the shutter the camera software combines all the exposures from each of the sensors to produce one image. According to their website this can be up to 52 megapixels in size, with low noise and covering a focal range equivalent of 28mm to 150mm. The depth of field and other adjustments can be manipulated in post processing. Is this the future of camera technology, I don’t know, but nothing stays the same, so it will be interesting to see what happens when it actually hits the streets.
Back to the question I posed at the end of the first paragraph and indeed to the photograph in this post. It was taken a few days ago at St Botolph’s Church in Hardham, West Sussex. I had visited the church previously and noticed how the light was falling on the altar. I had taken some shots that day, only to find that my composition was not quite right, nor had I used the correct exposure settings. There were too many blown highlights. I decided to return, knowing in my mind the image I wanted to make. I knew which lens would give me the composition I wanted (28mm) and the likely exposure settings required to produce a malleable and workable file for post processing. I knew the time of day when the light would be in the right position, so I arrived at the church in plenty of time to get ready. The sun wasn’t as bright as it had been a day or two earlier but this proved to be a good thing. As it turned out I only had a couple of minutes to take the shot before the sun moved round and no longer illuminated the scene as I wanted it.
A favourite image or not, I like this photograph, as it will always remind me that it can be worth revisiting a location to take a particular shot that you have already pictured in your own mind.
Here are two more entries about St Botolph’s Church at Hardham.
Churches Project no.4 – St Botolph’s, Hardham, West Sussex
Thwarted by the flower arrangers at Hardham Church
alan frost photography 