Exposure of a Queen

It was a pretty grey day last week when I visited Windsor. I found that my photography was best handled in full manual mode rather than relying on any of the semi-automatic options.

Having experimented with exposure, shutter speed and iso and found a reasonable compromise, the rest of my photography needed fewer adjustments as the weather remained miserable (if not actually raining) for the whole visit.

The photos below of Queen Victoria were deliberately over and under-exposed as I liked the appearance of her profile against the sky, which as you can see in the second shot, was not exactly bright. Having said this, I think the second shot is my favourite! Which is yours?

Queen Victoria statue

Queen Victoria statue

Queen Victoria statue

Glorious Light

The source of yesterday’s pool of light on water – the sun, the clouds, the weather never ceases to amaze me!

Sun and Clouds

Sunlight in Scotland

A Break in the Clouds

It is always exciting to see the sun breaking through the clouds and in this case creating a pool of gold on the sea.

Last week I was posting photos of the early morning light at Easter in Scotland. This week the photos are about the light as the end of the day approaches.

I like both these shots of the same scene in Wigtown Bay in Galloway, SW Scotland. There was five minutes time between each shot and although the pool of reflected sunlight is still there in the second image, other conditions were changing rapidly.

Scottish Sun

Scottish Sun

 

 

Cairnholy

Our stay in Scotland was not all sunshine and sunsets. It was pretty damp the day we went to Cairnholy, but not enough to put us off the visit and, in fact, the weather probably made the experience more enjoyable.

The atmosphere in the misty hills of Galloway in SW Scotland and the fact that we were the only people there made it me feel much closer to those that had originally constructed these  neolithic burial monuments.

Sea and Sky – the absence of sunlight

Absence of sunlight does not necessarily mean the scene will be less beautiful / dramatic / atmospheric.

These photos I took on the Galloway coast in SW Scotland are almost Rothko-esque in their subtlety of colour, tone and texture. The sea merged into the sky but as the colour of one reflects the colour of the other, I guess that merging should be expected. It is just the differing textures or a hint of land (rock) that allows us to understand the view.

Sea and Sky

Sea and Sky

Landscape or Seascape

Are salt marshes landscape or seascape?

Both I guess. On this day it was landscape with some sea remaining in the gullies of the salt marshes. But with the lie of the land, it doesn’t take long for it to be covered by sea. The Loughor Estuary, situated between the Gower Peninsula and Carmarthenshire in South Wales, is a fascinating place. Always changing with the water and the light, the sunshine and the rain.

Loughor Estuary

Loughor Estuary

Loughor Estuary

This week’s featured StillWalks video is set a few weeks ahead of the current date in terms of the time of year but the flowers and activity of the birds celebrate the beautiful sunny weather of Spring with gusto and are a welcome change to the wild, wet and windy weather we had through Winter.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Garden Park Walk – Spring” which features Clyne Gardens in Swansea, South Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Broken Boat

Black and white or colour? That was the question.

The light at the time of taking these two shots suggested the results you see below. It was typical of the days through the back end of this Winter (when it wasn’t rainy or blowing a gale) – the light was constantly changing and although the sun was always there, the clouds that regularly obscured it and the wide expanse of the view across the salt marshes of the Loughor Estuary in South Wales provided me with a photographic challenge.

old boat

salt marshes

This week’s featured StillWalks video is set a few weeks ahead of the current date in terms of the time of year but the flowers and activity of the birds celebrate the beautiful sunny weather of Spring with gusto and are a welcome change to the wild, wet and windy weather we had through Winter.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Garden Park Walk – Spring” which features Clyne Gardens in Swansea, South Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Aware of the Water – Hereford and the River Wye

The River Wye is another river that swells with flood water on a regular basis.

Like the Ouse in this week’s featured StillWalks video the Wye collects water from a wide area and sometimes there is just too much to contain and so, despite flood defences, the water spills onto the surrounding land.

We visited Hereford again recently to take my daughter back to university. We were lucky enough to have good weather for the trip and had time in the afternoon for a walk along the river. The footpath, however, was very muddy from the recent floods  and we were not well enough shod to squelch our way through it.

Banks of the River Wye

River Wye

St Martins Bridge Arch

St Martins Bridge, Hereford

This new StillWalks video will be here to view all week and will then be changed to sample length. I hope you enjoy it and comments are welcome.

You can use the Donate button below to help pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “City River Walk – After the Flood” which features York and the River Ouse. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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