River Trent - Part 2 (February 2018)

When visiting the River Trent I invariably come away with a selection of river reflections. On this ocassion I was attracted by the colours of the setting sun. The last shots of the afternoon were most successful with just enough colour from the afterglow to combine with trees reflected from the opposite bank. Later, I flipped the images in Photoshop to make better compositions:

Prior to this, I captured some reflections of the larch trees near to Gunthorpe lock again using the sunset colours and flipping some of the results. I have also include a couple of close ups of the trees and one image of the lock gates:

Finally, a trio of images of the setting sunlight on the rippling water:

River Trent - Part 1 (February 2018)

In this first selection of photographs from the River Trent near Gunthorpe, I focus on the tree lined river cliffs which sit below East Bridgford. From previous experience the photography can be difficult on this section of the river. The cliff can be very dark in the landscape but on this occasion the fine low winter sunlight tended to dictate the compositions:

The Gunthorpe side of the river is mainly low flood plain dotted with trees and farmland. I spotted this standalone ivy tree (Hedera helix) which identified from the berries. It attracted my attention as it was of the few trees with leaves (ivy being evergreen) and then I thought was unusual as I normally think of ivy as a climbing or groundcover plant.

Winter on the Southwell Trail - Part 9

The Southwell Trail runs in an easterly direction from Farnsfield to Southwell. On sunny mornings it is often best to walk to the halfway point at the old Kirklington and Edingley railway station and then take photographs on the way back with the sun broadly over the shoulder.

I can remember when I had my first childhood camera being taught to always take photographs with the light source behind me. This enabled a more even exposure on the film and a ‘better’ photograph. Today, the technology allows a more creative approach and subjects that have even front lighting can now be considered as flat, or lacking creativity. That said, the best lighting is still the one that is right for the subject and there was just enough side lighting to make the compositions in this set interesting, particularly the more close up shots of the tree branches:

Prior to taking the above set, I spotted these catkin laden trees near the Kirklington and Edingley station. I was attracted by the pinky bronze colour which suggests they may be Alder trees:

The old station house is now a residential property. There is still some evidence of the old platform but the most obvious remnant from its past railway days is this loading gauge. I believe a loading gauge was set for the maximum height and width for trains to safely navigate under the bridges along the line although I can’t help but think it would be a bit late to get this point and discover otherwise!

Finally, a couple of shots of the fields at the Kirklington and Edingley station section of the trail, a location I would return in a couple of weeks time with snow on the ground:

Robin Hood Hill - January / February 2018

Two separate visits to Robin Hood Hill in late January and early February started with some fine winter sunshine which then disappeared behind clouds. Both times I hung around waiting for the light to change. The first time I was beaten by the cold and the wind but the second time there was a brief reappearance before the sun set below the horizon.

The best light was on the path leading to Robin Hood Hill:

Whilst waiting for any change to the light, I took these cloud and moonscapes:

This was the brief reappearance of the sunlight on the second visit. I am not sure if it was the angle of the light but there was an almost purple-like hue on the fields below Robin Hood Hill: