‘Well, that’s that then; Time to bail out and head for breakfast.’

These words have left my lips on more than one occasion and not always for the right reasons; generally said to no one but myself too. Is it wrong to speak to yourself? I could try talking to the local inhabitants but I don’t speak pony, sheep or meadow pipit and I’d go as far to say that they don’t speak English either. I can do a good tawny owl though, but they were off hunting voles or mice.

Another dawn shoot but not necessarily a successful one. In fact, I didn’t even get the ol’ box brownie out of the bag. The clouds rolled along keeping the best light at bay and it got lighter. That was it. I got up at 4 am for this after studying the weather forecast for the previous 3 days in the vain hope I could do this location justice with the right light. Not today I won’t be. I pick up my bag and start the trudge back to the car.

This is the forth time I’ve been to this spot. The first time was during a workshop with clear blue skies and blazing sun. The 2nd was better but I decided to wait until morning which never happened. The 3rd time was looking promising. I spent a good hour chatting with another Tog waiting for the sun to do its thing but clouds spoiled the party. This time the clouds were just plain anti-social and kept the sun out altogether. Grumpy so and so’s.

The pursuit of a great image is a long one. It would be great to be able to turn up and have everything right first time. A drag and drop option to move the clouds to where I need them would be nice. Unfortunately Mother Nature doesn’t work in that way. Work with what you have, wait or keep going back. Or all three. That’s part of the enjoyment of it all. You never know what the Dear Old Lady is going to put in front of your lens until the light comes on. It’s a challenge, but it’s a great sense of achievement when She delivers and you’re there to capture it. Then you go back again to try and better it. Glutton for punishment? Naturally.

Anyway, about that breakfast…