Winter really is here now, isn’t it? Storms blowing through; snow and ice; short days and long nights. I find the latter pretty hard to deal with at times, but after tomorrow (I’m writing this on December 20th), I can at least say that the days will be getting longer and summer is on the way…eventually. 

The recent mist and fog has sent me into the local woodland for some real atmosphere. Last weekend, I left the house well before dawn and was deep in the woodland before daylight arrived. It was incredibly peaceful: just me, hooting owls and surprisingly calm and unfazed deer wandering around. The photographs I took were quite different for me, with the mist softening everything in a very satisfying way. A useful tip if you’re tempted to photograph in misty conditions is to deliberately over-expose a little, so that the sensor of your camera maximises the luminance of the conditions and doesn’t do what it would usually do and reduce brightness to grey. 

I’m beginning to wonder what the new year will bring, with the prospect of another lockdown looming. If it does come, and I’m unable to head to the coast, the Yorkshire Dales or Moors, I’ll certainly head down to the woods again, regardless of the conditions, because the more I explore, the more I find .

Finally, thanks for visiting my website, for reading these words and joining my mailing list. Have a peaceful and happy Christmas and New Year, and do visit again in 2022.

Best wishes.

Tim