I think of Ebbor Gorge as the secret sister of Cheddar Gorge. Both cut through the Mendips, and both have had intriguing evidence discovered of neolithic man living in their forests and caves. However, whereas Cheddar is internationally known and is a huge regional visitor attraction with all the commercialism that attracts. Ebbor, just a few miles away, is little known beyond local knowledge. It’s a Site of Special Scientific Interest and retains its secrets and mystery, and while it isn’t so dramatic, I love its undoubted peace, tranquility, and spiritual qualities, as well as its potential for atmospheric photography - hence its choice for my first project of 2020. I first went on a scouting trip to identify potential shots before making three further visits during January. You’ll see the different conditions in Misty fog , Winter calm and Gorge stream. As the light levels were generally very low in the gloomy January light, in order to maintain the low 100 ISO (for saturation), and f-stop 20 for maximum depth of field, long exposures up to 15 seconds had to be used, requiring the tripod for all shots. I aimed to capture some of the mysterious essence of this place - I hope you can sense it too…
Image of the month: Fairy grotto There were three reasons why this scene caught my eye: the bright green moss against the dark brown earth and dead leaves; the four fallen trunks leading the eye into the scene; and the arch created by the fallen branches. Given the dark afternoon and dense woodland canopy, an exposure of 10 seconds was required, and I’ve retained it’s darkness in post-processing. While it’s difficult to define, there’s something that keeps drawing my eye back to this image: I think it’s the ethereal quality. Is it too fanciful to suggest that one can almost imagine fairies coming out to dance at dusk… ?
Let me have your comments!