#13 unlucky for some but for me it was a pretty standard week, the odd passing moment captured, the chance of an hours wander and an early rise.
My car troubles briefly crept into this week before finally being resolved so after dropping it off after the school run on Monday I decided to walk the 7 miles home since it was nice or at least a dry morning, and also I could do with the light exercise. As usual I had the wee Sony to capture anything that caught my eye as I walked through the streets of Motherwell and Hamilton, here is one from each, respectively.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_24866 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_24866 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
Next up was another late night shot from work, where once again I found myself in a yard In Ayrshire with 30 minutes down time. This had been a particularly humid day with the night temperature sitting around 22˚C and on my way down to the yard I was greeted to a huge flash of fork lightening right on the seashore. There was definitely a storm out towards Ireland so I hoped to try and capture some of it as I waited. Unfortunately it appeared to be one freak strike with the rest staying out at sea. But here is one of my long exposures with the Sony that I took looking out west while hoping to capture some lightening.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_43515 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_43515 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
Wednesday was my favourite, when I managed to free up an hour or so in the afternoon before picking the kids up from school. I visited the woodlands of Chatelherault Country Park which is quite local to me and an area I love to walk in. It had been a while and there had been some forestry work carried out so I was keen to see the changes. It was midday with fleeting light piercing the clouds so it wasn’t going to be the best conditions for shooting in but a good walk all the same and more notably a scouting opportunity for the coming seasons. As I quite often do in woods during the daylight hours I took out the Infrared converted D80 to try and add contrast to the little patches of light that filtered through the thick foliage.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_60678 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_60678 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_71005 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_71005 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
A lot of Chatelheraults woodlands lie on a gorge which is common with most woodlands of South Lanarkshire. It has it’s disadvantages but also advantages and one of the latter is the opportunity of a higher vantage point, meaning you can look down or through the foliage giving a different perspective.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_89368 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_89368 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
With the chance to get up early on Sunday morning I decided to go out and try and photography some of the Balloon Festival of Strathaven. An annual event with a lot of interest from photographers, meaning the usual vantage points are like lines of Paparazzi and not something I wanted to join. So the night before I checked the wind direction and tried to figure out their likely route and find a possible location to capture them in flight. The forecast was 50/50 with clear skies in the east but cloud moving in from the west as the morning was to progress.
So I got myself up in plenty of time to find a location before the Balloons took flight. I found a wheat field in line with my projected flight path and set up. There was some colour in the sky but just a narrow opening for any light to get through right on the horizon. This meant the timing of the launch was critical to getting any light on the Balloons as they passed over. I waited, and waited as the sun came up and then as it disappeared again behind the now thickening clouds. It was about another 30 minutes before I saw the first Balloon rise above the trees to the west of me and by this time any colour or brightness had gone. Disappointing but still a good experience where I was at least pleased I’d got the flight path right and I’d just need to try again next year.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_142159 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_142159 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
While I was waiting in the field I did capture some incidental shots with the idea to use them to make a multiple exposure image later in Photoshop.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_157909 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_157909 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
I played around with them that night and eventually came up with something I quite liked. Perhaps a little too busy but still a representation of the mornings excursion.
#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_172403 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid { margin-right: -20px; } #block-yui_3_17_2_1_1504160070584_172403 .sqs-gallery-block-grid .sqs-gallery-design-grid-slide .margin-wrapper { margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
So another glimpse into My Ordinary Week has passed and I’d like to thank you once again for reading it where hopefully you gain some enjoyment for a few of the moments or images. As always if you have any comments then please feel free to leave them here or to get in touch through any of the social media icons.
Until next week……
