Having now seen an advance copy of the book, I am delighted /relieved to say it is exactly as I wanted. And heavy at 164 pages! The colour reproduction is really pleasing.
The image above was taken at a lake in the upper Test valley, fed by the River Test which runs next to it. The last rays of the sun poking through the clouds made a wonderful picture captured on my iPhone. No trickery, that's how it looked.
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The majority of the landscape images in the book were taken in the lush green times of Spring and Summer but now in late October and into November the rich Autumnal colours are very photogenic. The image above was taken in early November on the upper Test. To get this kind of effect was a matter of waiting for the early afternoon sun to make an appearance between the clouds. Without the clouds it would not have been possible to get the mottled effect of light on the trees and the interesting sky.
In the final editing for the book it was necessary to reduce the number of images slightly. This photograph of a juvenile Song thrush didn't make the cut. I had arrived at Langford Lakes in Wiltshire early in the morning hoping to get a glimpse of the elusive otters. After a couple of fruitless hours of searching for the otters, I came across the Song thrush on the path. The colouring and the fluffy feathers are the indications this is a juvenile.
I have frequently found unexpected and interesting subjects to photograph when on planned trips for other species. It helped balance the times when the planned trips did not work out - otter trips being a good example. My book is due back from the printers in early November, so will be available for Christmas presents! It has a sequence from the "drowning" of the water meadows in the south of Salisbury. The Harnham Water Meadows Trust floods the meadows in the traditional way a couple of times a year. A "Drowner" opens the hatches and after a brief gush, the water flows gently along the network of channels and then over the surface of the field to a controlled level before returning to the river via drains. Quite a spectacle and open to the public. The meadows were a favourite of Constable and he painted the view across to the cathedral a number of times. The image above was taken from the same viewpoint as Constable used in one of his paintings. The scene has not changed much.
Shot in early October it captures the changing colour of the leaves at the start of Autumn. |
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November 2020
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