I was reminded when posting a few of the following images on social media how overcast the weather had been for much of the late summer. A fellow photographer had remarked how the dull conditions had curtailed much of her photography, particularly during August.
When I look back at my own output I can see that most of the activity was confined to a few days of brightness with large gaps of inactivity or a focus on close-up photography which tends to work best in flat lighting conditions.
This is particularly true for the photography around Combs Lane where I walk frequently and always take the camera. It was clear that some days I didn't lift the camera in anger, which emphasises the importance of light and conditions for photographic motivation.
On couple of the brighter days I documented the summer barley crop growing in the fields that run adjacent to Combs Lane, often using a fine sycamore tree as a principle subject for the images. When grouped together, the photographs show the crop maturing starting in early July when the barley was predominately green and topped with fresh yellow seed heads swaying in the summer breeze:
A month later the barley had dried radiating a magnificent golden hue in the bright summer sunshine:
Finally, in August, the crop was harvested leaving bales of straw dotted around the field:
