Knot a good day.

To follow on the tales of 'bad days' out.

Oct 09th 2006

Ever been in a situation where nature is all around you (in quantity) and the rest of situation is fighting you every step of the way. All timings are approx, events are accurate with no manipulation license used (I'm a photographer ).

2.00am Me and kit in car for 100 mile drive. Weather looks good, hide booked last Feb. Day's holiday booked.
4.00am. In car park about to start the 1 hour walk to the hide, very calm clear skys, wind arriving from the right direction.
4:30am Turn back to the car to get the spare compact flash cards.
4.50am At car and have left spare cards at home. Now I have to run to get to the hide by 5.40am ( its 4km away from the carpark through country tracks and down a sea wall). Why didn't I bring the 300mm instead of the 500mm.
5.35am In hide, warm and sweating.
5.40am In hide, cold and damp - 4 hours until I can leave.
6.00am Cold, I get the flask out for some warm tea. Tea very nice.
6.05am Still a bit cold so I put my jacket on, subsequent knock the flask of its perch and listen to the tea emptying out into the gravel base of the hide. Cannot stop it as hands are half way down sleeves and its dark. Disgruntled, but dawns coming.
6.30am Dawn appears, blue skys, strongish wind - ideal - spirits lifted.
6.55am First light strangled by incoming cloud bank - now dull and grey - was that rain I can hear on the hide top? Geese fly off.
7.10am Oystercatchers appear and start stacking up from the far left.
7.30am Knot appear in huge quantity, roosting bank full of a mass of moving birds, cloud bank turns darker: 1/30'sec@F4@800asa max. Wonderful.
7.40am Skiff of rain, all the close birds move to the far bank.
7.50am Finally lightens up a massive 2 stops: 1/125'@F4@800asa. Small subject, moving, spiffing good show.
8.00am Cramp attack; in a confined space. Stretching confined further by tripod and large lense.
8.10 Struggleing to get any composition; let alone stutter speed. Would have prefered the 300mm F2.8 for speed or a wide angle. Have a 500mm F4 only, oh yes and tele-converters.
8.10-8.50am Still struggling to get any composition. Birds close to hide in flight, hide has small windows; images blurred ( very very artistic; pity I'm a photographer)
9.00am Knot leave, Oyster Catchers should go any minute as well.
9.40am Still in Hide, Oystercatchers are having a lie in.
9.50am Up and out for the hours walk back and then the 2 hour drive
13.00 Home.

Have struggeled with most of the images taken from this day as many are too far away for a portrait but not close enough for a reasonable defination group shot. Light wasn't good for flight, or anything moving - everything was moving. Awesome sight, glad I went.

Hi Tom
great story next time you decide to go some where please notify me and I will definitely not come.
John
Aberdeen.

Sounds like a normal day for me Tom Last sentace makes it all worth while - "Awesome sight, glad I went."

Terry

If it was easy everybody would be doing it and you would get bored,i am a believer in the more the effort the bigger the rewards-no rewards this time so a bigger one next time,next time you will take the 300 and wish you had the 500,keep at it,as you say an awesome sight

Is it too late to have your new long lens bag modified to take both the 300 and the 500 and then ask Santa for a subscription to a weight training gym

I like the image and it's something I've always wanted to shoot, but I think it suffers due to the size it's presented at and would love to see it much bigger. I also wonder why mono? I'm thinking with colour you wouldn't need the detail as much as you could aim more for a pattern picture using the coloured layers if that makes sense. Just a thought.

John

Well, you could at least have counted them to ease the boredom

LOL!
Wonderful story Tom - at least I'm not alone in having days like this! A good result too, despite the problems - shame we can't see it bigger.

John,

Its not a Gym I would need, its a new body.

I chose mono because it appeared to fit the scene as there wasn't much color to start with. The issue was that i could not get a clear defination between bird so I upped the contrast - hence why B&W.. will go back and see what can be done in color.

Nice one Tom - would love to see it as a 7 foot pano!

David

image in colour, spot the difference.

Sometimes the camera has to take the back seat, but it still good to watch the birds, even if it's a little frustrating your not getting the images you hoped for.

I've had a crap month too, not a single image worth writing home about, loads of miles and many hours standing about for nowt

Tony

Hello Tom

Lovely image - I prefer the colour one.

Regards

Hi Tom
Not much difference - I would go for the colour one though. Must be a great sight to witness.
Cheers Simon

First post on here, but having sat in probably the same hide (I assume this is Snettisham) on the very next day (10th October) and experienced pretty much the same emotions and lighting conditions I have a great deal of empathy: I got totally soaked walking back to the car too though!

That said I too would not have missed the experience for the world as it was awesome

I like the ripple going through the birds, the dark band adds so much. It does need to be big, but is probably a cracker at billboard size!

That's not such a bad day after all is it?

A

I think I do prefer the colour one though I see what you mean about the lack of actual pigment. Very nice.

John