Milton Ernest - Autumn Colours Abound

               This Autumn day was warm and bright and found me in a garden close by the River Great Ouse in Milton Ernest, and although the gallery of images only spans a single page, I was rewarded with a fair variety of leaves, berries and flowers. I was also visited by a few birds from time time, though none came close for long enough, or in a suitable spot to warrant my capturing them. However, I was far from disappointed with the images I was able to record, what disappointed me, and was an irritation was the long forced delay in my posting the gallery on the blog! The cause of the delay was my computer suffered a crash that took till today to resolve. I received some generous help from Adobe, and was extremely grateful for the technician’s willing support in resolving the situation, as he patiently waited whilst the computer responded to his careful restoration of several hundreds of images, that had been lost (fortunately — only temporarily) — due to the mishap that had occurred a few days back — To say I was relieved would be a gross misrepresentation of my feelings of Gratitude and Relief! His Patience was exemplary, and I sincerely hope he was aware of my gratitude — I had feared it may have been terminal, as after the mishap, the total within the catalog had been reduced by two or thee orders of magnitude, so to see the extra digits certainly gave me a Very Warm Fuzzy!
               It was a dull day today — outside, but now that I can publish this small gallery, the day in my upstairs room now is way brighter than the lights can ever reach!
               To those souls who visit my blog page, I apologise for the delay, but I am exceedingly grateful that despite this lack of activity from my end, somehow the visitor numbers have held up extremely well indeed, which adds to my relief; so I thank you all very sincerely for your support, and I hope this single page gives visitors as much pleasure as it gave me in their capture.

Late Afternoon Local Walk

          My younger daughter and her family came to visit and, since they had spent the time mainly indoors, Lizzy prepared a cooked meal so that on their return it was ‘bath and beds’, to be ready in the morning for the return to School the next day. Once I had waved them off on their journey home the sun was yet to set, and I could not resist grabbing the camera and heading out. After almost immediately crossing the main road, I found beaming flowers inviting me to capture their images even before I had reached the path into the woods. It was gratifying to know that I had recorded these blooms before the onset of Autumn, and heading past the bend and onto the path into the woods. 
          Although the fresh, red berries were an announcement of the next season, there were still brave new leaves to suggest the current season was not yet over, and there were still blackberries to fully ripen; I succumbed to the temptation to sample a few after at least honouring their presence in a photo! The versatility of this camera allowed me to squat to record a shot of the slow passage of a slug across the path. Later, on my return home I was able to note it had survived the wheels of bikes and the feet of passing humans, though unable to confirm whether this was as a result of fewer evening footfalls, pure chance, or simply a different slug in a similar spot on the return trip. 
          I feel there is great beauty and power in clouds and I often find myself drawn to capturing them both alone in towering power, or restful backdrops to buildings, hills, landscapes, lakes, sea, or trees — theirs is an attraction I have felt over years and they still retain this power. 
          This walk was not over long, nor was there a wind to make vast and rapid changes to their form or stature, but they nevertheless changed their structure during the few minutes that elapsed as I walked on both my outward and return journey, which exercised my limbs as well as my imagination and enjoyment of the late afternoon.

A Return Visit to Biddenham

            A visit to Biddenham; the first on my part for some time and, although in the village itself, there were several groups and individuals, once I entered the woods, although I heard voices from elsewhere than the path I had chosen, I only occasionally came across others in my meander through the woods themselves. Early in my walk past the larger houses, I had encountered unusual choices of hedge vegetation species, found more commonly as individual trees; my assumption for the choice was the tall, dense privacy they offered.
            Every so often there were breaks in the enclosing boundaries to the paths, and I was puzzled in one of these gaps, by observing what appeared to be a concreted area that may have been the foundations of an earlier building, but with no indications of walls. Occasionally I would break out into more open areas, and another observation puzzled me — here there was an approximately circular grassy area, suggestive of a golf course’s green, but I spotted no indication of a hole for a flag. I returned to the taking of smaller subjects, such as a ladybirds, small berries, and poppies, then bright and healthy apples.
            In amongst the shafts of dappled sunshine, I found the enticing textures of fresh young leaves, and the early signs of ripening blackberries. I am always attracted to the rippled textures of fresh young leaves, and the symmetries and textures of differing leaf structures. The cast shadows on one hanging branch of leaves suggestive of a squirrel caught my eye, as did a bee on a white-petalled flower, which had been repeatedly damaged by an upturned sharp stick remnant piercing two of the petals numerous times in the breeze with the extra weight of visiting pollinators! I also liked another of the white blooms attempting to be seen beyond the spherical bloom of a Chrysanthemum-like pink flower like the rising sun.

