Getting Out Again
Since my last post the world has clearly changed. A number of weeks of lockdown due to Covid-19 restricted my ability to get out and shoot. At the time of the commencement of lockdown I would have normally spent several days photographing the Red Arrows at RAF Scampton practicing their display flying before they head out to Greece for exercise Springhawk, which usually happens sometime in April. That didn’t happen this year, either for me or for the Reds.
My new camera bag, a Shimoda Action X50, ordered in November at launch on Kickstarter should have been delivered mid-January. Again ‘the virus’ put a stop to that - all the factories in China were forced to close thus delaying the manufacture, shipping and arrival of my new bag. It finally got delivered in June, a mere 6 months late, but I can’t really be more than slightly disappointed about the delay. As it turns out, the bag lives up to expectations and in absolutely fantastic, giving me slightly more room for my camera gear with the addition of an expanding storage space for additional layers of clothing, my JetBoil and other bits. It’s much bigger than my workhorse LowePro Pro Trekker 300AW but so far, it seems more practical and comfortable for my purposes. I plan to keep, rather than sell or pass on, the Pro Trekker purely because it is still a fine camera bag which has served me well for the best part of 10 years.
The lockdown has eased allowing me to get out with my camera again, completely safe in its new bag. So far, I’ve only visited two landscape locations, the first being Warmington Mill, a watermill in Warmington Village not far from Oundle. A fairly stiff breeze was blowing and a fairly long exposure of nearly one minute provided smoothing of the water and some movement in the trees. As usual, a selection of images were taken, but ultimately my favourite is the black and white image exposed just as the sunshine popped between the clouds to light up the stone coloured brickwork of the mill.
Lyvedon New Bield is an unfinished Elizabethan summerhouse from around 1600. Construction was started by Sir Thomas Tresham and was inherited by his son Francis in 1605 who later became involved in the Gunpowder Plot. It is now in the care of the National Trust but there is a bridleway which passes right past the house giving good access at the golden hours for photography. Sunrise is 05:06. The morning light just skips across the freshly cut fields of cereal crop to paint the house in golden light whilst gently casting a warm hue on the textured clouds above.
I’ve missed this. It’s great to be out again with the camera!
