Fly agaric mushrooms

Even though my tripod goes to ground level, it still wasn’t low enough to create the vantage point I wanted. Ordinarily I would have used a beanbag but Ididn’t have one with me on this occasion so I used what I had. Gloves, hat, filter case and a lens cap! 

Nikon D300, 12-24mm @ 14mm, iso 200, 1/8 sec f16, tripod, mirror lock-up, angle-finder.

A little further on I came across this attractive little area of birch and bracken and spent the next while shooting a panoramic which consisted of 5 upright images stitched using PTgui software. One of the biggest problems encountered when doing this work is parallex error and unless you have a head which corrects this you will be restricted to the closest you can be be to the nearest point of focua. The one I use is made by Nodal Ninja. Beautifully engineered, lightweight and compact, it makes the whole process that much more enjoyable.

I ventured deeper into the woodland, off the beaten track, and there were pictures all around. The colours were breathtaking. The task was not as simple as I first thought, to make sense out of nature’s chaos!

Nikon D300, 70-200 @ 98mm, iso 200, 1/6 sec f8, tripod, mirror lock-up.

The sun threatened to burn through the mist but it never did. Sometimes, it would clear marginally, but mostly it remained so.

Another panoramic. Sometimes, there is no other format that will do the scene justice. In order to gain the perspective I was after (telephoto “stacking” effect) shooting with a wide-angle then trimming the top and bottom wouldn’t have achieved this so, several upright images stitched was the only answer. Quite a simple composition yet, typically me, I still managed to make a mountain out of a mole hill and spend close to an hour taking it. It’s a good job I work alone!

Parasol mushroom

The two below were taken in woodland in a nearby village. A break from the computer was in order and fortunately I live near such places. As the previous image, the panoramic format lent itself to the two scenes, especially the last one when mist becomes more pronounced the more you shoot through.

Beech tree in coppiced woodland.

With the marshes being but a short distance away, they are never far from my mind. Such a dry autumn resulted in dry marshes and the result is there were few birds within photographable range. That doesn’t stop me from going over there however and on a morning such as this, who can blame me!

Stitched panorama incorporating 5 upright images and processed using PtGui.

Hothfield Common covers an area of approximately 150 acres making it Kent’s largest area of acid heathland.  As you would imaging, it is generally an open space of heath with lowland valley bogs and around the perimeter, woodland of predominantly birch with some mature beech to the south. 

Cotton grass. Another stitched panorama. This technique is perfect for this kind of image when the interest lies across a single plane when foreground and background interest become irrelevant.

Due to the invasion of such species as bracken and birch leading to the loss of the heathland habitat, certain measures were necessary to reduce this risk and consequently highland cattle and Koniks are now a feature. 

A 'normal' shot taken with a 12-24mm and a 0.9 ND grad to tone down the sky and sunlit heath.

Hothfield Common really is a great place for everyone.  There’s a large car park and trails of varying distance and even a road-side snack bar!  Be warned however, with the current hot weather we are experiencing, come prepared with a hat and sun cream or if you prefer, like me, get yourself there at dawn.  Trust me, it’s worth it.

Here’s one I did last week on the North Kent Marshes at sunrise.  5.15 to be exact.  How I love getting up for spring/summer sunrises!  Always worth it when you get there though.  Six upright images, stitched using PtGui software.

Nikon D300, 28-105mm at 55mm, iso 200, 1/30th sec. f16, ND Grad 0.6.

As I entered the Forestry Commission car park, I was greeted by the sight of a rather large herd of fallow deer, that are wild here and totally unlike the park deer of nearby Knole.  I hoisted the pack on my pack and headed to the spot where I hoped to get the pictures.  But, as you can see from the results, although it brightened a little, it remained heavily overcast turning to heavy rain.  Thank goodness I brought my umbrella!  In the first image it was so dark, I needed to use the AF on the 28-105 to focus!

Beechwood at dawn

Both images were taken in portrait mode, the first requiring 7 images and the second, 5  and were then stitched using PtGui. 

Bluebells in beechwood

Although I didn’t get the pictures I wanted, it is always good to be out early, especially at this time of the year.  Seeing the deer in the woodland and listening to the dawn chorus made me forget, albeit only for a short while, just how wet I was!

Robin in snow

Robin in oak

With it’s bright orangey/red breast (can’t decide which), the robin needn’t be prominent in order to stand out. 

Elmley Marshes

Panorama of Elmley Marshes consisting of 8 upright images stitched together using PTGui.

Oaks on Elmley Marshes

It’s in conditions like this that whenever I’m out on the marshes I think of how farmers of yester-year used to cope in such a challenging environment.