Uploads from Bob Small photography.

Medieval Streets

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:58:01 -0700

One from last year; taken in the wonderful medieval area of the town of Werdenberg in Switzerland.

This is a small but ancient enclave that's now dwarfed by the modern town that surrounds it, but a wander here takes you back hundreds of years and would be a wonderful place to live!

Mystery Location....

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:12:26 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

I haven't had too much shooting time in the past week or so, so while visiting a customer I took the opportunity to snap a location that I won't often get a chance to stop by... this is a mooring point at the end of the quay with the breakwater across the way and the mystery headland behind.

The question is, where is this? It's in Cornwall, on the south coast - but where? 50 points available to the winner!

Days of Yore

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:02:17 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Well, not quite but for my short time with a DSLR this is from the distant past in 2009!

A post on Facebook today from visitengland prompted me to look into the archives and re-process and blend some images I shot of Sturminster Mill on a warm early summer afternoon - I think this shows off the beauty of the English country mill to a tee!

Running out

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:38:58 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

A shot from Kilve a couple of nights ago, with the company of Esen who is stage right of me while I took this :)

We had met at 4.30 in the morning for sunrise along with Steve, Mark, Lloyd and Gary down in Dorset but the only pic taken was of a group of 'togs chatting in the thick fog, so it was nice to have something worthwhile at the end of the day!

This is the last shot I took, about half an hour after the sun had set, the tide quickly running out (hence the title) and water flowing down the newly exposed muddy beach, reflecting some of the muted tones that lingered in the gathering twilight. Calm as a millpond too - the calmest I've ever seen the channel, I bet it'll be a different beast tomorrow with the gales due!

The Long Walk

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:47:44 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Here's a shot I took a few weeks back up on the Wirral, from West Kirkby.

I wasn't quite sure where to shoot that evening so followed my nose and the lowering sun and ended up beside the Marine Lake. There's a walkway around the lake so while the sun was still quite high I took shots of walkers in silhouette as they took their evening strolls.

This shot interested me on processing as you have the silhouette of the chap but behind you can make out a chemical plant across the Dee - leisure and industry in one frame!

Rhyl Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:20:12 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Last week I had to stay overnight up near Warrington, the weather was nice so I launched the trusty 'The Photographer's Ephemeris' App and decided where I should head for the sunset!

Looking on Google Maps I saw that Rhyl had some groynes on the beach that would make a lovely foreground for the setting sun, here's one of the many images I took as the light changed almost as you watched.

Godrevy Sun

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:19:32 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Contrary to popular belief, I do take pics between sunrise and sunset hours ;)

This is a daytime long exposure of the receding tide at Godrevy in Cornwall - the colours in the sea were amazing and the long exposure has brought them out vividly - good enough to go for a swim (or not, must be cold out there still!)

This rock platform was a great place to spend half an hour picking and choosing a composition - but using the wide angle lens I ended up with some wonky looking lighthouses so lots of editing to be done - in this one, however, the perspective looks about right!

Marking Sunrise

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 11:57:07 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

3 sucessive sunrise trips have left me a tad, erm, fatigued! Oh well, you have to search out the right light sometimes...

This is a shot from this morning's early rise - although the clocks have changed the body still thought it was 4am when I woke up.

Off the beach past Minehead harbour are the remains of the old pier, marked to warn boats of their position. As the twilight brought forth some nice colours, a long exposure of the water breaking over the boulders gives a ghostly look...

Disappearing Act

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:23:28 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

As the title suggests, the sun was about to dip below the cloud on the horizon so this was a rushed composition and shot!

I was in South Wales the other day and had a short time to wait for a colleague to meet me at a hotel, so popped to Porthcawl in anticipation of catching a sunset.

When I arrived there was a threatening cloud and a super rainbow that I took advantage in another shot to come, but in the other direction the sun was setting with a lovely glow.

Clambering over the rocks I quickly settled on this scene and fired away...

Waiting in the Mist

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:00:33 -0700

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

A consequence of having a busy couple of weeks is that you don't have enough time to look at your shots and see what you've got!

This is an image from the edge of the Quantock Hills, in an early morning mist. I've processed it to give an almost artistic illustration feel as you could barely make out the scene and I think it shows the mood of the title really well; the trees are patiently waiting for the weather to warm up so they can 'get dressed' again!

At the Pinnacle

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:31:34 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

A shot from 2011, post processed with a little more experience and insight than back in the day!

This is a sunrise shot from up on Pinnacle Hill near Nether Stowey - me and Jay went up there not really expecting much as more of a recce than anything else... but there was enough mist and the low sun was strong enough to cast some wonderful shadows!

