The Petrified Oaks of Mundon

For our first jolly of 2016, the Wivenhoe Photography Group jumped in a jalopy and pootled over to Mundon, near Maldon on the Essex coast. I've visited Maldon a number of times over the years, but was unaware of the treasures awaiting down the road at Mundon.


First stop was the beautifully humble Mundon St Mary church, which has been restored by a group called Friends of Friendless Churches.

Mundon St Mary

On farmland beyond the church we came upon a field of petrified oak trees - the main reason for our trip.

On farmland behind the church

Lunchtime on a blustery, overcast day isn't ideal for landscape photography, so rather than getting in close I went for a bit of wide-angled drama.

Petrified oaks of Mundon

I underexposed most of my shots to ensure there was some detail in the sky that I knew could be brought out during editing.

Field of oaks

In fact I decided at an ealy stage that I wanted to derive some drama from the interaction of bare oak branch and sky, so shot from low angles, filling the frame with plenty of sky for the most part.

Two old oaks

This is a place deserving of more than one visit; I'd love to see it covered in deep snow, or during a misty sunrise.

A jagged stump

If nothing else, the pretrified oaks of Mundon are a reminder of the hidden treasures that can lie just beyond our doorstep.

Oaks in silhouette

Fracture In Alresford

A Nose For Walton

On a trip to Walton-on-the-Naze to see some seals in the backwaters, I shot some blurry landscapes with the aim of experimenting with blur and impressionistic effects.
The first three are blends of multiple exposures shot with a 300mm lens handheld (so not pin sharp in the first place).
The second three were long-ish exposures from a moving train, the exposure being taken right down in post to increase contrast, saturation and drama.
This is the way I like to see life.

Hungary

This update is unusual - the images were shot whilst on assignment for a client. I don't usually post work from commissions here, but I haven't had much time for updates recently, and wanted to show a few of the visual pleasures that Hungary has to offer. My wife's parents fled Hungary after the failed revolution in 1956, and only returned there a few years ago. It is a place close to my heart, especially right now.

The locations featured are Budapest (including inside Sofitel Hotel, and a shot from the roof), Eger and the Saloc Spa Resort near Eger.

Lemons

The title is a reference to that famous saying by Dale Carnegie.
We cycled out to Elmstead Market last weekend, and the light was just beautiful across the farmland there - but I didn't have my camera with me (cardinal sin, I know, but sometimes marriage comes before photography... just). I therefore planned to return at a similar time of day during the week - tooled up, naturally.
Monday was busy with other stuff, so Tuesday afternoon I checked the skies, and it looked promising. However, by the time I got back to the spot in question, cloud filled much of the horizon, and the light was simply not the same - it didn't glisten across the shorn crop fields the way it had two days earlier.
But I wasn't planning to leave empty handed, so what you see below is the lemonade.

Three Colours - White

The best thing about heavy snow is that the landscape become other than it is for a brief moment in time, including transitions into black and white.