'Christmas in Cambridge'

There are the usual attractions on Parkers Piece in Cambridge this year though it no longer has the allure of going to the 'North Pole'. I was joined by some of our photography group on Saturday at the Fair and enjoyed trying to capture the lights and excitement (though not the sounds or the smell of the various food outlets)

Hoylake 12th February: Wader Flocks in Slow Motion

Bright sunshine and clear skies greeted us on arrival at Hoylake on Monday so, just to be contrary, I chose a slower shutterspeed (1/125th and 1/50th) to try panning the large groups of waders. Because they move at different speeds and directions, the results are very random but I did achieve one or two that I like. I got a bit finger happy with manipulation for the second photo creating a wonderful flight of Kingfishers! Some straighter shots plus a panorama to show the huge extent of the wader flocks.

Exploring Movement at Welney

I wanted to try to get a feel for the excitement of the flight of the large flock of Black-tailed Godwit and the frenzy when the ducks etc are fed at midday at Welney. I used  a slow shutterspeed (15th to 50th/sec) and achieved a few images that came near to meeting my previsualisation.

Autumn at Santon Downham 2

In the afternoon,  it gradually cloudy over giving different lighting to work with. I used an older camera, which will composit only two images together as an average  and a very contrasty 50mm lens. The first image is an example of an old technique - the Orton effect where the first image is out of focus and the second image in exactly the same position is in focus. The second image is a panorama of the confier forest.  The type of picture I had in my mind are images 3-6 where the camera has combines an underexposed ICM image of the forest tree trunks with a bright autumn branch from a beech sapling.

Sidgwick Site November Evening

We enjoyed an hour photographing the Sidgwick site in Cambridge yesterday after all light had gone from the overcast sky but with damp pavements and heavy cloud reflecting back the city lights. Difficult to know where to set the White balance when processing the images so I have left it on as shot with the variety of colours this produces.