Holme Fen in the mist

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On a particularly overcast and misty day, I decided to visit one of my favourite spots, Holme Fen. I hoped this particularly atmospheric piece of ancient woodland might yield some ethereal images.

When I got there it was certainly shrouded in a wintry haze, so I had a good wander along the peaty pathways that meander through this magnificent grove of silver birch to see what I could find. 

I've detailed the fascinating history of this place on a previous post, which can be found here, so I won't waste time in repeating myself. Much better to get on with the photos, in all their hazy essence.

An evening at Wimpole Folly

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I recently paid a visit to Wimpole Estate, 3,000 acres of parkland, which contains Wimpole Hall, the largest house in Cambridgeshire, along with a church, a farm and a walled garden, but I wasn’t there to see any of that, I had my sights set on the folly.

This substantial pile of Grade II listed masonry was built in the 1770’s, and designed to resemble the ruins of a gothic castle. It was designed by Sanderson Miller, who was a noted follies architect of the day, and is probably best known for the Great Hall at Lacock Abbey, the place where William Fox Talbot created the earliest existing camera negative. The folly was actually built by Capability Brown several years later, when he ‘naturalised’ the parkland landscape in his inimitable style. 

I arrived in the late afternoon and made my way over to the Folly, stopping at various spots to admire and photograph the view. Thanks to the time of year, the trees were displaying their autumn coats and lit up the grounds in vibrant hues. Unfortunately sunset was a non-event, there was practically no colour in the sky, but once dusk had settled, a thick carpet of mist began to creep and curl over the landscape, which resulted in some rather nice autumnal scenes.

Dorset Day 1 (Part 1) - Peveril Point & sturdy masts

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Woke up to fog, so like any right thinking person, I figured it was time to give Corfe Castle a go, in the hope that the fog wouldn’t be too thick, and a lovely bit of morning sun would light up the delicate mist as it twirled and wafted around the impressive hill top ruins, ruffling the battlements and wafting about the crenelations.

So as I heaved myself up East Hill, to get a view down and across to the castle remnants, I hoped against hope that it wouldn’t be as discouraging as the previous visit. It was as discouraging as the previous visit. For the second time in as many hard won ascensions, I couldn’t even see the castle, let alone admire its ruffled battlements.

So yet again, I hung around for a while, in the vain ambition that Mother Nature might take pity on my situation, and spoil me with a view, but as usual, my wishes were comprehensively ignored, and I was left desolate and crestfallen. Once I realised that was the way it was going to be, I strode obstinately back down the hill and returned to the car, in a righteous cloud of huffy indignation.

I didn't bother to take a picture, so here's one from the last time I was there to give an idea what it was like. 
In fact this is exactly what it was like. It couldn't be more spot on if it tried. 

Exmoor Day 4 - Morning mist on the Moors

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Up nice and early in the hope that I might get a sunrise, but once there was enough illumination to see my surroundings, it was clear that this was not going to happen. The landscape was shrouded in a thick soup of grey fog, under a chunky stew of sombre cloud, topped off with a beefy brew of gloomy light.

All this poor weather was making me hungry, but instead of filling my bemoaning belly, I decided to head up onto the moors to see if there were any atmospheric shots in the offing, while the fog was still so dense.

Stopping in one of the little car parks that dot the moors, I got out and with no particular direction in mind, I took a stroll amongst the dew covered heather and ferns hoping something would catch my eye.

The colours were vibrant thanks to the overcast conditions.

Exmoor Day 2 - Misty morning & an incompetent evening

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Up this morning for a spot of sunrise shenanigans, and I was hoping to get a few images of the River Exe as it curled its way through the surrounding valley, but that proved slightly difficult, as not only was the river completely obscured by a thick shroud of early morning mist, but most of the valley was too.

When first arriving a fine mist was settled in the valley, and there wasn't much colour in the sky.

Dorset Day 3 – Thick fog inside and out

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Woke up after another fitful night’s sleep, feeling as though the contents of my head were wallowing in a mucilaginous swamp, while my limbs were groaning in protest over some grievous offence they obviously felt very strongly about. Not sure if it was because of the immoderate exercise I’d subjected them to, or just because I was feeling a bit peaky. Either way I was feeling about as lively as this old fella.

Took the short drive down to the seafront to get some shots in the misty conditions, cue more long exposure images of beach groins and minimalist compositions. If I hadn’t got at least one decent shot of this style from the past few days, it was time to step away from the camera and take up something a bit less creatively taxing.

A few viewpoints looking along this beach groin into the misty conditions beyond.