The Floods of 2014 by The Brunette

 Blimey! I had forgotten how to even use Blogger after SO long away! But I got there in the end! Thanks to TJ for inspiring a new post, and for explaining my absence! It's been a busy year for me and especially the last 7 months following the birth of my first baby (a girl called Robyn!) But it's time to carve some "me" time out of Mummy time and get back behind the camera! Living in Datchet as I do, finding some good subject matter was easy, I just stepped out of my front door! I strapped Robyn in her sling and went out as often as I could to monitor the flooding levels although carrying a 17lb baby I didnt take my "proper" camera with me, so these are all taken with the frankly stupendous Samsung Galaxy S4 camera phone. I really liked the moodiness of the black and white shots below, but like TJ in the end opted for colour and minimal editing. I think the shot shows the extent of the flooding as you can clearly see what's underneath the river water, namely the main road running through the village! Including on the far right an abandoned car. Its been devastating with power cuts and many houses in the village now inundated and evacuated. With more rain forecast this weekend, we can only hope and pray it doesn't get any higher. It's strangely serene, with no cars and no trains running and many businesses closed. But heartening to see the community spirit, and strangers talking to strangers and checking if anyone needs assistance, the British Dunkirk spirit in effect :)

The Floods of 2014 by TJ

In the 15 months or so since we last tackled floods much has changed and not just The Brunnette becoming a mother! The flooding back in 2012 caused a lot of devastation, but fortunately although getting close the waters never reached my work estate. As I publish this post there is still a very real danger of us being flooded out and the units at the bottom end of the estate have been flooded. The landlords have pumps running 24/7 to try and keep the flood water at bay, and I have had to move some stock off the flood as a precaution. So this time I am taking and publishing a photo with the floods having much more of a direct impact.

The view in the photo is off what is normally a wheat field next to our work estate and where I can usually take the dogs for a walk. My unit is right behind the telegraph pole top right and these waters have spilled over from the River Thames which lies a few hundred metres further back. I have photographed the same scene as I did in 2012, but if you go and look at that photo by clicking here you will my different approach this time. I have gone with a natural shot taken at the waters edge rather than a panoramic view with a coloured filter. There is no editing except for the usual tweaks to the contrast and sharpness. I tried a number of different shots zooming in and zooming out, but felt that this photo captured the whole scene perfectly. The flood's made for a large expanse of water for the swans to enjoy, the blue sky with puffy white clouds provide a great backdrop and add to the reflection on the water. For me on a personal level it also shows the sheer magnitude of the water and yes although a beautiful scene it also shows the awesome power of nature. Click here to have a look at this scene from the harvesting of the wheat in this very same field in 2013 it's hard to imagine it could be the same field.

My other photos under consideration concentrated on the beauty aspect of the scene. I used the zoom on the camera to capture the swans and the tree in the two photos and then used a low key editing effect to create the under exposure effect, it's an effect I really enjoy using and feel it adds a lovely effect to these two photos.

The Floods of 2014

After some time away whilst The Brunette brought little Robyn into this world last summer we are back out there with our cameras. If we thought that the floods of 2012 gave us a bonus blog opportunity, the floods that we are currently experiencing in 2014 are on a scale not seen in our lifetime. Our situations are unchanged in that we both live and work close to the Thames with The Brunette living in besieged Datchet, and the devastation all along the river through Berkshire and beyond gives us the opportunity to get the cameras out. These current floods have brought utter devastation and yet at the same time have created spectacular imagery. It will be interesting to see what we come up with, and compare the photos of 2014 with our previous efforts just over a year ago.