The walk
Over the weekend I had a bit of time to myself as Tina was away on a Hen night. I took the car for a spin and headed out into the hills of Berkshire, the Wessex Downs are a beautiful part of the country with a lot of wonderful views and I was planning to do some photography over that way but for some reason, I didn’t and ended up returning to a place nearer home, that I’d explored once or twice before.
I parked the car at Aldermaston Wharf and walked to nearby Padworth, taking in a lovely section of the Kennet and Avon canal. I had my Sony camera with me, that I haven’t used in quite awhile and it was fun getting to know it again. Having gotten so used to shooting everything with an iPhone of late, it felt quite weird to be looking through a viewfinder again but I had to confess, that it was like doing real photography again. Maybe next time I’ll dig out my tripod and get back into doing things that way again, it takes a little while to re-learn some of the techniques that used to be second nature to me at one point. They still are but I’m rusty.
Some of the photos weren’t in great focus, so I had a few duffs from this shoot but those that were good, I have kept and share with you here today.
If you fancy visiting this stretch of the canal, why not find your way there, the map link is here as there is a tea room with some parking spaces, be careful not to park in the residents only spaces, if full then you might need to find somewhere else to park up.
We haven’t tried the tea rooms yet and as your guide, we must address this oversight at some point rather soon!
The History
200 years ago Aldermaston Wharf was a bustling trade centre for the Kennet & Avon (K&A) Canal - the motorway of its day.
In the canal's heyday, goods were transported all over the world from here.
Huge horse-drawn barges carrying up to 100 tons at a time loaded and off-loaded cargos of coal, timber, grain, beer and gravel, as well as wood products such as barrel hoops, tool handles, brooms and basket weaving materials.
The photos
Sony a7R3
Sony a7R3 f7.1 1/60s iso64 50mm
Sony a7R3 f8 1/60s iso64 36mm
I like being out with a proper camera. It's like it really forces you to look hard for a good shot and you might notice something you weren't looking for at all. Plus it forces you to think about composition too, which you are clearly good at.
I’ve been doing photography for donkeys years, I love it and can remember my first cameras and the ones I had when I worked professionally for awhile. I look at lots of stuff all of the time and think that’s f8 at 160th sec.
So having used my iPhone constantly for ages it really was great to use the big camera again!!
I think I remember that of you.
My Dad's about to pass and he has a Sony A1 with so many awesome lens. I have the a6300 which is a bit lighter but I can fit his lens on mine which is good.
That’s the thing with Sony, they are all pretty compatible. I’ve got a camera that belonged to my grandfather, always reminds me of him.
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :)