Framedlight

A the beginning of December last year I was booked on a one day workshop with Doug Chinnery and Valda Bailey, concentrating on a rather different side of photography, in camera multiple exposure and intentional camera movement to give a more abstract picture. I took my Nikon D800e with me as I can do a number of multiple exposures on one shot with this. It does not have the wonderful blending modes that the Cannon 5D mark 3 has and which Valda puts to such fantastic use but you use what you have! I also used a neutral density filter to give me longer exposures so that I could do some photographs with intentional movement of the camera. We started around 9.00am with a hearty breakfast and then went out onto the shingle to do what we could. The day was cloudy but with some sunshine so a nice mix. The spit has a distinctive red roofed hut on it which figures in a large number of photographs. Here is my take on it. I walked down to the edge of the sea and took pictures of th...

We spent the night at the grotty campsite in Wissant. The next morning we were due back to Dover on the Eurotunnel leaving at 4.00pm, so we had the morning free. Alan went out for a spin on his bike and I wandered back down to the beach for some shots. It was a beautifully warm day for the end of September and there were a few people on the vast expanse of sand. I took mainly ICM and multiple exposure pictures using a Hoya 8 stop neutral density filter. But I will start with 3 straight ones, including one of Hettie doing what she loves best.

After completing my photo tour of upper Tignes I decided to create some multiple exposures of the mountain scenery which can be seen below, en masse, followed by a straight shot with a mono conversion. Alan accomplished his Col de l'Iseran ride and met me once again in Tignes. A large reservoir has been created at the bottom of Tignes known as the Lac du Chevril. It supplies a vast amount of hydroelectric power but has drowned the old village whose relics can be seen when the reservoir is drained for maintenance. The dam was constructed in 1952 and there was a lot of controversy when it was decided to flood the homes of 76 families, several farms, shops and hotels. The lake did provide a nice subject for a couple of pictures.

Driving south from Langres we came at last into the mountains. We were booked to have dinner with some friends of ours who live in Montchavin, a ski village in the Vanoise. Derek, Steff and their two children Emily and Jacob live in a chalet at the highest point in Montchavin and have a stunning view over Les Arcs and the Tarentaise valley with the Mont Blanc massif providing a backdrop. We were a little early to meet them so we stopped by a bridge next to the river and I did a couple of ICM shots. I was then captivated by a view which turned out to be a real chocolate box number. The rest of the photos are pictures of the scene from outside Derek's house, taken around sunrise the next day using a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm lenses, including a panorama stitched from 7 pictures. Mont Blanc was usually shrouded in cloud but peeped out for the panorama. I have included a couple of monochrome conversions.

Dungeness is sort of between Bexhill and Folkestone and this served as sufficient excuse for a lightning visit. We usually park opposite Derek Jarman's cottage and pay a small homage to him before walking across the shingle towards the sea. The dark clouds seen at Bexhill had dissipated to be replaced by a blue sky warming with the lengthening day. You go down alongside an old rusting railway track and past a fisherman's hut overslung with rotting ropes which is sliding into complete decrepitude. Close by there is a similarly degenerating hulk of a boat and all the ground is littered with ancient iron and some rubbish. The hut had markedly disintegrated since I last saw it. Time for a few shots before heading back to the van. Here are some 'straight' and multiple exposure shots. All the pictures on this trip were taken with the Nikon D800e and also mainly with the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens which is my complete workhorse. The last is of Hettie marching home for her dinner. ...