At the Half Mile Tree - # 09/02

......winter, sundown, very cold.

There are very cold winter days when the sun is very bright, but when it goes down the atmosphere becomes ever so slightly misty and the cold takes on a special quality. These moments can move your feelings and sentiments and the scene becomes what I call a "gut wrencher". The special light lasts for only a very short time.

It's difficult to capture this mood, but it is something that a photographer may strive to do. Personally (i.e. very much for myself) I feel I've captured it, and am satisfied with the image.

The photograph was taken standing at "the Half Mile Tree" where the narrow Lower Ham Rd. meets the bank of the Thames as you walk from Ham towards Kingston. The location in itself is, for a number of reasons, very evocative, not the least because of its name. The signs of a highly developed urban scene shrink and become insignificant in the context of time and history.

Camera: Olympus E3. Lens 14-35mm 1:2 set at f16, ISO 125