Brief Brogborough Lake Visit

          Wind was forecast, and I set off for Brogborough Lake, buoyed by the promise of some action from the windsurfers, although I learned that it was unlikely I would be seeing any jumping from the sailors, who were likely to be visiting.
          I had also anticipated more visitors than I met on arrival, but I was happy to see some activity already on the water, and overall the wind fairly strong, so I collected the LUMIX and felt little need for a tripod on this occasion, and took to the water’s edge, rather than the bank. I also noted that the clouds were building.
          I noted that Wingsails were becoming more popular, but I sensed those users were somewhat tentative for the gusty nature of the wind. But, it was not long before they were aloft. Also, the clouds were definitely darkening, and the distant falling rain began obscuring the distant shore, and cameras like this LUMIX were not as weather sealed as my Canon gear, so I was soon heading for the shelter of my car. Sadly, this cut short my visit on this occasion.

Warm and Sunny, Occasional Wind

          The present situation is a constant concern when in close contact with others in confined spaces but when outside, tensions recede and those stresses disappear, and when I last visited the lake at Brogborough, the wind was more apparent, but the urgency to be out on the lake was less apparent; ironically it had a calming effect! At first few were actually out on the water, but activity on shore was building as the boards were rigged and sails were tautened, and soon sailors were heading offshore. Sam soon was shedding his cloak, and making his way from the grassy foreshore and out onto the lake with his wingsail and, taking to the air. I am fairly certain he was very much aware of my presence and the camera, so I was soon grabbing sequences of his abandoning the water for the air.

          The sky began to darken, and the clouds began to look threatening, and a few drops of rain seemed to fall, but then seemed to simply darken though less threateningly, then to dissipate. Sam continued to jump — with occasional calamitous endings. The lake began to fill with more taking to the water, and the clouds receded and were replaced with higher wisps, which had a calming effect upon the sailors, so my subjects changed to those of leaves and their shapes and colours, and I headed into the woods with the intention of choosing a different background beyond the sailors. It seemed as if I had turned off the power to the wind, by my walking into the woods, because when I emerged further down to the shore, few sailors ventured in my direction, and when I returned the lake was emptying of sailors and their craft.
          Perhaps this short Season is closing.

Brogborough Lake – Finally Busy!

 

            Warm weather and wind brings a return to a busier day on the lake for Windsurfers and Wingsail sailors. I join the throng and set up my trusty Sigma 60-600mm lens on my recently purchased Canon R6 and mount it on the sturdy and steady Benbo (so-called because it uses a Bent Bolt!) This tripod is very different to conventional tripods, and one of its benefits, apart from being very sturdy, it’s lower legs are sealed at the bottom, allowing it to safely stand in shallow water. I did not need this feature on this occasion, but it can be very useful for low viewpoint shooting. 

            On this occasion, it was its stable footing that was my choosing, as I was shooting from close to the water’s edge. There was another reason for choosing the Benbo, was I was trying to capture sequences when Sam was taking to the air using his wingsail. This was as much a challenge for me as for Sam, as using a mirrorless camera is difficult to keep track of moving subjects. 

            I have extracted some sequences as individual galleries, as I feel they may be helpful in studying the sequences. I enjoy the challenges of capturing such sequences from their start, by watching the telltale initial squat to launch from the water.

            Please forgive me for the interminable wait to recap your time on the water, or simply look at what went on that afternoon, but I have some serious issues to sort out regarding my getting stuff up on the Blog currently.

Brogborough – Fitful Wind

The fewer visits of Windsurfers to the lake has allowed the native avian community to reclaim the lawn in front of the Clubhouse as their latrine. To ensure the humans fully understand their claim they have put down a deposit making our navigation a tad more wary!

From the start I put up my heavy tripod, the Benbo, to give me a firm platform and a level horizon to the images I planned to capture. One sailor I had not seen in a while was Richard McKeating. Sam had alerted me to the diversity of craft the Sailors would be using on this day, and I suspect he also navigated the Three Musketeers Group into position for me to capture ‘The Gang’ — which definitely required skill in the unpredictable wind conditions; so I hope he was pleased that I took note! In return, I hope he appreciated my also capturing his square-on wing shot! — complete with level board! It also gives the impression of a winking girl! Perhaps he’ll consider an A4 print for his Man Cave?!

