MOT Visit – Photo Therapy

          Unable to do anything but wait at the Showroom whilst my car has its MOT Inspection Carried out, I resort to the only activity guaranteed to relieve any Stress or Boredom – taking pictures!

          As I always bring a camera along in case there are new vehicles which might interest me, I came with the handy small camera ideal for such occasions, the Lumix FZ10002, which allows for wideangle through to telephoto, so after taking a wander both upstairs and down, I then went outside and found a suitable break in the hedge to reach the path alongside the Parking Area where New and Secondhand Models are located, and chose a few vantage points that highlight the architecture of the Building. Sadly the light was less than ideal, as there was edge to edge Cloudy Gloom, but these photos were not destined for a glossy brochure, but simply an exercise in viewpoint selection to make the best of the interesting design, it mattered not.

          The end result is a 5x3 grid of pictures that allowed me to breathe fresh air,  remain calm, and lessen the time spent till I was called to sign off and pay for my Service. I was able to do this earlier than I had feared, so duly grateful. In return, Perhaps someone looking at the blog might even pay Thurlow Nunn a visit as a result of seeing the shots of the building inside and out…

Riverpark, Bedford — What LockDown?

I decided that although I was very much aware that almost anywhere I chose to visit would be crowded, so would require careful navigation — there were two possible Bedford locations large enough to make keeping my distance acceptably straightforward. On this occasion, that destination was Riverpark. Close by the car Park, was a quiet enclosed area which naturally drew me in! Though my camera was  to hand, the reaction of a Muntjac is way faster, especially for a mirrorless camera, but despite my speedy reaction, it had disappeared from view way faster than I was capable, I did marginally better with a rabbit a while later, but rear ends of most animals fleeing are rarely of great note! But, I kept the two shots of its exit.

An overflying light aircraft gave the chance to practice my skills at shooting distant, moving subjects when out and about with this mirrorless LUMIX FZ10002. The most serious handicap with this camera is focussing in fussy scenes, or more detailed backgrounds behind a small or diffuse subject. I need to speak to someone with an understanding of how to set up custom controls so I can speedily alter apertures to define the depth of field I might need.

Other subjects that I managed at least some shots were damselflies and Demoiselle butterflies, ducklings, goslings, Swans and Jackdaws, and an overflying helicopter, which is testament as to how versatile is the LUMIX with its fixed zoom lens. I enjoyed the exercise, and it was good to see that all the youngsters behaved well with the birds and their young, and everyone I came across were very respectful of distancing at all times.

There are numerous well-shaded paths, that wend their way around small lakes, and I spent quite some time sitting on a conveniently sited stone by one of those small lakes capturing shots of the activity in amongst the reeds. When I next venture out I will likely visit the river Great Ouse, but walk in the opposite direction to the one I took on my last a fortnight or so back.