.... into Autumn 2019

My first Autumn shoot of the year. Up early to catch a little mist over the Ranges, Lightwater, Surrey.
Really keen to get some good shots here, as it's just a few minutes from home and doesn't require the stupidly early alarm call and drive.

Summer of Astrophotography

I managed to make it out a few times over the Summer, sometimes alone, sometimes with my ever-understanding family.
I've managed to get clear skies down on the South Coast of the UK and also a lovely night shoot on the Surrey Hills. This is the first time I've tried to capture the Milky Way from so close to home. I was worried the light pollution from the South Coast towns of Portsmouth and Southampton would kill any chance of seeing the MW, but the images turned out OK.

Milky Way over Birling Gap, Sussex. Foreground lit only by the moonlight from behind me

Milky Way over Birling Gap, Sussex. Foreground lit only by the moonlight from behind me

Perseid meteors over Surrey

A Lyrid meteor from earlier in the Summer over Lightwater, Surrey

Milky Way over Hope Gap, Sussex (Not pictured- family standing behind me, enjoying the peaceful night and watching shooting stars)

Milky Way over Holmbury Hill, Surrey

Milky Way over Holmbury Hill, Surrey (Not pictured- family huddled on the bench the other side of the monument!)

Perseids 2019

I've never (intentionally) captured a meteor storm on camera before. Maybe the odd single streak by accident as part of a star trail sequence.
The weather in the UK never seems to cooperate with astronomical events, but for the peak of the Perseids storm overnight on 12/13 August, it looked like the sky would be clear once the moon had set at around 0230.
I had a window of an hour or so before astronomical twighlight started and luckily the cloud broke and I had a clear(ish), warm(ish) night to enjoy the show.

I wanted some interesting foreground, so decided on the Victoria Monument on Chobham Common.
Luckily there were no "dog walkers" or other undesirables in the car park at 2am, so I setup and waited.
I saw around 20 meteors in the hour I was watching and managed to capture 5 on the camera, which I have consolidated into a single image. A bit of Lightroom work was also required to get rid of the light pollution from London, Heathrow and the M25/M3, which are all very close.
Technically, this isn't a great image, but I'm very proud of the content and even got the image published on the cnet website!

https://www.cnet.com/pictures/see-the-perseid-meteor-shower-make-a-celestial-scene-worldwide/4/

Multiple (5) image composite of Perseids meteors over a 1 hour period. 10mm Sigma lens, 20sec @f4.0 ISO1600

Back problems

May, June and July saw me laid up with back problems, so very little chance to get out and take pictures.
Spinal surgery in July and a quick recovery mean I'm back on it now!

Family Holiday in Cornwall

10 days in Cornwall in July/August for a family holiday. Weather was great, with a couple of nice sunsets. It's hard to not get the camera out when you see the sun dipping down over the rockpools and beaches of North Cornwall.
Happy with this collection, though no stunners in there.

Liam watching the sunset over Little Fistral

Watching the storm roll in. Pentire Head

Pentire sunset

Little Fistral flow 

Evening surf

Last Milky Way of the spring?

Keen to get a Milky Way shot in before the light nights and last night was super-clear, with half a moon to the North-West. Could be ideal, so I headed for Seaford.
Plan was to shoot the MW over the Coastguard Cottages, then get some beach shots before returning to the cottages for the sunrise.
There were other people in the car park, so I headed off to Cuckmere River, then Birling Gap, then Belle Tout Lighthouse where there were no people (except one photographer at the lighthouse, who I figure heard/saw me, as he kept sweeping his torch in my direction.
Managed to escape unseen, with no awkward 3am encounters!
Happy with the results, all done using stacking with Sequator.

Got an hour of sleep in the car, then headed back to the Coastguard Cottages to catch the sunrise. Very pleasant! Then a couple of hours drive and back home for work/school dropoff at 0730. Quite a night.