This visit was not the longest of my recent visits to the lake, but at least it has taken less time to reach the participants than my last recording of the lake’s activity. I commend it to the participants.

Brief Recent Brogborough Lake Visit

        Time is a Commodity that is very precious, and I do my best to fill the hours in the most productive and satisfying manner, which under the present situation, my most valued activity is the taking of pictures. The hours spent keep me occupied mentally and physically and I am very fortunate in that this area abounds with places that provide me with activities that are challenging, such as the windsurfers on Brogborough Lake, and sailing and powerboat aficionados, on Stewartby Lake and, slightly further afield, the River Great Ouse in Bedford which has rowers, canoeists, insect- and bird-life, as well as nearby parks and woodland. All have provided me with subjects for my cameras and lenses, whilst involving both exercise, relaxation, and mental stimulation, not to mention, albeit at healthy distances; interaction with fellow humans, some of whom have shared photographic interests.

        This gallery indicates a small but varied set of images as evidence of my observations and interest over a couple of days, which were vital for my peace of mind as there have been several situations causing me considerable stress, some of which remain unresolved; and unrelated.
        It is reassuring to note that presently it would appear I must be providing others with something of similar interest because over eleven hundred visitors seemingly have spent some time, either looking at the galleries or reading the accompanying narrative. My only regret is that so few readers leave comments (I am not looking for flattery, but reader’s suggestions of subject matter, or locations for further visits that others have enjoyed and succeeded in capturing similar subjects or activities).
        I miss human contact, and variety, so every one of my ventures armed with a camera are of great personal satisfaction, and stress-relieving, but Variety is the Spice of Life, and very much something I seek. Earlier this year, I bought a new Canon body, and it was a difficult decision, but proved to be one of merit; it proved to allow me to spend more time using my Sigma 60-600mm on a monopod without sacrificing quality, because the stability of the monopod alone when using the EOSR 6 meant I could walk with it all day without becoming tired! This means I can even part with some of my other lenses because this Sigma is so impressive.

A Lake and a River Visit

           This is a gallery from two different locations; one at the nearby lake at Brogborough, but then moves to the river Great Ouse at Great Barford, on an exceptionally bright day. The early shots at the lake had several shots of the reflections on the water, which handily provide me with background images for greetings cards, which provide backgrounds for messages or for inserting small separate images. I also took various other lake views, and some tulips in my own garden before transitioning to the shots I took at Great Barford.

          Parking was no problem, but I had almost reached the river before realising I had not brought my mask from the car (if asked how do I exercise, it is by forgetting to bring my mask from the car, having walked most of the distance to my destination, and have to return to the car, and make the initial journey a second time!) I find this failing memory extremely frustrating, especially as I seem to have damaged the cartilage in my right knee.

          For the early part of my trip I mainly used my general purpose wide angle to medium length zoom, with its extremely handy button for when I need to do closeup shots. Later, I changed to the 100-400mm for some more distant shots. It was pleasing to find that here social distancing was being observed very well, unlike some of my earlier trips, where the main offenders were groups of inconsiderate cyclists who seemed to consider themselves above such considerations for others.

Sent from my iPad

BrogLake Windsurfers Return!

        After a long wait, Brogborough Lake opens to the activities of the Windsurfing fraternity, and the day is blessed with both wind and sunshine. The atmosphere was as boisterous as the wind, nothing could mask the joy felt by everyone that the lake was open, and the most notable change was the number of wing sails that were out on the water. The exhilaration and relief were evident in equal amounts; there was a buzz; it was a shame, I had not learned that it was opening up, as I was definitely arriving late, as many sailors had come in and I learned that I had missed much of the activity!

However, having a chance later on, I mentioned that I would have loved to come over earlier had I known that their lockdown was over. I did my best to make up for lost time, and as I had already mounted my camera on the monopod, I decided it was best not to waste more time in returning to the car for my tripod. I was lucky that we were blessed with almost constant sunshine, so I lived with the monopod, and subsequently spent  a tad more time levelling horizons in ‘post’! At least I had established that in good light, the monopod was adequate, and in part this is due to the new EOS R6 giving me a better burst rate and excellent image stabilisation due to the avoidance of shutter bounce.

