Bamville Cricket Club vs Edlesborough2

Although I have had an open invitation to take photographs of the Bamville Cricket matches of a Sunday, each time this year that I thought I might make it something else cropped up, or I simply forgot, so this Sunday I was determined that I would make it, but having had a gloriously sunny but cool morning, I set off from Caddington in drizzle, and arrived at the far end of Harpenden with at least some sun.

I had intended to give my boomerang plate another outing with the gimbal head, but managed in my haste to leave it behind on the dining room table, however that turned out to be fortuitous as I was able to use it with my Acratech ball head, and found it was equally effective with this, which means that this is a seriously versatile plate in another setup than I had originally intended.

Bamville's pitch is fairly unique in that it possesses a unique boundary, that falls away dramatically on one side, and is also shared with a golf course.

I tried a few initial shots using the 1.4 Converter with the 300mm lens, but in fact that was too restrictive, so removed that and stuck with the 300mm on the Canon EOS 7D, some other shots taken early and at a break were on the 24 - 105mm. My neck was suffering due to the cold wind I experienced [part of the time, so I left before the end, so I have no idea of the score, but then I only wanted to see what I could capture as I am not a follower of the game. I just hope that as a record it pleases a few of the players.

Harpenden ‘Classics on the Common’

I have not managed to visit the car and bike display on the Common at Harpenden in previous years. This year Peter Carr a local Product designer and I have met up to visit the 2012 ‘Classics on the Common’ – all the Common, bar the Cricket pitch, is completely overtaken by parked cars and bikes from all eras, with milling crowds of all ages and colour thronging the lines of vehicles. In the main the bikes are under the shade of trees,

Overhearing conversations of others, confirms to Peter and I that we were not alone in pointing to the types of vehicles we had once owned. When talking to some of the current owners we reflected on the costs of ownership from those periods in our lives – cars bought for a few pounds, enjoyed for months or years and often sold for more than we paid for them! I could not match Peter’s knowledge, experience or range of vehicles owned, yet I had owned a fair few in my time, though never anything exotic or powerful.

The sheer joy on everyone’s faces and in their chatter certainly was a far cry from the doom and gloom reported in the media. I know the hot sunshine was a contributor, but this was a crowd out to enjoy itself, and to consider purchasing in some instances. The spirit of the festival, because that is how it seemed pervaded the whole of Harpenden and the place was very much alive, and I am certain it will have given the cafés and restaurants a welcome boost, along with all the burger bars and ice cream vans on the common itself.

Peter and a group of his friends were due to meet for Dinner at a restaurant, so we parted after meeting up with his wife Sue, and I returned to my car for the journey home and to put my pictures into another gallery.

One Seriously Hot Day at Stockwood!

Today was one of those days when two showers is essential. So what do I do? My desk was clear, so I paid a quickie visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre, bump straight into Jan who says Ladybird larvae are to be found, in the greenhouse! It is 29˚ C outside, whatever made me consider entering the inferno that is the greenhouse?! No sooner does Jan unlock the door when it is apparent even the vegetation which have been watered earlier, are wilting, so in offering to sacrifice myself I have at least saved some of the plant life! Jan then hosed them down yet again, and I am sure I heard them sigh in relief!

Jan showed me where they were to be found; at least where they were when she last watered them,but I did find a couple and I must have found the most energetic or camera shy insect on the planet, and beads of sweat were pouring off me and covering the camera, but I managed to end up after a gruelling ten minutes with a couple of acceptable images.

Were it not for all my camera gear I would have asked her to water me from head to foot with her hose. I was glad to be thanking her for the opportunity, and escaping to the fresh air, and to hopefully dry out taking other shots in the gardens. Even after returning to the car I had to drape a throw across my seat to save it from being soaked. I was pleased though with what I had captured in the short visit.

Tringford Sunday Drifting

The next few weeks will see me tied up carrying out a time lapse series of images of the refurbishment of a retail interior, so since the weather forecast was good for a change, I took the opportunity to take a morning in a boat with Bob Menzies on the reservoir at Tringford, knowing there was a possibility I would be tied up giving some advice regarding software and hardware to a young artist in the afternoon.

It was pleasantly cool with a light breeze and the water close by the jetty was crystal clear, so the fish could see and therefore avoid the attentions of the anglers! So it proved for the only angler that took to the water on Tringford that morning, and as Bob and I went out he came in for a break.

We headed down towards the Pumping Station, gently approaching three herons, one of which was on a nest. Although I thought there may be young, we saw nothing in the nest after that heron flew off and circled around. This year has seen fewer heron that last year which is a shame as these birds are the epitome of graceful elegance. Overall we have seen fewer birds on all three of the Tring reservoirs, and this may be due in part to the fierce winter, the amount of rain over the recent weeks and Cormorants depleting the fish stock. We gently drifted around the bottom end looking in the clear water for signs of fish, and saw none, the fish that were to be seen were jumping in the top corner close to the main road, but only one took a sniff at the lone angler's line.

Marsworth and Tringford Grebes

An early start allowed me to get to the Canal end of Marsworth reservoir, just before the lock to see what I could find near the reed beds. I n the first location I chose I was out of luck, but when I moved to where an angler was below me, I was almost in line with a gap in the reeds on the far bank where I spotted a grebe nesting. I gather from another angler this spot is known as the suicide pitch as the slope is so treacherous, more especially when wet, which of course is most of this year! One parent patrolled along the reeds; from my observations seemingly concerned for ducks with evil intent. Certainly as I was packing up the guard grebe made a pretty determined go at one of the ducks, and the duck took off in a hurry!

