December Wintry Sun at Brogborough Lake

  

  

  

There was a slight breeze in Marston Moretaine, but that was no definite indication it would be equally windy at Brogborough Lake, but no wind here definitely meant No Wind at the lake, so it was worth a trip to see whether any windsurfers had turned up.

I packed both cameras and set off in hope, and was rewarded; as I turned into the entrance, I spotted two sails out on the lake, though there were not too many vehicles parked, but with the anemometer spinning the omens were good, but, until I was sure, I did not tempt fate by unloading the boot so locked the car and wandered to see who was around and Sam was togged up, so I chatted to another windsurfer and it seemed I was in luck, so returned to the car and started to set up the tripod. On this occasion I was going to use the 5D MkIII rather than the 7D MKII body, and the Sigma 150-600mm lens to see how I fared with this combination as at least I then had the full frame even though not the fast burst rate.

Sam decided he would risk a run with the hydrofoil despite the gustiness of the wind, so initially I concentrated on that, but it was apparent the wind was too gusty and although he did get it up, it was not sustained, so he came back out with a conventional board, so I then took shot of the others on the lake, the wind dropped after a short spell, and came came back in for another attempt and on this occasion at least for a short spell he was airborne, so I managed a few shots, before he returned to swap again to a conventional board.

I was also lucky as I was treated to a couple of jumps, even though I gathered the wind direction was less than ideal, I also managed some shots of three sailors in a group which is always handy.

I stayed as long as I could, as standing at the water’s edge in a high cold wind the windchill soon began to get though my light clothes as I held onto a cold camera and lens, with only minimal movement unlike those on the water who by expending much more energy were able to keep reasonably warm.

I did notice that using the full frame body the distant images seem small, but upon examination were just fine, but when close to, it was noticeably easier to frame, knowing that the quality was there. In the past I was always more concerned with the burst rate, but in the situation here this was far less of an issue compared to trying to capture birds and insects in flight, where the speed of the cropped frame sensor body was a definite benefit. I shall use this body slightly more often in the future.

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.

Warm Sunny November Day

The Sigma 150-600mm Sports lens can have its firmware user updated, and since I have the USB Dock that makes the connection, I decided to download the Sigma Optimisation Pro software to check whether the lens firmware had an update. There was indeed an update, so I decided to see whether it had any effect.

I drove a short distance to Broad Mead which is close to the Chicheley Brook, and since this might have possibilities in the future for capturing images of wildlife, this seemed an opportunity to check out the lens, and the area. I spotted that there were two tracks one either side of the brook, I took a brief look at the right hand option that had a walkway with railings, presumably crossing over a stretch of the brook, but one it was lined with overhanging sting nettles and two, beyond that bridge, it looked very waterlogged! I returned and took the alternative path, and as I did so I met a man and young lady who may well have been an apprentice and since he spoke to me I asked whether there were wildlife opportunities hereabouts, but he told me he only visited to collect water samples, so was unable to help me.

This left hand path led to slightly higher ground and set-aside land around the field margin, it was far less muddy, and paralleled the alternative route with the brook separating each. There was a high pollarded hedge on this side, and the edge of the ploughed field had a very clean-cut edge suggesting it was very recent. I followed this path for some distance until there was a means of leaving the field to a narrow road beyond, and turning right spotted a small house with a kingfisher plaque beneath the gable, and since it would be really useful to find another possible site to see kingfishers, I knocked on the door, but no one was in, so I continued along the right of way through a gate and across a field which led to another gate on the far side, opening into parkland, and in the distance a large house with several greenhouses. I returned the way I had come and then took a look at the alternate route back, but I soon came to the flooded area I had seen from the other side, so retraced my steps to the car, and on this occasion met a lady who hailed me, so I stopped to chat in the hope she might know whether the kingfisher on the house meant this was a likely place to see them.

Ironically she had never ever seen one, though did tell me of a spot that her sister often saw them near Bradwell Abbey; so asking the question was far from fruitless. During our conversation there was a loud bang behind the lady, which turned out to be her husband closing a garage door, and he came over, and we continued chatting about the local birdlife – so I do think I shall be returning. I had taken a few shots up till then, and took a few more on the return leg, and the lens still functioned well, so maybe I will  be more adventurous and set up a few preset focus features going forward.