Autumn Woodland Stroll

          The sun beckoned me out from where I had parked my car close by a Vauxhall Car Showroom; a handy spot from where to cross the busy main road, and enter a park. One of the beauties of sunlight when photographing leaves is that when leaves are backlit, the internal structures are revealed, adding interest to even the most mundane of leaves. So it was hardly surprising that seeing sunlight streaming in from the direction my camera was facing, rather than over my left shoulder, it would feature such an image so early in my walk. Nevertheless, strongly textured leaves soon became the focus of my attention in the seasonally natural hues of dark green and red.
          Against such a backdrop, I then sighted a Shield bug, making its lethargic way around the handily, rippled textures of the leaf. The combination of sunlight and the season’s varied and rich colours always appeal, as do the dark gold of dying leaves due to drop from their stem when the wind breaks their grip.
          It is interesting to note that when I am spotted aiming my camera’s lens close to something of interest to me, and almost right on top of my subject, passers-by are often sufficiently puzzled to enquire just what it might be that I am looking at? This breaks down any reticence they might feel normally, about asking me what has caught my interest? I cannot be sure in this instance whether this was the case, but one of the next shots I took was of a couple of well covered, happy people who engaged me in brief conversation. If they spot this image I hope they were pleased with the outcome.
          I continued walking close by the trees to spot further subjects for the camera and was alerted by the loud and obviously happy chirping of an immaculately groomed Robin generously providing me with differing backgrounds for the shots! Up till then, I had not taken much note of the sky and it’s few clouds, but I took a quick shot before going back to closer subjects of tree trunk textures and leaves, and leave you with an ivy-clad tree ‘giving me the bird’!

Bedford Park - Warm Afternoon

            Warm sunshine in early October is certainly an invitation to be outside, and is an invitation I find irresistible — so I head for a park I have not visited recently, and the beauty of sunshine lies as opposed to light from an overcast sky, is this casts shadows, and enhances texture and detail. A single teazel separated from its blurred background is therefore an ideal start point. Intricately patterned leaves either obliquely lit from above or through from behind are too good to miss! The leaves and sharp thorns of brambles, or the breeze lifting their leaves to display the rubbing beneath are always aspects of nature that will catch my eye, and entice me to record them. For the next several minutes, I found myself fully absorbed by the textures and colours I found all around; some so abstract they might well have been shot from above by satellite! And, as if to emphasise the beholder, as I panned towards what lay immediately beneath me, I grabbed a shot of my own silhouette, before taking a couple of rippling reflections that were accentuated by the original uniformity of the protecting rail, by the Canoe Slalom Course.
            A nearby bush was alive with bees and butterflies eagerly feasting. Rushing water within the pool by the lock gates, and the contre-jour but now somewhat forlorn remains of the spiders’ labours also caught my eye, as did the Mallard ducks being tossed by the turbulence of the water, then the frantic aggression from one male towards another (possible suitor?!) After this, the chasing male spread its wings to dry them, for the next encounter, perhaps?!
           A pair of swans found there was far more interest below the surface than above — but no! One at least had found a tasty morsel of reed upon which to feast. The predator Mallard ignored the passing feather from the previous fracas as it drifted past and the duck continued to paddle against the current. On the shores other Mallards relaxed in the warmth and swans dried their wings, or simply displayed their plumage as a mark of power. Overhead, gulls were gathering, and occasionally swooping to gather morsels of bread being thrown by children onto the water by the shore. This provides me with the chances to capture the gulls as they hover. In sunshine, it also gives me a better chance of capturing detailed images of the birds in flight; that is until some careless dog owners do not control their charges, and two dogs frighten the assembled birds! That irresponsible behaviour is a disgrace, and shows a callous disregard of the owners’ responsibilities!
            There were several Cormorants in the lake on this occasion, and I was intrigued by one which had something in its beak, but it was too distant for me to see exactly what it had in its beak, but after it had played with it awhile, I was unsure whether it had eaten it, or dropped it back in the water. The Grebes sadly kept their distance from the shore on this occasion, because it is a species I enjoy watching. The ravens I encountered on this afternoon seemed to accept my presence as unthreatening, and came reasonably close, and it was interesting that one pair was so different in their personal grooming - one was immaculate without a feather out of place, the partner: the complete antithesis! Unlike the male Mallard which was washing itself all over! While it’s partner watched calmly from the shore. The subsequent display seemed to justify the male’s behaviour, as they both snuggled up to each other — a display I have never ever witnessed before! I suppose you must admit, that definitely should be a feather in its cap!

