Tag: Somerset

New Direction – Portrait Photography

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Up until recently, I’ve always concentrated on nature photography, with a mixture of wildlife and landscape. I’ve photographed in a variety of places, including the local area in Somerset and my native Devon, as well as my spiritual home of the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District while in transit to Scotland. While I’ve done a little carnival and event photography and some architectural photography, that’s pretty much been it.

Recently though, I’ve been stuck in a bit of a rut. Some of that is down to the pressures of work, leading me to feel too tired to do anything other than recover and recharge my batteries at the weekends. The trip to Finland would have been my only shoot this year, apart from odd things here and there, if it wasn’t for a couple of events organised by Sydenham Camera Club.

Now, I’ve never really been interested in portraits, beyond photographing family special occasions. However, the camera club have organised some interesting photo shoots. The first was back in July, when a shoot was organised on a farm in the Quantocks, owned by one of the members. Not only was I able to photograph some horses, but we also shot with four different models, Cerris, Leigh, Roxy and Sophie. Lighting was difficult, as it was one of the hottest days of the year, but we were able to find some shade and some filtered light, allowing my creative juices to start flowing.

Next up was a very ambitious project at Hestercombe Gardens, just outside Cheddon Fitzpaine, near Taunton in Somerset. This was an evening shoot involving 18 photographers, 8 models (Hannah, Leigh, Sophie, Roxy, Emma, Portly, Zoe and Maxine), plus make-up artist and hairdresser (who also modelled later), with an extra helper, in 7 separate locations. This allowed me to use flash, something I tend to avoid, but also one shoot allowed me to shoot with a model on my own, in perfect warm, late evening lighting, the sort of light I like. This really allowed me to be creative, with my penchant for narrow depth of field, as well as some contre-jour shots. Make up was by Indie, from Vanilla Skin.

All in all, they were both successful shoots and I particularly enjoyed the shoot with Hannah. I think the combination of Hannah’s natural poise, the lighting, the lack of flash and being able to shoot alone, really opened up my mind to some creative shots.

Illumina at Hestercombe Gardens

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During the nights of 7-9th and 14-16th of September, Hestercombe Gardens has a special series of events. Ulf Pedersen, having spent some time creating some artistic light shows with Power Plant, is creating his Illumina project. The gardens are being illuminated with lights shows, as well as having a series of projections, some moving.

During the evening of September 6th, a press event and preview show was staged, so that any last minute hitches could be ironed out and I was lucky enough to be invited to take photographs, along with another member of the Sydenham Camera Club.

For anyone interested, details of the show and information about entry can be found on the link below.

http://www.hestercombe.com/events-and-activities/21-september/75-illumina-hestercombes-night-of-light.html

Bridgwater Canal

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Last Sunday, I decided it was about time I went out again. The lighting was pretty much perfect for some shots I had been planning for almost two years, but had always found somewhere else to photograph. A few miles outside of central Bridgwater, the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal passes a pub called the Boat and Anchor Inn, near the Huntworth Business Park. It isn’t anything out of the ordinary as far as canal-side pubs go, but they do serve very good food and of course offer nice beer. I didn’t visit on this occasion though, as I wanted to catch the low sunlight lighting the pub buildings and the canal. However, my memory was a little faulty and the angle I was looking for wasn’t possible, so I concentrated more on the canal, where the light was ideal.

While I was photographing the first of my chosen views, a dog walker stopped to say hello and mentioned that they were showing the canal on Countryfile on BBC1 later that evening. We chatted for a while, with him stating that he hadn’t seen them filming, but I thought it was slightly ironic, that I’d chosen that evening to photograph the canal.

Glastonbury Carnival 2011 Photos

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It took some time, but I’ve finally finished processing the photos from Glastonbury Chilkwell Guy Fawkes Carnival from Saturday. The weather was fine all day, in fact it was probably one of the nicest days of November so far. This meant perfect conditions for the carnival. A cold wind did pick up for a while before the start, but it soon died down again.

