sunrise
Winter Sunrise on the Marshes print
To say I am overwhelmed by the popularity of this image would be somewhat of an understatement! I put it up on 500px yesterday and already it has been viewed by 1600 people and counting! Thank you for all the nice comments and to the 111 that have added it to their favourites. Surprisingly, I hadn’t put it on my website within the galleries but, I have now where you have the opportunity of purchasing it as a fine art print.
To purchase one, please click on the image below which will take you to website gallery page.
Here’s a little background information. It was taken on Elmley Marshes National Nature Reserve in North Kent, an area I have been documenting for the last 15 years. Conditions such as this are not all that uncommon over there where, with the combination of freezing winter temperatures and fog, rime frost is formed and produces spectacular conditions in which to photograph. Having spotted the image I had to work quickly as the sun was rapidly rising and burning through the mist. With the camera secured to a tripod and set to its maximum height, I had to stand on tip-toe to prevent the fence posts from merging with the land.
Nikon D2x, 12-24mm @ 16mm, 1/15 sec. f16, iso 200, 0.9 ND grad filter, Manfrotto 055 tripod, mirror lock-up, cable release.
The image was used full page in an extensive article I wrote for Practical Photography magazine on Discover Winter Wetlands. The article can be viewed here.
Sunrise over Elmley Marshes
Heathland and Avocets
With the weather looking decidedly dubious over the next few days, I thought I should make the most of the last two mornings which were forecast as being fine.
So yesterday I headed for Hothfield Heathlands (as it is now called, not Hothfield Common as I said in a previous post), to (hopefully) catch a misty landscape with the heather in full bloom. It was a beautiful morning but as is so often the case, I found myself frantically searching for a decent composition, seeking out young bracken to act as my anchor point. Eventually I found what I was looking for then just stood and watched the day unfold.
Nikon D2x, 12-24mm at 16mm, 1 sec. f14, iso 100, O.9 (3 stop) ND Grad.
In the distance, I could make out the huge shapes of highland cattle that are currently grazing the heath to keep the scrub under control. Once the sun had burned through the mist the light was too harsh for shooting landscapes, so the next 30 minutes was spent photographing the cattle.
Exposing for the highlights rendered everything else to almost black, giving the image a more moody quality.
As yesterday, I awoke at silly-o-clock and arrived well before sunrise at my hide on the marshes. It was a great sunrise with a spattering of clouds and the avocets came just within camera reach. They have to be our finest bird for silhouettes, no question. With its upturned bill, head sweeping from one side to another and the graceful way in which it moves, they are instantly recognisable.
It’s no wonder they are the symbol for the RSPB though it is not just for their appearance why it was chosen. About 160 years ago they were wiped out due to fen drainage and man using it’s feathers and collecting it’s eggs. Then, after the second world war it is thought they were dislodged from their breeding grounds in the Netherlands by the flooding of the polders and they began to nest on Minsmere and Havergate Island in Suffolk. Recently, on the Southend RSPB website, I read that their preferred breeding conditions of shallow pools and low islands which are uncommon in this country, was artificially created by a wayward bomb from a nearby firing range at Havergate , blowing a hole in the seawall which allowed the tidal river to flood in. At Minsmere, the marshes were deliberately flooded to halt invading troops and when the water drained away, shallow pools remained creating ideal nesting conditions. The RSPB bought both as reserves and today over 100 pairs breed on both with a national population of around 400. A real success story.
Sunrise
I had to share this sunrise with you. The forecast was for cloud and sun first thing which can be perfect for sunrises. Clear mornings are all well and good if you want to shoot wildlife images where you often need decent light, but for landscapes there’s nothing like having interesting clouds to make an image, especially at sunrise and sunset. Clear mornings yield nothing more than a blue sky and within 15 minutes, that’s it. The sun’s risen and the moment has gone. But with some cloud cover, sunrise lingers considerably longer. Once at the location all you have to do is find something interesting to complement it such as a reflection or silhouette. Clouds are tinged with orange and red and the spectacle is very much worth the early rise.
I used a 0.6 (2 stop) ND grad to 'equalise' the exposure of the reflection and sky.
