The Needles...with a String of Pearly Clouds

Tuesday the 23rd December -

was yet another dull and cold day.

Still on my quest on finding photos around Boscombe (near Bournemouth) I decided to take my somewhat unreliable Big Sig (Sigma 150-500mm) down to the coast, to see if I could spot some surfer dudes (and dudesses, too, of course).

The lens is in need of repair but of late it sort of works, if you don't use AF and if you wriggle it a bit (or a lot). But to get up to 750mm equivalent super-telephoto is something to behold, especially at the seaside.

After a breakfast, I enquired at the surfing office - one of Boscombe's new initiative and regeneration schemes was to introduce a surfing 'village' and a contentious surf 'reef', which, apparently, has never worked properly and cost the council squillions. Not looking at all like a cool surfer beach dude, I said that I had brought down my long lens and was after some shots of surfers.

"They might come out after about midday", he said. "Or after lunch" (or if at all). Standing around at 9 a.m. on a bitterly cold windswept beach was no joke and after about 3 minutes, had to get moving, else would have frozen to the spot!

Up on the cliff above and along a bit, a little bit of weather interest was occurring over the Isle of Wight. I had already trained the Big Sig at the Needles but the resplendent and glistening white chalk teeth did anything but in the thick grey cloud. I love the gentle shapes of the hills that lead down to them too, they are like sleeping dinosaurs!

In the end, this was taken with the long zoom at its shortest focal length. I could have taken it easily with my normal Tamron telezoom. But that wasn't the point. I'm glad I got a landscape that evokes the big sense of sky and forever ongoing movement. A few minutes later, I couldn't see the Needles, from exactly the same spot. The weather changes so quickly out there and that to me is endlessly fascinating.

As a point of note (to only those who are interested)

I use the Big Sig on a decent Manfrotto monopod and employ the position "2" on the OS switch. This position allows for side to side swing (as you will get with a monopod) and not up and down as well, as will be counteracted by using the normal position "1". A monopod takes the huge weight of the lens off one's shoulders - and arms - yet allows complete freedom of movement. You can wrap your body around it a bit as well, to protect from the wind. The lens, of course, fitting into the tripod collar and used correctly! You are also free to zoom and focus with one hand while holding it all up with the other.

For me, this procedure is a lot better than carrying round a tripod AND the weighty Big Sig. In daylight, you want some support, but don't need TOTAL support so this system works well.