I then set up on the bank level alongside the path between the two reservoirs, Marsworth and Startops End that led back toward Tringford, where I captured a few common tern patrolling parallel to the bank, before heading to the main road to see if the pochard was around still on the far side of Startops, I only saw a single female. I returned to Tringford on the far side from the Anglers pontoon and was privileged to see a grebe find and swallow no less than two fair-sized freshwater crawfish, and fortunately it was so engrossed in feeding that it stayed close to the shore to my delight.

A Quiet Corner of Startops

There was little bird activity above the Marsworth reservoir as I walked past several anglers relaxing hopefully beside twin lines by the side of the path from Tringford reservoir. Upon the surface there were the usual mallard, coots, and pigeons overflying. So I walked beyond and turned towards Startops. Spotting a flurry of small birds flitting between the bank-based trees and the bushes at the water’s edge in the corner, I watched for a while standing, then walked slowly towards the steps and sat just below the bank side on the top step, and the birds ignored me.

I stayed shooting either side of my vantage point as sparrows and pied wagtails flitted back and forth, often coming quite close to where I sat, before deciding that maybe I could represent danger and flying back from whence they came or looping out over the water and landing just beyond me on the steep banking. They were feeding well on various fly species, but since I never saw them swallow, I presume these were for their offspring possibly in a nest either in the hawthorn or other trees to my left where the branches offered shelter. I have only rarely seen the pigeons come down to the water’s edge, but one did, and foraged in the same area the wagtails and sparrows were frequenting.

Considering sparrows are now so rarely seen, perhaps the conservationists should study this habitat, as they have been flying across this corner for all the years I have visited these three reservoirs; something must suit them.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012

1. By the House

For only the second time I was being driven to Goodwood, this time by John Sentinella. We had planned to leave at six o’clock, and I was completely ready from around five to six. Soon I heard John’s purring Jaguar approaching, and all my gear was already outside in the porch, so I quickly showed John a picture of a Le Mans Jaguar that I took the evening before when it pulled up outside the Pub on the far side of the road, in case he knew the owner, as I had learned that the owner lived locally. He did not. I popped it back inside and we put everything aboard and set off.

We took a slightly roundabout route going through the recently opened Liphook tunnels, and arrived just after our planned arrival time of seven-thirty in light drizzle, having been in blue sky for most of the journey down. We decided exactly what to take with us and set off from the car park. Our first port of call was the Super Car Paddock, uncrowded on arrival, though within minutes became packed. We strolled through the Style et Luxe and headed for the House, so that I could capture shots of the latest installation, before that was swamped by the public. This year's theme was in celebration of Lotus.

Having grabbed a few Installation shots from differing angles, I headed inside Goodwood House to say thank you for the tickets sent to me, and learned that earlier in the year Lord March had put on an exhibition of his private photography at the Bermondsey Gallery; his wife’s PR lady very kindly gave me a catalogue. Walking outside, who should be heading my way, but Charles, Lord March just finishing a video interview; I took a quick few shots for myself before approaching him and thanking him personally. I was amused that out of the corner of my eye, the cameraman moved to shoot our meeting! Later in the Style et Luxe area I spotted Brian Johnson of AC/DC being mobbed by fans.

2. Bloodhound SSC

Another highlight came with my visit to the Bloodhound stand where I was in conversation with some of the SSC staff and later the current Landspeed record holder, Andy Green. I also caught sight of Richard Noble who is due to pilot the craft. It is truly massive and involves considerable new technologies involving processes from Formula 1 for the nose section, and the aeronautical industries for the central section and naturally the propulsion. What I photographed was the tenth iteration of the craft; they are currently working with the eleventh and still need more funding in order to make it to the attempt on the record in South Africa.

3. Typhoon / Eurofighter Display

A lone Typhoon performed in front of the house, but for much of the time, it was at a considerable distance, presumably for safety reasons, and some of that time was also somewhat cloudy which was a shame.

Because of several changes of routes and heavy traffic, my family arrived after an arduous three hour journey, that normally would have been just an hour. Trying to meet up proved fraught, due to overcrowded networks, but we did manage it, and either together or in groups we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.

4. On the Hill

I met several different and interesting people, and was able to pass on a few hints to some I met. The two vehicle-focussed meetings at Goodwood each year should not be missed as there is such a variety of activities, and so much to watch and learn, I cannot recommend it enough.

Stockwood Saturday – Warm and Windy

I had managed to clear everything in preparation for the family trip to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed meeting, so having used the Wednesday afternoon to cover Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden, I decided I would pay the Stockwood Discovery Centre a visit, as I was sure the flowers and insect life would not disappoint.

I was right, there was an incredible panoply of colour on display, and the Centre was crowded with young families enjoying the afternoon sun. I had found some interesting and unusual flowers with beautifully textured leaves in the bed at the entrance, so I took out the camera even before going in! I headed for the lavender once within the walled enclave, which I was certain would be attractive to the bees, I was not expecting to see just how hard it was for them to do their pollinating! The sensible ones didi not fly off when the breezes blew, they simply clambered from one flowerhead to any that were nearby, which at least meant there was more time they spent static than had there been less wind.

Once again the long greenhouse was locked, and on this visit I was too late for anyone to let me in there, and anyway there was plenty for me to shoot in the limited time I had left before they closed for the day. I only saw one hoverfly on this visit which I found surprising bearing in mind the moisture from recent rains.

Even though several days have passed since I took these shots, I have already used some of the images in a birthday card for my sister-in-law, and I have yet to load all the Goodwood shots from the following day, but the delay was all worthwhile as I was busy doing a ‘real’ job for a designer pitching for a Royal Mail project involving a hand colouring from an original black and white image; now completed and happily approved.