Mudeford sundowner

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Rachael

In August we spent a week in Mudeford, Dorset. On the day we arrived it rained without respite. I knew that the next day would be my best bet for a decent sunset; the light is almost always at its best after heavy rain. So I headed down to the harbour edge and scouted around for a composition. At first, I wasn’t sure if I would be in luck but, as the sun started to dip below the horizon, things started to get interesting.

I often find that the best shots happen just after the sun has set. Then it throws its rays up into the atmosphere, catching the undersides of clouds and, if you are lucky, bathing them in pink.

Mudeford is at the mouth of Christchurch Harbour, a natural harbour just on the Dorset side of the Dorset/Hampshire border, with the New Forest National Park and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site practically on the doorstep. We loved it there and will definitely be back, soon.

There has lately been some interest in seeing my shooting and processing data. All of these shots were taken at 16mm, ISO 100 and f.16 using 2/3 bracketed RAW exposures ranging from 1/8 to 2.5 seconds, with tripod, remote release and circ. polariser. Blended in CS4 using layer masks. Correction of lens distortion also in CS4. Colours straight out of camera.

A foggy day at Painshill

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Rachael

Turkish tent and five arch bridge

As regular readers of this blog will know, one of my favourite local locations is Painshill Park, an eighteenth century landscape garden in Cobham. When I woke up one morning late last month to find a heavy fog, I took my trusty Fuji down to Painshill for a ramble.

Gothic temple and five arch bridge

The mist had coated everything in the finest dew and the spiders’ webs were looking stunning against early Autumn foliage.

Autumn web

Every tuft of grass bore a sparkling hammock of silk.

Hammocks of gossamer and dew

Berries of every hue reminded me that, in the words of the immortal Keats, this was a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.

Red berries

Elderberries

Not to be outdone, fungi of all kinds were busy decorating the grass,

A toadstool in the park

the forest floor,

Toadstools in the wood

and every tree stump.

Bracken fungus (maybe)

Most of the trees had yet to start turning, but there were a few obliging maples dropping their pastel leaves prettily onto the banks of Painshill Lake, just to give me some foreground interest.

The ruined abbey

In the mist, everything was still. Even sound seemed to be muffled, and it felt as if I had the whole park to myself.

Painshill Lake

The Grotto was closed but I explored the outside.

View through the Grotto window

Nature colonising the Grotto

I often think the Gothic Tower, one of Painshill’s many follies, is a little too pretty to be truly gothic, but in the mist it did look a little bit spooky. A very little bit.

The Gothic Tower

In the woods, I came across these dens, no doubt made by parties of children. Blair Witch, anyone?

‘Mysterious’ dens

They were not far from The Hermitage, one of my favourite follies.

The Hermitage

For a while in the eighteenth century, every self-repecting landscape garden had to have a hermit. Painshill was no exception although story has it that the first man hired for the job lasted only two weeks before he was discovered in a local hostelry drowning his sorrows! He was never replaced.

Inside the Hermitage

Every time I go to Painshill I find something new, whether it be one of nature’s works of art or a fragment of the craft of people.

A fragment of times past

I made a mental note to go back again later this month to see the Park in its full Autumn glory.

The Chinese Bridge

Another of my posts about Painshill, including some of its history, is here.

Sunset over Lihou

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Rachael

This is Lihou, a small island off the coast of Guernsey and the Channel Islands’ most Western point. It is a nature reserve and only accessible by the public via a tidal causeway for two weeks each month. Our visit sadly was outside this period and the causeway was underwater at sunset so my composition lacked the leading lines I was hoping for. I wish I could convey with this fairly basic shot just how beautiful it was watching the sun set behind the island and listening to the chorus of seabirds. Nature put on a magnificent show that night; these colours are as nature made them – no saturation required.

St. Peter Port

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Rachael

St. Peter Port is the principal town on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands.

Castle Cornet

It is a delightful little place.

One of the town’s squares

Cobbled lanes reveal boutiques and galleries, as well as the more usual high street shopping.

The high street

Cafes and Brasseries spill out onto pedestrianised alleys.

Cafe society

There’s even a spot to rest your feet and have a good read.

A reader’s haven

The picturesque harbour is guarded by the imposing hulk of Castle Cornet, which is reflected in the still water of a Victorian boating pond.

Castle cornet reflected in Victorian boating pond

The Castle is well worth a visit, and I will do a post about it soon. But the town itself demands equal attention, a delightful place to hang out for a lazy day or two of meandering exploration. We will be back.

Beautiful Jersey

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Rachael

Another shot of my lighthouse muse, La Corbière on Jersey in the Channel Islands. Better compositions are to be had on the rocks below but high tides coincided with sunset during my recent trip so I had to make do with a higher vantage point. The long exposure time needed for the low light has softened and muted the waves. You will just have to take my word for it that they were crashing onto the rocks below and I would have been inundated had I stayed down there. On the upside, I enjoyed seeing how different the same composition could look at the same time on successive days.

Fort Grey

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Rachael

Fort Grey, in Roquaine Bay on Guernsey’s West coast, is one of the Channel Islands’ many ‘Martello’ towers.

It was built in 1804, during the Napoleonic Wars, for defence against the French.

During WW2, the occupying German forces used it as an anti-aircraft battery. The tower was restored in the 1970s and opened as a shipwreck museum in 1976.

Looking North towards WW2 tower

The area has seen plenty of shipwrecks over the centuries, as it is fringed with extensive reefs.

Looking North from Fort Grey

A canon on the roof of the fort points towards the Hanois reef, nemesis for many a vessel. According to the Guernsey Museums website, between 1734 and 1978 over 100 ships were wrecked in the Hanois area. The earliest known wreck dates back to 1309.

Looking West towards Hanois lighthouse

The museum, well worth a visit, displays relics, paintings and photographs of many of the local wrecks, together with their often tragic stories.

Castle Cornet at night

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Rachael

A night view of Castle Cornet in St. Peter Port on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands.

Encore La Corbière

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Rachael

I couldn’t very well spend another week on Jersey without visiting my favourite landscape photography location, yet again. And again. And again. Here is one of the images I made. A blend of three bracketed exposures.

Helicopter views

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Rachael

Our aircraft arrives

Last year I bought my husband a helicopter flight with The London Helicopter. We finally got around to booking it earlier this summer.

Westminster

I love helicopter flights. I love the change of point of view and the crazy angles you don’t get from an aircraft.

The City

Photography is challenging. Windows are not where you want them and never clean enough; viewpoints disappear before you have time to frame them; and then there’s those pesky reflections.