We camped again this week, for probably the last time until next year. It’s just too chilly at night now, and the evenings don’t last long enough to be worth it. Still, we had only a little rain and two very beautiful days, and it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Sometimes I surprise myself with suddenly discovering how much I enjoy camping. When I was small we had a caravan (we still do, it’s just not used very much) and I enjoyed being away in that, but mostly that was small child’s novelty. Perhaps it makes a difference that we make it on our own, instead of being a family event; either way, it’s a well-known fact that I have to be very relaxed before I’ll sit on grass, let alone lie on it, so it’s just as well the camera doesn’t lie.

I didn’t take this photo, but I like it all the same. If you view it properly you’ll see how crisply my eye is in focus where the sun is reflected. It’s just a crop from a much larger photo, but it won’t be appearing here since you can tell that a) I’d only just got up and b) I hadn’t shaved yet

This, however, I did shoot, but I was disappointed. It’s f/8 at 1/4s exposure, and metered to bring out the hundreds of shades of green in the canopy, but it’s slightly over-exposed and the long exposure and lack of tripod has blurred it a little. I can edit the exposure and crop out the excess at the top, but the blur is more of a problem. It’s a photo I’ve been trying to capture all summer, and it’s the only time I’ve come close, but call me a purist: I want to capture it straight from the camera, not rely on editing. So I guess I’ll have to wait until next year to try again now.

The more we camp, the more I’m getting the hang of packing only what I need in a short space of time. Sadly that’s it for this year now – I have no particular desire to contract hypothermia between now and April, so that really puts paid to it. But it’s not so long to wait.