Brogborough Lake – Late Autumn Sun

Despite the Eve of December, the Sun shone brightly across the Lake at Brogborough, and the wind came in gusts, but it was Friday and the lake eventually had a lone Windsurfer braving the conditions to take advantage of the whole expanse of the lake to himself and the occasional birds.

Initially I brought only the 24-70mm lens to take shots of interesting leaves and the views of the lakeside coves, but once I had caught sight of the windsurfer, I went back to the car and put the 150-600mm onto the full-frame 5D MkIII, but because this brightness seemed to be fleeting, I only added the monopod, so that I could hastily return and capture a few shots for which this lake is best known.

On the side of the lake from which the wind was coming, the clouds were slowly gathering, but for the moment the sky was a crisp, clear, rich blue with just the very occasional small puff of cloud. It was certainly difficult in the gusts to keep the camera and lens steady, but had I brought out even the lightest tripod, I might well lose the opportunity that now presented itself.

What acted in my favour despite the gusty nature of the wind was the sun was bright and the air clear, so I was able to use a fast shutter speed, so long as I held the monopod and lens as firmly as possible and focussed carefully.

I surprised myself by capturing a couple of moderately crisp shots of a cormorant flying by, but the percentage success was barely 35%!

I had not put any gloves on and had only a pullover, so the wind finally proved to be the deciding factor in when I stopped shooting and put the gear back in the car, and found a spare plastic bag to put the now well mud-clogged wellies in the boot and don some shoes for the return drive after a hasty cup of warming tea.

Nothing spectacular to show for the sortie, but competent considering the conditions, however the lens I would have liked to use I had re-packed and returned to Sigma the day before because I had not anticipated such a bright day, and also knew there was a journalist waiting his turn to give it a test.

Sigma 60-600mm Lens Test II – Harold-Odell Country Park

  Having lost the Good Weather and the lens due back to Sigma, I paid a visit to the Harrold-Odell Country Park a bit north of me in Bedfordshire. What sunshine there was was on the milky side, and although Gulls and Ducks were the most prolific of the birds on the lake close to the restaurant, I started shooting from there but my first subject was a raven strutting its stuff and occasionally sounding off as if it was annoyed.

There were numerous gulls just moving lazily on the water, and occasionally diving, presumably for small fish, every so often taking to the air briefly before landing back again nearby. In the distance but on the bank on my side of the lake a heron was on the foreshore, so whilst moving past some of the grazing cattle, I gingerly made my way closer to it, and taking a shot or two before moving again – all the while it had its beady eye on me, obviously fairly cognisant of the focal length of my lens, because just before I came into a decent distance from it, off it flew to the far shore, but I had been going for quality so was using a low ISO, so once in flight it was not possible for me to continue shooting, bearing in mind it was increasing that distance with each flap of its efficient wings! – I was already at 600mm and also because it was the 7D MkII, was cropped too!

The cattle also seemed to be moving towards me all the time, and they had weight and numbers to their advantage, and discretion, a long lens that was not mine and the heavy tripod meant the decision was taken from my hands and was replaced by my gear! Also the clouds began to look more threatening and was definitely suggesting that I should continue in the direction I was now heading which was leading me back to my car, but nevertheless I still took a few more shots at the shorter focal lengths of the lens of the distant church and swans in the foreground – these two swans were also very much keener to preen than pose elegantly for me, so valuable time was lost by my waiting for the heads to be above water and hopefully displaying their elegant necks.

In both these recent Lens Test galleries I have therefore ensured that I use the full range of this lens in fairly real world scenarios, and though I had been warned that at the wider end there might be some slight Chromatic Aberrations, what I encountered was subtly different, and was not directly correctible – a shot of some branchless trees at a distance against the brighter side of light from the occluded sun exhibited a red edging either side of the silhouetted branch, hence being uncorrectable using the edge-shifting of the individual channels within Adobe Camera Raw. I do not think this is actually Chromatic Aberration, I think it more likely that the sensor is swamped and is overloading nearby Red photosites. However, it would be very wrong of me to highlight this issue as overall, I did not find any other major issues at the 60mm end throughout all the shooting I did with this impressive lens. Also, this is not attributable to the Sigma lens but the camera.

