Frost at Holme Fen III

Out again this morning with more fog in the forecast. It was clear as we drove down it was light to non-existent. Mollie and I carried on as we love walking there especially on crisp frosty morning. We parked in our usual place but instead of heading into the forest I opted to head south and scout the southern edge of the western coverts. Often overlooked and parts of which I have never walked. I was determined not to shoot as many bad images as in the first (and perhaps the second as I don't have that film back yet) frost session. I am feeling my way into this different situation. 

The sun came up as we walked down this southern edges across the open fields casting warm light across the fields and into the forest grazing the tops of the canal-side reeds. Lots of lovely views but nothing I could build an image around.  I ran into my second photographer and we acknowledged each other as I turned southward again. I rounded the first turn back into the forest and found the remnants of a small brick building I had not noticed before. Mollie was loving scampering down the frosty trail. Chasing deer out of the ditches and flushing pheasants, exploring every side path. Holme Fen is like cocaine for her. A constant high of excitement and activity. 

Finally we turned northward again near the railway line and Mollie met Miko a big black lab-like dog and they had a frisky chase as Miko's master headed in the opposite direction. Here the trail meanders through the silver birch forest mixed here and there with sycamore, holly, and finally comes in a central section heavy with oaks and leading to my favorite area again. 

We paused on a large fallen oak before this however while I sat and ate porridge and drank coffee and fed Mollie some Steaklets. Ever since I lifted her onto a fallen log earlier last year she has been keen to jump up on them and walk their length. This was extra bit with a great girth and limbs that climbed gently but higher above the ground. She gamely walked the length to survey the surroundings. She looked around while I ate and drank then she became alert and ran back to me and jumped down off the log and ran out to the trail to greet Miko who had circled back to us by now on his walk. 

I hoisted the pack back on and we continued our wander. I was again attracted to a small tree frosted and glowing in the sunlight. I re-learned why this doesn't work for me on large format. Once on the ground glass the tree shrinks into insignificance, the sun does not light the entire tree. So, what the eye is first drawn to doesn't work at all. How illusory our sense can be. Below is the same small tree from a photo taken the week before in nearly identical conditions. The tree in question is between the Scots pine on the left and the oak on the right. 

Small tree become invisible in the larger scene. (Kodak Ektar)

I ended up on a small track as the sun came up and was wafting steam off the frozen bracken. I wanted to see if I could better capture this thin steamy air so apparent in the direct sunlight. I made two images, the first which probably repeats the same criticism I had of a similar image I made the week before. I left the camera at eye-level, which though convenient seems to have left a lot of foreground area. 

I did try this at a lower angle, but I found another problem, that of the sun shining directly into the lens. I took two versions. The first directly...

First with lens flare... (Fuji Astia)

This obviously has lens flare which I anticipated so I took another and tried to shield the lens with the dark slide. 

Yikes the dark slide is there! (Fuji Astia)

Of course, you can see the dark slide. The camera also has quite a tilt off level. But a crop of the straightened image is better. 

Straightened and cropped to remove dark slide. (Fuji Astia)

Not bad but it does show the hazard of shooting in these conditions and validates a more cautious approach such as placing the sun behind a tree. 

As I was under the dark cloth Molly started her low gruff barks and growls alerting me to the presence of someone. A young man walked up with a camera and apologized as he thought I was a deer! We talked he is also American and lives in the Midlands, very nice fellow. Molly and I finished up as he went on his way and we tried to find the trail again and stumbled onto the same person. His name is Lee and we talked again at length. During the conversation I was aware that I was basking in the interchange with a fellow countryman. I became aware of this after I moved here. I would have vendors in from the States and would find I was just enjoying being immersed in my language and culture for an hour or so.

I realized time was moving on and I had an appointment I forgot about. So we parted company and Molly and I made our way to the trail. On the way we saw the photographer we had seen before on the southern edge. 

It was a short but nice visit. Not feeling any pressure to take any photos and spending more to enjoying the surroundings.