While there were a lot of shots I wasn’t happy with (there always is), thanks to two participants, I was able to get some of my best ever carnival photographs. The first performer from Vagaonds Carnival Club turned to the camera to do her routine, while glaring intensely at the camera, perfect for the tone of the cart. While that was good, perhaps even more surprising was the performer from Centurion CC, who gave a brilliant smile. Many not familiar with carnival may not find that very surprising perhaps, but Centurion is a tableau club, where the participants stay frozen for the whole procession, but again, it fit in well with the theme. My sincere thanks must go to both of these two performers. Carnival photographs are always going to be dynamic by their very nature, but it isn’t always possible to capture the atmosphere. I felt that the relationship between them and the camera really lifted the photographs to another level. I’m not a portrait photographer normally, so it is probably one of the few occasions where I have had a buzz from photographing people, normally it’s confined to my nature photographs, when I get what I was looking for.

Like last year, I had taken note of some of the features of the carts that I had wanted to photograph, so I concentrated more on different angles (mainly portrait formats of the carts), portraits of the performers and closeup and detail shots. Not all of them were successful, as many of the performers were in higher positions than last year, which caused focusing and depth of field problems that had to be overcome. Again, this is something to note for next year.

Despite some failures, overall it was a success for me and as usual, plenty of money was collected for local charities, although not as much as you might expect, given that there are usually around 50,000 spectators.

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Bridgwater Carnival 2011 Photographs now on Website

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Bridgwater Carnival night will be memorable for a number of reasons, not all of them good. It all started in the afternoon, during the afternoon entertainment by Bridgwater College. When I describe what we had as a downpour, it is a definite understatement. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen rain heavier in Britain. To make matters worse, the lack of wind, meant that the extremely heavy showers didn’t move very fast. There was a fast flowing river of water down past the Cornhill and on towards the Parrett, down the pedestrianised area, which was up to two inches deep in places. Everyone was saturated, but unbeknown at the time, similar amounts of water must have been flowing down Castle Street, which caused a partial collapse of the wall along the river, with part of the road in behind disappearing into the depths below. However, as is said in showbiz, the show must go on and it did. Sadly the news got worse though, but it didn’t come to light until the end of the carnival, except by the emergency services. A little over ten miles away, just outside Taunton, one of the worst pile-ups in British history occured on the M5, causing seven fatalities and numerous serious injuries. All condolences and sympathies must rest with the victims and their families.

The carnival itself put on its usual show of bright lights and entertainment. While I don’t think it lived up to last year’s standards, it still provided plenty of entertainment and better still, it remained dry throughout, a welcome relief after the afternooon. For me, the strongest and most original entries were in the Tableau Class, which was won by Overthrow of the Tsar, built by Pentathlon Carnival Club, with last year’s winners, Huckyduck Carnival Club coming second with Way out West. However, yet again, the overall winners were Gremlins, with their entry Jungle Drums. While it was still impressive, I don’t think it matched last year’s entry.

The squibbing display was cancelled, due to the previous sad events, but it was still an enjoyable evening.

And one final photo of Wick Carnival Club’s 2011 entry, Inca, having met some of them and some members of the Pentathlon Carnival Club this afternoon, as I got caught up in the Black Sunday celebrations.

http://heikoworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/bridgwater-carnival-2011/
http://heikoworld.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/bridgwater-carnival-2011-part-2/

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Evening at Quantoxhead

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Yesterday evening, I decided to visit Quantoxhead on the Somerset coast. Rather than try to find my way to the car park at East Quantoxhead, I decided to park in my usual place at Kilve and walk along the cliffs, exploring different views along the way. It was extremely windy, possibly even gale force, so photography was challenging. I was able to get some shots from low to the ground from the top of the cliffs, but it wasn’t as straightforward when I got to the beach. There was spray everywhere from the waves crashing against the rockshelves, so though I attempted shots looking west, which could have been very dramatic, the sun was reflecting off the water, causing flare problems, which were exacerbated by the spray. Looking east had other issues. The formations of the rockshelves allowed more dramatic compositions than nearby Kilve, but a wideangle view was essential and there was the problem. The angle of the sun in relation to the cliffs to the east was perfect for getting my shadow in the shot. I did make some attempts, none of which was very successful. I was able to get a few usuable shots, but beyond that, I came away with plenty of ideas, so at least it was a useful scouting mission. Even the idea of a sunset in a different location failed, as the strong winds blew in a shower just as sunset was approaching, hiding the sun.

