Happy New Year!
Prior to my trip to Dorset and Cornwall I spent New Year with my brother in Kent. This is the first time I have really more time to concentrate on photography here in UK. Whole trip is about shooting this time and that's why I also decided to travel by car. This way I have no weight restrictions, and I can go anywhere and anytime I want or have to. Actually when I am writing this I am already in bed & breakfast just outside of Wareham, which basically is a starting point, gateway to Jurassic Coast. Got O2 sim card and surf free or roaming costs.
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| 100mm, 30sec, f/16, ISO 50 + 10 stops ND filter |
Trip started with rain, and forecast is not promising, but photographer should be able to take great photos in any conditions, so I am prepared for rain and wind. When I boarded Euro Tunnel in Calais it felt like sky got pissed off for some reason and unleashed its full forces with pouring rain and blasting winds. One hour later already in Folkstone, seems like same rain decided to wash my car again. Anyhow I am optimistic.
Sunday afternoon, drove to Whitstable to to get few shots I had in mind for quite some time already. Been to the beach almost exactly year ago, but back then had no tripod with me. I was after long exposures to completely blur the sea leaving pin point sharp wave breakers and old beacons. I think in the past they were fire lit. I did different scenarios with 5 seconds, 30 seconds, and few minutes exposures. Also used two different lenses 100mm and 24mm that day. Clouds were breaking apart from time to time and setting sun was behind me thus I hoped little bit for some spectacular red clouds above the sea.
But it was not my day in the end. However I happy with few pictures. On the way back to Vienna, I might stop there again.
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| 24mm, 5sec, f/11, ISO 50 (while shooting this frame I hoped for red sky, sun was setting behind me) |
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| 3 pictures @ 24mm, 1sec, f/8, ISO 50, Polarizer + 2 stops ND soft grad |
But coming back to Kingsgate, the Castle was built for Lord Holland (Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland) in the 1760s. The name Kingsgate is related to an incidental landing of Charles II on 30 June 1683 (‘gate’ referring to a cliff-gap) though other English monarchs have also used this cove, such as George II in 1748. The building was later the residence of John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury.
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| 3 pictures @ 24mm, 1/4sec, f/8, ISO 50, Polarizer + 2 stops ND soft grad |
The key to get good angle for the castle and the rock is low tide. I was not lucky with sunrise (wind, rain, and clouds) but was lucky with low tide, which had its trough around 8 a.m.. Of course I checked tides table before and I knew what to expect. With water gone, I was able to hop on and off fantastic formations of rocks normally covered by sea waters.
I must say they are extremely slippery, especially those with tons of seaweed, few times I almost fell down. Low tide does not last for too long. So called slack water when tides stop lasts maybe half an hour. I was shooting panoramas with 10 stops ND filter on to blur the moving clouds and really had to hurry, especially if I also wanted to shoot inside of Kingsgate rock. After 8:30, waters started to come back, and sea moves really fast. If you stand for 5 minutes in one spot... like me waiting for shutter to close, then again 5 minutes for left frame, and again 5 for right one, all of a sudden you realize the sea got closer by literally few metres and can be by your feet.
I have other versions of the scene from other angles and with really long exposures, when back in Vienna will have to take closer look and might convert them into black and white.
Kingsgate rock is great, white chalk walls, with green normally flooded sections, you can see exactly where high tide ends, lots of birds having their nests inside the arc. I liked the spirit of the place, and took pictures from all possible sides. Actually I have been to this location in November this, well, last year but back then I could not walk through the gate. Already back then wanted to photograph it from inside.
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| Inside Kingsgate, HDR panorama |
This time I went heavy. I wanted to see inside details and outside grey clouds and ships waiting to enter port, and all had to be in focus. I used full potential of tilt-shift lens. With tilt I tried to maximize depth of field at f/8 to get sharpest picture and with shifting I was able to capture wider scene. Then I went for HDR, 5 exposures for each section. Ended up with 15 pictures.
Large resolution of this picture is really amazing.
And we entered int2013! Again Happy New Year!
For obvious reasons I could not witness sunrise, perhaps next year... however I got up relatively early taking into consideration the circumstances. And to my surprise, it was sunny day. I would say, even too sunny, almost no single cloud on the sky.
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| Conyer Wrecks |
Since I still felt wee bit weak, I could not travel too far. Simply went around the corner to Conyer by Teynham to get some fresh air by marina and scroll along narrow marine entrance from the sea side. Sun was really high and strong, but once I saw those two wrecks I had to photograph them. In mud up to my ankles I tried to get as much as possible. When I had good frame, sun behind me was casting shadow of me right in front of me.... bad timing. I will come here again. For now I shot few HDRs and will keep them as starting point or reference. This was fast developed on the road, so it might change dramatically when re-processed. Especially I do not like left corner sky... this is where sun was I was even hiding the lens with hand to reduce flares. It also may and up as black and white.
Then I came across road sign Teynham Church, and decided to follow it. I love the style of English small country side churches, with their small old cemeteries. Then there was this huge tree right in front of the entrance.
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| Teynham Church |
I had to shoot it. I spent around the church something like 2 hours looking for nice angles, and ended up with quite few good shots. Also light became better, was much lower on the horizon casting way better colours. In any case I shot all for HDR with each frame times 5 at 1 stop intervals.
Sheeps grazed nearby and few out of curiosity decided to look closer at what I was doing. I had my second body with 200mm on and took few shots of them back lit. One simply peed while I was taking the shots... Country side is great.
Now in Dorset, will start shooting again tomorrow.
Cheers
Jerzy
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