I would have no insurmountable problems at all in the envisaged situations where I might encounter the need to be able to frame my windsurfing shots when the sailors approached closer, or racing cars and powerboats similarly forced me to widen my framing of the subjects.

By way of describing a typical situation I have on numerous occasions faced, has been that a Windsurfer has gybed coming towards me, the beginning and end of the manoeuvre are uncropped in relation to the full sail, but at their closest point midway through, the crop is severe both on the hull and the sail, because the subject is way too close at a focal length of 150mm, however with is extended range dropping to 60mm we are almost the equivalent of a Normal, Standard focal length lens.

Currently there is not a specific Lens Profile for this lens, but as a start point, I chose the Sigma Sports 150-600 profile without a major issue ensuing, except in the single somewhat ‘centre-jour’ situation mentioned in this narrative

Once Sigma Stock levels return to being available, I shall be making a purchase!

This is a full-width section of the 7D MkII file at 1024px wide. Note the red fringing of the two major  skeletal trees, it does not appear in the gallery, just here as a postscript to show the only issue I encountered, and one that is down to the camera's sensor, not the Sigma lens.

Birthday-Part II – Brooklands Visit

My actual Birthday this year fell on the Saturday, and both my daughters were unable to join me, or have me over to one of their homes, so a happy solution was arrived at whereby I was going to be celebrating over two days, and having thoroughly enjoyed the weekend’s first day in London with the elder daughter and one of my twin grandchildren, Poppy who had recently entered Halls of Residence.

Day Two, the Sunday, involved my driving to Quainton and my younger daughter’s new home, where I would become a passenger for the trip to Brooklands and its Museum. Both children were looking forward to the day, not so much for being with me, but more about what was on offer, as there were so many things to see and enjoy; it was a familiar venue they both relished.

The journey was broken by a stop for some food and was not burdened by excessive traffic though the day was not quite as warm as the day previous, but was equally bright. There were plenty of visitors, but it was not overcrowded, and we took a leisurely stroll around, and I indulged in some camera-clicking, and capturing the two youngsters enjoying the tracing, the overloading of a boat, the dropping of a bomb, and especially the driving a car around a circuit in the simulator were highlights of their day, as well as visiting one of the workshop areas and riveting a small piece of aluminium to create a an aircraft were highlights.

Later we were on different sides of the Hill as we watched different vehicles climb the steep gradient that climbs towards Brooklands famous Banking. On this occasion, there was nothing spectacular and none failed to make it, though the pace for some was on the gentle side. Also, some vehicles definitely were appearing a second time, though possibly with swapped drivers.

On this visit, I learned more of Brooklands’ History that I had not known before, and it was why I made a point of taking photos of the Descriptive Boards, such that I could read them later at leisure. Although I took many photos of the children enjoying themselves, I have really been laughing out loud as I have spotted amusing interactions I had missed whilst actually taking the pictures, so really I am spreading the enjoyment of my Birthday even beyond the weekend. I count myself very lucky to have a wonderful family, who have on this occasion made it last so long.

Clerkenwell Birthday Visit with University Granddaughter

         My birthday was to start fairly early, as the plan for the day was for me to meet up with my elder daughter and one of her twin girls who has just settled into student accommodation having started at University in London.

         My daughter had to take the other twin to work before she could take a train to town, so Poppy and I chatted as she finished getting ready then we all headed for the Tube to Farringdon, where I could show Poppy Clerkenwell where I had spent much of my time as a photographer, with two studios just off Hatton Garden, and also the last employed job before I started ‘SOLUTIONS photographic’ — Longacre Colour Labs, where  I had been their Sales Manager.

         This area of London holds many pleasant memories for me, as I maintained many contacts even after becoming self-employed and return for Clerkenwell Design Week despite all the changes to the area that I first new.

