Wight Seen Blog

This is the blog of Wight Seen - Nick Edwards's Photography from the Isle of Wight UK. ( www.wightseen.co.uk ) Here are my photos, my thoughts about my photos, (even occasionally) other peoples photos, always credited ... and maybe a little about our life before we came to live on the Isle of Wight a long time ago. We'll see...

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Another huge gap...

My stated intention to update the blog on a regular basis didn't get very far, although this does not reflect my interest in keeping my website up to date, so please try that too (www.wightseen.co.uk, for which this forms the site blog). As mentioned before, my photography has taken a back seat to my sketching, although the street photography (with Leica M11 and M11M cameras) continues most days. Sketching out and about is still a more or less daily activity - and I'm now trying life drawing at the local arts centre in an attempt at trying something very different. Here's a few recent sketches, but please visit my website for many more!

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March 2023

Time for an update, I think!  Like for the vast majority of us, the pandemic changed the way I worked and played and it has taken a great deal of time to return to normal... which has happened over the last 6 months or so. This blog has been a long term casualty, but I’m back at last.  

My last posting talked of sketching, rather than photography, the latter taking a back seat for most of the two years of the main pandemic and it still hasn't picked up in the way it was. Certainly sketching took over during that time, but a shift in my interests, towards the street life that featured in my drawing and away from photography of wildlife (only the photography part... not away from wildlife per se). To that end, my street sketching has increased and so has my street photography, now using a new Leica M11 rangefinder camera in favour of my Nikon D5 and D850. (I’ve put any change to updating the Nikons on hold, accordingly... not that there’s anything wrong with them (the D850 is still a current top camera and the D5 is still a fine professional workhorse in wide use throughout the world of photo-journalism) and they are still used for RNLI action and group photos etc that the Leica can’t really handle (I still love my Nikon long prime lenses too! The 600 f4 had a complete overhaul by Nikon last summer). 

So I’m back, both as photographer and sketcher and my website (www.wightseen.co.uk if you are reading this on Tumblr) is getting up to date with what I’m doing. I won't duplicate the web updates here, please just have a look. I’ll also endeavour to keep this blog more up to date from now on!

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Sketches over the last few months.

I damaged my shoulder in late Spring this year and its been slow to improve, happily getting better now with effective physiotherapy. This meant that my photography was seriously curtailed (that long wildlife lens (600mm f4) weighs a lot, as do the metal camera bodies!) and I had to resort to sketching instead. Which I enjoy, even if it’s not up to the standard of my photography, by any means!

Here are a few of this summer’s / autumn’s  sketches.

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Lockdown Sketching

During the Covid pandemic, my photography - along with many other photographers of course - has taken quite a back seat until things relax out there and we can legally wander freely and pursue our craft and trades. The good thing, for me, is that I was able to spend the time starting to (re)learn to sketch. Something that I have wanted to do properly for years, after a lot of dabbling from time to time in adulthood, although I drew a lot as a child and teenager and studied art at school.  I am indebted to the local (Isle of Wight) Wellow Art Academy, whose teacher / owner, Julie Sajous, quickly changed her art school from conventional teaching to on-line sketchbook instruction, using a mixture of website videos and zoom meetings. It has worked for me - and many fellow students - and now has the feeling of a real art school. Of course, we can't wait for the real thing to return, but I think the on-line aspect (being international rather than Isle of Wight only) will exist alongside a return to hands-on teaching. 

I’ve included a few of my (first year student level!) sketches and there are many more on my website www.wightseen.co.uk (in case you are not reading this from my site). 

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One good Tern deserves another

Common Terns in Cowes Harbour in the evening, in stark contrast against the backdrop of a passing Red Funnel car ferry.

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Hare racing

Two hare having fun on the farm

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Leverets (baby hare)

It’s always great to encounter baby hare, let alone photograph them. These were on the farm lane as I arrived just after dawn.

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Some of my photos on display

Days before lock-down in March 2020, we set up a large Wight Book Photographers’ exhibition at Dimbola Lodge, the former home of Julia Margaret Cameron, the Victorian pioneer of photography. Within a few days the museum was closed under lockdown and is hoping to open in July 2020. We don’t expect crowds to flock this year! All very unfortunate, but far worse things are happening. 

Photo: Tom Edwards

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Cowes Lifeboat on Versadock

The lifeboat launching trolley was taken away for a complete overhaul for a few weeks, meaning that our lifeboat, Sheena Louise had to be housed elsewhere. Luckily one of our crew-members had just the thing, a floating Versadock and Royal London Yacht Club kindly lent us their pontoon for the duration. 

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Displaying Mergansers

At Newtown in Spring 2020

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Wight Hares Revamp

I have done a big sort out of my main hare gallery, “Wight Hares” on my website www.wightseen.co.uk.  New additions, together with old favourites should be found there and all my other hare photos are now in “Wight Hares Extra” under the “All Galleries” menu at the top of the screen. I hope that you like the new order of my hare photos - these are two new ones from today.

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Sail GP

Spectacular F50 cat racing at Cowes

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Rough weather exercise

Cowes Lifeboat on the first day of Cowes Week, when all sailing was cancelled. A good opportunity for the crew to gain boat handling experience in these conditions 

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Little owlet  On the farm...

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After the grass was cut

Hare in the silage

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Wedding photography

To my surprise (and much enjoyment) I have had the pleasure of becoming a second-shooter at two weddings in West Wight this summer. This was totally unplanned on my part, but I offered to help out a photographer friend in his few weeks of need, following him injuring his leg. (Let’s pretend it was done during amazing surfing on “rad” waves... ;) )  Although, as said, very enjoyable, I  am not beginning a new career as a wedding photographer! (Although I do have another mini-shoot of pre-wedding Groom and Groomsmen photos for a friend in September... actually agreed to before my Wedding experiences outlined above.) 

The weddings were particularly enjoyable because of the character and friendliness of the brides and grooms and their family and friends. Coupled with working in beautiful places, with a very experienced and capable main photographer (despite his limp!)

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Great Spotted Cuckoo

2nd record for Isle of Wight