Out of the comfort zone

Quite why I ventured forth with my tripod and remote release this afternoon I'm not sure. Making something of the flooded farmland using the tripod, its use forced on my by the very dull light late on the other day, must have played a part. Indeed, it was my intention to try more of the same today but I took a detour to the disused quarry I've visited many times before without much photographic success. Rather like the sandplant it is a mix of a man-altered landscape and natural recolonisation, but in this case with some landscaping as the place is now a country park come nature reserve. It is still prone to misuse by the mountain bikes which the signs clearly forbid.

With water in mind I was drawn to the peaty pools that are a feature of the quarry. It took me a few attempts to find my eye, but by the time the light was failing I was wishing I'd arrived earlier.

There was an accidental discovery. The shot on the right was taken by my inadvertent firing of the shutter by the remote release in my pocket. I liked the look of the frame and tried to use the slow shutter speed to better effect. I'm not sure why it is that the consciously made images never seem as spontaneous as the accidental ones even given the abdication of some control. The frame below was the best of the bunch. It sort of captures some of the atmosphere of the quarry in winter.

More straightforward were the static shots of the pools, birch trees and rocks. I deliberately desaturated the files to try and stress the overcast, late afternoon winter light and the feeling of dankness in the quarry. It was interesting to work in a different way, using the tripod and often the live view screen for framing (although I still check composition through the viewfinder).

All today's shots were made with my little used ultrawide zoom. In the confines of the quite claustrophobic quarry it proved invaluable. I think I'll be returning for a longer session at some point to try out some more ideas.


View larger here.

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