         For many years this area held the workshops for London, and once held numerous photographers and Designers, who moved to either Covent Garden or the less expensive areas of East London around by Old Street and City Road.

         Poppy, despite being here a short time had already acquainted herself with parts I had thought she would not have found; that I had considered known to only a few! I was pleased by that. We took a stroll around the garden of St. John’s Priory, which allowed me to create a montage of Poppy in three windows, to depict ‘See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, as a small piece of fun. We were greeted by a Friendly Robin and some late roses there before a walk to Clerkenwell Green where Catherine and Poppy found a quirky piece of architecture just by one of my erstwhile clients Design Bridge.

         I was treated to lunch by Catherine and we later headed towards areas familiar to Poppy, and soon we were seeing London heading into evening and Christmas, and as darkness was falling seeing the lights reflected off the Thames, and we spent a short time by the Festival Hall and the skateboarders by the river, and all too soon it was time for Catherine to head for home to pick up Holly from work, and for Poppy to head back to Halls to catch up on her work, and for me to head back to my car back at East Finchley and drive back home, in the knowledge that I had another early start as my other daughter was treating me to a visit to Brooklands Museum.

Sent from my iPad

Brogborough Blessed with Sunday Wind

After a somewhat dull and almost windless Day on the Saturday, Sunday brought cheer to Brogborough Lake and anticipatory smiles to numerous windsurfers. This being November did however mean that the hardy sailors were well covered meaning that when I was lucky to have them heading towards me I was greeted by a balaclava clad face making facial recognition tough.

I set myself up beyond the boundary of the Windsurfers’ club area and trudged my heavy Benbo tripod a fair distance along the foreshore and was atop a steep bank. Had it been dry for a while, I might have been tested to climb down to have low viewpoint, but it had been wet for a few days, so I was not about to risk myself or the Benbo with Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and valuable Sigma 150-600mm long lens, so I was exposed to the wind, and obviously very conspicuous to my subject sailors, and that soon became obvious as several headed straight for me, the long lens and heavy tripod obviously a magnet!.

Today was a day when I arrived fairly early as I was not going to be staying around too long as I was due to be over to my daughter’s house to pick her up to go to the Aylesbury Mayor’s Concert in celebration of the Centenary of the Cessation of Hostilities in the First World War. This also the reason this gallery is much delayed as I decided that event and its images was a higher priority.

I hope the wait is worthwhile; certainly I enjoyed the favourable bright sun and wind and considering how short my stay was, there is a good number of shots in the gallery that I am finally putting up on the blog. I have spent a considerable amount of time stuck in front of the computer, and have a stiff neck for my troubles. To be completely honest though there is also another reason for the delay, and that is that I stayed up late one evening to watch the recording of the penultimate Grand Prix of the 2018 season to watch Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton settle the team Prize for the Year.

Motor Racing being a sport of major interest for me having been an Assistant Chief Pit Marshal for some thirty years for the BRSCC. A further reminder of that career for me was when I learned of the recent death of the Racing Driver, David Morgan. It was quite some time ago, when Crystal Palace was a regular venue for Motor racing and the two Assistant Chief Pit Marshals, Peter Melville and myself on the very last lap of a Formula 3 Trophy Final, had to jump over the barriers to part the two drivers, David Morgan and James Hunt from a fight that had ensued whilst the other cars were still racing past! The crash itself was not covered by the BBC, but the scene was carried in print, and in the next week’s BRSCC News magazine!

Excuse the digression, but I still maintain my interest as I am fortunate that when I was Sales Manager of a London Colour lab we used to do retouching for Charles Settrington, now Lord Richmond and due to him asking our Retouchers regarding Colour Management, they recommended he contact me, and it was fortunate only the day before he had been in the audience when I had been speaking at TUC Congress Hall, so he got in touch, and subsequently I went down to Goodwood House to help and stayed the night, so he could have my help from the following morning! As a result of this friendship and work connection I have been lucky enough to be invited to the circuit ever since.