Overall, my experience with the EOS R6 has meant I can now consider rationalising my lens collection and sell off those that I will be using less due the gains in performance offered by this camera body, also, keeping on the conversion ring for my. Older lenses gives me the very handy ring for speedy exposure compensation. I do have to remember when I have applied this and reset it after having taken those shots with compensation. Now I have become accustomed to this body, the stopgap EOS R may well offset some of the cost any new acquisition!

I hope the shots taken at the lake on the Windsurfers Return will be appreciated by those who participated and possibly those who did not manage to be there — as I wrote that last sentence, it struck me perhaps some entrepreneurial type might consider opening a hostelry nearby with that name to refresh those who visit this lake!

An Afternoon Walk at Brogborough

            I had been having problems with my main computer due to password problems, and I badly needed a break, and taking a short trip to the lake at Brogborough was a way to be outside in milky sunshine — it was mild and there was barely a ripple on the lake, sadly though, there were no birds, only a few midges by the bushes.

   I had the LUMIX with me, and not expecting to encounter many exciting subjects for the camera, I did take along some closeup lenses so that I could take shots of Autumn berries and leaves, as I knew these were very likely to be potential images. I had not been walking long before I heard voices beyond the hedgerow, and a couple had decided to take a walk around the lake, and I learned this was their first visit, and we chatted awhile before they walked further round the lake. I tarried by the cluster of brambles, looking for some of the definitive signs of autumn, the reds and russet leaves, and berries.

   I also noted that there were still signs of the overnight dew to be seen, and there some interesting patterns that had formed on some of the webs, so my foresight in bringing some close-lenses proved to be handy, also, I did see a lone bird fly close by, but it did not alight nearby, and was soon simply a passing memory.

   On this side of the lake, mostly the sun was ahead of me so on occasions when there were subjects that were of interest, I used the built in flash, but in many instances, there were gaps that led towards the bank and often even paths to the beaches below, which afforded the opportunity to have the sun over my shoulder and look back towards the path. Only very occasionally did I venture down to the water’s edge, as recent rains had made the banks muddy, and my shoes were not suited to for steep slippery slopes!

   I caught sight of a heron in flight, but on this occasion I had the closeup lens attached, so there was no chance of a shot at that time, but later, another chance occurred, but at a greater distance from me, and those proved to be the last shots I took, and by that time the sun was almost gone, but small though the heron was, at least I had some shots of it to close this gallery.

Brogborough Lake – Berry Quiet

  The current weather has been punctuated by showers, mostly light, with occasional sunshine, and fairly warm when the wind is only light when it occurs. Since the most recent shower had died, I decided to chance the short drive to the lake at Brogborough, knowing full well that the lake would not be attractive to windsurfing activity on this occasion.

I did think there might just be some dragonflies, but I was soon to have that hope dashed — in the more than an hour I walked along the shoreline path, I had only the briefest glimpse of just one. Also, only one small white butterfly made a brief appearance.

Fortunately, the visit was not a waste of time, the early signs of Autumn were apparent in the warm colours of leaves, and the recent shower left droplets of water on blades of grass. Small long-limbed flying insects were hoping their colour was masked by the sun-dried reeds in which it had landed, but my patience and persistence prevailed.

The camera I was using was my Lumix with its long zoom range, and my decision to keep some close-up lenses handy, meant the range of subjects I was able to capture with just the LUMIX FZ10002 was not hampered by only having the one camera — I was able to use the lens at its full focal length reach for a shot of a distant bowl on the far horizon, yet also capture close-ups of small winged insects amongst the undergrowth. I was also able to capture distant landscapes and billowing cloud formations one moment then take advantage of the cameras integral electronic flash to bring out detail in backlit shots of berries high atop some of the lakeside bushes.

The scope of subjects this small and light camera can handle is impressive, and in this short walk did not even involve the carrying of any bag or tripod, just a soft camera case that I stuffed unceremoniously into my pocket, which had the two closeup lenses in their cases within.

Win, win! I got plenty of exercise without fatigue; fresh air in abundance and a reasonably varied range of images, all to a very adequate quality.