            In the warmth of the sun, bees were making the most of the bonanza of fresh blooms, and I was doing the best to do my own capturing of textures and colours, such as the golden toffee of holly leaves and their rich red stems. If the abundance of red berries is accurate in foretelling harsh winters then I also found that strong message clinging to a mortared stone wall. I was amused by the determined ivy escaping from the fence to reach the life-giving warmth of the sunshine, and I soon spotted its cousin succeeding in its journey to the same life force, framed by the evidence of past adherence to the fence. I felt honoured by the generous lighting I was offered in the capture of the textures and sheen on nearby leaves.
            My observations were not confined to the natural world around me. I spotted a slip-up from a human in a spelling mistake by humans in the preparation of a map for this location — Greay! As I was about to leave this map a couple appeared to view the same notice, so I passed on my discovery; rather than simply keep it to myself! I closed the gallery with the high fair weather clouds, and blue sky, I hope the images encourage others to visit and enjoy this enticing park area.

Riverside Garden Life

            Light, Life, Textures and Colour are the features that entice me to use a camera to record; and on this particular warm afternoon a short distance from the River Great Ouse becomes the record of what I found and as I filled a quiet afternoon. The insects at one stage completely covered the flowers as they sought out the bounteous gifts on offer, and played out their reproductive cycle amongst the colours and scents of their environment. Light captured the silky threads that bridged the seed heads as if to form a high wire for insects to perform gymnastic feats for the audience of roses beyond. The supporting plant pillars seemingly offered by outstretched fingers from seed heads. It almost seemed as if the plants were offering their generous support to the web-spinning insects by holding index fingers as pylons — is this fanciful to consider there are links formed over aeons between animals and plants?

             Certainly, there are the very obvious examples of pollination aided by the the enticing provision of nectar. Nearby a small butterfly was undoubtedly providing a service for flowering plants, and ultimately ourselves in the provision of nutritious honey from those natural activities of bees and flowers. I could also see amongst some tall stems the structures at a greater scale; the heads of tropical palm trees.

            A repeating theme of the pictures I take is often the capture of textures and, some leaves caught my eye by the sunlight finding and highlighting the surface of a single lush, heart-shaped leaf amongst the flowing curves of grassy leaves. In the shade of overhanging leaves, a finger of still water by the river’s edge was caught in a pool of sunlight with lace-like golden threads of roots, backed by the reflection of blue sky and silhouette of the shading tree. I did not have a polarising filter to hand which might have better captured what lay beneath the reflecting surface water.

            All the pictures in this small gallery were taken several days back, but I have not had the opportunity to process them, due to a mix of pleasurable time spent with my elder daughter, and frustrating, unproductive time that hopefully is now behind me.

Another Garden, Marston Moretaine

               Marston Moretaine is a village that has been expanding with ever more houses being built on land that was scarred with the need for clay for bricks, and this once excavated and exhausted, in turn provided lakes that provided opportunities for recreation, such as sailing and fishing. More recently, it gained nationwide news coverage from local hero Captain Tom Moore, who walked his garden to raise millions for the National Health Service. The Wartime slogan: “Keep Calm and Carry On” has become the resilient answer to the current epidemic situation brought about by the Corona Virus, and has meant much time spent in gardens, and I have taken the opportunity to walk around capturing the efforts of several house owners lavishing much effort on their gardens, which in turn raise the spirits of those who pass by whilst walking either to the shops and Post Office in one direction or the Forest Centre and allotments in the other.

