Beech Clump on Laverstock Down...

My 11.00 a.m. meeting up with the lovely Vicky, to go over the in's and out's of her brand new Nikon D7000 went somewhat beyond the hour I had allocated - and soon it was 1pm! Superbly succulent lemon cake and coffee made it all much sweeter...

She panicked somewhat as she had agreed to meet someone else some time before we departed but this all meant that by the time I had had lunch and got myself in gear again, the afternoon was marching on.

By the time I'd got the bus and clambered up the steep chalky slopes of Cockey and Laverstock Downs, the sun had gone a hazy milky hue, the wonderful beeches (last year) diluting the deep copper colours of the autumnal colours. As you can see from last year's (incidentally taken 2 weeks earlier) there is a terrific view for absolutely miles around, including the cathedral, to the south and west.

Before I took this shot, which was nearing sunset, I'd tried all sorts of foregrounds, with my Nikkor 10-24mm lens and polariser. I even tried fill-in flash on rose-hip bushes, laden with red berries, but these just looked plain untidy. Whichever way I tried to do justice to this magnificent clump, I failed, so in the end decided that it needed this cloud formation (aided by that polariser) and to make some sort of image, worthy of my Blip.

This sky begged for black and white but I'd done mono for yesterday's - THANKS to all who hoisted that river and spire blip up into the no 2 slot in the Spotlights - and I also wanted to show those rich coppery beech hues. Much darkening of that sky and lightening of the foreground and this will have to do.

At 7.30 I have a posh fundraising dinner (no, not Children In Need) to snap at the Guildhall. It is to raise dosh for the Young Gallery, who have employed me occasionally over the past few years. These are the free Public Galleries attached to Salisbury Library. I have to take snaps of the diners at their tables and they then buy those as a memento. I'm then taking that SD card with only those on, straight round to the printers who will have the prints ready before they leave later in the evening. This was a suggestion of mine and a useful collaboration with Ian Scott of Salisbury Photo Centre who is working extra late just for us!