More Activity at Brogborough Lake

  School term time is around once more, so the chances of meeting up with my daughters and their families has now dwindled, and my younger daughter was uncertain as to whether she might come over. Edge to edge blue sky and a reasonable amount of wind at least here;  a short distance from the lake at Brogborough, the potential for activity on the lake was therefore high and helped make up my mind to drive over with my camera. I packed both my heavyweight gear and long lens as well as the lightweight alternative, the versatile LUMIX FZ10002.

On arrival at the Windsurfers' Car Park, the gate was open, so I presumed I was likely welcome to enter on this occasion. My surmise that the favourable conditions of sun and wind would be a magnet for members of the club proved entirely correct as for once, after a long lull due to Covid there was a good crowd onshore, and much activity on the water, with yet more preparations under way by others onshore.

I received a call from Lizzy to say they were soon to be on their way over, so that helped decide which camera I would bring out to use, the LUMIX won as it required little preparation, no tripod needed, I would be able to move around at will, and the clincher: the wind direction favoured most of the activity would be close to the near shore.

Within five minutes of my arrival I was shooting from the launch area, and after a while decided to head for the woodland path at the far end of the greensward landing and launch area. I was travelling light so made good headway through the winding path that is often used as a cycle race path, and after a brisk pace in the shade soon arrived into the sunshine and the first spot where I could make my way down the steep bank to be close to the water's edge, and get a reasonably wide angle of view of those on the water.

I stayed here for a while shooting, then climbed back up to head further round with a wider view. I moved to two more vantage points before the call came from Lizzy to say she had arrived, at which point, I stopped shooting, and at a brisk pace, headed back through the shaded woods to my car, to head for home, I did break off for a moment or two to chat to one of the newcomers to foiling, André who  had initially fashioned his own hydrofoil, before succumbing to a professional version. We had a brief conversation, before I drove home and a relaxing time with Lizzy and family. This gallery is therefore more delayed than normal before appearing.

Brogborough Lake and Blackberries

I visited the Lake hoping for some activity and at first there were only three out on the lake, so  I started to capture what was on offer, but there was a lull, so with an itching photo finger, I took to capturing some of the blackberries ripening, until more sailors took to the water.
Sam continues to work up his familiarity with the Wing Sail, in a similar way to my continuing to explore the different way of working with the particular mirrorless camera I have been using most of late, the LUMIX FZ10002. Because of the delay involved in using this camera, it is handy to learn how best to capture ongoing action, and suffer the lack of viewfinder image whilst the camera is writing to the card.
One of the drawbacks of my full-frame Canon EOS R mirrorless is its burst rate, but ironically, due to the smaller image size of the LUMIX it is slightly faster, and despite the smaller size it has commendably good quality, and being less bulky than the EOS R, it is eminently hand holdable; (its downside is it does not go out in dusty environments or rain!) whereas my seriously long Sigma lens and full frame Canon body needs the support of a tripod.
Canon have just announced the imminent launch of two more camera bodies, which have caused my Want Glands to begin to over-secrete, and this means possible inheritance funds being depleted to purchase the lesser of the two bodies to give me access to faster burst rates that it offers!
Autumn is rapidly approaching, which might save funds yet a while, as perhaps fast moving action either on the wildlife or sports fronts may well delay such fund deployment until next season, only time will tell.
It was good to capture the day's action, as it keeps my dwindling 'little grey cells' from atrophy for a while longer as this Covid season continues unabated.

Sunny Afternoon at Broglake

On this particular afternoon, my younger daughter brought her two children over, and having fed and watered them at my place, was going to join me over at the nearby Brogborough Lake for a short while, prior to taking them back home, where she was due to meet up with another family close to home with the two youngsters and meet up with other school-friends at their home.