           One of the Finger Lakes must be especially shaded from the wind as its surface is almost entirely covered by a layer of green algae, but the birds on it seem undeterred by its coverage, and their passage through closes behind them, as they paddle further. As I head back to my car, I stop to take shots of a Magpie that heads in my direction, entirely unfazed by my presence, but eventually, far less so with a couple of men heading towards me from behind the bird, as they licked their way through ice cream cornets. I resumed my pursuit of leaf textures, dying leaf structure, and berries — the Magpie flew off, and I captured a few more varied leaves and berries on the last stretch before returning to my car, and home, ending a satisfying and enjoyable afternoon’s exercise of limbs and brain. Enjoy!

A Walk Along the River Great Ouse in Bedford

        The sun was favouring the River Great Ouse with its warmth and light as I arrived to spend a relaxing couple of hours in early September. I strolled through wooded shade towards the riverbank, and as if to confirm the warmth a paddleboarder came into view, soon followed by a narrowboat. By now I was right by the riverbank, and spotted an unusual gourd-like plant floating on the surface on a long stem, which disappeared from view into the depths. A Robin paid a fleeting visit to a shadowed branch of the canopy, so my eye turned elsewhere and a small butterfly caught my and unlike the Robin, it seemed unfazed by my presence. I walked on with boats passing by on my left.
        My lens and I caught sight of the first Dragonfly of the day and from my low viewpoint it appeared to match the desiccated and web-strewn seed pods of its vantage point. Soon I was to spot an abundance of dragonflies choosing far more fresh examples of vegetation, greener reeds waving slowly in the occasional breeze. A Cygnet gently passed by as I captured yet more dragonflies moving from one vantage point to another with occasional dances with potential suitors. I found interesting eddies to capture in the gently swirling waters caused by raised stones close by the riverbank, or clumps of vegetation. Also in the shadows and shallows, the water seemed to glow in the dappled light coming through from gaps in the overhanging trees that had started to shed their leaves by the bank. Drapes of Ivy hanging by the path’s edge seemed to provide a silhouette of an Elephant and its trunk, and I mentioned that to a passing couple walking past me, and they smiled and agreed with my observation! From my constant seeking of suitable viewpoints to choose clear views of birds and insects, I often note that flying insects are always willing to practise their skills by attempting landings on unstable waving reeds and leaves. This day was no exception; several times a landing will be attempted, then abandoned shortly after, when the blade of grass or reed drastically dipped under the extra weight! I also observe shape similarities in nature that have equivalences to human engineered tools — I tempt the reader to spot a dragonfly on the handle of a whisk!
        I don’t only observe the denizens of the animal kingdom on these photo sorties, I also capture fellow humans making the most of these areas, as once again I capture appealing scenes of wave-rippled reflections of brightly coloured paddles and cascading water as they leave the water. Leaf textures and shadows add to their appeal, and overlapping backlit leaves can form shapes that can be recognised as entirely disconnected impressions of other familiar objects — see if you can spot a caricature dog?! Or a Duck in the healed wound of a tree that years earlier had lost a branch. Or the basis of tic toe in blades of grass, or individual characters of the Alphabet? This park also can trace incidental architecture from the time of Egypt’s Pharoahs, and to continue this game see if you can spot a lamp standard keeping its eye on a runner?
        Perhaps it’s just me, but the world is full of interesting shapes and juxtapositions, and this trip just seems brimming with subliminal artefacts! Hopefully, I can catch up with some more of my backlog of images yet to see the Light of Day.

Bedford Park Visit — Riverside

          I had no visitors coming over, so it was not a difficult decision to take a walk in a park with a camera! On this occasion I made the conscious decision to use the one lens for anything that I decided to attempt to capture, and my decision proved to be the wrong one very early on, as I noticed a few of one of my favourite insects; the hoverfly. And using this bulky lens was hampered by both its weight and inadequate close focussing, but having made the decision, I was now going to accept it! However, because it was still small in the viewfinder, and the insect itself had its own flight plan, that did not involve waiting for a photographer to do his bit, I was also hampered by my puny efforts to achieve focus before it moved off! Also, though it was sufficiently unfazed by my presence, it had no need to keep its eyes on me! So, adding insult to injury it only presented its rear view to me! In order to remind me that I should only consider my macro lens for that type of shot, I decided that despite my dogged determination to keep making attempts, I would display a couple that at least were in focus as an aide-memoire for the future.

One other feature of this set of images was my ongoing interest in patterns made by flowing liquids, especially when these manifest due to restrictions, hence the shots of powerful burbling water at drops in water-level, or the more relaxed ripples, when the flow was more gentle. Dragonflies and damselflies also catch my interest, but they were guarded from my proximity by abundant intervening nettles and a steep bank, but they were not so distant that they were impossible to record in acceptable detail.

