The Right Place at the Right Time

I've often said to people that the price of being in the right place at the right time, is being in the wrong place at the wrong time, hundreds of times. I wouldn't have taken these pictures, if I hadn't ventured across treacherous, even dangerous ground, walked up steep hills or revisited locations several times, even when feeling tired. As a landscape and wildlife photographer, I have experienced failure and disappointment many times. One simply has to keep trying. Of course, it is important to have a sound understanding of the weather and knowledge of tides, otherwise there would be many more wasted trips than is desirable. I say desirable, because experience of failure is character-building; it gives me focus and makes me stronger. I prefer visiting coastal locations during abnormally low tides in sunny weather, to obtain striking images of familiar landmarks, such as Beachy Head Lighthouse. Recently, when taking photographs across Cuckoo Bottom towards Kingston Ridge, high cloud prevented any decent light from modelling the landscape, until I noticed thin gaps in the cloud, just above the horizon. As expected, the sun came out for just a few minutes and modelled Kingston Ridge beautifully. A few days later, I was talking to a jogger, when I spotted a jet aircraft heading straight 'towards' the crescent moon. Having just one minute to set up my telephoto lens and tripod, I saw an opportunity to capture the plane crossing the lunar disc, while using the sky as negative space in a creative manner. I do this because I love it. I hope you enjoy looking at these photographs as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Kingston Ridge

Fly me to the moon

Beachy Head Lighthouse

Comments

Martin Lower said…
Three terrific images. The view of Kingston Ridge is unusual for the almost vivid green in the foreground. I thought you had to travel to Ireland to see grass that colour!
Fly Me To The Moon is beautiful. The pink vapour trail gives it an almost Disneyesque feeling.
For me, the image of Beachy Head lighthouse is one of the best pictures I've seen....
28 March 2012 at 09:21
Alan MacKenzie said…
Thank you, Martin. These photographs represent my move away from overworked concoctions, to more subtle colours and textures. I look back at much of last years work and don't like a lot of what I see. These are more my kind of photographs.
28 March 2012 at 15:22
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