Transformative fog

On a recent foggy morning we walked past a pond that had increased greatly in size following an extended spell of rain. Quite a few of the pond-side bushes and trees now had their roots in water and were making good reflections. However, it wasn't the increased size of the pond that caught my eye as much as the way the fog was giving a different emphasis to the trees.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Fog at Croft Castle

There was a familiar tale recently - the weather forecaster said unbroken sun but we, the weather observers, saw nothing but fog (until the afternoon). Consequently our day out at Croft Castle produced photographs that I hadn't imagined. For much of the time the details of the building's facade were lost and it became a monochromatic, looming pile.

Only when we walked round to the terrace on the south side did we see something of the structure we recognised.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Foggy churchyard thoughts

It seems to me that the charms of the churchyard are lost on many people. Where some see visual and historic interest, a haven for wildlife, and a place to pause a while, others are reminded of the only certainty in life - death. For that kind of mindset a churchyard often becomes a place to avoid. With a covering of mist or fog a churchyard acquires an air of Gothic mystery - also something to be embraced or shunned. I converted my photograph of St Mary's churchyard, Ross on Wye, to black and white to add a Dickensian or Victorian flavour to the image.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Steel swans, Ross on Wye

This pair of steel swans ("Swans in Flight") by the river at Ross on Wye is the work of the Polish-born sculptor, Walenty Pytel. He came to the UK with his family in 1946 when he was five years old, settled here, and attended Hereford College of Arts. In 1965 he turned to metal sculpture and this has been his main focus ever since. Pytel is particularly known for bird sculptures and has executed many public commissions in his adoptive county including, as well as the above, geese and salmon sculptures at Ross on Wye, birds of prey at Great Malvern and swallows at Ledbury. His more widely known works include the Jubilee Fountain, Westminster and four eagles at Benfica's soccer stadium. I took my photograph on a recent foggy morning, and achieved a bit of flare in the bird silhouettes by including the sun in the shot.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Fog, sun and silhouettes, Ross on Wye

There's a lot to be said for photographing in fog, not least the way that type of weather renders familiar scenes unfamiliar. In recent years I've posted quite a few photographs of the spire of Saint Mary's church in Ross. I've also included a few with the crenelated Gazebo Tower (here decorated with birds) and the crowded chimney stacks of the Royal Hotel. However, I've never made them, collectively, the sole subject of a composition. It was seeing them through the filter of the thick morning fog that prompted this shot.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Fog in the Severn Valley

The River Severn is, at 220 miles, the longest river in the United Kingdom. Its valley, where it passes through Worcestershire, is wide and shallow. Consequently, at the appropriate times of year, it harbours long-lasting fog. During a recent walk on the Malvern Hills we gazed down on the white blanket that stretched from the edge of the town of Great Malvern to the distant Cotswolds. As we studied the phenomenon below we spared a thought for the near neighbours who would experience quite different days: bright and sunny or dim and dismal.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Herefordshire fog seen from the Malverns

A few days ago we had a walk on the Malvern Hills. The forecast was for fog slowly clearing to reveal a flawless blue sky. In January, in this part of the world, that means it will be still and cold. And so it proved - almost. What happened was, the fog cleared except for where it didn't. So, the valley of the River Severn  and adjoining areas remained in thick fog all day. On the Herefordshire side of the hills the fog thinned but didn't quite disappear, especially in the more distant valleys. Frost remained in the shadows. And, for once, the higher ground of the Malverns was warmer than the lower surrounding areas. The town of Great Malvern was decidedly chilly even though it was sunny and fog-free. The view above shows nearby and distant Herefordshire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Scullers on foggy River Wye

Ross on Wye has a rowing club that holds an annual rowing regatta. From my casual observations the club is enjoyed by both competitive and recreational scullers, and sculls of varying size can be regularly seen on the river. This couple's dress and their leisurely motion suggested they were engaged in recreational sculling and the warmer clothing was appropriate for a foggy morning (though the fog was beginning to lift even as a I fired off a few shots.)

