Fortress in the Fog | Weekly Photo #87
It’s funny how when things don’t go to plan, alternative opportunities spring up and that’s what happened to me this week when I went out on a frosty morning to take some photos in my local area. I realised quickly while setting up for a shot that I didn’t have my tripod with me and with the telephoto lens attached and the light levels low, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to take the shot I wanted handheld without a large injection of ISO or a wide aperture giving me just a slither of depth of field. Without the tripod and not willing to compromise on quality, the shot just wasn’t on.
Not one to throw in the towel easily and with frost all around me, I decided to use the long lens to my advantage and take a few closeup photos of the icy cold plant life. With plenty of backlight from the sun and some silky smooth bokeh provided by the wide aperture I needed to use to keep the shutter speed fast, I got creative and had some fun taking some wintery wildlife photos. If you want to see a selection of the images I captured, keep reading as I’ve included them towards the end of this post.
Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/15th Second | f/8 | ISO200
On to this week’s photo. This is Bodiam Castle, nestled in the Sussex countryside in the South East of England. This is the second time I’ve got up and out at sunrise to photograph this once powerful fortress, the first being during the summer months where I was able to take this photo, I called Misty Moat on a beautifully sunny morning (take me back!).
I mentioned in that previous post that I want to capture a dramatic long exposure photo of the castle with some streaky clouds and sharp reflections in the water but as I drove towards the location, I could tell that photo would once again have to wait for another day. There was thick cloud cover and I was driving in and out of pockets of fog so as I realised the original shot wasn’t on, I started to pray that when I arrived, one of those pockets of fog would be hanging around the castle. As I parked up, I could see that my prayers were answered…well, kind of. I was surrounded by fog, but there was a new problem. It was way too thick. I could barely see a few metres in front of me and with the fog as it was, there was no way I would get a photo. I was going to have to get the flask out, pour a coffee and wait it out.
I must have been standing there for 30 or 40 minutes before I could see the castle across the water and while I waited, everything around me was so still and peaceful with only the quacks from the ducks on the water breaking the silence. I was almost disappointed when it was time to take the photo.
When the fog had cleared enough, I took a few photos from the front of the castle as seen in the Misty Moat post linked to above which I’m sure I’ll share sometime soon enough but once finished there, I moved around to the back where the trees and grass create this beautifully framed view of the castle. With the framed castle surrounded by this atmospheric fog and the fantastic reflections in the water, it was like a scene from a fairy-tale.
To photograph the castle and include the frame, I used my wide-angle 10-24mm lens. It’s the only way I could get everything in but stay close enough to the foliage so that it didn’t overlap with the castle walls. I wanted to keep a nice gap around the castle so it stood out in the frame so I carefully placed the camera in position, keeping the composition as balanced as possible and went about taking the shot.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, things regularly don’t go to plan and if I don’t get the conditions to take the photo I originally planned, there is still a very good chance I can still make the most of what’s on offer an come away with a portfolio worthy photo. Although I regularly try to pre-visualise the photo I want to capture when heading to a location like this, I make sure to keep an open mind and remain flexible so I can take advantage of whatever conditions I come across.
As promised, here are the bonus pictures I took this week while out on a shoot in my local woodland. As I spoke about at the beginning of the post, I had no initial intention of taking these photos but I had no choice but to change my plans and ended up with what I consider a nice crop of close-up winter plant life images. I hope you like them too.
Take care and stay safe.
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.