Back to the matter in hand, do enjoy the gallery of Sunday’s pictures, sorry for the delay.

Remembrance Service – Aylesbury Concert Band - St. Mary's Church

I drove to Quainton to pick up my daughter to collect her and the far less weighty Tenor Sax and head for the car park in Aylesbury Town Centre where she would be playing with The Aylesbury Concert Band to celebrate the Mayor's Centenary Remembrance Service in Commemoration and Thanks for those who gave their lives in service of their country in The Great War from 1914 to 1918.
I was joining her for the Rehearsal, and I soon learned I was going to be some considerable distance from the Band, so began shooting early whilst I was still able to wander quietly around to be able to obtain less obstructed views of the Band Members, I also realised that with the low level of lighting I was going to find it hard to get the quality of shots I wanted without something to give me extra support, so I soon headed back to the car to collect my monopod as a tripod would not be feasible.
It was definitely a good move, because I found my self shooting at speeds of 1/20th of a second if I wanted to keep a low ISO and the noise level to a minimum, which meant I was often over-shooting to ensure the success rate was good. The Conductor, Rob Wicks's, baton was certainly going to often be a blur even when I had managed to hold my camera and lens steady! Almost all of the shots in the Concert proper were taken at full aperture, and I still often had to resort to setting an ISO speed as high as 6400˚. During rehearsal, I should have pushed the speed higher as I was in the low light in the left aisle whilst Alison Langer was practising her piece, and I really needed the extra speed to capture the pianist's hands at the keyboard.
The Concert was full of Music that was familiar and often rousing, and there is always a great chance of me singing with gusto, especially when the audience can cover any mistakes I might make in my exuberance. The congregation were amused by the presiding Minister's request we sing Jerusalem through a second time to allow enough time for the Collection! I was more than happy to oblige.
Altogether another enjoyable evening, the only slight sadness was that the length of the event meant that on my return I spent very little time with my young grandchildren before they went up to bed.

Brogborough Saturday – A Light Wind

As I left Marston Moretaine, heading for Brogborough, there was a reasonable amount of Wind, so I felt there might be a reasonable chance of some action on the lake with the Windsurfers, but on arrival, although there were several people milling around preparing themselves, there was little evidence of the wind here – where it mattered!
I was almost considering leaving without even setting up the camera, but the wind came up a little, and the light was good, and I was hooked – so back to the car and I set up the tripod and camera; the activity of the participant windsurfers had made it impossible for me to resist and I realised that to leave now having shown my face was to let them down.
There would be a gallery of images to show for my attendance, and I will have given those who came a chance to relive the afternoon, they would be grateful I did not snub them just because I felt there was nothing exciting, and I learned there was a better wind on the Sunday, so I began shooting and for my trouble I got a cheeky response later (frame 6132) which later I spotted whilst editing is probably a comment on the first shot in that sequence (frame 6119) where I failed miserably in my focus, so although it should have ended up on the Cutting Room Floor, I have let it stand to atone my sin in failing. (Note to self: Must do Better).
So in gratitude for those who showed their skill on the water, please enjoy the rest of the shots I captured.

