Well it has been a while since I've managed to blog, indeed I have not even been taking pictures but I have now got a replacement lens for the kit lens that was broken when I was in Lyme Regis during November, so a new toy to try out and the truth be told I do like a bit of snow. The beast from the east met up with storm Emma and created a bit of chaos across the UK, even in West Berkshire where I live, an area of the country that typically misses out on snow events when they hit the UK but this time it left us with a covering of snow and, fortunately for some, a couple of extra days off work the two combined inspired me to get out and try and take some photographs.
Ended up having two trips out, well by trips I mean walks, not wanting to add to the chaos already being experienced by road users. So I would have to head for my local photography spot, the lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal. I put on my hat and gloves picked up my camera equipment and ventured out with a brief hope of seeing sunset through breaks in the clouds, well the weather forecasters are not always right and there was a layer of snow right? Well they were right on this occasion no breaks in the cloud, the snow continued to fall making it difficult to keep the lens clear of snow spots, not helped by the gusting winds supplied by storm Emma. On the lookout for possible compositions for the following day I made my way home, surprised by how long I had been out and enjoying the walk.
There are a number of ponds, old gravel pits, that I pass going to and from the canal, most fenced off as they 'belong' to the local angling association and access is restricted to members only via gates and padlocks; that stop the likes of me getting to what look like some interesting compositions 😒. I continued to consider my options, while sitting in front of the fire, for the next mornings visit to the same location. The weather forcast at least did show a chance of seeing some sun at sun rise following additional snowfall overnight so who knows.......
It was disappointing waking up to see that only a few extra centimetres of snow had fallen overnight but off I went heading to the lock on the canal, stopping at the gate again, nobody around do I climb over to see if the promise of a good composition could bear fruit in these conditions? Well I did not get any pictures there but I'm not admitting if I did go over to check 😁😁😁😁. What would you have done for the opportunity of a picture you did not know would be there?
The scenes at the lock were to give me a couple of opportunities to take some pictures, however the weather forecasts predictions of clearing sky's did not materialise and the slight breeze meant that there were no reflections on the water. The main advantage of the morning shoot was that as no snow was falling I did not get water drops on the lens when exposing the frames.
Sometimes it is not about getting the great pictures, I still enjoyed my walks in the fresh snow, even it was not 20cm deep and conditions did not go my way, next time???🙄