The Time Keeper

The Petrified Oaks of Mundon, Essex. I remember this being something like -1deg Celsius on this night, I lost contact with my toes at some point through this shoot.The image is stacked of multiple exposures over some 20 minutes, which made the cold even more unbearable, and my toes even more numb.

These oaks are hundreds of years old, petrified. So was I – you have to walk through a graveyard to reach this point.

I think this image for me graphically represents time. The passing of time is noted by the rotation of the earth and the star trails, contrasted against the oaks which have been static for centuries. Having seen many rotations of the earth, they are likely to remain like this and see many more, without care or quantification. This reminds me of a passage from a well-known book I’ve read:

Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.”
― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper      

I was the only thing in this field (bar my brother) that was focused on the time – as it meant getting back into the warm. All around me however, time was being ignored. The oaks couldn’t have cared less.

Hope you like it!!

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 by robinhigginson Tags: astro, astrophotography, essex, landscape, mundon, night, oaks, photography, stars, trails Leave a comment

Fire and Ashes

This was another late night outing to Dungeness, Kent , with my brother. The original plan was for astro work, but the cloud came rolling in, and after having a pint at the local we headed off to the beach to attempt some light painting on the old wrecks.

If you’ve never been to Dungeness before, I’d recommend a visit. It’s a strangely interesting place. The beach is scattered with old boats, sheds, shacks, all having stories from years gone by. Amid all this destruction and waste is a weird sense of peace and calm. A sense of isolation where objects haven’t moved from their resting places for decades.

The image taken was not at sunset, but at night. The red light in the distance is actually the light pollution from towns across the water. The impression however is of fire and smoke. A theme that resonates with the overall feel of the place, and how obliteration is often followed by stillness and calm.

Hope you like it!!

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015 by robinhigginson Tags: beach, Boat, cloud, dereliction, Dungeness, England, exposure, Fire, Kent, landscape, long, night, photography, uk, waste Leave a comment

Stars For The Soul

The magic of the Milky Way. I could have sat there all night just looking at the sky. This is one of the reasons I love astrophotography, it really brings a sense of reality back the trials and tribulations of life.

I’ve practiced milky way shots many times before, but usually due to the light pollution where I live its very difficult. Also the UK, being quite northern in its latitude, doesn’t really get the best visualisation of the milky ways core. This shot was taken in Majorca in June 2015, where the skies are dark and the Sangria flows. You could make this out with the naked eye.

This image has been post processed, as with all milky way shots. The colours however have not been enhanced, just given a bit more contrast to make them stand out.

If you would like to know more about how to take pictures of the night sky like this, then please get in touch.

Hope you like it!!

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015 by robinhigginson Tags: astro, astrophotography, colours, dark, europe, landscape, majorca, milky, night, rocks, sea, shore, skies, sky, soul, stars, way Leave a comment