I had to verify there was somewhere to park, so I set off first, and soon arrived — but surprisingly, her two must have been keen to set off because, I had barely parked before they joined me!
On this occasion there was a good number of people who had taken the opportunity to visit, and my two young grandchildren were soon very close to the water's edge to catch sight of all those already out. The time they spent was all too short before they were back in the car, and I was waving them goodbye. I was sad to watch them leave, but I consoled myself with the joy of seeing them despite the brevity of their stay. I then turned back to the lake, and started capturing the varied activity that was in evidence this afternoon. There were many more present than my last visit, and the activities ranged from paddleboarders and kitesurfers to windsurfer's, with and without hydrofoils.
It was sunny, but typically the wind strength was varied, due to the various hills and wooded areas that surround the lake's location, which tends to surprise the unwary. However, I do feel this does add to the skill levels of those who train for these skills on our inland lakes when the more steady winds of the Coast are not available.
Understanding the wind's variability surely must add to the skill of reading the wind.
I made a point of trying to take shots which captured the differing choices of  kit on the water, as well as following the individual genres to point up the variety. The atmosphere was very relaxed in that there were several groups grabbing the opportunities offered by the warm water and sun, to remain close to the shore and chat while remaining in the water.
There appeared to be more small groups taking advantage of meeting once again after such a long time and catching up, so the gallery has hopefully captured the renewed ambiance of life on the Brogborough Lake with the loosening of the lockdown restrictions, and the slow return to some resemblance of normality.

Brogborough Lake — Favours Dragonflies

A warm and windless day under blue skies means the Lake favours the birds, not Windsurfers, though Paddleboarders can also enjoy the calm and the sunshine under edge-to-edge blue. Families of geese enjoy the calm too. Dragonflies, and Damselflies enjoy the sun’s warmth, with the latter also enjoying the lakeside bushes beyond the reeds.

Due to the lockdown, I am restricted to the Anglers’ vacant swims as a shooting spot, bordered by the reeds favoured by my chosen subjects, and I kept as close to the trees, to get some respite from at least some of the sun. For much of the time, the abundant sunshine meant the Dragonflies kept mainly to the air, and their main activity was chasing and being chased, with only a few paired up. The damselflies were to be found also on the field-side of the bushes, or close to the water occasionally flitting amongst the reeds, and favouring the shade. In the water, just a few feet from the shore were some bricks seemingly originally from buildings, since they were cemented together, and judging purely from their siting, I suspect these were not the normal failed brick firings that are to be found as evidence of these lakes past, but the carefully haphazard placing by photographers to bring subjects a convenient distance for their shooting! — “Not Guilty, mLud”.

But who am I to complain, when I am guilty of benefitting from their positioning. There is one noticeable downside to the bank side here, especially with the lack of recent rain — the geese and Swans have graced the shore with their droppings, due to the absence of the disturbance from Anglers. I remained in this spot for quite some time, and noted once again how the Dragonflies came in pulses of activity, with lulls between, which perhaps is a strategy for feeding, disorder that in the lulls, their prey return. If such is the general case then presumably that is the cue for myself to treat the breaks as food and drink time.

Return of the BrogLake Windsurfers

Unlike the last visit to the lake at Brogborough, on this occasion, the wind returned, and the sun beamed from a background of Cumulus Clouds scudding by. On this occasion I brought out my Full-frame EOS R with the 60-600mm lens and 2x Converter to give it an airing, and dust off my cobwebs on its use! I wanted to keep operating from a low-level, but this was not as easy as in the past, because the Swans and Canada Geese had taken advantage of the lack of Anglers’ Activity and reclaimed the shore by layering it with Guano! I searched the nearby expanse of thin reeds for suitable bricks to build myself a seat as close to the water’s edge, yet give my tripod some ground clearance, and settled to see what my subjects would be on this visit. Certainly the wind did not favour the Dragonflies and Damselflies, but as I set up, my first subjects entered Stage Left – two families of Canada Geese rode the waves close by the shore. Once my presence was noticed they chose to head for deeper water, but not swift enough for me to miss the opportunity!

The  relaxing of the LockDown regulations had allowed for a few to take advantage of the sunshine and more importantly the steady wind to attract members of the Windsurfing community to the water, from the moment of a few coming into view, my subjects for the visit’s photography turned to human activity! The new season brought two new sails to the lake, and I had to ask what this new kit was called, and learned they were wingsails from Emma Barnes, to avoid showing my ignorance! Certainly, I took more shots of these, but only put those of interest into the gallery, with a couple of shots of a particularly spectacular wipeout! Also to keep my hand in I grabbed a few shots of the aerial activities of a Blackheaded Gull as it was in range. I noted that several gulls were tending to follow the windsurfers for chances of the windsurfers distracting their prey and giving them a chance to swoop in.