An Autumn Afternoon in Bedfordshire and a Kestrel

Grabbing the kit I headed northwards to the A421 to go East towards Sandy on the A603, (a number familiar to my late father whose first Squadron in the RAF was the eponymous 603 University Air Squadron); I stopped along the way at Eyeworth where soon after I parked my car I spotted a Kestrel atop a chimney pot at a farm. However, I had very specifically only got the 5D MkIII with the 24-70mm and 100mm with me, my 100-400mm was stinside the car a hundred plus yards back down the lane!
I did quickly take a few shots using the zoom at its longest but headed back to the car in the vain hope of the bird remaining atop its viewing platform. It took a few moments, and I was rewarded with it staying there just long enough before it flew off, to capture a mere handful of pictures. A little later I got some of it on the telegraph lines, but as I stealthily tried to move beyond it for better lighting, it duly moved the same distance I had managed, to keep the same angle relationship from the sun – birds and numerous other animals know precisely what a photographer's need and which focal lengths they are using, to thwart us in our endeavours. To illustrate this, on one occasion, I had been shooting a kingfisher at some distance with a maximum 400mm lens and twice (in the very same timeframe) it has flown so close that only a lens capable of focussing to less than four feet could have focussed, and it settled for twenty seconds just beyond arm's length, then flew closer still in an arc then disappered into the far distance!
A couple of years ago when in the same spot at Marsworth, a heron landed around fifteen feet from me, where it was largely shielded by intervening branches, so I silently removed the camera from the quick-release plate and tried to move to my right to clear the majority of intervening branches, and I hung precariously from a spindly piece of adjoining bush and almost fell into the water, but on this occasion I managed to grab three shots before my strength and dodgy standing meant I had to return to safety – it was close, I did slip but fortunately I did avoid falling!
A screenshot of where that item is on my blog for those who might be interested:

On this afternoon I only managed a mere handful of images, but it gave me a further insight into the surrounding countryside that is close around me, and I shall certainly venture into this area again. The hydrangeas close by to where I parked were in the shade and looked very fresh, possibly due to the woods close by, the narrowness of the road and shielding from the buildings, and most obviously due to the care afforded by the house owner.

Brief Visit to Perse School

Over the weekend I paid a visit to Sawston, Cambridge and Saffron Walden, to meet up with my daughter and Granddaughter for a snack lunch at a small restaurant where she now works, and later visiting my daughter's School in Saffron Walden, where she had work to complete prior to the following week. Whilst there I took a few pictures of her pupil's work and their beautifully airy classroom.

The images of the bee early in the accompanying gallery were taken in my daughter's adjoining neighbour's front garden. The flowers it was feasting upon were in surprising condition given how late in the season this was, and is a testament to the effect this late warmth and the care the neighbour has taken in looking after them.

These images were delayed by my working on a large tranche of images from the weekend taken in the continuing Autumn warmth at one of my pair of nearby lakes, at Stewartby the former site of a large brickworks for which this county of Bedfordshire was renowned; many of which have now become centres of Leisure activity in this area.

Stewartby – A Warm Autumn Walk

Monday, afternoon, and I find I have cleared my desk, and since it was very warm considering we were now in November and Autumn was coming to a close; it is often a time of cold winds and rain. I decided it was too good a an opportunity to miss as the light would definitely soon be departing as the clocks have now gone back bringing evenings ever closer.
I drove a short distance to Stewartby Lake and decided on a walk around the lake anticlockwise toting the 5D MkIII and the 24-70mm with its Macro facility. There was a milky sun which occasionally was almost completely occluded by clouds, and always when I really wanted the direct sunlight to break through! There was no human activity on the surface of the lake, so if I were to find subjects it was going to either be leaves or possibly some avian subjects, so I wandered along the path occasionally diverting down smaller paths that led to the foreshore to see what I could find.
Some of these were tunnel-like with the sun if out, reflected on the water amidst dark foliage, The ducks on the water soon paddled out of sight due to the narrowing view I had and their sense I might offer danger. I found that the ivy clinging to the branches of trees seemed very fresh presumably at the expense of the host trees whose branches they clung to and climbed.
In one of the clearings on the opposite side to the lake I found an abundance of apples, and there seemed to be way too many to be simply windfalls, but I could be mistaken. When photographing the foreshore it is always obvious who the previous owners of the land were, because of the abundance of bricks with names such as London Brick, or Phorpres stamped in their frogs. These lakes such as nearby Brogborough owe their origin to the London Brick Company's excavation of the local clay. They have now become lakes and been acquired for more leisurely activities such as powerboating, sailing, windsurfing, and fishing and the enclosing land has cycleways, paths, grasslands and picnicking areas, and is home to birds, butterflies, and insects in wide varieties.
In my walk of a mere sixth of the way around the lake I met some really interesting people with whom I chatted, one who had two wonderful dogs he was walking, a man who worked nearby at a local engineering business, who showed me a super quality picture he had taken of a dragonfly that landed close by to him, and a charming young lady who who had just settled down to rest on one of the many seats provided, with lake views that take the stresses out of workaday life. This lake and its paths are wonderfully peaceful and friendly places, which every so often can be somewhat less peaceful when this quiet gives over to the exciting sights and sounds of powerboats.
I am guilty to photographing both the peace and the roar of life in this park, the Forest of Marston Vale; it caters well to a lot of Community activity and it has a large Wind Turbine that even powers the Visitor Centre and its power surplus is fed back to the National Grid.