Alone in the Mist

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:05:27 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Expecting mist, I leapt out of bed at the alarm this morning to check out the window - not enough time to go to the usual suspect locations around the levels so went to the old favourite spot up near Walfords Gibbet.

Sadly the mist/fog was too deep to get above and catch hills and buildings poking out, so I chose a tree at the edge of the field as the sun rose and the mist lifted.

Standing alone on the hedge, this tree made a nice 'cut off' between foreground and misty background.

View from Halton Moor

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 06:09:32 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Another damp squib of a sunrise trip this morning, turning from a frosty and misty twilight to a low cloud grey sunrise!

So, more processing of the Dales pictures... this is the view from Halton Moor above Halton East, looking out over the hills and valleys by the River Wharfe.

Pano shot, 11 stitched in photoshop and levels adjusted in LR4

The Water-Gate Affair

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:39:31 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Couldn't think of any titles so went for something that came to mind when looking at the little bridge, almost overtopped with thaw water, and the gate leading to the fields and hills beyond!

This was taken in a rapid thaw at Malham cove, in the Yorkshire Dales - when we arrived at the village, the car park was covered by an inch and a half of slushy snow... by the time we'd trudged up Ing Scar and back, the snow had disappeared by the car.

Wonderful area and great to be all but alone up on the hills (apart from the sheep and a few cattle looking snug in their Highland coat!)

Rustling

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:25:47 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

No not sheep rustling but stealing a few early morning photons for the camera and carting them off into 1's and 0's binary bits :)

Taken from a hill near Skipton, on a misty and frosty morning, not too early as we were both quite tired after a couple of days of hill walking - but looking out the B&B window the mist and colour was too much to resist!

Amusingly I was accompanied by a rather large flock of sheep who decided I had come to feed them so were quite vocal in their annoyance when I didn't - they were also quite vain so wanted to get in pretty much all of my wide angle shots :)

Border Raid

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 09:04:47 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Just a bit of fun from summer 2011... Devon and Cornwall Police couldn't resist a bit of border raiding on this side of Exmoor!

Taken on the road just below Dunkery Beacon, early one morning... somewhere on a mobile phone belonging to one of the officers is a pic of the sunrise emerging :)

Firebreak

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 09:56:14 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

A wonderful white landscape - that's what I've been waiting for since winter 2010/11!

This is a shot from our walk this morning, on the plantations above West Quantoxhead. I'd hoped to capture some straight pines with snow blasted trunks bu couldn't find the right composition... so tried this wide angle of the trees separated by a fire break.

Oh for a tilt-shift lens.... but the distortion does kind of add to the image I think. Really hard with the flat light to prevent overexposing the snow, especially with the central bright region being vertical - come to think of it I could have stacked 2 ND grads and created a darker central band, but didn't think at the time.

Winter wonderland is oft-used but appropriate this weekend - on Saturday I took the mountain bike up to Hodder's Combe and was alone with nature for a good hour or so as no one else had ventured as far.

2012 in Pictures

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 07:27:20 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

A short summary of some of my fave shots in 2012!

From top left...

Jan - Haytor Sunrise
Feb - Fran silhouetted at the Lizard
Mar - Lilstock Beach
Apr - Porlock Weir
May - Rockham beach
Jun - Goren Farm Wildflowers
Jul - Porlock Bay Sunrise
Aug - Sunrise near Glastonbury
Sep - Hawkridge Reservoir
Oct - Mist from Deerleap
Nov - Wimbleball Lake sunrise
Dec - Sunrise over the floods

Here's to some good weather in 2013 - lord knows we need a break in the rain and maybe a chance to use the camera in anger again soon!

HNY everyone :)

Sentinels

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:16:28 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Last Saturday morning on the flooded fields near Greylake in Somerset...

This stand of trees lined up and pollarded, overlook the flooding with a sense of serene calm as the sun rises above the scene.

It'll take a while before the levels and moors are pumped dry, the ground is so saturated any moderate rain will just fill up the fields once more I fear.

Stogursey Castle on a Moonit Eve

nobody@flickr.com (Bob Small photography.) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:43:04 -0800

Bob Small photography. posted a photo:

Well you could call it a quick trip as this is only 200yards away.... but quick doesn't cut it when you're taking 6-7 minute exposures and recomposing a few times! 12 shots takes a heck of a long time for a quick trip :)

This is Stogursey
Castle gatehouse in the moonlight last night - I wanted to take more but the cloud rolled in a little and I hadn't charged the battery seeing as this was a last minute whim.

Now we are forecast some frosty weather and the moon is full, I will probably revisit tomorrow...

(view in 'L'ightbox as the white backround overpowers the dark tones of the moonlight)