First Visit to Stewartby Lake, 2020

         I noted that there was some wind and at the time I made this observation, the sun had burned through the overnight mist, so though rather late in the day, I decided it was worth taking a look at the boating lake with its sailing dinghies and catamarans.

         Initially after parking, I locked the car and went to take a look at the activity on the water, and was pleased that there were several boats sailing around the course. I returned to the car to assemble the camera and lens, and found that I had missed that my Benbo tripod was not in the boot, so I had to use a far less steady one, and also missing was my tripod head, so, Note to Self: check all the gear I needed before leaving in the car!

         I set up the less than ideal tripod and took a few shots of the activity, and it was just a shame that the sunshine which on arrival had been fading rapidly was now completely clouded over. This was a shame, but with the EOS R and the Sigma 60-600mm Sports lens with the 2x Converter, the distance I was from the boats was still within an acceptable range. The only available tripod however was very limited in its panning, making it necessary to re-site the tripod, shortly after I had initially positioned it. What I learned was that despite the minimal lighting available it was still possible to obtain adequate quality from where I had set up the tripod, and with the converter attached to the lens.

         After the weekend I will be taking delivery of another camera — the mirrorless Panasonic bridge camera which may well be able to allow me to travel with a long reach camera whenever I am unable to lug my dSLR with my weighty zoom, and heavy tripod. I hope to put it (and myself) through our respective paces as I am assured the quality is there, but really what I am interested in, is its burst rate and the serious possibility of being able to hand hold it, or at worst use it with my monopod.

Breezy at Marston Moretaine, Less so at Brogborough

Upon arrival at the Car Park at Brogborough Lake, it had become obvious there was far less wind here than where I had just left, so I did not immediately go to the boot and pull out the tripod or camera to set up for shooting, I simply walked to where several of those who would be out on the lake were chatting. There was no sense of urgency to be out on the water, since the prerequisite for windsurfers lies in the name! I did learn that here a while there had been a reasonable blow, but it had dropped, hence the relaxed atmosphere.

I did spot that Richard McKeating was now with a hydrofoil on his board, which prompted me to forego the chatting and get back to the car and set the Benbo tripod up, and mount the EOS R with the 60-600mm Sigma Sports and 1.4x Converter attached.

By the time I reached the shoreline, he was out on the lake. However the wind had not the enthusiasm needed for lift-off, but if anyone could make the most of what wind was on offer, I was going to be ready to capture that separation of air between surfboard and water! What I did notice was that Sam Barnes was no longer the sole sailor with a hydrofoil, and so though I never captured  three foilers airborne in the same frame, I did find them in the same shot; all on the surface!

By the end of the time I was lakeside, I had captured two out of three aloft, which considering the conditions was a good proportion, and with the possibility  of wind forecast later in the Bank Holiday weekend, I may well be making a further visit later…

To show just how versatile this Sigma lens is, not only was I able to capture action close to the Bank as well as close to a distant shore, but I turned the camera towards the reeds, and was able to get a shot of a mating pair of damselflies by swivelling through 90 degrees, (and a tight crop admittedly!) It does however point to the incredible versatility of this lens, and on this occasion because there was good light, the Sigma 1.4x Converter was in place throughout; a real tribute to the designers at Sigma, and also Canon for their full-frame mirrorless body.

Breezy at Marston Moretaine, Less so at Brogborough

Upon arrival at the Car Park at Brogborough Lake, it had become obvious there was far less wind here than where I had just left, so I did not immediately go to the boot and pull out the tripod or camera to set up for shooting, I simply walked to where several of those who would be out on the lake were chatting. There was no sense of urgency to be out on the water, since the prerequisite for windsurfers lies in the name! I did learn that here a while there had been a reasonable blow, but it had dropped, hence the relaxed atmosphere.

I did spot that Richard McKeating was now with a hydrofoil on his board, which prompted me to forego the chatting and get back to the car and set the Benbo tripod up, and mount the EOS R with the 60-600mm Sigma Sports and 1.4x Converter attached.

By the time I reached the shoreline, he was out on the lake. However the wind had not the enthusiasm needed for lift-off, but if anyone could make the most of what wind was on offer, I was going to be ready to capture that separation of air between surfboard and water! What I did notice was that Sam Barnes was no longer the sole sailor with a hydrofoil, and so though I never captured  three foilers airborne in the same frame, I did find them in the same shot; all on the surface!

By the end of the time I was lakeside, I had captured two out of three aloft, which considering the conditions was a good proportion, and with the possibility  of wind forecast later in the Bank Holiday weekend, I may well be making a further visit later…

To show just how versatile this Sigma lens is, not only was I able to capture action close to the Bank as well as close to a distant shore, but I turned the camera towards the reeds, and was able to get a shot of a mating pair of damselflies by swivelling through 90 degrees, (and a tight crop admittedly!) It does however point to the incredible versatility of this lens, and on this occasion because there was good light, the Sigma 1.4x Converter was in place throughout; a real tribute to the designers at Sigma, and also Canon for their full-frame mirrorless body.