Another opportunity was for me to capture skyscapes for their use as backgrounds for greetings cards, as there were some soaring Cumulus clouds around. The spot from which I was shooting was less than ideal due to the reeds and the wind direction, giving me a restricted angle of view, but it was an enjoyable afternoon to be out with a camera I had not used for a while.

Brogborough’s Lake Life

  The warmth and sunshine invited me to the nearby lake at Brogborough that would normally be the venue of Windsurfers when the wind provided the power for the practitioners to perform; but on this occasion, the water was barely ruffled by more than a whisper of a breeze, and the origins of the lake could clearly be seen by the abundance of bricks that lie strewn below, close to the shore. Amongst the reeds, the dragonflies occasionally landing would create momentary stirs in the stillness and, if the perch seemed too insecure the dragonfly would take to the air in an instant. The damselflies with their lesser weight were more patient, and on occasion, even when coupled with a mate could be seen congregating on a single reed stem.

It was this life I had come to record, as on the last visit I had spotted their arrival in small numbers, and the week long warmth had resulted in an explosion of activity since my earlier visit. I sat down intending to stay at the nearest bay to the entrance to the field, careful to avoid the Swan’s and Geese’ droppings, but after a short while I felt I needed to be closer to the water’s edge, so returned to the car for my small rucksack that has a cushion within, I use for such eventualities. I also picked a few bricks from around, to give me a sound base.

A short way into the water was a small group of bricks that I suspect was an earlier addition by either an angler as a support, or by another ‘Smudger’* as a prop for the likes of dragonflies to alight and provide a ‘natural’ backdrop lapped by water. Certainly, both Dragonflies and damselflies visited this small outcrop of bricks as did simple flies, and it is a workable distance from the nearby bank to serve the purpose of providing a resting place for these species to be captured by photographers. I have now provided a temporary seat as yet not covered by incontinent geese and swans!

I later found a sun-bleached wooden plank from another ‘Swim’ to give a clearer backdrop to see whether it attracted as a landing pad for Dragonflies, and it proved successful, but may well be removed by following anglers. Fortunately, the current Camera, (Lumix FZ10002) that accompanies me works well at these distances, but once the limitations due to the current restrictions are lifted, I will go back to using my longer lenses and larger format, but before that period ends I do wish to get some help to try to more fully understand how to reprogram some of its controls to allow me more instant access to some of its functions. Looking into the capture data afterwards, I do note, I could have lowered the overall sensitivity to lessen the Noise more when the sunshine is so prevalent, or to add greater depth of field, by stopping further down. 

          *Smudger was an early, sometimes mildly derogative description of a travelling photographer.

Brogborough Lake Path Walk

Since the Lake is not open for Windsurfing or Angling currently, I parked to one side of the gate to avoid blocking access, and entered the path that encircles the lake along with my currently ever-present LUMIX camera, ironically in the hope of capturing this year’s Dragonflies, but although they were around, they rarely settled, or hovered awhile, and also rarely came close, whereas the damselflies were numerous and were even to be found In the field margins.

There were spiders either hanging around or very busy linking up several different branches or leaf groups. I also noted a strange winged insect with long tails, but my first interesting bird was a distant Wagtail which, as I quietly manoeuvred closer would loop past me to hop around the same distance from me, but on the other side of me! I moved closer to it, but even more slowly, and have relied on cropping the images to use at a fair size. It kept me busy for a while, as it was rarely still for long, and they are interesting birds. I did get some shots of one Dragonfly, but at one stage the reed he was on fell into the water, and wet its wings, so when I spotted that it had become partially submerged, I got a small branch, and lifted the reed out of the water, so that it’s wings could dry out, and after five minutes, was relieved to witness him dry enough to flap his wings, and moments later take to the air. I was mightily relieved, and it lifted my spirits in realising I had likely saved its life.

Two Geese families soon appeared slowly from the right of me as the respective parents carefully watched me to see if I represented a danger, the appraisal lasted a couple of minutes, then both the Greylag and Canada Geese families slowly brought their charges gingerly past. They had judged that I was not a danger, and both sets of parents kept their young close as they passed by; so they were still taking no chances.

