January on the Southwell Trail

All photography was restricted during January but more so on the Southwell Trail. This was due to the increasing number of people using the trail for their daily exercise during the latest lockdown. As a result, I opted for the quieter stretches including the sub paths, were I found the ice abstracts shown in my previous post, and visited at different times of the day when there were less people about.

After 3pm was often a good time to walk the trail leaving just enough time for some photography before sunset. The light can also be excellent at this time of day in January:

Early mornings were also good particularly after an overnight frost:

Being restricted for locations during lockdown often led to experimentation with different subjects. These are some examples starting with the tangle of frost coated twigs:

Colour is hard to find in winter but I found some natural reds and yellows in these scenes:

Finally, I liked these frozen patterns in the tractor tracks. These were found on a sub-path of the Southwell Trail leading to the set of ice abstract images shown in my previous post:

Ice Abstracts - Part 2 (January 2021)

Occasionally, a set of images comes along which re-ignites my passion for photography and proves to myself, if I needed convincing, that persistence pays off. Although I take photographs most days, they are often simple records of the conditions whilst I wait for the opportunities to produce something that not only satisfies photographically but also excites. 

Of course, the big unknown is when those opportunities will present themselves, particularly relevant in the context of the current virus lockdown. 

If it wasn’t for the virus travel restrictions I could try and provoke an opportunity by going to a new location but even that doesn’t guarantee success. From my experience photography can’t be forced and like many activities it is a case of being patient and working at it. 

The images that sparked the excitement came from a most unassuming pool of frozen water in a corner of a field. Unlike the previous set of ice abstracts (see my last post), these were far more subtle both in colours and textures. In fact, it took a little post processing to draw out the final results and produce this panel of photographs:

I think the above images work nicely together as a set but I also like these shots from other icy pools on the same path:

Ice Abstracts (January 2021)

Due to the tightening of Covid restrictions, any photography in January was restricted to local daily walks. Fortunately, there were a few icy days which added some variety to proceedings. 

Particularly striking were the shapes and patterns in frozen puddles and pools, often created by tractors cutting deep ruts into the boundaries of the local fields.

On this occasion the low winter sunlight provided additional colour, contrast and texture to this set of ice abstracts: