With the current awful weather, I did not mind to have little time for photography over the weekend. My wife and I spent two very nice days together in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Not coincidentally, we witnessed an amazing sunset over the skyline from the safe height of a ferris wheel. That must have been about the only decent sunset in a long time! I managed to get out for some photography on several evenings last week. The idea with the cloudy and windy weather was to go to the fens in the heathland and hope for spectacular sunsets. What I got was a far cry from what I had in mind. Even when the sky looks promising some two hours before sunset, every time a slowly appearing low band of cloudcover makes sure the setting sun is not able to hit the puffy clouds with a dash of pastel colors. The above image is the best I got over three sessions at this spot. I’ll keep on trying, better weather seems to be on its way. Although good weather often means that sunsets feature cloudless skies with hardly any color as a result.
Still, it is always nice to be out during the last hours of the day. Hikers and cyclists have left the forest and heathland and slowly the regular inhabitants get ready for their crepuscular and nocturnal activities. Frogs get vocal in the fens, Night Jars occupy the sky, Rabbits forage all over the place and I got to see Roe Deer on every occasion. Rutting season is clearly on its way, with the bucks more focussed on the does than on photographers. Once, on my way home, I even saw Roe Deer, Wild Boar and Red Fox all within a hundred meters. Too dark for photography, but the observation alone made me very happy. Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, the local hunters have taken the evening off and the silence is only disturbed by the sounds of nature, instead of an exploding rifle.
Heathland Fen; Canon 5D Mark III w. 17-40/4L; 1s at F16 and ISO50; ND Grad filters, remote release and tripod
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