Stagbrake Hill, 8 Nov 2021 07:40
Ponies at Dawn
A mid-autumn dawn in the New Forest. At the foot of Stagbrake Hill, just north of Cadnam Bog, a classic picture postcard scene unfolds featuring two iconic New Forest ponies grazing peacefully. Here, where the ground rises above the flat boggy expanse, the ponies’ perpetual grazing attenuates successional plant species and mows the surroundings into short-cropped grassy tracts between clumps of bracken. This short-cropped grass, a common sight wherever the ponies graze, along road verges and often coalescing into great sweeping lawns, is typical of the New Forest and is a sign of the ponies’ regular presence.
It’s not long after dawn and although the sun is still low, it is well above the horizon, casting the last embers of its warm golden glow over the morning landscape. To avoid lens flare, especially when using a rather limited lens like the one on the iPhone 11 Pro rather than the Olympus/Leica equipment I used directly into the sun on Whitefield Moor, it makes sense to mask the globe of the sun behind a conveniently placed tree. Still, there's ample time to compose the shot as the ponies, oblivious to my presence, continue their never-ending rhythmic champing.
Photo details - iPhone 11 Pro 34mm (equiv) f1.8 1/850sec, processed in Photos App iOS (basic light settings)
It’s not long after dawn and although the sun is still low, it is well above the horizon, casting the last embers of its warm golden glow over the morning landscape. To avoid lens flare, especially when using a rather limited lens like the one on the iPhone 11 Pro rather than the Olympus/Leica equipment I used directly into the sun on Whitefield Moor, it makes sense to mask the globe of the sun behind a conveniently placed tree. Still, there's ample time to compose the shot as the ponies, oblivious to my presence, continue their never-ending rhythmic champing.
Photo details - iPhone 11 Pro 34mm (equiv) f1.8 1/850sec, processed in Photos App iOS (basic light settings)