As I parked the car and ran the 100m or so to where I wanted to take the shot (yes, I got there a little late!), I noticed a cow wandering toward me, which, as it got closer, turned out to be a bull. I was just to the side of its path. To get back to the car I would have had to run toward the bull. It looked rather cantankerous, swaying its head from side to side and making low moaning noises. Cattle are not to be underestimated, as has been documented over the last few months. I felt pretty nervous I can tell you. The only place I could go if it charged was in the water. These are not the kind of thoughts you expect at 4.30 in the morning. Anyway, it ambled past me and I got my pictures. Apparently, this particular individual was just roaming around the marsh keeping away from the alpha bull as it were, who, a week earlier had cornered a fireman at a local barn fire!
Nodal Ninja
I’ve been shooting panoramic images for quite some time now by taking a series of pictures and stitching together using software. However, unless you use a specialised tripod head, shoot anything closer than a couple of metres away and you come across a problem known as parallax. This is when subjects in the foreground move in relation to the background as the camera is rotated. To illustrate this, place your finger a foot or so away from you and move your head from side to side. You’ll notice that the background alters as you move. To correct this, the camera needs to be set back to it’s nodal point. In order to obtain the highest resolution as well as ‘depth’ to your image, you will need to shoot a series in portrait format and for this you will need a specialised head. There are several on the market and arguably, no, unarguably the best for single-row panorama’s, is the Nodal Ninja 3 MK11. Why is it the best? (By the way, I’m not being sponsored!) Because it’s incredibly compact, lightweight, and really easy to set up. Paramount if you just add it to your kit as an aside if you are looking for other subjects as well. For those of you interested, click here to be directed to the UK dealer.
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.
More meadow sunrise
Here’s another from that same morning. When conditions are that good and the sun’s rising so rapidly, I invariably find myself frantically searching for more, stronger images.
Nikon D2x, 28-105mm at 105mm. 1/1000 sec. f5.6, iso 100, ND 0.9 (3 stop) Grad.
Meadow sunrise
A very early start was rewarded with the most beautiful conditions in which to photograph green-winged orchids at Marden Meadow. I arrived at dawn to the sound of my first and sadly up to now, only cuckoo and for the next 2 hours shot a number of compositions. By 7 o clock the sun was too high and so I made my way home while others made their way to work. More will appear here shortly.
Spring mists
Early morning starts have arrived and with it, beautiful atmospheric conditions. March and April are great times to witness morning mist on the marshes, due to the cold layer of air lying low over the wet areas which have a greater temperature. I find the optimum time for shooting is just as the sun begins to penetrate the mist producing a stunning orange colour to the landscape. The image you see here has had minimal processing, the usual levels, curves and just +5 saturation. Nature did the rest.
Nikon D2x, 28-105mm at 62mm, iso 100, 1/8 sec f16, 0.6 ND grad, Manfrotto 055, right-angle finder,
Birds and hares
Readers of this blog will know that for the last 5 months I have been regularly feeding birds at a feeding station a few miles away from where I live. On the edge of the field are a number of old hazel trees that hang low and heavy with catkins. There’s only a window of a week at the most, after which they start to turn brown so everything needs to be crossed in the hope of getting good weather! I got lucky and spent several enjoyable mornings in my hide photographing the birds as they perched a few metres away prior to coming down to the feeders. Aside from the usual suspects in the form of blue, great, coal and marsh tits, the star of the show turned up on a number of occasions, being the goldfinch.
A very early start was needed since the site was in shadow after 12 so I would be there half an hour or so after sunrise when the light was just gorgeous and the birds more active than later on. Ordinarily, I would use a semi-permanent wooden hide, they are warmer and don’t flap around, but for this I used a dome hide from WWS which can be moved around the site as the light changes. They are so light that they most certainly need pegging down! They are great for the job though.
Goldfinch. Nikon D300, 300mm f2.8, iso 400, 1/800 sec f4.
The North Kent Marshes are steadily coming alive with the wonderful displays of lapwing, just as the many ducks and waders head north to their breeding grounds.
Marsh sunrise
On just one of several mornings spent looking for boxing hares, where there was quite a bit of chasing and boxing, I came across this individual who happened to pose close and long enough for me to grab a couple of shots. The light could have been better but you take what you can get when they stand up like this.
The light was extremely flat on this particular morning but there was so much chasing going on that it was great just to be there, watching. I followed this individual through my lens as it moved across the flooded marsh, avoiding as much as it could, having to jump over the water. I liked the connection between it and wetland and waited until it was in silhouette. Producing it as a black and white panoramic image simplified the composition further.
About Robert Canis
Robert Canis is a professional photographer specialising in the natural world.
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