It is amazing the colours you can find within a normally bland image when you push the processing of the image to the extremes.
Here is a shot straight out of camera of a wave breaking on part of an old Groyne.
Unprocessed Breaking Wave
Here is the processed image after some time and effort in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Breaking Wave With Attitude
Well several weeks of snow and disruption is hopefully nearly over, since the onslaught of the bad weather transportation has been a little bit of a problem since I live in a remote area, on a lane that has never been graced with the presence of a gritter or a snow plough.
So as you can imagine it has been a fun time, most journeys have been on foot or I have been collected by people with 4 wheel drive vehicles or jumping in passing vehicles, as stopping on my road results in having a fun time with shovels and people pushing.
Here are a selection of images from the past week or so, snowy scenes and some long exposures.
Swan, Snow and Ice
Chilly Sheep
Orchard Sunset
Heading Off Into The Setting Sun
River Medway
Aylesford Village Reflection
Ragstone At Night
Archbishops Palace
So despite our unexpected white out, and the disruption of the last couple of weeks there has been plenty of subject matter to keep me entertained whilst out and about braving the elements.
Would like to wish the readers of my Blog “Happy New Year”
To see 2009 out I thought I would post a series of my long exposure shots that I have taken over the closing weeks of this year.
I hope 2010 is a great year for you all.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.
Recently I have been taking more and more long exposure shots and really enjoying the process. I have been wanting to do a lot more of these types of shots in London however I never seem to get the time.
Wednesday night after I completed my work, I decided I would have a drive round to several spots on my way home, I should add I had been working nights so I was leaving the office at around 03:00 in the morning.
On previous walks from the office to various location I had noted a few areas where I might be able to get some good shots of Tower Bridge, so with the camera gear in the boot of the car I headed off to my first chosen spot.
Upon arriving at the location I realised that I would need to cross the safety fencing that prevents people from wandering to near the edge of the dock, no big deal normally however the weather was freezing and the granite sets were covered in ice and frost. “In for a penny – In for a pound ” I thought to my self and gingerly negotiated the obstacle and inch my way forward to the edge of the dock.
Here is the results ice encrusted ledge crawl….
Once I had safely packed the gear away and removed myself from my precarious location I pack the gear into the car and headed off toward the south side of the river in the vicinity of the O2 arena to find an unobstructed view of Canary Wharf.
By this time there was a little bit of colour in the sky and some clouds starting to form so I decided to head off to another location on the south of the River in the vicinity of the Thames Barrier to get a shot of the Tate and Lyle factor that sits on the water front.
By this time I was starting to feel the cold as I only had a shirt and fleece on, not the best of things to be wearing when the temperatures are in negative figures. So I packed up and head for home. About 3 miles from home I noticed that the morning frost had coated the trees and bushes and everything was white, so braving the elements one final time I parked up and set up my gear for the final shot of the night before heading home to the warm for a cup of tea and some sleep.
During the cold light of day some of the places in these images are just buildings and structures that blend into the hum drum of every day life and we do not take much notice of them as we plod along doing our daily tasks. However when they are wrapped in darkness they come to life with hundreds of lights dancing around.
Merry Christmas to one and all.
Here is a shot taken from beneath the Millennium Bridge on the Southbank
Its a long exposure of about one minute. I was trying to give the feeling of being suspended below the bridge and over the water, which I think I have achieved. I love the colours and star busts that are within the image.
During the exposure one of the many pleasure craft that trundle up and down the Thames passed through the scene adding some interesting light trails in to the mix.
Click image for larger view
Prior to this image being taken I had walked along the Thames from the Waterloo area, whilst walking along near the OXO Tower I noticed that the tide was out, so I decided to descend the steps near the Tower to get a low perspective shot of the river towards St Pauls and Blackfriars Bridge. Whilst I was shooting shots from this location I found some foreground interest in the form of some rocks on the waters edge. I lowered my tripod to its lowest height to obtain a very low perspective with the rock in the frame. I took several shots from this location crouched low to the tripod whilst the exposures were being taken.
Whilst these shots were being taken the tide must have just turned as when I finished the last exposure I found I was standing in water where the in coming tide had crept up around me. You can view the second image by clicking the next button when you are viewing large view of the above image in lightbox.
Well today traffic was a nightmare and whilst heading out of London I managed to get snarled up in a huge traffic Jam due to the Blackwall Tunnel being shut southbound.
The traffic reports were stating that the A13 and all other routes out of London were congested and delays were going to be long. So instead of having nothing to look at but the car in front I decided to head to the river and sit out the long wait. Since I had the camera in the back of the car I knew I would not be that bored whilst waiting for the workman to repair the manhole in the southbound tunnel.
Here is a pano from the area I ended up at which is a nice quite out of the way place with a cafe.
Click Image for larger view.
So when traffic is against you do the best thing and waiting it out find a road you have never been down before and have a mini adventure in to the unknown.
Its strange what you can see when you are wandering round a large event like Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park in london.
I was looking for shots with mainly people as the focal point, however due to the large crowds all the images looked far too cluttered and messy I could not isolate the subjects as I normal like to.
So not getting much joy with the people side of things I decided to look for other interesting shots.
Here is one of an interesting Bottle Opener that I found.
I like the detail of the Bottle opener against the jumbled colours of the background.
Today I decided to have a wander round Leeds Castle, since it is very close to where I live and the entry ticket last for a whole year I do tend to visit quite a lot throughout the year.
It is a great place to wander and relax with a great mix of things to see and do.
Here is a long exposure shot of the castle just after the sun had gone down, I like the slight movement in the Sky and the smoothness of the water due to the extended duration of the exposure.
Here is a nice serene view of one of the two entrances to Dover harbour, a complete contrast to the images I took less than two weeks ago when the port traffic was suspended due to the bad weather and stormy waters were battering the outer walls of the harbour.
London offers up a vast amount of subject matter for a photographer, subject matter ranges from Candids, Buildings, Landscapes, cityscapes and detail shots. Everything from the out of the ordinary to the mundane can be of interest. Due to the amount of time I spend in London sometimes I find myself looking for the out of the box subjects.
After a walk along the Southbank one afternoon with very little new subject matter to show for the walk, I deviated off of my normal route and decided to cross the water and walk the North side of the river for a change.
Not far from St Pauls I can across a set of steps that seems to be a favourite place for people to sit during their lunch hour, or it may be that a group of holiday makers or tourists might have taken a breather there? who knows. When I found the steps the only remnants of the people was in the form of their litter, Cigarettes and matches and discarded flyers…..
I liked the composition of the shot due to the flyers leading you out of the shot along with the slight curve of the steps.
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