Chesterton Windmill is one of Warwickshire’s most famous landmarks set atop a hill overlooking the village of Chesterton. It’s design has been attributed to the famous architect Inigo Jones and the mill construction was completed in 1633. My travelling companions were Len and Cheryl Martin and I my camera was the Fujifilm X-Pro2.
01. We arrived at Chesterton Mill in flat light but a bit of blue sky was promising. There was no hint of the storm approaching. I took this frame with the XF 10-24mm zoom at 10mm on the X-Pro2.
02. It wasn’t too long for the first hints of sunlight to break through the layer of stratocumulus cloud. The storm appeared on the horizon out to the right of the shot and it wasn’t long before the bitterly cold wind picked up. There was still evidence of recent snow nestled in the shadow of the mill. I stepped away from the mill and zoomed the XF 10-24mm to 18mm to get a better perspective.
03. The sunlight continued to improve as the fringes of the stratocumulus gave way to the band of blue. By now it was evident that the storm on the right of shot was heading our way.
04. I swapped lenses to the 50-140mm zoom and made my way through the clumpy muddy field away from the mill. This had the advantages of sorting out the perspective and allowing me to better isolate the mill against the sky. By this point the storm was building and the sunlight window closing. You can clearly see the hail falling on the left of the shot. Only seconds of sunlight remained.
05. Chesterton Windmill in the most dramatic of winter sunlight. This was the shot that did it for me. We got straight back to the car to take shelter and I wifi’d the shot to my iPhone then uploaded it to Facebook. The process took a minute or two at most.
06. While I was waiting for the perfect moment I captured some variations of cloud formations as the storm bared down on us. Using the 50-140mm zoom it was easy to change the framing and aspect while isolating the mill against the distant storm.
I’m naturally an impatient kind of guy and learning how to play the waiting game is something that I will need to do if my career transition into becoming a travel and landscape photographer is to happen. 20 years ago back in 1996 I commissioned Charlie Waite to give a talk to Backwell Camera Club in Somerset. Ever since that night I knew I’d be shooting landscapes one day too. The title of his talk was The Waiting Game and I can now fully appreciate his wisdom.
We have one place left for an enthusiastic photographer to join us on this road trip adventure through the canyons and deserts of the USA in May. It could be you!
Number 05 is stunning. Inspirational.
Cheers Simon :)
Know Chesterton well, living in Coventry, however never seem to get there with dramatic skies. I am currently waiting eagerly for your Chloe-Jasmine book to be delivered. I am a fairly recent convert to Fuji after fifty years with Nikon and tried an XE2 first. Fell in love with the 100-400mm lens at the Photography show and invested. I was then invited to Silverstone for a session with another Fuji professional and from that purchased the X-pro2, so am now totally set up. Thank you for this fabulous website and some cracking images.
You clearly don’t need models Damien. Great images – as always. Agree with you about the favourite one. Beautiful…
Steve Farrell
Thanks Steve :)
Stunning photos, Damien! Very dramatic look with the dark wall of clouds in the background. Did the storm catch up to you and the others? I read that the XPro2 is weather-sealed, but am wondering how it would fair in the weather like that.
Hi Jay,
Thanks :) It was hail so not really a problem as it would bounce off the camera. My lenses aren’t weatherproof so I didn’t risk finding out. I just pop the camera in my bag when the rain comes.
Cheers, Damien.