Cambridge sunrises

There have been some quite striking sunrises the last few weeks in Cambridge, but as always the challenge is to be at the right place at the right time. In the winter a 7:30 to 8am start is positively civilised.

I'm often sitting in my kitchen eating breakfast watching a great sunrise while I tuck into my fruit and fibre. Sometimes I jump up and dash out, down the road and then 50 yards down the farm track to try and grab a shot.

Stapleford cracking sunrise

Other times I don't quite make it in time, the moment has passed or rather it never really came.

The farm track disappointing light 

B&W 6 stop ND filter (long exposure)

In these circumstances I frequently use my B&W 6 stop or 10 stop ND filter. Lengthening the exposure often brings out the colours in the sky. It also seems to reduce the dynamic range a little meaning you are less likely to clip the highlights. Reds are always the first to clip on Canon cameras, so it's good to check the RGB histogram on your cameras rear screen not just the highlights and shadows.

A little further from home requires a bit more effort. 10 Minutes in the car gets me to Grantchester.

Grantchester dawn

Persistence usually pays off . I always check the weather forecast, favouring times when it looks changeable around sunrise. Two weeks ago I was convinced all was looking good, a frost during the night, clear skies clouding up just around dawn and while driving over to Grantchester in the dark there was a hint of greater things. Alas sunrise came and went without any photo opportunities. I took 3 photos of a frosty puddle then headed home. Last Saturday Phil (a photo friend) had arranged a quick shoot before the Men's Breakfast at Church. We needed to be close to Church which was a little limiting, but what a cracking sunrise.

River Cam sunrise

Despite being early and seeing the colour develop I couldn't decide on a good composition. I tried out a few shots looking across Midsummer Common down to the river, but it just wasn't working. In the end I quickly composed a 2 shot panorama looking down the Cam. Later on, back at home, I decided to go for a square crop to exclude the white minibus on the left bank. I was a little disappointed I hadn't been in a better location, but the breakfast made up for it!

I'm still striving for the perfect Cambridge location for sunrise, a few others I've tried out recently include:

Mullard radio telescopes - just beyond Barton

The Cambridge Backs & Colleges

Ditton Meadows on a frosty morning

Beyond all else I need to get out more, especially during the winter when sunrise is at a civilised hour. All the times I've stood around in the dull, cold and wet are eclipsed when the sky lights up with a cracking sunrise.

Resources: 
www.cambridgeimages.co.uk

Grantchester Meadows - 7 years in the making

Grantchester Meadows is one of my favourite landscape photo locations close to Cambridge. I've now managed to "get lucky" with the weather on a few occasions and I thought I would share a few photos taken over the last few years.


Dec 2007 was my first early morning visit, nice frosty morning, but not much in the way of cloud cover.

Grantchester trees

River Cam

After some heavy snowfall in Dec 2010 I visited mid morning.

Snowy Grantchester

Winter wonderland

Jump forward to Jan 2014 and a near perfect morning. Frosty with some light cloud cover which picked up the sunrise colours really nicely.

Fire in the sky Grantchester trees

Frosty ditch

Long exposure shot of the sun rising

Frosty molehills

Jan 2015, after carefully studying the weather forecast I made a good call and was lucky with conditions again, nice frosty morning a little cloud cover and a bit of mist rising off the fields.

Classic Grantchester meadows

Glowing tree

Sun's up

Looking through my shots over the last 7 years is quite interesting.  My equipment has changed very little, a camera upgrade from a Canon 5d to a 5d mk2, but my lens selection (for all the shots above) has stayed the same. Another change is my switch to Lightroom in 2012, but probably more significant than these minor adjustments is my ability to learn. I certainly feel my style has developed and improved over the years and that's what drives me on in photography. 

I look forward to doing a similar review in another 7 yrs time, now that's a scary thought!

Resources: 
www.cambridgeimages.co.uk