Birling Gap Milky Way
8x stacked 25sec @ f4.0 ISO3200

Birling Gap Milky Way
8x stacked 25sec @ f4.0 ISO3200

Cuckmere River Milky Way
8x stacked 25sec @ f4.0 ISO3200

4 shot pano

3 shot exposure bracketed

Belle Tout lighthouse
8 x 25sec @ f4.0 ISO3200, Stacked in Sequator

Bluebells in Wiltshire

A VERY early start with the family (4am) to catch sunrise (and hopefully some mist) down in West Woods, Wiltshire.
Not a locations I've been to before, so it's always risky arriving in the dark. However, thanks to some pre-trip research, we found the bluebells easily (they are hard to miss).
Didn't quite get the mist I was after, but the flowers here are stunning and the rising sun gave a lovely ethereal effect to some of the images. The sky clouded over about an hour after sunrise, so I was very pleased to have got the best of the day.
Headed off to Avebury and Adams grave after, but no pics from that as it was grey...

A rare albino English bluebell

Bluebells in the Surrey Hills

Headed to White Down to a well-known Bluebell site in search of the elusive misty/sun rays bluebell shot.
First visit was mid-morning, with nice dappled sunlight through the canopy.
Second day was a dawn raid, in hope of some mist and sun. Plenty of mist around in the valleys, but alas, none in the woods, and no sun due to the low cloud/mist.
Still quite pleased with the results although not got the hero shot I've after just yet.

Day 1. Dappled sunlight through the trees.

Processed with a little Orton Effect

Day 2. Processed with a little Orton Effect

Day 2. Something a bit different, zooming in from 18mm to 50mm on a 2sec exposure

Misty sunrise over Surrey

A nice bright misty forecast for dawn, so I set off to Virginia Water to find bluebells near the South car park.
Didn't find any, but got some lovely shots of the misty sunrise and Chobham Common shrouded in mist on the way there.

Chobham Common

Chobham Common

Chobham Common and the M3

Virginia Water sunrise

Virginia Water sunrise
(processed with just a touch of Orton effect)

Virginia Water sunrise
(processed with just a touch of Orton effect)

Spring Evening... Sunsets and star trails

After a fairly cloudy, damp afternoon, it looked like a nice sunset might be on the cards, so I headed out to Guildford to a field of oil seed rape I'd scoped out with the kids a couple of days earlier.
The sunset didn't disappoint, and with my son for company, we both got some great shots of the sunset over the glorious yellow field...

Surrey sunset over a field of oil seed rape

Later that evening (around midnight), with a clear sky, I headed up to the top of Curley Hill to get a star trail shot. Really pleased with the outcome- based on 30mins of shooting before a torch started coming towards me along the ridge.
Stacked in StarStax, with a fair bit or Lightroom work to reduce the light pollution from Bagshot and the M3.

90 x 20sec shots @ ISO3200 (total of 30mins exposure). Light painting done on the plinth for just a second or so, using my head torch

Hunting Bluebells

It's bluebell season and we headed to Guildford, to the Chantries, a well-known spot for bluebells.
An early start with the family, I got a couple of early morning sunrise/pre-sunrise shots around Guildford and from Pewley down before getting the bluebell shots once the sun had risen a little.

Pleased with the results, but I think the bluebells could do with being a bit more dense, or maybe I just need to get a lower vantage. Might give it another go later in the week.

Pewley Down Sunrise

Chantry Wood Sunrise

Pewley Down Sunrise with the family

Bluebells in Chantry Wood

Bluebells in Chantry Wood

Guildford Cathedral from Chantry Wood

Moon setting over the River Wey- Pre-sunrise

Sunrise over Surrey, from Pewley Down

Sunrises and sunsets in Fuerteventura

Combining family days out with late night/early morning astro shoots, I managed to get a nice collection of sunrise/sunset shots from a week in Fuereventura....

Dawn Milky Way over the East coast

Sunset lighting up clouds over the East coast

Sunset over El Cotillo beach on the West Coast

Sunrise on the East coast after an overnight astro shoot. Love the "coffee bean" rocks on the beach.
20sec exposure, no filter needed as it was quite dark.

Sunrise over Caleta de Fuste beach (East coast) on the way home from an astro shoot.
Right out the back of our apartment.