New Year, New Astro (fingers crossed!)

New Year and I'm setting my photography goals for the year. Looking forward to some clear Winter/Spring nights to get some astro shots.
Milky Way due back in March too... Calendar is updated.... Just need to be patient now.

Now if I can just get a few thousand ££££ together,  I can get that Sony A7iii before then  ;o)

Alpine shots

Had a couple of down days while snowboarding, so had a wander about to see what might photograph nicely just using the Pixel2.
When the light is good, it's hard to take a bad shot. Would love to have had the DSLR with me for the shot down the valley to Val D'Isere though. Such a lovely view!

The view from La Rosiere down the Valley towards Val D'Isere

2 week old snow down in the valley

Alpine Astro

A few days snowboarding in the Alps... Clear nights, high altitude and a friend's GoPro Hero7. I couldn't resist giving the Night Lapse function a go, so left the camera (carefully hidden) out all night attached to a USB battery pack. Really pleased with the results. Although the moon blew out a lot of stars, it did a great job of lighting up the mountains.
Orion looking good too!

I'm officially a published photographer!

Really pleased to get a runner-up place in the 2019 Surrey Life Photography competition.
I get to go to a Champagne evening to see the picture at Denbies in Jan too.
WooHoo! I'm officially a published photographer!

Quick pre-storm visit to Wittering

With a nasty storm incoming, I headed to West Wittering Beach to try to get some exciting sea before the main rain arrived. It was here or Dorset... I think I made the right choice, as the rain arrived pretty much 10 minutes after I did and got worse very quickly.

The sky was bleak and there was no real light to speak of, so the scene naturally lends itself to monochrome... Pleased with the outcome.

My favourite sticks again!
Canon 77d, Sigma 10mm, f11, 1 sec

Breakwater doing it's job admirably
Canon 77d, Sigma 10mm, f11, 1 sec

Beach window
Canon 77d, Sigma 10mm, f11, 1 sec

Classic Dorset

The forescast was pointing to a definite fog/mist across the South East and I had a day off work, so got up early (0430) and headed for Corfe Castle to catch the elusive Castle in the mist shot.
Was foggy/misty all the way down, but at the castle, there was nothing.
All around was misty, but it never really hit the castle, so I took a few shots of the nice light, then headed for Kimmeridge to see if the sunrise would light up the ledges.

Kimmeridge was high tide, so not much exposed rock and the sunrise was behind the clouds.
Still a nice place to be at 0730 on a Wednesday!

I then had a wander up to Swyre Head, to see what the fuss was about. Lovely walk, but the view was past it's best (might re-visit for another clear sunrise).
Got a lovely view across the valley of Corfe Castle though, still with that mist tantalisingly closed behind...

Sunlight at the end....

Another foray into the autumn trees before Winter kicks in properly...
Using 200mm lens to compress the foreground works really well here, along with the contrast between the dark foreground/sides and the lovely light in the centre

Canon 77D with 200mm lens, 0.5sec @ f13

Another misty sunrise!

Not getting bored of these yet!
I like the subtle colours in these misty shots. It's forcing me to edit images in a way I'm not used to.
I'm really pleased with the results and I think this one captures the mood perfectly.

Taken with Canon EOS 77D, 55-80 kit lens. f11

Cycling shots

Been out on the bike quite a bit recently, which has enabled me to experience some lovely misty mornings.
These shots are taken with my Google Pixel2, so not the best quality, but still managing to capture the scene nicely!

Another misty sunrise bust

Woke up to a nice misty (foggy?) morning. Some nice sun breaking through, but once I got out and about, the sun had gone. So some nice forest views, but no real light to give it that spark.

This image was taken with my Pixel2 and I've done some split toning to try to capture the coldness of the scene, with the autumnal colours still hanging on...Quite a nice scene, but not the best ever image.

Misty woods in Pirbright

My favourite shot ever (tbc!)

Half Term, Clocks went back and a clear night/frosty morning forecast.
I dragged the kids out at 0630 to find some mist and sun in the woods.
Although there was very little mist around, it was frosty, so I headed for Pirbright/Deepcut where the canal often kicks up autumn mist.
There wasn't much about, but a little walk into the ranges and we found this tree, bathed in light through the mist that had settled in the hollow. A beautiful sight and one I'm pleased to have captured. This is rapidly becoming my favourite shot I've ever taken!
The second shot is more of a standard sunrise through the trees shot, but I also like this one.

First light through the mist

Autumn sunrise. Combination of 2 images, with one stopped down to f22 to get the sunburst effect

Autumn Misty Mornings

Work/kids responsibilities have been preventing me from getting out for the Autumn sunrises recently. Orionid meteors where peaking last night and the forecast was for cloud all night and through the morning. I didn't go out overnight and didn't rush to get up and out early in the morning.
Morning brought a beautiful sunrise and mist over the ranges. I couldn't get out as early as I would have liked, so these are after the sun had risen a fair bit. Most of the mist had gone and the sky is a bit bright for my liking, but it was good to get some shots in the bag.

Brentmoor

Nature's barcode!

Brentmoor

Turf Hill

Turf Hill

Sunrise bust

It's been a while since I've been able to get up for sunrise (work, family commitments).
Today was forecast cold and clear after a night of rain. Good chance of some mist?
As it was, I was up and out half an hour before sunrise, but there was no mist in the valleys or down by the lake at Virginia Water. The sky was clear and cloudless. Lovely to look at, but no good for photography.
Oh well, another day.....