Sunny Brogborough Lake – Only Light Wind!

Warmth and Sunshine Late in the year is still tempting even though the wind was light and somewhat fitful. When I arrived lakeside there was only one man on the water, so I wandered into the Clubhouse to see who else was around, rather than immediately ready my camera and Benbo Tripod, but I need not have been concerned; the temptation for the windsurfers to grab some of this autumn warmth on the lake, when the sun was still warm and the sky a clear but pale blue, was not going to be missed despite there being no more than a light zephyr to ruffle the water’s surface.

I set up the 7D MkII with the Sigma 150-600mm lens and originally headed very much to the left to put the sun as behind me as I could, but the vegetation was too restrictive, so I made for the jetty instead. Though not the steadiest of platforms the angle of view was much wider. There were only a mere handful on the water when at full strength, so the shots are more repetitive than for most visits I make, but I never  baulk at keeping my hand and eye in, but I do not think that these were my best shots, due to my selection of too wide an aperture and too low an ISO speed, and perhaps I might have been better turning off the stabilisation, but hindsight is always so much clearer!

Sam Barnes certainly featured strongly as I was trying to capture him when aloft on his hydrofoil-equipped board. It was however a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon and keep my hand in.

Stevington to Harrold-Odell Nature Park

Originally setting off to look for areas close by where abandoned quarry pits, might now be accessible and offer sitings of indigenous wildlife I surrounded one such area close by Stewartby, but it was surrounded by established hawthorn bushes, with no access, and even less chance of seeing what might lay beyond, so I ventured north towards Harrold-Odell Country Park, a Nature Reserve run By Bedford Borough Council.

On the way, I came across a small layby with a descriptive board describing local features, notably the reason I pulled over which was the distant sighting of a windmill. This was near Stevington, so I took out a camera and two lenses, and put on boots to make my way along the nearby path through long grass, and abundant nettles heading for the windmill, I had spotted a van close by, which seemed to render any photos from a distance out of the question. Once I finally arrived at the structure there was even less chance for a shot at this time as it was very much a work in progress, as the van belonged to Dorothea Restorations, a company that took its name from initial work the fledgling company undertook at a quarry in Wales, not as I imagined; the forename of an entrepreneurial lady who founded the company! There were steel guys supporting the structure outside, and a mass of steelwork supporting the entire mechanism within as this is an example of a Post Mill, where the main structure is supported on a single post, allowing the structure to be rotated around this central post.

Much of its vital woodwork has rotted, which is why it is being repaired to preserve it for future generations. The siting of the mill is very picturesque, and as I walked up to the building the wind came up and stayed for the entire time I was there, which meant it was not simply in that place for its visual appeal!

I returned to the car having taken a few pictures and headed for my original destination which was still some way further, and being a weekday was very quiet upon my arrival with only a handful of visitors, and even fewer cars, it would seem it is a natural destination for the area’s locals especially those with dogs. I went through the steel kissing gate away from the nearer lake to see what I might find and it was a pair of geese, that so far I have been unable to put a name to, it was the male that attracted my attention as it seemed somewhat haughty for a bird that seemed ever so slightly scruffy around the neck. I soon found it was not alone, and I edged ever closer to get shots that might later allow me to name the species.

Later still, I came across a lady with two dogs, the younger of which definitely had a passion for swimming for thrown balls, so I grabbed a record of its antics, but kept my distance when he came ashore, since he also loved a good shake, and I valued my kit!

Once the gallery is up, I shall take another look to try to ascertain the name for the geese, because my cursory glance through my references failed to find a match.

Bright Winter Saturday Sun

Late morning, and I gather my camera gear and head off into bright sunshine blue sky and wispy high clouds. I am going beyond the Lower Luton road heading towards Tea Green and I spot a kite soaring high, but I soon lost sight of it, and have to content myself with landscapes with trimmed bald hedges. In the narrow lanes it is not possible to avoid the flooding from the recent heavy rain, but I drive calmly to ensure I am not forced to drive through them by oncoming cars.

Am I alone in observing that four-by-four vehicles force me into taking to the mud, potholes and soft verges as they leave a full two feet clear of any such hazard? It would seem that unless they are farm Landrovers, the ‘almost saloon’ four-by-fours seem to consider that it is infra dig to get their wheels dirty, and that I must be a ‘Towny’ driving a saloon car, and should therefore expect to dirty my wheels and be scuffed by hawthorn branches! I was driving with consideration, yet these same drivers rarely held up a hand in thanks, yet every saloon car that I either slowed or stopped for, waved in grateful acknowledgement.

I was never to see a kite or buzzard for the rest of the day. I captured landscapes in the main, before passing the River Lea at East Hyde where I decided to stop as the bridge was thronged by stopped vehicles and people gazing across the fields. I spotted the heron in the far distance, and later a Little Egret, and I took a chance to change from my 70-200mm to the 100-400mm and was lucky enough to catch sight of him beyond a pair of swans, and on the second occasion of it flying, managed to get two shots before bad light stopped play.

As I climbed the hill beyond, the sun was setting behind a large tree, and a father and son pair of cyclists stopped alongside for a refreshing drink after the climb, which meant a nice silhouette or two to round off the afternoon.