I tried to make the best of the near still conditions yesterday morning, the calmest weather for over a month, to shoot some large format work at my current project locations. As with all things like this the wind or lack of it was perfect but the light at Freston Hill and Cattawade was dreary so I trundled across the road into Dedham Vale and found myself negotiating the black ice on Flatford Lane. An empty gateway opened up a magnificent vista that just had to be photographed. Even better a biped and a quadraped had obviously wandered across the field before I got there and to my mind it just made the picture. Setting up the tripod and large format camera as quickly as I could, I still missed the shot of the glowing moon. Well they say you cannot rush large format but at times I can get the camera set up quite quickly indeed.

These two negatives were shipped off to Redwood in Colchester yesterday afternoon and I collected them today. First class service but yet again I have found a duff double dark slide that I have now repaired. I shall test the light-fast properties of the repair with Black and White as over £8 per shot with colour when you add in the processing is getting a bit much. That is 3 dodgy double dark slides in the last week.

Anyway, very pleased with these two. I am tempted to go for 1.2 x 1 metre enlargements as the tonal rage and detail in the middle ground is awesome. I could not help but think of Turner when I saw the skies, especially the view towards Stratford St Mary and then I was minded of the hanging at the Sainsbury Centre where Golding Constable’s Flower Garden is hung adjacent to Lifeboat and Manby Apparatus Going Off to a Stranded Vessel Making Signal (Blue Lights) of Distress ( not that that sky is the sky here)

These really are sublime and it would be a pity not to include them in my degree project work but they are the total opposite of what I have been shooting of late.

This crop is from the above image clearly showing the tower of Dedham Church