Swanage Skies

As stated in yesterday's Blip, today was the last day of my weekly bus ticket and with well dodgy weather there were no delays and many less passengers going to Swanage.

Normally, I'd walk miles as it and its surrounding Isle of Purbeck stunning hilly coastal - and 'Jurassic Coast' - is simply THE best.

But I did go there to use the ticket primarily and have walked an average of 10 miles per day, for the last week. So, after scoffing some wonderful chips straight out of the paper wrapping, sitting on a bench not ten feet from this viewpoint here, I mainly stayed in the town centre and along the seafront edge.

Go LARGE, for more gulls, the end of the pier and boats.

The weather wasn't going to get any better either, hadn't actually rained at that point but I wasn't really in the mood for it to start!

I did take quite a few and quickly decided that the big area of sky I wanted needed a gull or two to break it up. Trying to coincide that with a tiny little wave licking the edge did prove impossible. In the end, you have a miniscule wave but at least a bird in about the right place!

Originally shot with polariser and with black and white in mind, I added varying amounts of contrast to the three main parts. The sky now looks interesting, without, I hope, being "over-cooked". I then had to tone down the yellow saturation as that foreground became overbearing.

In the end, I quite liked this. Not the glossy tourist brochure blue skies and candy floss but a realistic wildness that must occur far more frequently than the aforementioned. As is usual for me, composition came first.

I might be out locally for a bit this evening, to eek out yet a few more miles with my bus ticket before it runs out at midnight - no busses run to anywhere near midnight! - but after that should be back to Blip proper.

Lens is Nikkor 10-24mm

BIG thanks to all for getting my rapeseed abstract up into the Spotlights!