Temple Island is an eyot in the River Thames that I have been meaning to photograph since ... well ... forever. I've known it since I was a teenager, so, yes, well overdue. Last Sunday, I made a point of it.
We were staying for the weekend nearby, so I got down to the river just before dawn (which was at 06:37). On the way there, fog was hanging over the river, suggesting some misty views once the sun rose and the fog burned off. The weather forecast also predicted little-to-no wind, with the potential for some good reflections.
On arrival, the island was completely socked in with the fog, and it only became faintly visible when I got right up by it on the river bank. Canada geese flew by out of the fog, honking as they passed while I waited. The sun didn't even appear through the fog for about half an hour after it rose. But when it did, it gave soft, golden light. At that point, rowers from the local rowing clubs started to appear, heralded, before they were visible, by the sounds of their oars — splash and swish — and the creaking of sliding seats and rowlocks. I managed to catch pictures of one or two of them as they shot by.
As the sun rose further, I moved back up the riverbank to get a more compressed perspective and closer to a head-on view. I started with a 24mm focal length right beside the island, then moved to 200mm further away. By 8am, I felt I'd got what I'd come for, and headed back to base for breakfast.
The pictures I'm showing here express how I felt that morning. It was simply glorious being out by the river at that time of day as the sun came up on a morning at the transition point between summer and autumn.
First sight of Temple Island through the clearing fog. A7CII with 24-105 lens at 24mm.
A single scull came past a few minutes after the previous shot.
Just a little upriver, a coxless pair and reflection. 24mm again.