Lonely sea

black and white

Outdoor Photography is my favourite photography magazine. In December, I plucked up the courage to send them a selection of my black and white images. I was surprised and delighted when they contacted me to say one of my images (above) had been accepted. It has just been published, with the following blurb:

“This was taken at Fistral Beach in Newquay. While my family surfed, I had a very happy couple of hours pottering about the shore with tripod and filters. This is a blend of two exposures, two minutes to smooth out the water and create space, and a faster one for the yacht. I wanted to capture a sense of the tiny yacht being dwarfed by Nature.”

My first 365/42 is from 11th February 2010. I had gone to the RHS gardens at Wisley to photograph the butterflies in the glasshouse but it was this cheeky little robin, encountered as I walked towards the glasshouse, who ended up capturing my fancy.

bird

365/42

Strangely enough, I discovered that on 11th February 2013, I was at Wisley photographing the butterflies again! Here’s one from that day, actually of a butterfly this time.

insect macro

365/42

My 365/43 is from 12th February 2009. Although last year’s floods were extreme, there is often winter flooding on the Thames. In 2009, it was strong enough to beak this boat from its moorings and cast it up onto the banks of Desborough Island.

river thames

354/43

Finally, it’s back to the 2014 floods for my 365/44: Walton Bridge with its feet in water.

walton bridge

365/44

 

 

 

 

Inundation

Surrey floods 2014

 

This time last year, my local area was affected by unusually heavy flooding. The Thames burst its banks on a scale we hadn’t seen since 1947. I captured as much of it as I could, fascinated by the changed landscape. My 365/40 and 41 are images not previously shared here, of Walton Quay (41) and the Thames towpath between Molesey and Hampton Court (40).

Surrey floods

365/41

Flooding at Hampton Court

365/40

Surrey floods 2014

365/40

I had to include one more picture, even though it has appeared on Focused Moments before. This last image, snapped as the flood water came rushing in, was the closest I have come to having an image go ‘viral’ on social media. It was shared 450 times on Facebook alone with views well into 5 figures. The view seems innocuous enough but to people who know the area, it was a unique sight.

Surrey floods 2014