Misty Morning Hop

Bit of a change yesterday. Whilst I did hear a Brambling and some Linnets, mostly I piddled about with my camera in some simply glorious light as the sun came up on a misty Wanstead Flats. I’m aware that I’ve typed a lot recently, and I can see from the endless comments that people have left how interesting they find that, so instead here is a image-heavy post featuring my local patch. The light was a joy - I should really be more strict about when I take my camera out and when I don't, most days the light is simply pathetic. No excitement, no life. Yesterday was awesome though, and I am really glad I took a camera, and I was also quite pleased with my lens choice.

So for any geeks who happen to be reading, these were all taken with a Canon 5D MkIII, not the latest camera by any means, and one of my favourite but very accident prone lenses, the 70-200 f2.8 L MkII. I haven’t dropped it onto a concrete surface for a few months now so it is in full working order and was a pleasure to use, and of course compared to my birding kit it felt like I had a toy camera in my hands, almost weightless.

Here are a few of my favourites images from the hour or so I spent wandering around looking for opportunities. I was out before sunrise, but most of these were taken once the sun was a little way up. It was a standout hour in an otherwise unenjoyable day. I've got a whole load more than this of course, but I am saving them in case I need to brighten up a dull day. I'm also going to be seeing what I can do with them in black and white, silly though that sounds. I reckon with come heavy contrast and some darkening some of these could look quite atmospheric. Anyhow, hope you like them.