The final Instalment of the Epic Week of Weather.
Friday Morning. Arrived at the park gates at 6.30 - the man with the keys arrived at the same time, so no waiting around in the cold to be let in. Hurrah!
I really wanted to return to the brook for a very specific composition. It is the image I posted back in my 'Introduce Yourself' post. I shot it about 6 months after I bought my camera, in early Feb 2019. It was the first time I'd been to the brook before sunrise - I was new to photography, and exploring the park with fresh eyes. The brook looked amazing in the mist, and the slowly approaching sunrise.
I'm technically so much more experienced than I was then, and wish I'd done things differently on that morning (for example, use a tripod!!!!). Because of this, I'm a bit obsessed with this particular composition. I want to be there in similar light, and have the opportunity to technically improve upon it...
Hence I decided to go back there, even though I'd been there 4 mornings ago, to focus on trying to grab this one image, hoping for the right light and mist, to make the punt pay off.
I did grab another old favourite scene as I was passing though... It would have been rude not to. :)
ISO 100, 95mm, f/13, 1sec.
I think it conveys the cold and frostiness of the morning. It was very pretty, and I'm really pleased with how this image has come out.
Onwards to the composition that I am obsessed with. At first there wasn't quite enough mist, but things change quickly in the park, so I set up the tripod and camera and took a few shots. I use a long focal length for this image so getting everything in focus requires some attention. I also decided to exposure bracket the image, as the dynamic range was getting increasingly high, and I didn't want to lose any shadow or highlight detail.
I spent ages here. Taking a whole succession of images. I could have had a bonanza taking lots of different compositions elsewhere, and maybe I should have done so, as the light was great. But I was really happy stood here taking shots, and I had a nice flask of tea, and it was lovely observing the scene and watching the light change.
ISO 100, 110mm, f/16, 3 exposures at varying shutter speeds.
A part of the fallen willow trunk is visible in the shot - the rest of the tree has been chopped up and piled up further away from the bank. The fallen willow was probably another motivation for coming back, as I needed to see the brook without the willow that is in so many of my photos. I think overall the composition still works even without the tree on the right bank of the brook. It's not quite as good, and I can never now recreate it as it was, however it's still a gorgeous view...
Is the light as good as it was on that first visit when I discovered this scene? No, definitely not. Was it worth wasting a huge chunk of epic light to focus on one shot? Yes I think so, it's a really pretty image, and an interesting composition, with the four repeating willows on the left. I love how the mist that is catching the rays of sunlight is orange and how that contrast with the blue shade.
The next morning (Saturday) I got an email from my mother-in-law, with this image attached:
I'm there! In my spot, with my camera, taking up half of page 4 of the Saturday edition of The Times. Secretly papped by the paparazzi! I think I am completely unrecognisable in this image, but the in-laws were absolutely convinced that it was me, and they were right.
I then bumped into my friend Amanda, another frequent park goer and Instagrammer. She took some footage of me having a little paddle, which looks lovely with the amazing light behind.
credit @mandsby on Instagram
I really am in my happy place in this footage, there is nowhere I would rather be.
And that concludes the Epic Week of Weather Part 5.
The Epic Week of Weather Part 4, can be found here:
https://peakd.com/hive-181964/@cathgothard/epic-week-of-weather-part-4
The following Monday was, by all accounts, also epic. But I had to travel up north for a few days, so I missed all the fun. However one can't do everything all the time, and there are more beautiful mornings yet to come.
Thanks for reading, and have a good weekend!
More magical shots!!! What do you do if it's not foggy??
!PIZZA
my guess: she have found an ancient jar with a genie, and use it from time to time, on a dry warm weather 😂
Aha! I should have known it was a genie in a jar!
!PIZZA
I wish, it would come in handy!
!PIZZA
I do feel like getting a smoke machine for some misty outdoor live streams of my music... but I guess that would be impractical for park photo shoots!
I'd need a very BIG smoke machine... 😆
You should definitely get one though, it would look awesome! 😀
This might work for you?
Now that would be handy..... 😂
haha, it would be indeed! tho the number of vacant genies is limited, I can imagine that, and much less than number of photographers assigned on the waitlist
btw, dont lol at this, some macrophotographers do have a bottle of water in their utilities backpack, and use it sometimes, to create the after-rain impression or dew effect, etc. I am too lazy and disorganized for doing that, and I prefer to keep things simple. But I still appreciate it and love the idea.
!PIZZA
If there was a waiting list for such genies then I would definitely put my name on it. ;o)
I wouldn't LOL at the idea of carrying water. I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Possibly a small LED light as well...? :)
Thank you, glad you like them! Sometimes it's not foggy for weeks at a time. The forecast is currently looking pretty unfoggy, and I am considering heading into town to take some photos... London is much more flexible weather wise! :)
!PIZZA
What an incredible place! The conditions you had were outstanding and I love your composition!
Thank you Harmen! It is a lovely stretch of river. I live pretty close - just a short bike ride away - so it's easy to cycle up when I think the conditions are going to be good. :)
Sounds good!!
your works are stunning !
may I suggest you to use the #creativecoin tag, so that your posts also can earn some CCC tokens as rewards, as well? (ofc if you are intrested in those Hive-Engine extra tokens. I see that you use p.o.b tag to earn the POB tokens...)
!PIZZA
Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you like my photographs. :)
I will definitely try the #creativecoin tag. Thank you for the tip!
!PIZZA
thank you. actually I am intrested in this too, as I work part-time as a CCC curator on Hive 😉 and I love to reward decent posts, sometimes have a lack of, and feel sorrow when I see a great entry behind my eyes - with no proper tag attached :P
ps. perhaps those extra tokens are not worth it too much... its a separate question, but if the post still has a room for a few extra tags, why not to use them this way? its not too much extra efforts, haha.
yeah good suggestion.
@cathgothard - definitely use creativecoin tag if you have space for more! I use it for my music posts.
@tdctunes @qwerrie - Thank you both for the suggestion. I'm still finding my way around Hive and it is really appreciated. I have edited the hashtags and added #creativecoin. :)
!PIZZA
Thank you for the creative coin vote @qwerrie ! That was so cool of you to make the suggestion. Really appreciated. :)
Thank you @qurator! :)
Manual selection by @qwerrie.
Beautiful shots!
Thank you! Glad you like them. :)
Oustanding early morning photos, @cathgothard.
Thank you! Mother Nature was at her finest on this morning. :)
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