Autumn Sunset Images, Bedfordshire…

The Day had been much warmer than yesterday and the wind had died and just as the sun was setting I was free enough to take a quick drive to two spots where I felt the low angled sun would provide a peaceful landscape, despite lacking any clouds which to my mind always add to any landscape image.

The first spot was on the road from Marston Moretaine towards Cranfield where the low sun’s glancing rays just caught the gentle undulation of the ploughed fields. The second was the lake at Brogborough which is normally the background to my shots of windsurfers, paddleboarders and dragonflies, but where the essential is for bright sun, a reasonable wind, and some scudding clouds, this evening with barely a zephyr to ripple the surface of the lake, it was the calm and serenity of the clear evening that attracted me to capture a few images.

Had I been free a few evenings back I would have been able to capture some stunning clouds that I witnessed as I drove back here only a few minutes earlier on that day, those were skies just for the eyes (if I were only a painter! But then, I don’t complain as I do enjoy my ability to capture at least something of what I see with the help of my cameras and share these on this blog).

Afternoon Visit to Marston Reservoir

I was late in setting off and also not helped by road diversions, and my own carelessness by taking the incorrect exit from a roundabout, which meant a long trip to return and take the correct one! Not the most auspicious start for the trip to Marsworth Reservoir.

I also had to unlock the gate upon arrival, then when I had put the camera and tripod up, then had to clamber over the relocked gate! I had decided to use my lightest tripod as I anticipated a fair trek, and my knees are weak at present; this carbon fibre tripod does not open very wide on the first click, so with a long, heavy lens, it is none too stable, so that hardly helped, but having clambered over, I set off through the woods, and came across a trio of anglers already packing up after a catch-less morning and by now, some dark clouds were blowing in my general direction, and the wind had risen. 

I was soon widening the legs of the tripod, and started shooting, amongst the early activities I spotted was one of the gulls attempting to land on the flimsy branches of a heavily laden tree of berries; I captured its first and failed attempt as well as its next and successful foray. A gull did not strike me as the most likely bird to consider berries, as in its marine habitat I would expect it to be mainly interested in small fish just below the water’s surface, though perhaps I should not be too surprised having watched one of the TV programmes where an underwater photographer had filmed roach feeding off low-hanging berries in a river.

In the main gallery linked from the headline text, there are just the shots where the gull gets its targeted titbit, but here is a link of both the failed and successful attempts upon the berries:- 

<http://www.fntn.co.uk/rodwp/Marsworth-BerryCleverGull>

There is also a further separate gallery, where a young Grebe is equally persistent in its target — the capture and swallowing of its prey, a small tiddler of a fish, and during the period that I was watching it had been making dives every twenty seconds or so, before coming up successfully, and only after I had clicked some three shots did I spot that finally success had rewarded it! That I caught the sequence was as pleasing as it must have been for the Grebeling.

Here is a link to that gallery:-

<http://www.fntn.co.uk/rodwp/Marsworth-YoungGrebeSuccess>

I have just realised that both those sets of images effectively topped and tailed the visit as both were close the beginning and end of my Marsworth trip. Altogether it proved to be a worthwhile trip, despite the wasted time and fuel. Although the Cormorant is not the most loved of birds to inhabit our lakes, I did get some shots of one in flight, Anglers would have different ideas on shooting this species, and it does not involve a camera!