               Currently, the pipe-laying at the junction at the top of the road, which has inflicted long waits for drivers, whilst willing for traffic lights to allow their flow to resume, has meant many more eyes have had the opportunity to gaze on the blooms that brighten the front gardens of many of the houses. On two recent occasions as I took just such an opportunity to bring my camera to bear upon the front gardens from the path, the owners have generously allowed me closer access by inviting me to cross their relative frontiers.

               This gallery is a record of the most recent acceptance of such an invitation, and I hope that my pictures allow others to share in my enjoyment of the photographs I was fortunate enough to take.

Nearby Stewartby

     

It was warm, but overcast when I parked up beyond the railway bridge on the outskirts of Stewartby. I assembled the EOS R6 on the monopod with the 60-600mm Sigma lens and crossed the road to enter the path leading to the open area beyond. I was lucky to get just three frames of a pair of Greylag Geese heading in the general direction of Ampthill, and one was fortunate to be used at the start of the two page gallery of images from my brief visit.

I was hoping for more birds and possibly rabbits, but the rabbits spotted me and scampered into the bushes before I could even consider a shot! They never reappeared. I spent a few minutes to see whether they re-appeared, then a few moments taking a look at the small lake bordered by reeds, but no signs of life appeared there either!

Every so often trains passed on the raised lines in both directions so I captured a few shots of them, which was good panning practice, and the new EOS R6 body performs excellently in giving me crisp images in short fast bursts. For those interested, I was shooting at ISO 1250, which at exposures of around 1/800 at f/10 gives excellent detail, with no need to smooth out Noise, and the sign writing on the side of the trains is totally legible despite the train passing at high speed. The quality this camera extracts from the Sigma lens across its range is faultless, and when it is sunny I am happy using the 2x Converter which for Sports and Wildlife shots, only using a monopod is a joy.

I am really looking forward to the relaxing of Lockdown and some wind to be blowing at Brogborough to enjoy using this new body at the extremes! Canon and Sigma – Thank you!

Marston Moretaine Garden Flowers

  Brogborough Lake had been open, and in good weather that temptation was a magnet, but the sheer number of photos I was able to capture coupled with a computer that is not performing at full speed made my most recent task of putting a gallery of windsurfing pictures up on my blog a real pain to achieve at my normal speed. So, having put those pictures up, I needed the therapy offered by the taking of more photos, but without the same level of urgency, and the new season’s arrival was having a noticeable, and beneficial effect upon the gardens along my road. So, not wishing to miss the opportunity of less energetic image capture, my camera and I, with its general purpose lens and its extremely handy feature offering a macro facility at the slide of a button took a stroll along the main road of Marston Moretaine. 

The houses alongside this road, all featured front gardens to offset the effects of the volume of traffic upon the owners’ peace and quiet and their health; and tended to take considerable efforts to make the most of the opportunity to create a wealth of bushes, flowers and trees, and my walks take advantage of the colour and life that follows. I had paid a visit to both the different Co-ops to buy food, and noted the gardens that offered the greatest potential for images that might later offer handy subjects for cards in the coming months. Upon my return, I offloaded the purchases to my cupboards, fridge and freezer and gathered the camera with the 24-70mm lens with its handy macro facility.

     It was an interesting and rewarding walk up to the main road and back along both sides of the road at times, and was both relaxing and rewarding, and I hope that others can enjoy the fruits of my short trip.

Walk around Willington

I needed to be outside in the fresh air, and I decided to go to a spot on the river close to the Danish Camp and the Dovecote Building, but to take a different route from that which I had taken on earlier occasions. I parked my car a short walk from the Dovecote, and with my camera with the 60-600mm on the EOS R6 attached to my monopod, and a camera bag over my shoulder with a shorter lens with its macro facility within I took to a path via a gate that once open fell several inches, making closing it a struggle as it was a bit of a juggle to lift back when closing. Little did I realise I was destined to retrace my steps because my battery was lower than expected, and worse still was my backup battery was also fully discharged! Fortunately there was another back in my car, and that was fully charged. Hardly the mark of a professional! So the walk of Shame was justified. The time lost and energy consumed meant that less time was spent in sunshine.

