Regular readers will know that I like cake and there is nothing better on the earth than Mrs O’s Dundee cake closely followed by her exquisite lemon and black pepper cake. Not in the same sitting I might add. No, that would not work at all. The lemon cake is a Ruby Tandoh recipe. Look it up. You won’t be disappointed.
Today dawned bright but I arose late so missed my window to get out on the bike in the dark when there is no traffic about so I opted to walk down the West Bank to Fox’s Marina to see what legitimate access I could get to the working docks. The local Contemporary group has asked for gated access but for a host of reasons this has been declined, understandably so. I have to be inventive. It is quite a trudge and I did find some viewpoints that give a totally different look and feel to the Ipswich Dock scene from that of the Wet Dock. I thought I would test different glass on the D810 on this yomp. So far I have used a 50mm 1.4 prime lens and this camera is very different to the D3s. I need to shoot and review and understand how it meters differently and how the colour gamut differs. I stuck the D3S’s walkabout 24-70 2.8 on the new body. Again, this is a VR free lens and all the reports I studied before this test suggested that the D810 would expose(sic) any flaws in glass or technique. So far, I have not had a problem with using non-VR glass on any camera. I do welcome it though but it not always appropriate to have rely on compensating motors to get a steady shot.
This image is taken from Fox’s Marina yard where a public footpath traverses the working yard. It the first accessible bit of riverbank after Stoke Quay. As you can see the conditions were a tad harsh so a touch of dodge and burn applied to the far ground and sky.
These two 100% crops are of the cranes working both vessels. The distance is 360 metres (approx) to these cabs from my vantage point
I was a tad late home for breakfast but then we went out. As you see it was an impossibly bright day so testing over I left all cameras behind and we ended up in the Ramsholt Arms where we both feasted on Desperate Dan sized chicken, ham and leek pies with mash and roasted root vegetables. All this sat next to a log burning stove. Sheer bliss. Real late autumn – early winter food. They have had a bit of a makeover inside but if you like real pies with proper pastry and gravy then this is a destination.
On the way home I can honestly say that no camera in the world could have recorded the stupendous sunset we were presented with. The drive back was virtually due West and it was a sight for sore eyes. There was not a cloud in the sky this morning but the build up from lunchtime was enough to create a masterpiece. There has only ever been one occasion other than today that I was glad no images were made as I felt that back in the very early 1990s in the Trossachs that there was no film on the planet to record the beauty we saw that day. If I was a painter, even a trained one, I might be able to reconstruct the images in my head and maybe get close enough to what we witnessed. Sadly, I am a dabbler in paint, no Constable, or Turner genes exist in my body.
That pie took some beating but is was trumped by the sunset. Well and truly. The glass and camera combo were pretty good too.
(NOTE: when displayed in the gallery these get magnified beyond the resolution inside the blog post)