I was hoping to take advantage of the wintry weather and get some moody shots by the river, so I set off to Rainham Marshes, where I thought I might stand a good chance of getting some interesting views.
Unfortunately, I decided to take a different route to my usual one, hoping to find new spots for photos a little further upriver. This stratagem proved to be unproductive, as I found myself in one dead end after another (and no, I don’t mean Dagenham). In the end, I had to turn back and take the usual route, which cost me a lot of time. By the time I’d got to the river, the light was fading fast.
What light there was, was amazing. All sorts of weird and wonderful things going on – the opportunity was there for some interesting images. But, because I’d arrived a lot later than I anticipated, I’d not had much time to prepare. I wasn’t ready for the fast-changing light conditions, I’d brought a tripod with me, but didn’t have time to set it up. It’s a bit of a faff taking off the case, fitting the QR plate etc and doubly difficult when it’s freezing cold and there’s nowhere to put anything down. And, more importantly, I’d not had time to prepare myself mentally, to take in the scenery and to scout potential photos.
I hurried upriver along the path stopping occasionally to take a few snaps, but after only a kilometre or so, the light had gone. Freezing fog was closing in and I knew if I didn’t turn round I’d be stumbling blindly in the dark trying to make my way back – the few streetlights in the distance were fading from view – and there was plenty of soft mud around to catch me out. I called it a day. I only ended up walking about 3Km.
As ever, one learns a lot more from one’s failures, than one’s than successes and today’s lesson drove home the importance of preparation, yet again. Perhaps, if I’d been more comfortable, more experienced with the M9, I might have been more successful today. But there was little time to get from spot to another, even an experienced Leica photographer would have found it a challenge.
However, the unsuccessful attempt to find new a different route to this area wasn’t without its compensations and I have some new locations (new to me, at least) to scout out for some serious industrial imagery.
posted on 7 February 2012
category: daily photo
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