Although I was hearing birdsong for much of the afternoon, I only occasionally actually was able to catch sight of the songsters, and only to glimpse a speedy low level flight from one bush side of my path to the other. The only bird that did feature was a pigeon, and it kept a wary eye on me and only allowed me a chance to move sideways to better frame it, at the hint of a move closer it took flight! 

There had either been less rain here or recent winds had dried the paths, for the going was the best I had encountered for a couple of weeks elsewhere. The greens were bright here, and the paths were winding making pleasing compositions, and the better weather had brought out canoeists that I was able to capture by moving to gaps in the tree cover when alerted to the sounds of their paddles. At one stage I was able to get a couple of shots of some mandarin ducks, and due to the long lens the chain link fence was rendered out of focus that gave the birds the chance to feel safe and ignore my presence.

On my return journey, I managed to miss the point at which I joined the path, and even had to ask a family group directions back to the Dovecote — I am glad I asked, because without their guidance I might well have taken a different choice and added even further to the distance I travelled to return to the car, and my back was definitely beginning to ache from the camera and rucksack. It was undoubtedly a good choice to use the monopod rather than a tripod, because it was sufficiently stable in the prevailing light levels.

I had enjoyed the chance of the fresh air and the exercise, and felt that the photographs I had managed to take were a good record of the time spent.

River Gt Ouse — Afternoon Walk

The sun graced my visit to the River Great Ouse at Milton Ernest, and it was extremely sticky as the humidity was very high, but it was sometime since I had been to Milton Ernest and was hoping to catch sight of a kingfisher along this stretch of the river, as I had it on good authority there was one seen along here. But to save raising any  hopes, no kingfishers were seen or heard during this trip!
When I am not on the look out for animal or birds as subjects for my trigger finger, architecture can catch my eye and interest, and on this walk I was not disappointed, as one of the bridges became a subject for my LUMIX FZ10002. In this instance, it was the shine on the underside roof that caught my eye.
There were small islands in the path of the river which also caught my eye, as did some swans with their cygnets, but they managed to ensure I had no clear sight of them, and although I walked fast to try to intercept them, they succeeded in eluding me totally, despite my best efforts to try to find a spot on the bank to catch a further sight of them.
Later, I found flowers to feed my camera's hunger for beauty, so the afternoon's images certainly represent variety, where the only connection was the camera, my eyes and an insatiable hunger for capturing interesting images. I hope that I have succeeded despite not having realised one specific personal hope in my ongoing search for locations where I have a realistic chance of finding kingfishers.

Quainton Visit — After Such a Long While

I pay a welcome visit to my younger daughter for the first time in a long while, and it was good to see her husband Tim and the two children. Their home is in the small village of Quainton, home of the eponymous Railway Museum and the very visible Windmill.

Soon after my arrival I joined Lizzy for her trip to the village store and a walk up the hill past the Windmill, I was hoping to take a few shots of its sails in motion, but after a single press of the camera's shutter, it ended that day's motion a second after I took my single exposure! I had been hoping for a few frames of the sails in subtly different positions, 
from which to choose the ideal position!
Lizzy needed to buy food from the local store, so we walked in towards there first, then took a path that took us up the hill beyond, so we could see the whole plain below, but if I had hoped to catch sight of the engine pulling the train, I was to be disappointed as though I could see the carriages and puffing cloud of steam, I was too late to glimpse the engine because it was amongst the trees!
We climbed quite high and found ourselves in a series of tumuli which I imagined were the sites of early dwellings, from where I saw matchstick figures crossing the landscape in the distance, so rather than the more conventional view of the windmill from below, our view was from above, with the plain beyond and the distant hill at Waddesdon Manor. Sadly, on this day the sun was mostly shrouded in cloud, though for a couple of shots a small sliver of sunlight appeared across a sloping distant field. Later in the afternoon, I was able to take a few shots of some of the flowers in gardens that bounded the green.
Later still we walked along Station Road and spent a while watching the end of the day activity at the Station from the bridge over the line. The range of differing scenes from close-ups of a bee's activity to the distant hills and wide vistas of the valley is a testament to the versatility of this small LUMIX fz10002 camera and the range of its integral zoom lens, which due to its light weight is an all-day handheld camera.

