The online presence of Tim Collier. Photographer, course leader, lecturer and blogger.
The sun shone on Christmas Day and raised cheers in our house. It has been particularly dull over the last few weeks, not much rain but just those drab flat days that close in a good hour before the official lighting up time. Boxing Day dawned without a cloud in the sky and saw me heading off to the farm.
I had been watching the BBC weather forecasts for a few days before deciding on which day it would be best to pick my daughter up from Aberystwyth University. The plan was to meet her late on in the day after I had managed a few hours photography on the way at Nant y Arian, about ten miles east on the A44. I was then due to drop into the town and photograph the Starling roost at the pier. With a setting sun over Cardigan Bay it would all be set for a well planned and organised days shoot.
We decided to spend our last day at Pensthorpe near Fakenham. An interesting choice and one governed by a number of factors, not least of which it being a convenient place to have a hire car delivered! We had traveled from South Wales together in the same car, it gives a chance to catch up and plan the days ahead and have a laugh and joke, as brothers will! Traveling over night, as we always do, alleviates the traffic, although I was amazed at how busy the M25 is at 4.00am! On the way back we were going our separate ways, Phil back to Barrow and me to Llantrisant. Pensthorpe would also give the opportunity of working with some British birds in the aviaries at the reserve.
Our two proposed sites today were Salthouse and Cley, one area really but there are hides at Cley whereas Salthouse is an area of shingle, with a carpark at the bottom of a short dead end. There is always a chance of Snow Buntings at Salthouse and Cley can offer much at all times of the year. The morning was a little brighter than we expected, but it soon deteriorated and the afternoon saw a low mist engulf the reserve.
This was a difficult day by any standards. It was forecast for heavy rain and high winds and for once they got it right! We had planned to spend the day at Titchwell, getting to one of the hides and remaining there all day. It’s the way I prefer to work. Setting up camp with a couple of cameras and beanbags and waiting to see what comes by.
I spent the last few days in Norfolk with my brother Phil. It was very dull, weather wise, but I firmly believe there is no poor light for photography, just different light. Whatever you are faced with you make it work and after you’ve traveled overnight from South Wales, some 280 miles or so, you are pretty determined to get something out of it. We journeyed through the night to gain a full day and at this time of the year the usable natural light has all but gone by 4.00pm, so you have a long evening to recuperate.
The idea that beauty only resides in the natural world has to be contested. It is fair to say that I find most inspiration from the landscape and natural history, but at times I have been moved by urban and industrial environments.
It’s hard not to look on with astonishment and wonder at the city scape that is New York. At night it is simply beautiful, and despite my misgivings about what it represents and stands for its raw impact cannot fail to have an effect.
I was down at Cosmeston yesterday to try and photograph the Bearded Tit that has been around for a couple of weeks. It’s a bird that has eluded me over the years and I have only managed glimpses of it at Leighton Moss before today. Met some folks down there looking for the same and spent an enjoyable few hours on the boardwalk hoping for lots of elements to come together.
