Bluebells

   Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

Bluebells in the rain.  The forecast was cloudy but it forgot to tell me that the cloud would contain heavy rain.  However, the light was soft and perfectly suited to the subject. The trees initially provided some shelter but by the end of 2 hours I was fairly wet (my waterproof jacket didn't let in but my trousers were well soaked from the rain dripping off my jacket).  The conditions meant that I didn't change lenses and the lack of wind and the use of the lens hood meant that the front element stayed dry.  Other than that the gear had water running of it by the end!

The following is a selection of pictures including one ICM which didn't really come off so I must experiment with this a bit more. Previous ICM attempts which were more successful used a shutter speed of 1/5th whereas today I used 1 second.  The ICM attempts were at the end of the session so the only thing I can say about not using different shutter speeds is that I was tired and wet!  No commitment, must try harder!

Wild garlic and bluebells

ICM

Staying local

  Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

 Staying local I paid an afternoon visit to Orlock and spent some time doing a recce for future images when the conditions are better.  These were taken on a day with bright sunshine and occasional hazy cloud.  It was quite windy and images of a choppy sea didn't really appeal so I ended up doing long exposures with the D810 and some detail shots with my phone.   I noticed the thrift is coming into bloom so this will a location for an evening visit with the macro lens when we have little or no wind and when the warm light will accentuate the colours of the thrift.

The location:

The image:

In the next one I liked the contrast between the green and brown/orange seaweed:

Belfast Lough sunset 22 April 2021

 Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

It had been a clear blue sky day but a few wispy bits of high cloud appeared over County Antrim an hour before sunset.  A 15 minute drive took me to Grey Point where I enjoyed a quiet hour but busy hour as the sun went down. There was little wind but the sea still had a few ruffles on it so I used the 6 and 10 stop Lee stoppers (not together!) to smooth out the water and provide muted reflections. The time between the first and last images was 1 hour.

The sun was quite harsh before it dropped behind the Knockagh Hill and I used this time to photograph at 90 degrees from the sun.  This provided the first 3 images.

Looking east

Looking west

Once the sun had dropped behind the hills I turned my attention to the colour in the sky and reflected in the sea for the final two images.  I wasn't altogether happy with the composition of these two as I would have liked to get down lower but just where I was it would have proved a difficult scramble so I stayed high. 

40 minutes - 5 images

  Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

I had the idea of using the streams of water coming off the beach as leading lines towards a partly cloudy sky lit by the rising sun.  However, over the course of 40 minutes around sunrise the cloud dissipated and then reformed without really lighting up as I had hoped.  

I don't think this really works at his time of the year, even if the sky really lit up.  I need to return when the rising sun is more north-easterly say from the end of May through to mid-July so that the main beach streams and pools are more aligned with where the sun will rise.  This means a much earlier start as sunrise will range from 5am to 4.45 at the solstice and back to 5am.  At least it should be warmer than it has been of late!  

Even though the images were not what I had hoped for, it was good to be out with absolutely no-one else around and just the sound of the waves and the birds for company.

6 Apri 2021

 Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

Managed to get out twice with the camera.  

Morning

With some light overnight snow I wanted to see if I could photograph a particular stand of trees in snow. I have already images of them in spring, summer autumn and winter but not with snow.   Unfortunately I had left it a bit late getting out and was disappointed by the lack of snow around the trees. 

 However, I was out and spent an hour trying a range of different compositions as the remaining snow disappeared as the sun rose. 

Just for practice I did some focus stacking as it was a while since I had done any - in this image the tree trunks  are falling away from the camera position.  This was a 4 shot stack and the tree trunks are sharp from front to back.

Evening

The second outing was to Strangford Lough for sunset.  It didn’t look promising as the cloud cover was all in the wrong place.  Suddenly there was a break behind Scrabo Tower and I scrambled to get a 3 stop grad in place before the light disappeared.  Looking at the image on the back of the camera I could see that despite the grad, the highlights were blown and so I took 3 images exposing for the highlights, mid-tones and shadows.  In the event, Lightroom enabled me to adjust the light from the single image to keep the highlights from blowing and also record shadow detail.  A reminder that the jpeg on the back of the camera has less exposure latitude than the raw file.

For comparison purposes the first image below is the single image and the second is the HDR.  Good old D810 plus Lightroom worked this time.

45 minutes around sunrise

 Click on the images for a larger version.  All images copyright Leslie Ashe.

Sunrise this morning was at 06.56.  There were conflicting weather forecasts.  One was indicating total cloud cover, the other was for 70% low cloud and no middle or high cloud.  The latter offers the prospect of the low cloud being lit from below as the sun rises so I took my chances.

It was all bit of an April fool as the reality was that there was very little colour in the pre-sunrise.   The sun rose through haze which served to scatter the light and prevent any great colour.

However, it was a morning out before sunrise gets to be absolutely silly-o'clock and an opportunity to exercise the gear (which involved dropping a 2 stop graduated filter on the wet sand - I forgot my gloves and my hands were freezing in the stiff onshore wind).  The wind also destroyed any possibility of good reflections of the sky in the water on the beach.  Much of the foreground in the last 2 images is not ripples in the sand but ripples in the water caused by the wind.

The forecast for the next 2 days is for wall-to-wall clear skies so I doubt if I can be persuaded to make the effort.

The images below are in sequence and were taken over a period of 45 minutes.