Station Road, Marston Moretaine—Flowers

A Walk with a Camera Along Station Road proves worthwhile. The bees were active, especially along an entire front garden wall of Heather, and this was true on both sides of the main road, it also tends to attract the owners’ attention, and when that occurs, I often find I am shown their back gardens, or at least allowed to step into the front garden to get closer, or better angles.

Most of the time the sun was out, but on a few occasions, the clouds passed across the sun. When that happened, and the ideal viewpoint really needed the sunlight, either to highlight my particular subject, or put shadow beyond, I would have to be patient, and stop and wait awhile. Fortunately, on this afternoon trip, I was fairly lucky. On occasion some compositions needed for the breeze to die down, so I could take a shot with a flower without others  partially obscuring the main flower, or grouping.

Capturing bees either in flight, or bees on a particular flower can sometimes be difficult, especially when they alight, for mere fractions of a second. Sometimes, I found myself poised on a particular flower, and waiting for a bee to land, only to have the breeze to pick up, and dislodge the bee, or blow a leave across the bee just as I am ready to take the shot! However overall, on this short trip, I was reasonably fortunate.

A Country Garden; Flowers, and Birds

I travelled further afield, and put the camera to the test once again to capture the Summer Colour of late Spring in an English Country Garden, and the beauty that abounds. Some flowers are now beginning to fade, but new ones begin to take their place, all under a cloudless sky and in very warm sunshine.

On my journey, it was noticeable how recent talk from the government had already had an effect on the volume of traffic, both of vehicles, and upon both families and individuals taking advantage of the great outdoors. Fortunately, I found that overall behaviour seemed controlled and relaxed, I just hope that the coming weekend retains the same reserve, and that common sense prevails and restraint is observed, so that no rise occurs in infection.

The gallery on this occasion depicts interesting young birds being fed by a parent, and the colours of flowers at this moment in the season. I feel very privileged to be given the opportunity to capture the results of the owner’s hours of diligent work.

Once again, all these photographs have been taken using the eminently versatile LUMIX FZ10002, and handheld, and had I not been wearing a bright blue shirt,  I might have been able to approach a tad closer on occasion, and it was certainly a joy to work silently and not disturb the young Starlings whilst being fed. I am exceedingly pleased that I bought the camera earlier in the year, because my much heavier gear being toted around during this enforced Lock Down would definitely have attracted adverse comments whereas this camera attracts no interest by either humans or the wildlife!

I was rather surprised by a Mallard on a nearby roof ridge, that was not what I expected of a duck! Altogether a very satisfactory way to spend an afternoon.

A Different Destination, Still Interesting

It is often interesting to set off for a prescribed destination, and minor disappointment when that becomes not possible, but often that can still prove to be worthwhile, and that was the case in this instance, for the result was I met some interesting people. Yes, we kept our distance, but this did not prove to be a hindrance, I learned something from those I met, and we all seemed to enjoy our chance meeting, and I was allowed to take photographs up close in some of the front gardens.

The original plan was to find access to a group of lakes, but they appeared to be entirely inaccessible to the public, and so, undeterred, I move on elsewhere, and soon find subjects for my camera — the subject soon presented itself to me — as I drove away from my initial disappointment, ahead a field of Gold was revealed; the first fields of rapeseed I had so far seen this season, so I pulled the car over to a convenient spot to park. I noted that I had been to this spot before, around three or more years back, and captured an evening sky. On this trip, I had parked in the spot as before, and taken a stroll along the nearby road towards the field where I captured a few landscapes of rapeseed, before returning along the lane for shots of a distant horse, a chat with a couple who had been passing me after traversing the path through the field of rape. The man turned out to be an angler who was able to suggest a good spot to see kingfishers.

On the journey back to the car, I met two more of the residents of these cottages, allowing me to record some shots in their respective gardens, and to stop long enough to chat, whilst maintaining at a respective distance. I also crossed across a small planking bridge to get a couple of shots through the trees to an open grass area that was a right of way to distant fields. I managed a glimpse of a robin just before leaving this spot, and heading for home after a brief chat with a man mowing his large lawn between his current cottage home and his erstwhile large home, now his son’s family abode. I hope that his break to chat to me did not delay his completion of mowing, since this was no small lawn! A church bathed in sunshine later attracted my attention as that was also having its lawns mown, I was offered a chance to view the interior, but on this occasion I declined, but perhaps I will take up the offer at a later date.

