It's here! The time of the year when the leaf buds on the trees slowly unfurl their beautiful new leaves. Acid green in colour, and utterly perfect. The elements have yet to batter and scar them, or the passage of time to age them into their more sombre, dark greens of high summer.
I'm still slightly obsessed with my new (second hand) lens. So when I arrived at the brook, I cast aside my old trusted 24-120mm, in favour of the 80-400mm.
It was really foggy...
Having a new lens with a different focal length range, is a bit like having a new set of eyes. Compositions previously unavailable can now be achieved. I took the shot below at 240mm, and I love how the lens compresses the scene.
I spotted a pair of kingfishers sitting in one of the willows. Not wanting to scare them off I stayed a respectable distance away, but as my long lens was already on my camera, I managed to capture this shot of one of them sitting among the branches.
The main problem I now have with the new lens, is that the ball head on my tripod isn't quite strong enough to hold the camera in position, and I get an initial creep downwards, once I let go of the camera and the tripod bears the full weight of the lens. The only way to get around this is to frame the composition higher than I want, to accommodate the downwards creep. Once the camera is settled it is fine, but the process is incredibly annoying, and I will have to buy a new tripod head that can cope properly with the additional weight, as it's not really a workable long term solution.
The oil/chemicals that had been dumped in the river upstream a few weeks ago, have mainly dispersed now. There are still tiny patches of rainbow oil in a couple of places, where the current hasn't flushed the pollution away. I have seen mallard and mandarin ducks, herons, a white egret (look closely in the photo below!) and deer in the brook, and haven't noticed any wildlife in distress. There are still signs up everywhere asking dog walkers to keep their dogs out of the water.
I swapped back to my 24-120mm lens for the shot below. It is as close to the water as I can hand hold my camera, without it being submerged....
As of Friday, I am a free woman, as I reach the end of my current work contract. I'm actually looking forward to a little time off. There is a project that I really want to work on, to use my photographs to try and raise some money for the refugee crisis. Life/work has been busy, and I haven't had time to sit down and draft my idea out. Hopefully I can make some progress soon.
I can be found on...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathgothard/
Website: www.cathgothard.com
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Oh yes, absolutely stunning shots!
Thank you very much @sallybeth23! Glad that you like my photos. :)
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You got some amazing shots. I feel like i know these trees by now. It's nice to see them budding out! Time to wake up! hahaha
Thank you @castleberry! Really glad that you like them. I hope that my willow trees don't become too repetitive. I just love them so much! :)
No, you always have great shots and nature spices it up every time! hahaha
That's good to know. I always shoot local, and usually travel by bike. My subject matter is limited to places that I can cycle to, while carrying my own body weight's worth of camera gear as well. 😆
One day I will surprise everyone, by not posting photos taken in the park, or London city centre. ;o)
Well, for those of us that have never been there or seen what you are so accustomed to... we live vicariously through your shots. So, do your thing and have fun. Though carrying that much equipment doesn't sound fun. ahhahha At least you get your workouts in at the same time.
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Your foggy photos are almost surreal, yet I can feel the damp air, smell the fresh forest and hear the near silence.
Ugh, I feel you on the tripod frustration, it took me a long time of being annoyed until I finally got myself a really suberb tripod that can hold up the bigger lenses too. My photography teacher also had a good tip (that requires some commitment) of super glueing the tripod quick release plate onto the camera permanently.
Thank you so much @eveuncovered! The fog does make everything look a little other worldly. It was a stunning morning to be out, and the way you imagine the morning is very beautifully described. :)
I'm not sure I would dare stick anything to my camera with super glue. :) However, in the case of my heavy lens, I mount my camera using the quick release plate that I have attached to the lens collar, rather than mounting the camera body onto the tripod. I'm going to have to start researching which tripod head to buy....
Beautiful images of a stunning spot! Love the kingfisher shot!
Thank you so much Ben! I was so pleased to see the kingfishers. They're so small in real life!
Definitely in love with all this pics. Amazing post! 🤗💚
Thank you @milagroscdlrr! Really glad that you enjoyed my photographs. :)
Each time I take photos, I keep trying to make them as clear as possible. But you have just given me proof that it really depends on the shot you are taking.
The fog gives an added spice to the photographs making it feel like one is actually there. It's inspiring🥰
Hi @nackasnelson! There are so many decisions to make when taking a photograph. I guess that it depends so much on the subject matter, light, and the creative expression of the person taking the photograph. :)
Am really glad that you enjoyed my foggy photographs. It was a beautiful morning to be out.
Thank you @cathgothard. I shall bear that in mind.
Indeed it was.
What the F.... why the pollution? But the atmosphere looks very nice. I love fog!
Some idiot(s) dumped oil/chemicals in one of the subsidiaries that runs through quite an industrial area. It was washed downstream, and there was a thick, rainbow patterned covering on the river. I was rather upset/furious about it, as were many other local residents. It doesn't seem to have left any visible harm that I can see. I haven't seen any fish since it happened though, but haven't really been in the popular fish areas, so hopefully they're ok.
Glad that you like the foggy atmosphere! :)
That sucks! And no buddy knows who it was wright? Fish are probably down stream "swimming with the fishes"...
I don't know if the people responsible have been found. Hope that they are caught though. 👍
oh! happy you. happy that you feel you only benefit from this, and dont have any negative feelings and real concequences. (NB. when C-19 started, I left my job as well - wanted to have a little break from everyday labour tempo. ha! instead, it turned out I became jobless -- for 14 months ... hope it will not became the case for me again. but it definitely will for a lot of other folks here.)
!PIZZA for you, my friend. I cant say it is my fave time of the year in terms of shooting, but, it really has some exceptional bright colours. I like this fresh feeling in the air.
No negative feelings at all. I am not looking for any work for the time being. I am hoping that what usually happens will happen, that another job will roll in unexpectedly in a month or so. In the mean time I am really looking forward to having some time to do other things (mainly photography! 😆).
Unintended joblessness is much less desirable, and I found from personal experience, very stressful. I hope that you will not have that again.
So when is your favourite time of the year for photography?
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easy question 🤸♂️ definitely, it is autumn, indian summer. since august to october.
That's a good answer! Autumn is my second favourite time. :)
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Oh these are gorgeous! I did spot the egret! I really like the foggy pictures🤩
Thank you @creativemary! Glad that you like my foggy photographs. These conditions, at this time of year, are like a dream for me. :)
Hola, hermosas fotos!! Yo probé varias veces a fotografiar paisajes con niebla pero no me salen buenas. Es absolutamente necesaria una lente especial?
¡Hola! No necesita una lente especial para tomar fotografías con niebla. Si la luz es baja, el artículo más útil que puede tener con usted es un trípode, para mantener su cámara agradable y estable.
¡Me alegra que te gusten mis fotos! :)
(Usando el traductor de Google) 😊
Thank you @azamsohrabi! Really glad that you enjoyed my post and photographs. :)