I do quite a bit of my photography as an incidental activity to my everyday chores. A camera always goes shopping with us, and when I took the car into Boston, Lincolnshire, recently for the garage to do a small job for me, guess what? Yes, I took my camera. It was the compact and it accompanied me on a walk along the banks of the River Witham opposite the town's small docks.
I've travelled this route on the water on one occasion and walked the bankside a couple of times. The best shot I've managed from this part of the town is this one of a mechanical grab and scrap metal by the riverside. On my walk the other day I took a few shots of the cranes and buildings by the dockside, a couple of boats that were tied up on the river, some navigation lights and an old pier. None of them are anything special.
However, I've had it in mind to do a few more semi-abstract images because I haven't done much in the way of that kind of photograph recently. The location didn't seem too promising, and with 60mm (35mm equiv.) being the maximum length of the lens on my camera a couple of potential photographs that I did spot were out of range. I had just about given up on the semi-abstract idea when I thought I'd scramble down the riverbank and look under a decrepit wharf. Bingo! There, in the deep shadows of the supports, old tyres and timber flooring above, was a sunlit reflection of the sky and the buildings on the opposite bank, all slightly distressed by the gentle waves of high tide. The scene had a pleasing element of confusion, deep colours and strong contrasts, more than I could reasonably expect in January, I thought, but perfect for a semi-abstract composition.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Camera: LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.2mm (48mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