I stopped once more, on a bend with a view of the large former Country House at Ampthill, that is now divided into flats that I had earlier photographed from Stewartby with my long Sigma lens a while back. The reason for this brief stop was the abundance of trees sporting mistletoe balls of varying sizes, but I took advantage of a shot of the big house as well.

Marston Moretaine - Circular Walk

At this moment in 2020 with the National Lockdown now around a month old, I find myself disappointed that at the new season of rebirth of the countryside is passing rapidly, yet my chances of capturing such images is diminishing with ever decreasing opportunities. Yet, the lighting is ideal and I am very aware of my responsibilities to observe the rationing of my time spent outdoors. I therefore venture out at the worst, every other day, by ensuring that at least a day after such a sortie, is spent in processing images I have taken during my outdoor exercise, sat at the computer creating a gallery of pictures I have managed to take during a walk at nearby spots deliberately chosen to avoid popular spots favoured by the majority.

        Sadly, as any reader of my blog narrative, will have noted, on my last excursion, I failed, and admitting defeat, cut short that walk prematurely due to the number of people sharing the route. The next outing will have to be a better choice, because although I need the exercise of a reasonably long walk, I do wish to select a time and place not favoured by too many others.

The gallery of images I am publishing on this occasion were all taken along the main road that passes my house, and a very short walk down some of the roads that intersect it, and despite being taken over probably just a single hour, were far more colourful and interesting than those taken earlier in the week, and I am fairly sure that during the entire time I was out I saw only one other person! So, at least in this village, most people are conscientiously adhering to the rules of disengagement. I suspect that at the weekend, I may have to forego any trip out, as possibly greater numbers will fail to resist the urge to be outside in the sunshine.

Station Road – Birds and Buds

At this moment in 2020 with the National Lockdown now around a month old, I find myself disappointed that at the new season of rebirth of the countryside is passing rapidly, yet my chances of capturing such images is diminishing with ever decreasing opportunities. Yet, the lighting is ideal and I am very aware of my responsibilities to observe the rationing of my time spent outdoors. I therefore venture out at the worst, every other day, by ensuring that at least a day after such a sortie, is spent in processing images I have taken during my outdoor exercise, sat at the computer creating a gallery of pictures I have managed to take during a walk at nearby spots deliberately chosen to avoid popular spots favoured by the majority.

          Sadly, as any reader of my blog narrative, will have noted, on my last excursion, I failed, and admitting defeat, cut short that walk prematurely due to the number of people sharing the route. The next outing will have to be a better choice, because although I need the exercise of a reasonably long walk, I do wish to select a time and place not favoured by too many others.

The gallery of images I am publishing on this occasion were all taken along the main road that passes my house, and a very short walk down some of the roads that intersect it, and despite being taken over probably just a single hour, were far more colourful and interesting than those taken earlier in the week, and I am fairly sure that during the entire time I was out I saw only one other person! So, at least in this village, most people are conscientiously adhering to the rules of disengagement. I suspect that at the weekend, I may have to forego any trip out, as possibly greater numbers will fail to resist the urge to be outside in the sunshine.

A Short Walk With a Camera

  To stay healthy at any time for a man in his mid-seventies, he needs to keep both body and mind fit, and in the straitened times we now find ourselves, the key to being able to survive, if one unfortunately contracts the Covid-19 Virus is ensuring the body's health at the time.

