Stockwood Discovery Centre, National Wildlife Photography Exhibition

The Wildlife Exhibition offered an ideal opportunity to visit both the Gardens and the Gallery, so I arranged with John Sentinella, and Jan Tysoe to meet up there. It provided the chance to view the stunning work of others in the exhibition area, and the opportunity to take our own photographs of the bounty of new life within the garden at the beginning of Spring this year.

I arrived first, and John who had parked elsewhere joined soon after, with Jan coming in after a spell doing Pilates. I had taken a brief stroll around before their arrival.

We all took a look at the fine work of others, and John later left us after the wander around the Exhibition, Jan and I stayed longer before going around the gardens in the search of subjects that caught our eye. It will be interesting later to see Jan’s images, to see what I might have missed, because she has the advantage of knowing what is likely at this early time of the season. I must also find out what differences she found between a lens I lent her to compare with the one she uses.

On the whole we were lucky with the light and the weather, and later we adjourned to the cafeteria for a hot chocolate to catch up. We parted and I made a call to a fellow photographer, Colin Bowles to see whether I might visit him and his wife, to catch up on their news before heading back up to Marston Moretaine, and it was a good move because from there it proved a really good trip back, rather than up the crowded M1. Altogether, a very productive and enjoyable day.

Brands Hatch with the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club

No, I have not suddenly come into money, and become the owner of a Jaguar — I do have a friend though who does own such a vehicle and we met up and travelled down from Bedfordshire to attend a meeting of what amounted to a rescheduled event from last year. 

The day had begun in fairly thick fog and upon our arrival the sun was beginning to win the battle to burn off the mist bringing a glow behind Druids Hairpin that was being reflected in the windows of the hospitality suites between the Main Grandstand and Paddock Bend. The effect was beginning to fade by the time I had put the camera and lens on the tripod and captured the scene.

The portends for a good day at the circuit were gathering apace, and I took the opportunity to grab a few images of a largely empty rear area behind the garages that line the Pits. I used to be Assistant Chief Pits here for the BRSCC for some thirty years, and this the second reincarnation since I left, but the circuit still holds a place in my heart and still retains much of the character I remember, since when I first came the circuit was close to a third the present length.

The circuit in use on this day is affectionately referred to as the Club Circuit and means that spectators in almost any position can see the cars, bikes or trucks for a major part of the circuit. I have fond memories of my times here spent in all weathers from biting winds and snow to heavy rain, and unrelenting heat, and even night racing!

The numbers attending gradually rose, but perhaps because of the previous cancellation and the time of year, the attendance was not as large as I had experienced with John when he invited me to the Castle Combe event. Before anyone went out on the circuit there were preliminaries to go through to explain the procedures, and the rules of behaviour when out on the circuit. After that and with wrist bands attached that indicated who were driving, and who were considering being passengers and that they had listened to the rules outlined in the briefing, the audience members filed out to the Pits Paddock area downstairs.

By now a few more vehicles and people had arrived and I had taken a few shots that covered  some of the attendees and vehicles and I was watching the activity around one of the Swallows Jaguar Team as they were having some difficulty removing their car from the transporting ramps, and I could see that they could do with some additional weight in bodies to make it possible for the car to have clearance enough to move freely to the ground. I then made what turned out to be a fateful decision and splayed the tripod legs and put the tripod on the ground; I had thought it was balanced correctly, but as I turned to offer my help, I heard the heart-wrenching sound of my camera, lens and tripod crashing to the tarmac, then  saw that the lens had separated from camera body and tripod, and both lay a few feet apart! I realised that that decision to consider offering my assistance had brought this calamity upon myself and I was near to tears. I picked everything up and was in shock as I realised my day was ended before really having begun. I walked away unable to concentrate on anything but the terrible loss, and dwelling on the consequences. I cannot be sure of what happened for probably ten minutes as I was locked inside my own world… then one of the Swallows Team came up to me and despite just having witnessed the accident to my own equipment, had brought along his Nikon camera equipped with a long zoom lens and offered it to me! That was kindness of a different order! I was absolutely amazed that without a word he had gone away and brought along his camera and offered it to me, a complete stranger! It was truly humbling, and suddenly amidst all my gloom suddenly he had brought a gift beyond words. I cannot remember a time when such a gesture of human kindness has been bestowed upon me. It still brings tears to my eyes as I write this piece, days from when it occurred. I doubt I will ever forget the occasion, and later, the chance to be driven round the circuit for numerous laps, most of which we were the only ones on track.

