Jan 13

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

Swan, Snow and Ice

Chilly Sheep

Chilly Sheep

Orchard Sunset

Orchard Sunset

Heading Off Into The Setting Sun

Heading Off Into The Setting Sun

River Medway

River Medway

Aylesford Village Reflection

Aylesford Village Reflection

Ragstone At Night

Ragstone At Night

Archbishops Palace

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.

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Jan 01

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.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

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Dec 25

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….

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Dec 14

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.

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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.


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Dec 10

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.

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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.

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Dec 06

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.

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Dec 04

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.

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Nov 22

When I am out and about trying to find scenes and things to capture my imagination I come across countless people who I call “SSSB” shooters. The little ditty stands for See Stop Shoot Brigade….. I wonder how many of the images they take still reside in a digital dungeon never to be seen printed out and displayed due to the fact that the image they captured did not resemble the scene that initially caused them to stop.

I myself can spend quite sometime wandering an area trying to find the best position to shot from, 9 times out of 10 I will come away with multiple images from the same location that all work in one way, or another.

I was recently having a wander round Dungeness Point with a friend and fellow photographer Nathan Hulse and whilst we were there we were having a sort of unspoken competition to see who could find the most shots out of one subject.

Here is a shot of Nathan taking the low perspective with one of the items that captured his interest, you will be able to see other examples of the Nathan’s shots on his blog site.

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Nov 14

Some serious weather and wind has been travelling round the Southeast of England this weekend, Dover was being hit rather hard by some strong winds and raging Sea’s.

Ferries and other vessels were not entering the port of Dover as the sea was too rough and the winds were driving very hard.

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A blustery day out with rain stinging any exposed skin and the moisture seeping in to any gaps of the camera body….

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Nov 10

Dungeness is littered with fishing boats and sheds used by the fisherman, It is a vast shingle bank that produces great images when the weather is on your side.

Wandering around the shingle banks amid the beached fishing boats and the hulls of the derelict and dishevelled vessels of years gone by your attention is grabbed by shapes, colours and patterns that are everywhere.

This vessel has not seen the water for years and I doubt if it will ever again, paint fading and peeling away and the deck slowly rotting.

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Also to be found along the beach are the hand winches and mechanical winches that have been used over the years to drag the vessel back on to the safety of the shingle once the days fishing has been completed and it is time to return home.

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