I am fortunate in having open spaces close at hand, so I am making the most of the fine weather by taking long walks, and a camera; the former to exercise the body, the latter to keep the eyes and brain active, by taking a keen interest in all that surrounds me, and when observing others, being aware of keeping a good distance between them and myself for the safety of both parties.
Either one of us may well be hosting the virus, so maintaining this separation is both selfless and selfish, apart from being a strict discipline that has to be observed. From both personal observation and similar anecdotal evidence from others, it would seem that where say a month ago if someone was walking along either the same path as yourself or on the other side of the road, most would avoid any conversation or even glances; of late on each occasion I have been pleasantly surprised at how almost every person of either sex or any age, now will catch one's eye and offer a greeting, many times with a smile, and often a brief conversation. I wonder – am I being overly optimistic that when the peak of this crisis is behind us, we will still retain this behaviour?
On this trip I once again took along the lightweight, but very versatile Lumix FZ10002 zoom, mirrorless bodied camera, and started recording images of flowers, initially in my own garden, then the nearby flower boxes and front gardens belonging to my neighbours. I spotted a small unusual bee that on this occasion was unable to capture as it was was way too speedy! It is unusual in that unlike other bees it has a pronounced pointy nose (note the highly technical description! – Not!)
I had no fixed plan for the subjects I was intending to capture, but fresh blossom was certainly an early feature, as were Tulip heads as yet not fully open, likewise very young and fresh leaves, beginning to unfurl. Later in my walk it was other buds, a cat and a lone Ladybird, that soon disappeared beneath a leaf.
The walk lasted far longer than it will take anyone viewing the gallery, but I am trying hard to master the different behaviour of a mirrorless camera, and I am certainly not yet as effective with this, but I am certainly impressed with the quality it can achieve when I consider its cost and versatility, coupled to its portability.

LUMIX FZ10002 Visit to Stockwood Discovery Centre

 

 

 

The sun was shining and I felt it was an ideal opportunity to take only the LUMIX camera along with me to see just how it fared — overall, this small lightweight camera performed incredibly; there were some snags, but in all honesty they were down to me. Some images proved difficult to accurately focus where I intended, but this was due to my trying to rely on the autofocus, and could easily be overcome by my resorting to manual focus.

The array of different features offered by this camera is astonishing, and I have barely explored any of the more complex capabilities, because I was intent on mastering the basics. The back and top are awash with various controls, many with sub-features, and these take time to become familiar. On this occasion, I was not trying to explore beyond the basics, I was concerned simply with deciding composition, focus, where in the zoom range I wanted to be, whether I used single shot, or a burst to allow for the breeze, whether I flipped out the screen for a low level viewpoint, or whether I altered the aperture to gain extra or less depth. The difficulty I encountered with relying on the autofocus, was due to the subject having a low contrast, whereas beyond and to a lesser degree in front of the pale yellow/green flower it was surrounded by crisp, dark, fine twigs, whose contrast was far greater.

I purposely took the opportunity to break off from shooting a closeup of a tiny flower to get shots of an overflying aircraft taking off from Luton Airport. I was pleasantly surprised by the result. I did not make the purchase of this camera for the same reasons as my other three, Canon bodies; it was as a camera for those times when I was out and about and the circumstances offered unexpected opportunities and this was the only camera that was to hand.

This trip to Luton was made to purposely limit me to just this camera, and to check how I fared in such a situation and, for me to gain experience of its handling. It passed, and more than met my expectations, so will often now join me in the car for those serendipitous occasions which present me with opportunities where I can capture images with a very reasonable and acceptable quality. There are possible ways in which I can tailor some aspects of the features so they reside nearer the surface as opposed to being buried deeply, but that needs further exploration.

Spare Moments at Stockwood Gardens, before Eye Test Appointment

I had around an hour free before my appointment at the Opticians in Luton, so decided to utilise the time in The Stockwood Discovery Centre Gardens trying to really get to fully understand how to get the best out of the mirrorless full-frame EOS R camera; I am determined that I reach the stage where every setting that I need to make is second nature, as currently I am a long way off that state; I spend an inordinate time menu-diving.

The ability to easily and speedily place the focus point into position, and subsequently re-position equally effectively is essential. My conclusion favours using the compass quadrant tilt switch, which though slower than using the touch screen with a spare finger, is precise, whereas the moving finger over the screen, often involves collecting it from the outer regions of the screen, before being able to place it in position, meanwhile the shot is lost!