I then decided to walk back along the beach, as the tide had retreated considerably, to look for any fossils that could be photographed. I only found one nice ammonite, but it was partially covered in sand, with no water handy to wash it. I did have one adventure though on the way. Just as I was walking along a particularly steep rock shelf, a gust of wind caught my rucksack, which pulled me round, causing me to first slip, then trip. Luckily, as my wrist was bending back at a slightly awkward angle, I slid down and my hand sunk in some sand, saving me from a broken wrist. Other than some bruised knees and shin and a bruised ego, I came away unscathed.

Winter Weather Returns

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It’s been an unusual winter so far in the UK. We often get cold weather (if not in the same league as parts of North America and Central and Eastern Europe), but this year has been unusual because it’s been so cold, so early and for so long. The cold weather first hit last month and was deemed the earliest widespread snow for 17 years, although, we largely missed the snow, getting less than half an inch one night, except in parts of Somerset where they got much more. We certainly haven’t missed the extreme cold and ice however, not to mention freezing fog on a couple of occasions. Over the next couple of days though, it seems we are likely to get heavy snow, as the cold waether returns after a few days respite (a balmy 7 or 8 Celsius).

Last Tuesday brought weather conditions I’d never seen before, even though we used to get much colder and snowier weather when I was a child, than in recent years. Although, I wasn’t able to make full use of the conditions, due to a late parcel delivery, I was able to observe feeding birds in my back garden, including a robin (Erithacus rubecula) feeding on mealworms and hunting for other food in front of some Pyracantha berries, making for nice winter scenes. I also managed to photograph the hoar frost that slowly increased throughout the day, the first time I can remember seeing such a visible change in a short period. Every time I looked out, the crystals on the plants looked larger. Over the coming days, I hope to photograph many more winter scenes, although the travel conditions are likely to limit the distance. I will also aim to produce a guide to winter photography, outlining some of the pitfalls and how to overcome them.

Guy Fawkes Carnival Photo Clusters

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Spirit of the Blitz by Huckyduck CC

I have now created a number of photo clusters featuring some of the carts entered in the 2010 Somerset County Carnival circuit. They are aimed at performers who took part in the carnival, who would like a memento of their club’s entries and will be available as either A3 or A4 prints, on high quality, heavyweight fine art paper. If you are interested and would like to know if your club’s entry is available, please contact me, if you don’t see anything suitable. They can be printed with or without a caption, according to preference. I will be adding further clusters to the gallery as I create them, so please drop back in to see other examples.

Glastonbury and Chilkwell Carnival

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At the Bottom of the Garden by Pentathlon CC

On Saturday it was the penultimate carnival in the Somerset County 2010 season, the Glastonbury and Chilkwell Guy Fawkes Carnival. Having already attended Bridgwater in the rain and North Petherton, I decided to try something a bit different. I’m not a big people person when it comes to photography, so I tend to avoid them in my photos (perhaps why I concentrate on nature photography). This time though, I made a conscious effort to photograph groups of performers, as well as some individual performers. I didn’t go for real closeup portraits, but tried to include them in the context of the carts themselves. I also photographed some of the walking masqueraders, where the flash was essential, due to the lower light levels, and also some more detail shots.

Side view of Scrooge

Scrooge by Wick Carnival Club


The carnival itself was a success, with the rain holding off until the end (although people further along the route would have been affected by the weather much more). This season had seen a number of fires on carts, as well as some generator failures and even a model toppling onto one of the performers, but there was none of that at Glastonbury. On a more personal note, the photography also went well, with more shots I was happy enough with to upload, although the rain at the end pretty much ruined the shots of the last few carts. I’ve decided that flash photography in the rain doesn’t work very well.

Bridgwater Carnival Photographs Uploaded

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Wild Bill's Runaway Train by Gremlins CC at Bridgwater Carnival. Winner of the County Cup.

Finally, I now have the photos from Bridgwater Carnival last Friday up on the website, available for viewing and for purchase as prints for any participants who would like a memento. Due to the weather conditions, almost all of them have streaks of heavy rain falling. There are also others, which require some work before they are of high enough quality to upload. I have also prepared the NOrth Petherton Carnival photographs, ready for upload. Again, there are others available, but I have witheld these due to the presence of teenagers at close range, to avoid any problems. If you were a walker and can’t see yourself, please feel free to contact me to ask if there are any photos available.