|
November 2016
|
Photographers Resource |
ISSN 2399-6706 |
|
Issue No: 154 |
|
|
|
|
|
Remember, Remember the 5th of November and
as well as bonfires, fireworks and Guy Fawkes, November is also the season
of illuminated carnivals and Christmas Light switch on's, with Bridgewater
Carnival taking place on the 5th this year. So there are plenty of
opportunities to have a go and get some good night/light photos. |
|
There are very many public firework events
taking place around the country. Before you venture out why not take a
look at our
photographing fireworks
article to get some useful pointers on what kit to take with you, what
accessories you could use to make your photos different and how to make
the most of your camera settings to get the right
exposure
and
depth of field.
As well as firework events with bonfires there are some other fire events
in some places around the country which have their roots in history, such
as
Burning the Clocks
in Brighton,
Sussex and the
Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels,
in Devon. |
|
|
|
Bridgwater Carnival,
 in Somerset
is by far the largest illuminated carnival. It attracts thousands of
visitors each year. The street procession consists of over 145 floats
up to 100ft long with up to 25,000 light bulbs each. It follows a 2.5
mile route lasting around 2 hours. The carts are all built by carnival
clubs of individuals and are funded totally by charitable donations
and sponsorship from local businesses. They are spectacular. Each club
has their own theme that is kept secret until procession day and as
well as static displays there are many which have many moving parts
and participants/dancers on board. All this work however isn't only
for just one night, as all except the very long carts also get to do a
circuit of some of the other smaller towns in Somerset, such as Weston
Super Mare and Glastonbury, for the following 7-14 days. The very long
carts are not able to take part at some of these, because the streets
are just not big enough to take them.
There are many other illuminated carnivals,
lantern parades, and fire spectaculars taking place throughout this month and
photographing
carnivals with lights
points out what you need to consider before taking on the task of
photographing such a spectacular. The main point being that with such
large floats depth of field is important, there is movement, so the
shutter speed needs to be considered for the effect you want to get,
but also at events with large numbers of spectators, as in the case of
Bridgwater, it is not conducive for a tripod, so it is best to work
out your settings for a handheld experience before you go. You may
find some of the technical considerations in
photographing
street scenes at night
also
helpful. |
|
 |
|
Fireworks Exploding and Lighting Up the Night Sky on the 5th November
|
|
|
Autumn is now in full swing and there have been
many spectacular displays along the roadside and in woodlands, especially when
the sun is out. The colours are varied and a trip to any woodland gives you some
glorious moments. I also like to look up from underneath and see the tree
structure against the colourful backdrop of the leaves. If the sun is out then
the effect can be something magical. I find the tree structure as much a
fascination as the leaf form, and in autumn with the colourful backdrops of the
changing leaves it gives something different. Our
Autumn Colours
section has loads of useful hints and tips.
On the wildlife front the summer visitors have
mainly left us and now we start to see our estuaries and wetland centres fill up
with the various winter visitors. The estuaries will be filling with Wigeon,
Teal, Shovelers, Lapwing and various other species of wildfowl and ducks.
If you're lucky enough to live on the Norfolk
coastline, then there are two highlights to look out for. The first at
Blakeney Point,
where
Grey
Seals
will be giving birth to their pups. Around half the world's population of
Grey Seals live around the UK shores. They only come to shore for extended
periods at this time of year, while they are giving birth. You will also find
Grey Seals on the
west, north and north-eastern coastlines.
But while visiting the estuaries, when the tide is right you might see the
spectacle of Knot flying in large numbers, in formation, when they come in from
the mudflats where they have been feeding, as the tide hurries into shore. |
|
 |
|
A view from Underneath the Trees
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's New and Changed |
|
Places Visited Over the Last Month |
|
We only
managed to get out to Blackpool this month, and in fact we had a quick one night
visit to a theatre show and didn't get to see the illuminations. We did manage
to get a walk down the North and Central Piers and get a bite to eat before the
show. Anyway take a look at our illuminations page from a previous year. It does
still run until the 6th November if you want to take a look for yourself.
Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool, Lancashire
|
|
|
We are continuing to upgrade this
website
It is taking
time, but in the background we are continuing to move from a Microsoft
based website to something much newer and more flexible, run on our Apple
systems. Our Windows computer is often difficult to start and should it
fail, before the new system is live, we will allow a gap of a month or two
to occur rather than waste time setting up outdated systems as a temporary
measure. So if we go missing for a while please check back regularly as we
will be back.
|
|
|
|
Let's
Explain How This Resource Works
Our most popular feature is the monthly
diary covering interesting and unusual things on, around the UK, in the
two months ahead. Our monthly front page/newsletter, from the beginning,
is still available and can be accessed via our 'recent editions' link.
Everything that appears amongst these
pages, or ever has,
is indexed in a number of ways, alphabetically, by topic, by
county, and often linked in to sections. Many of the sections have their
own front doorways so people with specific interests have direct access
through these doors to their area of interest.
All of our links are coded showing you
if it's an external link
or one of our own pages and when it is, the type of page it is. A key to the most popular
codes is at the bottom of the contents panel
on the left and clicking on any of the symbols will bring up a full
list. On any page, holding your mouse over one of these symbols tells you what it
means.
If this is your first visit,
click here
to find out how you might best use this site to help you find what you
are looking for.
|
|
