SOMERSET LEVELS 190 – MURKY DAWN, TEALHAM MOOR (MONO)
November 29, 2014 10 Comments
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Dawn, mist and murk at the western end of Totney Drove, on Tealham Moor; 27 Nov 2014.
This Thursday past the Somerset Levels threw something new at me. I’d set off from Bristol well before dawn and, as I crossed the Chew Valley and the Mendip Hills, had soon started encountering fog. This dense murk thickened as I approached the Levels but that was to be expected and all was still fine – I was on familiar back roads and, even if I had to proceed slowly, I still knew where I was. And then the road ahead was blocked by roadworks – the local council frantically making good drainage systems before what we hope will not be a winter as bad as the last one.
And so to backtracking, following diversion signs – and then I passed a left turn that I knew I should have taken – and promptly became totally lost and disorientated in darkness and dense fog. This was a distinctly unsettling experience. After all, I’ve been reading maps for most of my life and have a good sense of direction. I drove on, I suppose for 30 minutes, recognising none of my surroundings at all. At one stage, a huge tractor, covered in rotating lights, drove by, irresistibly reminding me of the alien spacecraft in Close Encounters of the Third Kind – what am I on???
Anyway, it was just after this that I was passing the entrance to a small lane – when there was a sudden hint of familiarity – I swerved into it, drove down a road I thought (hoped!) I knew – and was immensely relieved to emerge out onto the western edges of Tealham Moor.
Driving on south down Kid Gate Drove, I got to the western end of Totney Drove and, immensely relieved, left the car’s sidelights on and got out. Walking along Totney Drove, I looked back westwards, and here is that view – mist and murk on the western edges of Tealham Moor, at dawn. And was it murky? Yes it was – I was shooting at 12,800 ISO with image stabilisation activated and the lens wide open.
D700 with 70-300 Nikkor at 70mm; 12,800 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Low Key 2 preset.
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If this great photo is the result of getting lost, than I will try to get lost more often.
I love the mood and tones of this photo.
philip.
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Philip, thank you very much for your good words! Adrian
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Worth the effort, my friend. Fabulous! ❤️ ATP
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Thank you very much, ATP! ATP xxx
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I love this. It has a wonderful air of mystery and suspense. I can imagine myself driving along this road in the fog, about to approach that car sitting there with its headlights on wondering what might befall me.
I can empathise with your journey, although I’ve only ever driven in thick fog once, I know what it’s like to be sent on a very long and winding diversion route. Put the two together, and – well, you know.
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Yes – I know! 🙂 And if you’d come upon that lonely car on that drear morn, what would have befallen you is a fat, bald bloke, lurching out of the murk, taking pictures as he advanced and urging “Just one more, duchess, just one more – which d’you think is your best side then, dearie?!”. 🙂
Thanks for your good thoughts, M! Adrian
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Yep, easy to get lost in familiar surroundings…can be dangerous too. You made it !
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It was quite unnerving – must be getting old! 🙂
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We don’t seem to have fogs like we used to Adrian, but your experience just goes to prove just how disorientating they can be when they do occur. Still, we are told that fog/mist is the friend of the photographer, and knowing you, there will be some more good images from this outing.
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I haven’t been in a pea souper like that for a long time – but then that’s the Levels I suppose. Thank you for your good faith! Adrian
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