First post of the New Year! Hope that everyone is well, and has had a peaceful and safe holiday period.
The weather over Christmas in London has been really grey and rainy. I am aware that I may have been moaning about this fact quite a lot. :) We had a very colourful sunrise that I got out for mid-december, which although lovely, wasn't really that great for photos, as I felt that the light was harsh and there was a complete lack of atmosphere. I had a more interesting, very foggy outing the Sunday before Christmas (for another post), but recently I have felt like there has been a real lack of the sort of weather that works for me photographically in the park.
So far I have kept my blogs on Hive to be quite current, and haven't dipped too much into older pre-Hive photos. I quite like this format, because all landscape photographers know that we aren't all blessed with perfect conditions 100% of the time, and I mainly just write about recent outings.
This one couldn't be more current. The forecast for overnight on Wednesday was showing a temperature of -5! That's pretty cold for London, and given that we've had record breaking warm temperatures for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (it was 16 degrees in Hyde Park on New Year's Day!) this was a big drop in the mercury. The wind was also forecast to be very light. Yesterday morning, I put on about 20 layers of old clothes, hopped on my bike, and rolled up to the park before sunrise.
I hoped that there would be some mist, but sadly there was none. However, I was treated to some lovely light, and beautiful hoar frost.
Because I had to be back home at my desk for 9.30, I decided to head to the brook. It's the closest location to get to, and if the light was good I would still be able to be home in time for work, without feeling too rushed.
ISO 100, 125mm, f/14, 20 sec
This photograph looks really peaceful. What one can't see is the road that crosses the frame in the distance, that is used as a rat run for people driving to work. The vehicle gates for the park open at 7ish, and there is a steady stream of traffic traveling through until the end of rush hour. I had to deploy a long exposure to remove the traffic from the photo, as I like to get things right in camera rather than trying to fix in post. I also had to clamber down the frozen slippery banks using my tripod as a walking pole, to drag out a branch that someone had helpfully chucked in the river, that was ruining the composition. Despite the cars and branch throwing being a bit of a nuisance, I really love this photo. The sun was rising almost directly behind me and it wasn't yet up. The reflected light from the hoar frost, and the subtle peachy pinks in the sky, are so pretty and delicate. It's rare for me to photograph the brook without any misty atmosphere (that would have been the icing on the cake!), but I'm still super happy with this image.
ISO 100, 210mm, f/14, 2sec
This view is changed forever with the demise of the willow that fell in November. Part of the trunk has been left where it once stood, bottom left of frame. The Royal Parks never take the wood from fallen trees away. It is always left to lie as it provides great habitat for invertebrates. The rest of the wood is piled up further away from the bank. I still feel a knot in my stomach when I see that it's not there anymore. The original composition that I used to take from this part of the brook, pointing in this direction, feels a little unbalanced now, so this is a new angle that I haven't shot before. It's very nice, but I don't think has quite the same impact.
To illustrate, here's an image I took a couple of winters ago, with the willow still standing. Off course the conditions when I took this photograph are arguably better. I had some thick mist as well as a lovely frost. The willow bark and branches were at their mid-winter peak fiery red colour. It was an excellent morning for taking photos.
In this shot, the fallen willow had been recently pollarded. Since then, it had grown back it's feathery branches, and had looked very photogenic.
Beautiful willow tree, you are very missed.
I've got a couple more photo outings to write about. The foggy morning I mentioned earlier in the post, plus a trip into the city centre for some Londonscapes last Sunday. Hopefully, by the time I've posted about these, I'll have had some more misty sunrises under my belt to write about too.
You definitely captured the atmosphere quite well. I love the hoarfrost action you got. I can almost feel the Wintery quiet at that place. Keep up the great work.
this post totally deserves support from community. magical and outstanding work of art, in my opinion. thanks! - !BEER
Thank you for the kind words @qwerrie. It's wonderful when a photograph I take gets such a warm response, and I really appreciate the support. :)
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BEER.Thank you @castleberry! Really glad that you like my post. It was so good to be back out with my camera in decent light. The frosty atmosphere was really beautiful. We're back to grey and rain today, but there is a glimmer of hope for next week. 🤞
From the sounds and looks of it, i am quite sure you will make the most of any atmosphere when you shoot! =) Cheers and stay warm and dry as best you can.
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I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've recently grown very aware of how often I moan about the grey weather whenever I post photography. :^)
Haha! Well I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone. It's been ridiculously grey through out the whole Christmas holidays. The one time when I'm not working, and sunrise is super civilised, and we get grey... 😆
I guess you work from home, much like myself? It is handy isn't it? Great to nip out and take a walk somewhere without worrying about catching a train or commuting at all.
It's incredible to think that these photos were taken in the city. Many of London's parks are rather big, so makes sense.
Lovely photos!
Yes, I do work from home now. It's amazing! 2 hours spent not commuting into London on a slow, packed train and tube! It sounds like you like working from home too?
I definitely couldn't do photography in Richmond Park, and then do a day's work in central London if I had to travel in. It is an amazing park, and a wonderful escape from city living.
Glad that you like my photos! :)
Beautiful shots, I love the pastel colors. Such a tranquil mood😍
Thank you Blake! It was a beautiful, delicate morning. So nice to have some decent weather for a change! The grey has been relentless... 😆
Wow these are magical!
The long expose certainly worked to cover traces of traffic in the distance. Proper cool.
I’d like to see the Willows in full blossom as a comparison. I bet they’re beautiful.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you Ash! Really glad that you like them. I think the brook is my favourite part of the park. It's really magical. Slightly worrying that we keep loosing willows though...
Here's a photo from Spring, from the same view point as the last photo. Not quite in full leaf here, but I love the trees when they're just sprouting their new leaves. :)
Oh wow. They're beautiful, you made it look like an oil painting!!
Really stunning
Mother Nature did all the work! I just showed up and took the photo. I have to say it was a particularly beautiful morning for it though... :)
Cath, these are so lovely! The hoar frost looks amazing as do the trees. I didn't realize London got that cold though.
Thank you Alfredo! Glad that you like them. These are some of my favourite trees in the park. I find they're brilliant to photograph, with their weird and wonderful shapes.
London does get to freezing sometimes in winter and frost isn't uncommon. Minus 5 degrees is probably at the colder end of the temperature spectrum here though. :)
peaceful? no! it looks unearthy magical. marvelous.
Thank you @qwerrie! It was a beautiful, delicate morning. I really enjoyed being out with my camera in decent light. It felt like it had been a long time... :)
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Such a peaceful (if not cold) looking place. We don't get the cars as the viewer so we can still enjoy it!
It still felt peaceful to be there really, despite the cars. At least I couldn't really hear them, because of the wind direction. :) A 2 second exposure was giving me streaks of car colours behind the trees, which would have been a headache to remove. I rarely do long exposures in the park (or anywhere!) so it was fun to do something a bit different. To be honest I was just glad to be out with my camera after the wash out that was December. :)
what an amazing view if we look at the eyes we can be stunned, it's very good
Thank you so much! It's a very lovely stretch of river. So many nice views here... :)
Nayural beauty 😍
Thank you! It's a beautiful little spot. :)
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Cheers!
Thank you @triplug! I'm glad that you think so. That's a lovely comment. :)
Wonderful as usual!!
Thank you Andrea! That's very kind. It was a wonderful morning for it. :)
Thank you! Really glad that you like them. It was a beautiful, freezing cold and frosty morning. So nice to be out taking photographs! :)