I had thought that the Dog Roses would soon have finished flowering since I had seen the first of them quite some time back, but they were still making a good showing as I continued walking further around the lake. The still waters on this trip meant that it the bottom of the lake clearly showed the origins of their past life as the numerous bricks were evidence of where they had been unceremoniously dumped if they were damaged or otherwise sub-standard. At least now the large planting of trees and expanse of water coloured by the reflection of extensive blue sky and high thin clouds made a most attractive sight, which once the current Lock Down becomes a distant memory will return to, become the background to joyous human activity for Windsurfers, Hydrofoilers, Paddle-boarders and Swimmers, not forgetting the Swans, Ducks and Geese that call this expanse of water their home too.

On this trip, I spotted later a gap in the bushes where a small makeshift bridge had been built over the stream, and decided to risk crossing over, and found myself on a raised bank, with a path bathed in shafts of light from gaps in the cover of leaves which attracted the flying of hoverflies. I decided here was an interesting challenge for this camera, to try to capture then in flight, or possibly static on the back of my hand, but this is one activity that is hard to master using a mirrorless camera, but I do like a challenge, and I spent fully half an hour in attempting to capture at least one, in flight. It was not going to be a great shot, but that was no reason not to make the attempt! They do not match the quality of the rest of the images, but it occupied my brain hand and arms, and I hoped the hoverflies might take a leaf out of the lone fly’s book, by realising I meant no harm.

My last two shots were of the shadows cast by shafts of sunlight through the trees that silhouetted some of the taller weeds in the wide verge.

Brogborough Lake PhotoTherapy

After a trip to two separate supermarkets for food supplies, with moderate success in these straitened times, I returned to do a small amount of housekeeping, then made up my mind to see whether in the short space of time before a link up with the Adobe US Prerelease Team’s fortnightly Internet Meeting, I could capture some of the late afternoon sunshine at Brogborough Lake. Although the Windsurfers’ area is closed, there is a path which follows the shore, that is mainly a spot favoured by dog walkers. I took a stroll from the entrance to the left of the Windsurfers’ area, and finding the surface of the lake still in the absence of even the slightest zephyr stirring the water, took a few shots that told the story of the lake’s origins — having exhausted the supply of good brick-making clay, faulty brick detritus, littered the lake bottom in abundance, clearly visible in the shots that open the gallery of images.

I was out of luck if I had entertained any idea of finding Dragonflies, as although not cold, there had not been enough warmth to tempt them out in the late afternoon, but I stayed by the reeds for a short while in case I might catch sight of any such activity, but in vain!

I walked further along the bank looking carefully in the vegetation, before finding a tree that stood clear in the afternoon sunlight, and other lakeside scenes that caught my eye, as in the past when taking this walk, the pylons have always seemed like walking giants that have been frozen in time during a march across the landscape, and against a clear blue sky, this is not the first time I have taken photos of their strides. I also spied a lone poppy, and a conspiracy of ravens, that makes me wonder what the collective name for pylons should be? — a March of pylons?

Sadly, though I did spy a lone Grebe, and Swan, both were at a distance, so on this LockDown Walk, landscapes,and lake views predominate, but they lifted my spirits, and at the end of the day (to coin a phrase!) that was was the purpose of my trip. I hope they can provide viewers of this blog a similar lift in spirits. I took a long walk in the woods capturing shots of the overgrown paths, and some of the plants, leaves and blossom that caught my eye on the journey. I hope it will not be too long before I can meet up with family again, because my own company is less than adequate.

Brogborough New Means of Windsurfing

I phoned Sam to see whether the wind was attracting much visiting windsurfers, and he mentioned that Yes and I might be interested in that there was also a KiteSurfer out on the Lake. That was definitely of interest as the last time I saw something like that was off the coast at Brighton some six or so years back. Fortunately before calling I had already prepared my camera, tripod and lenses, so within ten minutes I was heading towards the Lake.

The sun was out, the wind was reasonably strong, and as I glanced at the lake there was some activity, and as I was putting the tripod up, I caught sight of the kitesurfer, so got the EOS 7D out, added the 2x Converter to my Sigma 60-600mm and got the legs extended on the Benbo tripod and mounted the camera and lens, wrapped a scarf around my neck and locking the car headed for the jetty, but sadly, even though I had not intended being on it, only the support scaffold remained, seemingly recent winds had torn it from supporting structure. Also, in the short time setting up my camera, the KiteSurfer, had come ashore!

