Misty Mornings

 

I recently spent just over three weeks in the USA, road tripping, visiting family and friends. It was amazing and of course I didn't miss any opportunity to take my camera out.

The first part of the trip was in California, I stayed just outside of San Martin and Morgan Hill where I had great views looking west across the valley towards Mount Madonna. It was nice to stand and take in the view early in the morning before the heat of the sun burnt off the clouds that gathered in the valley overnight which provided a lovely gentle backdrop for the lone tree that stood on the nearby ridge. One morning I even got to watch a coyote hunting in the long grass in the field closest to the house where I stayed.

About an hour away was Santa Cruz and the third image today is from a photo that I took from the beach in front of the boardwalk. Although it was getting towards lunchtime and most of the sky was clear there remained a stubborn bank of low cloud clinging to the coastline just south of the beach creating another misty backdrop that is in keeping with the first two images above.

I have a lot of photos to sort through and share so be sure to look out for the next post.  

Star Bright

 So after a disappointing night Tuesday I went out again on Wednesday, but to a different location where there was less light pollution in the immediate vicinity and as the sky remained clear I was able to stay out longer.

I managed to get two light trails and a few individual shots (which I will come back to tomorrow).

For the first image I tried to get more of the sky in the shot as there was little in the way of foreground interest. For some reason (carelessness on my part) this was shot at 19mm rather than 17mm which would have been optimal. It was a 58 minute exposure cut short because the camera battery died and due to the added complication of the incoming tide which forced me off the beach and up onto the rocks.

It was quite an eerie sensation listening to the sea bubbling its way across the sand towards me, in near complete darkness. It was only in the last 10 minutes that I could see the water approaching and it was a stark reminder of how fast the tide comes in around here and the dangers of being out on the sand. That being said I was in a nice little bay and the tide at its height only just reached the spot where my tripod had been set up. By the time I had finished my other shots the sea had receded sufficiently that I could walk back on the sand rather than have to clamber over the rocks in the dark with all my equipment.

In the first image I have cleaned it up slightly by removing the light trails of two passing jets which cut across the scene and were a real distraction in the image.

By contrast in the second image (a 61.5 minute exposure shot this time at 17mm) I have left the many aircraft trails in, partly to show how difficult it is to get a clean image but also because with so many crisscrossing trails it looks quite cool. I may try to clean it up at some point that will mean excluding some individual shots from the composite image and that could amount to 9 or 10 minutes worth and could result in gaps in the star trails; we shall see.

As you can see in this image the tide was in and the long exposure has left us with a milky smooth sea. The reflection on the sea is also a composite reflection of the light from Venus over the course of one hour. Venus is the bright white object/line central in the image finishing just above the horizon (it also features in the first image and it should be obvious which one it is).

All in all I had a great time and had I not risked hypothermia I would have stayed out another hour or two. I really hope you enjoy these images and I hope to be able to get out and try some more star trails in future. 

Family Fun

I have been thinking about family today and so I have selected a picture that shows some family fun on the beach.

This is the beach at Reculver on the Kent coast. I was there in July 2009 with my daughter, we had attended a university open day in Canterbury and we were checking out the local area. I spotted this family out playing on the edge of the sea with their dog. It was a really happy scene and I think it makes a nice image. A few years later we were on the beach a little further along the coast in Herne Bay when we went down for my daughter's graduation. Happy memories.

It was a really sunny day and on a day like today as winter creeps upon us a summer scene like this can help to give a warm feeling.

Flying High

With the news being dominated by reports of the destruction and devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the threats of Hurricane Jose on the other side of the Atlantic a windy Saturday on the West Wirral coast is never going to hit the headlines.

However the strong winds and a super high tide was enough to bring out a number of wind surfers and kite surfers. I decided to head down to West Kirby and watch some of the action and of course I took my camera with me.  I have tried to photograph kite surfers before but on that occasion the light was pretty poor and the surfers were quite a way offshore so I wasn't totally happy with the results. Today the light was much better and so I could use a fast shutter speed and overall I think I got some decent images. 

I have posted 5 different shots today. I have lots more and so in time I will share some of those. I like the energy and movement in all of these images and there is a real sense of thr power of the elements. 

Windy Promenade

In spite of the miserable conditions there were plenty of people out "taking the air". Perhaps in some ways it actually was the wild conditions which drew people to the shore to watch the crashing waves. 

When I was on my way back to my car I turned and saw the distant clouds rising up and rolling in. I thought they made a dramatic image especially with the white highlights.