During those laps, I became very aware that the driver was inching deeper into the apex of Bottom Bend to gain a greater benefit upon exit, and at the end my thoughts were that the driver really enjoyed that drive, and literally before I could voice that statement he made the declaration himself! I then mentioned my observation and it appears that he feels trepidation in that corner as a close friend had crashed badly there. I felt my observation was keenly understood, and I said that if he ever needs human ballast to continue exploring the boundary for that corner I would be more than happy to supply my reassurance.

During the day John Sentinella my generous host and I met several really interesting people, one of who remembered me from my time as a Marshal as he was once a Course Marshal and he also knew brother Ian during the time he was racing and worked for the club.

I will cherish both the drive and the selfless generosity I received that afternoon at a moment when I had the heartache of losing my latest lens and camera in the first days of ownership. The delay in getting this narrative and accompanying gallery is due to the consequences of the accident that befell my photographic kit on the day. All this week has been spent sorting out the repair and insurance and the travelling involved taking the lens to Sigma and the camera and adapter to Canon. All this during a record amount of sunshine for a February!

Jaguar Track Day — Castle Combe

John Sentinella, a friend from Caddington who owns a Classic Jaguar invited me to join him at a TrackDay at Castle Combe in Wiltshire. We had to be on the road well before dawn to sign on and attend the briefing. The roads were packed with traffic, and there was a slight drizzle, with many drivers often following others way too close, so it was not entirely surprising there was a coming-together — on this occasion not too serious, but all adding to the travel time.

We stopped off for a comfort break and a drink at the Chievely services, and managed to miss the correct exit, which meant a return trip to take the correct direction for Chippenham and ultimately Castle Combe! Fortunately by this time, the rain had stopped, and the sky was lightening, and we still managed to arrive in good,  time for the sign-on and briefing. Obtaining a helmet for my size was more of a problem, but I finally found one I could squeeze on! I put it down to having a good head of hair!

I had to take my camera gear from the car, because, there was no way it could be stowed firmly within the boot, but Helen who was manning the reception desk handily obliged by offering to stow them in her van, which made it easy to access for lens changes later.

Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful, and after John had had his trip with one of the instructors for a few laps he came in and I locked the camera back up and accompanied him as his passenger, later I was able t retrieve the camera, swap from the 24-70mm to the100-400mm to get shots of John and others circulating. It was during this phase that I got to chatting to a Nikon shooter, who very kindly got me a chance to go out as a passenger with a surprisingly tall driver in a very fast car that was very much a one-off — one of only twenty models of its kind, and the only one that was road-legal. This was Andy, and he and I duly hatted up, joined the queue, before hearing the lunch break being announced! But the result was fortuitous, as we were closer to the front of the twelve cars!

Being fairly recognisable toting a long lens meant that I was asked to take a shot of one young lady’s husband, so she came to the Pit entrance to act as ‘spotter’, so that was handy, and later, the Club’s head of publicity wanted some shot’ for their magazine, which is all grist to the mill.

The return trip was even longer than the outgoing, making it a very long day, but did not spoil what had been a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting time. Now to make a print of Jeremy Brennan in his car for his wife, as it is to be a present for him.

John Sentinella Chauffeurs Me to Tringford Reservoir

Since my operation, I have found it hard to walk in complete ease, and I need to spend a fortnight avoiding heavy lifting and straining myself. John wanted to visit the reservoirs, and very generously offered to take me in his car, so I travelled in comfort.