I set up from the grassy bank as the wind was throwing spume in the air as the waves hit the shore below me. I was soon shooting away and then caught sight, of our new visitor and his kite sail, and since at least for me this was a new feature for me here, I spent some time trying to capture his efforts in situations that epitomised his sail and stance — I was also able to capture some dramatic moments when the wind scored more beneficially, against him! The sailor was certainly determined as on each occasion that I witnessed he was very soon back up again — spurred on possibly by the temperature of the water!

After a while of my adding to the number of images that I would be having to process, the lake emptied, and I decided that I would curtail that later amount of time in front of a computer screen, and headed off, but not before chatting to a Polish man with a similar length telephoto, to whom after a chat I gave him my card. I also headed toward the Kite surfer who was just beginning to drive off, to whom I showed a few of the shots of him that I had taken and I passed him my card too. I bought a cup of tea from Sam before leaving, to start loading images back at base, and start selecting, cropping and adjusting them and creating a gallery to appear here on the blog.

Brogborough Lake Two Brave Sailors

A bright sun and a brisk wind was enough to entice me to find the time to visit the lake, even though my daughter, her husband and their two children were due to pay me a visit. The failure of my boiler meant that there was little to keep me from venturing out, and a bright sun and brisk wind favoured the odds that there would be some hardy souls grabbing the chance to take advantage of the wind to go windsurfing.

For similar reasons, there was a window of opportunity open to me to drive over and get some photographs, before the arrival of my family, and the generous delivery of an additional electric radiator to bolster the efforts of mine. I was however arriving late due to my needing to tidy the house in preparation for the onslaught of two young grandchildren, and the need to ensure my daughter and her husband could not criticise me for a lack of either tidiness or cleanliness! So, by the time I had arrived, the two sailors had been braving the bitter wind for at least two hours, and I was only witnessing the tail end of the sailors’ energy.

So, I feel I was very lucky to capture the number of shots I did in the short time I spent at the lake, and even more so capture a single jump; whether there had been more prior to my arrival, I did not learn. I certainly was far from disappointed in my brief visit; the only frustration was that I had gone back to using the. Sigma 60-600mm with its 1.4x Converter on the 7D MkII, and I failed to get control of the focussing square to alter where my sensor was positioned — whether this was finger-trouble on my part, or not, this was not the time to go searching for the answer, so that was a slight irritation, that comes about from jumping between different camera models, and the debilitating feature of increasing ‘Anno Domini’ or diminishing mental faculties! I now will explore that later (which does seem to be an oxymoron!)

To have captured one jump in the short time I was at the lake has to be considered a bonus, and because the activity was short lived, gave me more time to tidy the house before my family arrived.

Brogborough Lake - Scenic Therapy

Most of the last week has been very dull, and often raining or threatening to do so, but for most of the time it proved no real disadvantage as it gave me the opportunity to not suffer any frustration over being held indoors, since the time was gainfully used by my reading the Chapters of Martin Evening’s next book in the ‘Photoshop for Photographers’ series for which I have had the privilege of helping the Author with tech-editing since he wrote his very first edition.

There has been a very short lead time on this occasion, since Martin has been very busy on other projects, so started into the revisions well into the allotted time to bring it up to date, and Adobe have not been resting on their laurels, as they have been adding several new features, adding to the burden of revision.

As the sun finally shone, and I had caught up, I needed to get my fix of taking photos, so that I keep my eyes active and my shutter finger exercised adding to the experience of working with my EOS R. There was little time left in the day, so my choice of venue was the nearby lake at Brogborough, and with no wind, I knew there was little need of a long lens, so I chose the 90mm Tamron Macro f/2.8, and the Canon 85mm f/1.4, and was able to use both to advantage in the short time before the sunset over the far hills.

Soon after arriving I heard the unmistakable sound of a hang glider’s engine, quite close by, but almost immediately it flew lower and remained hidden for the next fifteen minutes, before reappearing as a mere speck in the distance. The only chance by then of capturing it was with my 60-600mm Tamron with its 2x Converter! And certainly not handheld, as were these images. The light upon my car as I returned tempted me to grab a shot of it, before leaving for home, after my welcome breather.