Decisions, decisions. Trying to work out where to shoot on a particular day seems to take up almost double the amount of time the actual shoot lasts. Not just the trying to decide where to go, but the planning. Checking weather conditions. Looking up tide times for various locations. Checking the weather conditions again. Thinking about potential compositions. Checking the weather conditions again. And so on and so on. Before you know it, hours have passed and you still don’t know where to go.
Sometimes, even after all the planning, I still can’t decide where to go. To the extent I wake up, pack my stuff, jump in the car and decide while I am on the road. Which has its drawbacks. No point driving west only to decide that you want to shoot somewhere east. But, you know, sometimes you just go with the flow and see where it takes you. Yes, sometimes I can be spontaneous. Sometimes.
And so it was that I packed my bag, grabbed my winter coat, jumped in the car and headed off…somewhere. All I knew was there was going to be fog. Question was…where should I go? Wye? Folkestone? Somewhere else…? Hmm, tricky.
Left for Folkestone, right for Wye. I’ll take a right I think.
Fog looks promising…could be a great morning if things pan out as I hope…
It’s looking good in Wye and around Ashford…left turn to the Devil’s Kneading Trough or straight on?
Hmm…straight on.
Where am I going? It looks like it’ll be epic in Wye, why would I not stick with Wye? No, let’s chance it…let’s head to…FAIRFIELD.
Fairfield. That magical Kent location that every photographer visits looking to capture this unique church on the Romney Marshes. I’ve been a couple of times before and got some decent shots, but never anything quite as good as I would have hoped for. Largely because the conditions have never really been that epic. Someday that has to change, surely?
And so on I drove to Fairfield…through the thick fog in Ashford to…er…no fog at all. At least, I could see for a fair distance without any difficulty. Where had that fog gone to? I…I think I may have made a mistake. Why not Wye? Oh well, too late now…let’s just get there, get some shots, get home, have a cup of tea and pretend I made a good decision on the A28. No point dwelling on what might have beens…not whilst I’m driving on a national speed limit road at this time of the morning.
But wait…it’s picking up again…it looks like it might be promising…just take this right and follow the road and just maybe…oh bloody hell…I can’t see a damn thing in the field…the church is definitely there somewhere, but…this could be interesting. I’ll just pull over into the laybay…oh dammit…someone else is here. Ah well, I guess it’s too much to ask for me to have all of this to myself. Just grab my bag and let’s go have a look…
Ok, this looks like fun….let’s head around this way…there should be a good composition from this angle…it’s a bit creepy walking around here, but I’m sure I’ll be ok…ok, maybe I probably should have told my wife where I was…I can’t see more than 5yds, what if I fall over and have an accident…I could be here on my own for hours…ah, here we go, just around here and…oh shit, I can’t get there. There’s a fence in the way. The light is changing. Oh crap the sun is coming through and the light is looking epic. Shit. Run. No wait….climb over the fence…now run…Christ I’m so unfit…I can’t run all the way down to the main gate again. Dammit, I’ll climb back over the fence…one leg over, now…crap, my foot is stuck…down I go….I’m ok. I think i’ve got everything, nothing has fallen out, has it? No, still got my inhaler, car keys…right…QUICKLY!! GET THE COMPOSITION FOR GOD’S SAKE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
Got it, right, set up…I think I need the wide angle lens for this one…let’s go for f8, ok, check the light meter, set the shutter speed…got it. I BLOODY GOT IT! YES! I’m knackered, my knees hurt, my shoes are wet, but I bloody got it! Now…let’s check the focus…it’s looking good. Hopefully not disappointed when I open it in Lightroom, but it looks like it should be ok.
The fog is shifting again….it’s getting denser…it looked like it was lifting, now it’s getting denser again…I need to move to change the composition to make the most of it…where should I go? Maybe get the sun behind the church? Yeah, that might work…at least I don’t have to climb any fences! Ok…this looks good. I think the focus is ok…can’t really tell with the light shining in my DAMN EYES. But i think it’s good. Ok, let’s take the shot…
Bloody hell, the fog and light are shifting around again. Where to now? I guess over the other side? Yes, over the other side…OF COURSE OVER THE OTHER SIDE, WHY WOULDN’T I HAVE TO NOW CHASE TO THE OTHER SIDE OF WHERE I AM SHOOTING NOW, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE.
Damn, this is the best workout I’ve had in ages. I mean, it would be nice to stay in one spot, but I am suffering from a bit of a post-Christmas energy lull so maybe this is doing me some good. And besides, LOOK AT THIS AMAZING LIGHT EVERYWHERE.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone yet. Have I seen anyone yet? No, I don’t think so. I can’t believe it. Have I got Fairfield all to myself? I must have. I HAVE THESE EPIC CONDITIONS ALL TO MYSELF?!? The photography gods have shone their light on me today…I can’t believe my luck.
Ok, this is good, let’s shoot it this way…get the framing right, this looks like quite a creepy shot with the fog around the church, the stillness of the water…I think it’s frozen…I don’t want to test it, but I think it is frozen…wow, what’s that noise? Ah yeah, it’s definitely frozen…sounds like the ice is cracking. Good job I didn’t put my tripod on it after all…
Ok last shot…was that a gate opening and closing? Yeah, there’s a figure there in the fog…doesn’t look like a photographer. Looks like he’s running. Seems it must have been his car in the laybay. Dude, you’re missing the most epic view! Don’t run away…well, not until I’ve got you in at least one shot anyway…
What’s the time? Man, I’ve been here 2 1/2 hrs. I need to go. But I can’t. I want to stay here all day. But what about your wife and children? They’ll understand, right? I mean…LOOK AT IT. No, I better go. Ahhhh. What a morning. What an unbelievable morning. I took a chance and it was quite the reward. Thank you, Fairfield. It was EPIC.