Patience paid off in the end... even if it was a 30 year wait!
Early one Saturday morning, about 30 years or so ago, I decided to drive to Box Hill to take my dog for a walk. I had a large German Shepherd at that time with boundless energy and so I thought, for a change and even though it was a little further on from where I normally walked, I would go to Box Hill (near Dorking in Surrey for those not familiar with the area).
As one drives to the car park at Box Hill one passes the view point which, on a clear day, offers an amazing view across Surrey and Sussex to the South Downs and it is always difficult to keep ones attention on the road which is quite narrow and has a couple of bends.
On this particular morning there was the most amazing cloud inversion I had ever seen. It looked like an ethereal sea and the higher ground looked like small islands floating on it. The mist just reached up to the edge of Dorking which gave it the appearance of a coastal town, sitting on the edge of this magical sea.
‘Ohh great, trust me not to have my camera!’ I thought.
It seems difficult to imagine now but back in those days we didn’t have mobile phones with 12 megapixel cameras, nor did we have digital cameras, just good old analogue colour negative film or colour transparency and so I didn’t always take my camera with me when out walking. I was left with two options, stand and admire the view for a few minutes and then get on with walking the dog or drive back to my house to get my camera (a 40 minute round trip). Not one to miss a good photo opportunity I decided on the latter and, much to the dogs dismay, I turned the car around and shot back home. After grabbing the camera and checking I had film in it, I hightailed it back to Box Hill.
I think you can probably guess what’s coming next. Yes, by the time I had returned the cloud inversion had completely gone!
I couldn’t believe it.
Since that time I have often read the quote in various photographic articles that the picture you take is only as good as the camera that you have with you at the time and I certainly learned that lesson on this particular day. I also made a ‘mental note to self’ to one day capture that amazing sight. Now, be it my Sony A7 full frame, Sony NEX 5, Panasonic compact camera or iPhone, always ensure that I have something with me.
Well, after 30 years or more, I finally managed it! That isn’t to say that there hasn’t been a cloud inversion since then, of course there has. It’s just that I have never been in the right place at the right time since then. However, I have been walking up at Box Hill a lot more over the last 5 months or so and a few weeks back, was finally rewarded with the most amazing cloud inversion and yes, I did have my camera with me.