Tuesday 30 August 2011

How close is Jersey to France?

I have always been trying to explain to people how close Jersey actually is to France so I thought I would try and come up with a shot that would explain this. Last year, I decided to go up in a plane to and see if it would work doing it that way, but I found myself very restricted and the window reduces the quality of the image a lot. The first photo shows the whole length of the island (9miles) with France in the background.


Width of Jersey with Sark in the Background

WWII Tower littered all over the Coasts


 I rethought what I actually wanted in the shot. I wanted a landmark that is famous in Jersey but at the same time I wanted to have France in the background. This isn't as easy as it seems.
In order to make this shot work I needed to use a long lens to compact the image and I needed to be up high so I could overlook the landmark and clearly see France.
After endless searching all over the island on where to do it  it turned out I only needed to drive a little bit up the road to find a good spot. The shot I had in mind was to have Mont Orgueil (Gorey) Castle in the foreground and have France in the background.
The next factor to include was the weather, France can only be seen when the skies are clear. So waiting for the right day/time and availability was a bit frustrating. However, it came and this was my shot.


I don't think it is the greatest shot but it is getting the general idea that I wanted. I think the the sky is too empty and needs some clouds in there so I waited a week until when it was cloudy but still clear and france was visible.


This was on my next shoot, the tide was low so the beaches were visible and I managed to get clouds in the sky. But I think too many, because the light is flat. I waited for a while for the light to pierce through the clouds and hit the castle but it wasn't as dramatic as I wanted it to be. So I think I might try couple of hours before sunset to give it a golden glow instead, unless another opportunity come up.
I like this shot as a second shoot attempt though but hopefully I can get a better shoot in before I leave.



Contact:
markfoxphoto@hotmail.co.uk
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