November 17th – Passing through Walsall Wood, the wind was ferocious on the way home – but thankfully, it was behind me. Clocking up a near record commute time of 35 minutes and hardly having to pedal from Walsall, the few hardy souls I saw cycling in the other direction had my utmost sympathy.
The view in both directions from Walsall Wood Bridge is great at night and I’ll always adore it – but I had to hold the camera really carefully tonight in case the wind snatched it away.
November 17th – This new Hope R2i light I’m testing is rather good. This is on a middle setting on the canal in total darkness near Aldridge (obviously, no camera flash was used). Battery life seems good, and the optics give a decent beam. I’d say this is better than the R4 I was using last season, but actually has two less led elements.
A real discovery. It’s no lightweight, but it’s a very good light.
November 15th – I span up the High Street and back down a canal just to stretch my legs and get some air. Not too bad for handheld shots, this one really. Considering it was relatively early, I couldn’t get over how quiet the town was. I didn’t see a single soul and very few cars.
November 15th – A long day and a late spin around Brownhills. The town was quiet, and there was no sign of the Christmas I’d seen in Birmingham the previous Friday. It was windy, but not too bad. Stood on a quiet traffic island, Morris Miner was still stood silent, metallic sentry.
Sometimes the most changeless things are best.
November 14th – I’m playing around with a borrowed camera, which I think I like but I’m not sure yet. It certainly works well in low light, as these shots of the canal show.
I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that the best camera would be a compact with Nikon optics, Panasonic build quality and features, and a Sony user interface.
November 13th – Snatched evening shots in a busy city. Birmingham is still curiously beautiful at night, and I do still love it so. Just gearing up for the Christmas rush, it was frenetic, but not yet frantic.
There’s much to love in the urban night.
November 7th – And in Lichfield itself, as night fell, a dark blue sky, urban surfaces and electric light.
I think I might be getting the hang of the darkness again…
November 6th – I was crushingly tired as I trundled home with a thankfully assisting tailwind. It was wet again when I started out and I was damp and miserable. The traffic was hell, and sweeping off the ring road at Walsall, I looked westwards to an unexpectedly beautiful sky.
Cheered, I pressed on and noticed that at the Black Cock pub, their annual bonfire and fireworks display were starting, with stalls and a merry go round on the front car park. The lights looked so beautiful in the dark.
It’s been a hard few weeks. I’m tired, I’m grey and I need rest. Thank heavens it’s the weekend.
November 3rd – The commutes are not being good to me this week. Yesterday was foggy and damp; the journey in was OK, I suppose, but the journey home was in steady, persistent rain. I’d had to call in at the Gallagher Retail Park by Junction 9 on the way back, and when I left B&Q it was raining heavily. Nothing for it but to don waterproofs and go for it.
The traffic was mad, as it always is in the wet, dark evenings. I got soaked. But at least it was relatively warm.
I could do without this, to be honest…
October 31st – And then, the return. In shades of pink, blue, orange and grey, it was cinematic and even the distant, noisy sweep of traffic was beautiful. There was little wind and noise, and the smells of the season just hung in the air.
I’ve made no bones about having the darkness of winter. Everyone who reads this must surely know how I feel about it – yet when autumn is old and winter encroaches, the gloom is punctuated by a beauty you never feel in summer.
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