I soon spotted Bob Menzies fishing from the far shore of the Tringford lake, so I walked over to meet him with he possible chance to photograph him; maybe even landing a catch! He mentioned that he had spotted that a grebe had a new family, and that the male could be seen carrying two of his offspring beneath his wings as the female did the food gathering, returning to feed the young grebelings regularly. Learning this I was determined to see if I could capture this. When I returned to the moorings the grebe pair were swimming very close inshore, albeit rather far out for the lens I had brought along.

John and I gathered our cameras and set off for Marsworth reservoir to see what subjects we could find. I settled at the bottom of steps on the edge of Startops End to capture shots of some  pied wagtails that flying to and fro from the bank. After a while John came along to say a heron was settled on the floats across the Marsworth, so I joined him on that side, and was very lucky to get some shots of this juvenile both static and in flight.

We rejoined Bob and went out on the Tringford lake by boat, enabling us all to catch up on news since we had last met up. Altogether a thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable morning. Especially to be transported back to Caddington in air-conditioned luxury!

Food Tourism Networking Event

Putteridge Bury Campus of the University of Bedfordshire put on a networking event to which I was invited, and since I had been doing a food retouching job only last week, I felt perhaps it was ordained! John Sentinella offered to pick me up in his Jaguar which was a difficult offer to refuse, but the journey turned out to be far longer than we had expected due to a motorway incident further up the M1 resulting in all our local roads being brought to a standstill – a trip that should have been barely fifteen minutes was closer to an hour!

We had a few moments to chat before going in to listen to the three speakers and then returned to eating, drinking and more networking in very congenial surroundings. In the very dim interior of the lecture theatre I took a few quick shots at 3200 ISO and later brought this down to a mere 2500 ISO – what freedom! No flash, yet the ability to capture the ambiance with comparative ease without bringing attention to myself.

This was hardly my field, but I did manage to talk to a few people with whom there were possibilities for future business opportunities – who knows?

Putteridgebury on a dull day

I knew that the chances were low that the sun would be shining, but nevertheless I took up John Sentinella’s offer to show me around grounds of Putteridgebury in his lunch hour. It is a College that is now part of the University of Bedfordshire, and he is connected with the Knowledge Hub.

The grounds are extensive with lawns, an ornamental pond, and numerous trees planted by dignitaries and royalty over several years. There are two mulberry trees, rather than bushes, but sadly one has suffered badly with a large branch having been brought down by recent winds. John offered me one of its fruit as I had never tasted one, and very sweet it was.

 My guide was showing me around and passing on some of the history, and took me to its very own observatory used by the local astronomical society. during our walk John mentioned they had Muntjac in the grounds and I even managed to catch sight of one, albeit in the distance.

They have beehives, rabbits and numerous birds, the only missing feature was sunshine! But I enjoyed the fleeting visit and the splendid Lutyens architecture and Jekyll landscaping.

Tringford Herons, Ducks and Geese

Not all the pictures this time are mine, and I think it should be obvious – colleague John Sentinella was down at Tringford for a spot of fishing earlier on and returned, and when we met up he suggested he’d give me a hand whilst I photographed from the opposite bank for a change. I lent him one of my cameras and he turned it on me!

Between the times when he left and returned, Bob Menzies took me out in one of the boats so I might be closer to some of the herons, and even he was surprised by how close we came, I was lucky to get quite a few shots and I now know a little bit more of their habits.

I shall also be working on a series of images of the fishermen’s landing stage and moorings and the lake to create a panorama. Whilst we were on the other side, I managed to get low down by the overflow to take some of the shots of the greylag geese and also a swan and a Grebe.

Before leaving I went towards the reeds where I captured damselflies, and finally a group of ladybirds.

A Morning at Stockwood Park

I had taken the opportunity to visit the Luton Festival of Transport held in Stockwood Park in the morning and having captured some of what was happening there and enjoyed some conversations with amongst others, a local magistrate and Jaguar enthusiast, John Sentinella, John joined me in a visit to the Discovery Centre.

John had not been for some while so I acted as guide as we went around  and I took more photos of some of their wonderful display, we also met up with a group who had come all the way from Essex just to see the gardens, and they mentioned they had visited the Butterfly Centre south of St. Albans and recommended I paid a visit as their wild flower show was exquisite; so I feel a visit coming on.