At the end of my time by the river, nearby human activity caught my eye, and in particular one boy with his family who was a tad nervous of standing on his paddle board and I felt his lack of confidence was his downfall. Had I been asked, I would have suggested he tried again, but his family seem not to have offered this suggestion! So, I captured his success at creating splashes whilst paddling his board. My suggestion would have been, never be fazed by failure, and try, try, and try again! Avoid accepting defeat whilst learning. But, thank you for giving me some especially pleasing action shots!

Bedford Walk & Capture

     

The sun and warmth of this Autumn day drew me to visit the banks of the River Great Ouse in Bedford, with the desire to capture the activity of some of the wildlife. On this occasion, I had my hopes set on a heron that I had photographed at the weir behind the Cinema, but it turned out to be on a fishing trip by the wider weir, offering a cooling walk in shallow water further along the path. I was to spend some time before my wish was granted on the other side of the main road, photographing some very sleepy ducks, some interesting fungi on the bark of a tree, backlit leaves, and bunches of berries, before returning to the weir and walking further.

I had chatted to some of the anglers during that period, one of whom was a photographer who ran a Camera Club, he copied my details to his phone, so we may well meet up again in the future. I noted where the heron was in passing it, but the view was both distant, and heavily obscured by fine branches, so I spent some time walking beyond, crossing a bridge further down the path, and returning to narrow the distance between us and doing my best to obtain a view that was less obscured. The heron was very aware of me, and was leisurely moving to other spots from which it could observe its potential prey without a care as to whether I might have a clear view of the action! This meant often I would have to seek a new spot every few minutes, during which I had to move considerably further round. I was however rewarded by having differing backgrounds and finally by capturing its success over a substantial meal, however it downed its catch out of my sight, but I could see a slight bulge in its neck for evidence!

Currently the bird I really wish to see at some of the spots to which I gravitate, is the Kingfisher. This year my trips to the one lake that in the past has afforded me the chance of photographing this beautiful little bird have been unsuccessful — this is the lake at Marsworth, the spot where in the past every visit by me was reciprocated with avian visits, and by that I mean not just kingfishers but several other bird species, even though my raison d’être for the trip was undoubtedly the Kingfisher.

Definitely this visit’s highlight for me was undoubtedly to see the heron, especially as it kept me on the move which to me is always preferable to sitting in a hide with a comparatively static background and on this occasion, I definitely got my exercise quota as well as a ‘warm fuzzy’ from the heron and its excellent catch!

Bedford–River Walk in Sunshine

On this particular day, I took a trip to Bedford and a Car Park that would give me a good spot to take a walk along the River Great Ouse. It was fairly late in the day, but there was still some warmth, but knowing the chances of rain were high, I was prepared for that eventuality, and it proved to be a well-founded perception.
 I had chosen a start I had taken before, but my intention was to follow a different route though still keep close to the river. Soon after crossing the bridge and entering the wide expanse of grass alongside one tributary of the river I spotted a lone angler, so I decided to walk along metal walkway to have a word with the man and enquire whether he knew of any nearby locations I might spot kingfishers.
He told me that he had seen some further along the stretch I was about to continue heading — I thanked him and had barely reached the spot from where I had decided to walk over to him, when I was amazed by the very species of bird I sought head from the woods towards me in a blur of blue and orange, then take a sharp left turn and fly away alongside the stretch of river I had been coming from!
Although there was naturally disappointment in not having the opportunity to get a shot of the kingfisher, I still found enormous pleasure from the sight of my favourite bird, as it had reinforced the knowledge of a potential location for the future — for that I was sufficiently pleased that I returned to the angler to recount what I had just witnessed and told him I just had to thank him for bringing me good luck!
Sad to report I was not treated to any further sighting of a kingfisher, but I did get some shots of a heron, another avian favourite of mine, and that situation came about from my talking to a canoeist who a short while later pointed out the heron to me, so on this occasion I did manage to get shots of this one!
These were the photographic highlights for me, even though I spent much longer before ending this particular sortie. Later, after deciding to consider starting my return journey to the car, I took a shot of what I first thought was a bird in the undergrowth I was embarrassed to find it was a log! It was at this point of acute embarrassment I came across a lady ahead of me, and felt I simply had to own up to this abysmal failure! We ended up walking along the same route chatting away, and it was during this walk I began noting raindrops whilst we talked. As I neared the end of my journey, the lady stopped at a point where our journeys separated, and we took our individual ways home as the rain increased.