Hever Castle and Oxborough Hall

Visited Hever Castle on Friday 26th July 2013. The reason being that there was a jousting tournament giving me an opportunity to photograph costumes from the 11th/12th Centuries. The photo opportunities were many and went beyond my expectations. When researching the programme of events I learned that there was a stand that offered the best chance to see the action. I made sure that I was there in good time and it was well worth the effort. I was able to see almost straight down the jousting arena  offering plenty of chances for action shots. There was also a certain amount of predictability in what was happening ( a consequence of the very necessary need to ensure the safety of the participants and the spectators) so that I was able to anticipate what was about to happen. Having said that the best shots, on first sight, were the unexpected which seems to the case more often than not.

Have begun the process of sorting the very best shots. The difficulty here is I am not really certain about the actual number of images that will be required nor how they will fit together as a portfolio at the end of the Course. Hopefully that will become clearer during assignments 4 and 5.

On 28th July 2013 I visited Oxborough Hall where a small group of actors were presenting incidents from the Civil War (17th Century). Here there was a marked difference as the re-enactors were keen to interact with the 'audience' and had set themselves up to be as available as possible. They tirelessly answered questions and posed readily for photographs (on occasion that was a disadvantage because of my wish to get 'action' shots). There was only a small crowd and many of them were photographers so that it was easy to find a vantage point secure in the knowledge that it was unlikely that someone was going to stand in front blocking the best views.

At the time of writing I have downloaded the images but have yet to go through the selection process. On first viewing there are some shots that are very pleasing. Again there is the 'problem' of a surfeit of riches although such a state is to be preferred over a dearth of opportunity.

On a general note I do an initial shift discarding those images that are out of focus, pointing vaguely at the ground or the sky or simply not what I thought I was taking. From those remainder I select the 'best' and save all the others until I have finished the Course. My thinking here is that I am uncertain at this stage about the balance of the final portfolio and a 'near miss' may be just what is needed.

Off to Dover this weekend as there is a re-enactment of the invasion of Britain by the Romans.