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Foggy churchyard

Churchyards in the UK are often havens of tranquility and wildlife. On a foggy day these qualities are accentuated as the number of visitors is usually fewer. We came upon this contemplative couple as we passed through St Mary's churchyard in Ross on Wye. Were they observing a squirrel or a green woodpecker? Perhaps they were reflecting on the information on a gravestone. Or maybe they were just having a quiet breather during their lockdown walk. Whatever the reason, they added a visual focus to the arch of trees and so a photograph as we passed by.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Foggy pond

We are at a time of year in Herefordshire when both fog, and sun in a cloudless sky, closely co-exist. For the purposes of enjoying a walk in late February and March my wife and I prefer the sunny day. However, for photography there is possibly more to be said for the fog. The perfect blue sky is quite limiting from a photographic perspective and I'm much happier when there is cloud to add interest to the sky. The photograph above was taken late in a walk around Ross on Wye at a point when the fog looked like it might soon be burnt off by the sun, and the modest pond took on a more interesting character in the mist.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Pollarded willow

On one of our regular walks we pass a willow that was pollarded at some point in the first half of 2020. I took my first photograph of the tree in June, the second in November and this one, the third, in January. Ever since we had a very large willow in the garden of our last house pollarded I've admired the resilience of this species, and have taken quite a few photographs of them after the chain saw has been at work.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A foggy Prospect

John Kyrle (1637-1724) is the renowned eighteenth century benefactor of Ross on Wye. The poet, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) called him the "Man of Ross" in his poem in the third of his Moral Essays "Of the Use of Riches"(1734). One of his many contributions to the town was the public open space above the cliffs near St Mary's church. It was called "The Prospect" for its fine view over the meander of the River Wye, and beyond. It is a place still visited and enjoyed today. We were there on a recent afternoon and, the view being cloaked with fog, I turned one hundred and eighty degrees to get this photograph of the tower and spire of St Mary behind the pines and the mistletoe decked trees.

Something of the extent of John Kyrle's philanthropy can be seen in this extract from Pope:

"Who taught that heav’n directed Spire to rise?
The Man of Ross, each lisping babe replies.
Behold the Market-place with poor o'erspread!
He feeds yon Alms-house, neat, but void of state,
Where Age and Want sit smiling at the gate;
Him portion’d maids, apprentic’d orphans blest,
The young who labour, and the old who rest.
Is any sick? the Man of Ross relieves,
Prescribes, attends, the med’cine makes, and gives,
Is there a variance? enter but his door,
Balk’d are the Courts, and contest is no more.
Despairing Quacks with curses fled the place,
And vile Attornies, now a useless race"

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Disused Hull dock and warehouse, 1982

One of my tasks during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic has been to ensure that all our family photographs are digitised by scanning. Most had been done prior to this year, but a few collections of transparencies (slides), prints and negatives came to light and they have been worked through. The activity has revealed transparencies and negatives that haven't seen the light of day since they were exposed. Here are a couple.

They were taken on different days (and months) in 1982 and show the disused Humber Dock, the bridged link to Railway Dock, and the warehouses that stand by the docks. Today both these stretches of water are part of Hull Marina. The warehouse has been converted into flats and the whole site has new buildings, car parks, chandlery services, hotels etc. In other words a centre of bustling marine activity.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OM1n    1982

Fog, frost and sun

On a frosty, foggy morning we set out for a brisk walk over the nearby hills. As we walked down a lane the sun was starting to disperse the fog and reveal the nearby landscape of stubble field, pasture, hedges and woods. A diffuse shaft of light worked its magic on the scene and turned the unprepossessing features into something of greater interest.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A Turner morning

When I got up and looked out of the bedroom window recently I saw before me a J. M. W. Turner morning. The landscape of pasture, hedgerow, trees, distant wooded hill and sky had been softened and made less distinct, not by brush on canvas, but by  fog. The colours too had merged into each other and the glow of the sun, still below the horizon, illuminated and warmed only the clouds. All else was dark and cold. I went out and walked fifty yards or so and took the only photograph from where I now live that has pleased me thus far.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Fog on the River Humber

Many navigable rivers, such as the River Humber that separates Yorkshire from Lincolnshire, have old wooden structures on and near their banks, the purpose of which is known to few, if any. Was this group of post the platform of a navigation light, a pier, a war-time structure of some sort, or a simple mooring point? I don't know. What I do know is that in my composition the hard, dark shapes offered a perfect foil for the insubstantial fog that was trying its best to snuff out the brightness of the sun.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10