Darkness and light

After Kyffin

I was delighted to have this image selected for a wet weather themed exhibition by Don't Take Pictures

The first comment I received was that is is somewhat darker than my normal fare.


It was taken on a very dark, rainy day at Milford Sound, New Zealand. I probably shouldn't tell you that I took it out of my car window, as the rain was so heavy.

Fiordland is the wettest part of New Zealand, so it was fitting that it rained.

The image title comes from having seen work by the artist Sir Kyffin Williams RA (1918- 2006).

Some of his largest paintings were very dark, featuring the Welsh hills.

This image is from the website of Robert Perera fine art, who deal with his work.


Here is something much lighter, in case you were getting concerned.

Winter in Whistler © Caroline Fraser

treading in dangerous waters

'you cut the top off'  he said

Other half and I spent a cold, windy Saturday afternoon at Dungeness.

My clothing did not match the wind chill. It was dark, and I was grumpy.

I was grumpy because I am waiting for my visa for New Zealand.

Tracking my application's progress on the helpful visa application tracking service website merely tells me that my application was lodged 3 weeks ago. Which I already know, as I was the one who lodged it.

In person.

Any rational being would tell me that it will come when it is ready.

But I am not ( always) rational, and as all my plans depend on this small piece of bureaucracy, I am getting a little tense and irritable.

Because I really do want to go to New Zealand, and I have paid for my flights and have a job lined up in Gore, in Southland. A lot depends on this visa.

We walked and talked.

the new lighthouse with multiple exposure

We had a dangerous discussion in which I commented that when you search on the ipad for something on google, it tells you what your search history is. So no secrets then.

Other half ponders life on the beach at Dungeness, where apparently the water is deep.

I already knew that OH is interested in football, beer and getting a new car. Google confirmed my view.

BUT NOT A JAGUAR 4X4!

Who does he think we are?!

No comment.

And what is this article on ' the submissive wife?' that he has been reading?

 The Submissive Wife

is a  book from Spain that is going into the best seller lists, giving advice to new wives, and angering feminists. Apparently it 'popped up when he browsed the daily newspapers on-line'.

Well I'm afraid I couldn't let that one go. A degree of teasing was required about that one. It really got me thinking.


So what is on my Google search history?

Photography, photography, and more about photography. So no surprises there either.


We are, it seems, mostly incompatible where our primary interests are concerned.


But we do both enjoy a good walk. And plenty of other things.

once again I am some way behind, taking pictures

So we wandered, and I ranked the ISO on the camera up higher than ever before as the daylights disappeared. 2000, then 3000............ and eventually to 5000.


Lights came on.

The moon came up.

I tried some multiple exposure shots of the power station, experimenting with different blending modes in the camera.

Dungeness power station; bright blending mode

Dungeness Power station; dark blending mode

Other half sat quietly in the car listening to football on the radio until I had had enough of taking pictures in the dark.

Then home for tea.

Camber Sands deconstructed. Working with multiple exposures

the sea at camber sands on a cold february day

I have a new camera that allows me to make in-camera multiple exposures. Trying to make something worthwhile is my next challenge. I had a play with it at Camber Sands this weekend in the late afternoon as the sun was nearing the horizon.

There are four different settings for making the exposures, all with very different outcomes.

The most interesting results are not the 'additive' or 'averaging' settings , but those where the camera responds to light and dark contrasting areas in the different layers; the 'dark' and 'bright' settings.

beach house using the 'dark' setting

same house using the 'bright' setting

I enjoy both of the above effects.

The challenge lies in knowing which to use on each subject; too many bright areas on top of each other leave a washed out over-exposed image. I haven't yet worked this out. Not seeing the images under construction allows for a lot of experimentation, not all of which works.

I am quite excited about the potential of this, but so far my architectural images seem more interesting.  Multiple layers of the sea have a much more subtle effect because of the lack of structure.

the sea using 5 layered images on 'bright' setting

The potential for surreal effects gets greater when you try changing the camera angle between shots. I didn't notice the sea gulls in this photograph until I uploaded it.

gulls in flight. 'dark' setting multiple exposure

I am not sure where all of this will lead, but I had a lot of fun on a cold February afternoon.