Shooting in the cold

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It all started with a photograph I saw posted in a photography forum. The shot was of Ferrybridge power station at night with light trails of cars on the M62 in the foreground. I’d never seen this location before and it was easy to work out where it was – only 10 minutes away from my workplace. I knew I wanted something similar and realised that at dawn, the rising sun would illuminate the vapour from the cooling towers of the power station. In perfect conditions, that would make a great picture. Perfect conditions meant a cloudless sky on the horizon where the sun rises and almost no wind. At this time of year dawn is shortly before 8am. On a weekday - If I got up early - I could get to the location, get the shot and still be at my desk in time to start work.

I started taking more interest than usual in the weather forecasts, waiting to see a prediction that matched perfect weather for this shot. After a few days there it was: clear sky and no wind between 6am and 9am the following morning. I set the alarm for 6am, got the camera gear ready and went to bed. The alarm went of, so I looked out of the window to check conditions. Despite being dark it was obviously heavily overcast with no hint that it would clear anytime soon. I went back to bed. Later, on the way to work it was still heavily overcast. The weather did not break and I was right to have made no attempt to get on location. That night, same forecast for the following morning: clear sky and no wind between 6am and 9am. Alarm set, camera bag ready, off to bed. Alarm goes off, check conditions and again, almost totally overcast. Back to bed. Third night in a row and the same forecast for the following morning: clear sky and no wind between 6am and 9am. For the third time: alarm set, camera bag ready, off to bed. Alarm goes off, look out of the window and…. clear skies! Game on!

I leave the house at 7am and by 7:30 I am on location. The access was easy and just as I arrive I see another great photo opportunity: freshly ploughed fields providing lead lines with uninterrupted views directly toward the power station. I make a mental note to try that shot another time – I already have today’s shot in mind and it involves the M62. I park the car and get out with the camera bag and tripod. It’s cold: the temperature gauge in the car is reading -5C. I take a quick walk around the location and pick the spot for my photograph. I get the camera out, set it up and fire off a few test shots. Everything is looking good so I just have to wait for the sun to rise.

The cars on the M62 rushing past below are oblivious to me standing in the cold dawn glow. Apart from the noise of the traffic it’s quiet. Nobody else is around. I check the camera and wait, trying to keep warm. It’s really cold. An elderly couple appear from nowhere across the fields, walking their dog and wrapped up in the warmest coats, hats and gloves they probably own. They give a cheery “hello” and eye me curiously as they walk past, no doubt wondering what is so interesting about a motorway and a power station. The sky is getting very bright in the East and suddenly a deep red, fiery sliver of sun appears over the cloudless horizon.

As the sun rises it lights up the vapour from the cooling towers of the power station, making it glow bright oranges and pinks. I fire off several frames and adjust the composition slightly after looking at the image preview on the back of the camera. It looks pretty close to how I imagined the shot to be. I check my watch. It’s 8:15 and I need to go. I pack away the camera and tripod and walk back to the car. It’s really, really cold. According to the car the temperature is still -5C and I have been out for 50 minutes. It’s worth it. I have the shot and I’m at my desk in work on time. There’s still those ploughed fields to go back another time for, as well………..

Ferrybridge power station and M62

Dark nights

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With Winter comes shorter days and long periods of darkness. The weather is often poor, fewer animals are around and the trees are bare. On the face of it, there is little incentive to go out to take photographs and if you do, there seems little to take photographs of. There are, however, many reasons to do so:

Two of the best times to take landscape photographs are dawn and dusk. In the Summer months, dawn can be around 04:30 which is a pretty unsociable time to get to a location and be set up ready to shoot. In mid December, dawn is a more reasonable 08:15 which means you’re not tired out for the rest of the day if you go and capture a sunrise. Likewise the sun sets around 16:15 so you can get a sunset shot and still be home in time for tea. It’s also easy to pop out again afterwards to take light trail images of roads and motorways too!

M62 Westbound, Junction 27

Through Winter the sun is low in the sky throughout the day which means landscapes are always sidelit, giving shape to the contours of the land which makes for a more attractive image.

Winter also produces some good storms which gives the opportunity to capture  dramatic skies or crashing waves if you are lucky enough to be near the sea. Gales provide the chance to use some slow shutter speeds to capture movement of tress in the wind. Lots of rain means wet paths and roads which give great reflections in urban scenes at night. Of course, when it snows everything looks different and gives an entirely new perspective to well known views. Even foggy conditions can produce good shots.

Middleton golf course. Snow & fog.

In the Winter wildlife looks very different to Summer with birds changing plumage and migratory animals making an appearance. It’s well worth overcoming the often poorer light to get some good images of animals. As a bonus, the lack of foliage on trees often makes them easier to spot!

Sometimes the weather is just too bad to go outside with camera equipment. When this happens it’s an ideal time to get creative indoors. Almost every room of the average house provides a wealth of photographic options from fruit, veg, spices, pans and crockery in the kitchen to cushions, ornaments and perfume bottles in the bedroom.

As much as Summer is nice for warm weather and long days, I prefer Winter for all of the reasons above.

New toy?

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I’ve been keeping an eye on the newly announced Panasonic GX1 micro 4/3 interchangeable lens camera. As a user of the GF1 I was disappointed with the GF2 and GF3 – Panasonic dumbed down the later iterations of the camera and made it more appealing to new users of digital cameras. This was essentially because they took away some of the controls needed by more advanced users by implementing a touchscreen interface instead of dials and buttons. I can understand why Panasonic did this – a need for following the trend of others (primarily the Sony NEX range) and giving the camera more mass-market appeal.

The GX1 appears to be a reasonable update of the GF1 (newer sensor, better video, faster response) but I was troubled to see that it also implements a touchscreen. Digging further, it seems that you can pretty much avoid the touchscreen if you want as most of the important controls are still available with buttons and dials. I’m open to the thought that the touchscreen might enhance these controls so I’ll be interested to get some hands-on experience with one and see how it really handles.

Of course, whether I actually need to replace my GF1 is another story. It’s still a very likeable camera and does everything that I want it to very well. If anything does happen to it, though, at least I know there is potentially a viable up to date replacement for it!

All working!

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The new (replacement) Pentax K-5 body has been fine-focus tuned with my lenses and was used in anger for the first time last Saturday night at the monthly Wet Spot show in Leeds. It performed just fine with no problems so I’m happy again.

I’ve been watching the trees turn their Autumnal colours with interest in the that hope I can get out and capture some shots of them. Unfortunately the weather has turned and after a mini gale last night and plummeting temperatures, I’m not sure I can get out and do them justice before we are left with anything but bare twigs!

Back in business

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My Pentax K-5 body has returned from Johnsons Photopia after being sent away for a warranty repair due to a sensor issue. Well, more acuurately a Pentax K-5 has been sent back to me….

My camera body has been replaced with what seems to be a brand new one. The serial number is considerably higher, it looks factory fresh and needed a set up as though from new on arrival. I’ve configured it the way I like and given it some tests. So far, everything appears perfect (and no sensor problems!). I need to perform a fine focus calibration for my two Pentax lenses then I can back in business.