Feeling completely confident in altering settings on the fly is very much a Work in Progress, and is not made any easier by the lack of space in my ageing brain! However, this is a journey I am determined to navigate, because the improved quality the camera provides, is worth the effort. The single page gallery here gives an indication of the quality that is possible from its clean 30MB files. Most images were captured at ISO 500, at 1/200th sec. at f/7.1 - f/8 and the variations to arrive at the image quality displayed, was around a half an f-stop with the prevailing flat lighting.

From my ongoing observations the extra pixel count versus the EOS 5D MkIII, means I am getting more than either a whole extra stop of light or higher shutter speed benefit. How I take this benefit is dependent upon what I am shooting; often when taking wildlife I need speed, with landscapes it is depth of field, so I can gain more foreground, for sports, dropping the ISO speed gives me greater detail, so images can be larger. I can also afford to take the safe shots first then explore the boundaries with riskier slower speeds say for Sports for added drama, but to do this I still have to reach the stage where everything becomes instinct+give, and I am not yet there!

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.

Stockwood Discovery Gardens – Windy Yet Quiet

There always seemed the threat of rain from the clouds, ever on the move, yet sharing the time with bright sunshine. The light when bright tantalisingly transient making the taking of photos a challenge, yet the gusty winds driving the swaying Pampas grass, offering curving shapes to their height. Overhead, to a background of scudding clouds, the aircraft ferrying passengers to foreign lands, whilst the children sit in schoolrooms with dreams of their summer holidays past and their renewed focus now on lessons fresh.

I had set off for the gardens for a postponed visit to meet up with friend Jan a recent gardener for Stockwood. Upon arrival in the Car Park, I had not spotted a nearby car with someone aboard till, after opening my door and gathering my camera bag, a familiar voice called out; Jan must have arrived mere moments before me. Her car door was open, and she  glanced up from looking at her phone to greet me. On hearing her voice, I remembered I had brought three booklets relating to the camera she had earlier had from me, and brought them over for her, since I knew that had I not given her then, I was almost certain to be later leaving with them still in the back of my car!

We both chatted whilst collecting our camera bags and walking into the Discovery Centre. Upon arrival, Jan was greeted from all the gathered staff at the Reception Desk, all welcoming her and obviously pleased to see her and chat, before we both moved off and into the gardens, where there were several other staff all happy to see her and catch up. It was very obvious here was a very popular lady, so I soon had my camera out to see what I could record. I stayed nearby not wishing to interrupt, and looked around at the very definite signs of the passing season until Jan was free to lead me to where we might find interesting subjects on which to focus, and every so often making observations thus adding snippets of useful information that I hoped I might later recall.

Jan led the way pointing out items of interest, but we did not shoot either specific leaves or flowers, or even from the same viewpoints, but I did offer suggestions and reset some of her camera controls and explained why. I did on occasion suggest alternative viewpoints to help in separation of subject from background, and different orientations, such as vertical, to emphasise the length of a stem; I was only offering guidance not rigid rules. In return, I was trying to glean names and other facts, such as why the plum trees suffered a particular infection due to the adjacent Pines.

At one stage in our meanderings, I completely lost Jan, and went around the entire gardens searching, before returning to where we had last been when my phone rang, and I learned Jan was wondering where I was! She described her location where we met back up and after a short while of further shooting we headed for the cafeteria. There were far more people in here than outside. We sat and chatted, and Jan showed me some shots of hers on a tablet. When you consider how sparse are fresh new blooms, it is still amazing just how much there is still to see and capture. 

It was nearing the time to leave, and after a short last trip around and a farewell chat at Reception, but just as we headed for our cars, sadly I started seeing a blindspot in my field of vision, and recognised the onset of a Migraine. I asked could I have a glass of water and took a couple of Paracetamols and headed for the car where with closed eyes I sat till the episode was over and the pills had taken effect. I did however thank Jan for the afternoon and bade her farewell. Ten minutes went by as I sat in my locked car with eyes still closed before I opened to check whether full vision was restored – it was, so I got out, locked the car and returned to Reception in case I had not thanked them for the glass of water and having apologised finally headed out and before leaving, phoned a lady who had once worked with me on a part-time basis to see whether I might visit. I chatted with Shirley and her young grandchild, Tom before finally heading home.