Windless Brogborough Sunny Afternoon

Sunny afternoons with little wind gives Brogborough Lake a different feel, for some it offers relaxation on a paddle board for their dogs, for others to watch their partners on the water trying to make the most from what little wind was on offer, but for a few to try their hand with foiling boards — two such were experienced windsurfers new to this extension to their kit who were joining Sam Barnes to explore this latest addition to their windsurfing boards.

It was this group that held my interest on this occasion, Richard and Geoff were taking the opportunity to explore this new addition to their sport, and I wanted to capture their exploration of this kit as they learned the nuances of this feature. It was not without its mishaps, but that was not my motivation, I wanted to capture their early successes as they added to their experience. The nature of the surrounding hills and trees meant that the best wind tended to be quite far from the main shoreline and jetty were, and this was handy for me to get the best out of my EOS R camera body with its Sigma 60-600mm Sports lens and its 1.4 x Converter.

In addition, I was also using a different head on my Benbo tripod; the Acratech Long Lens Head and Leveller, in place of my gimbal head, I have been assessing different options of kit, for when I need to keep weight down, and this was the second time I had checked this option out, but since I have no distance to travel the weight saving is insignificant and the gimbal head is probably better.

The combination of the Sigma Sports lens and 1.4x Converter with the EOS R is a really good mix for this type of work, because the camera body allows for excellent quality at high ISO speeds often necessary due to the light levels encountered, and the quality and range of this lens and body is superb.

I hope these results please the subjects of this day’s galleries, as I feel some have captured the essence of what they were experiencing.

An Afternoon at Brogborough Lakeside

In the recent warmth I had begun to see a few hoverflies and dragonflies, so on this afternoon I set out with an intention to try once again to capture either species, preferably in flight. The gates to the windsurfing club being locked shut, I parked opposite the anglers’ gate, and initially put the 100mm Macro on the 5D MkIII body and slipped through the side of the gate and strolled to the water’s edge, almost immediately disturbing a dragonfly which flew over my head and over by the gate I had just passed! I thought this was a good start, but it soon simply disappeared.

There was a fair breeze between the gaps in the hedge that gave access to the water’s edge, and damselflies were flitting hither and thither either side, some already paired up with their buff-coloured females – there was no shortage of the blue males, and I only caught sight of a couple of singleton females for the rest of the time I was there. I think the wind was keeping  both damselflies and dragonflies from the open areas of the shore which was a shame as here the background was less fussy. I also caught glimpses of small brown butterflies and moths.

I spent some time here before spotting a build-up of vehicles by the entrance to the windsurfing gates, and wandered along and after the gates were opened, I brought my car inside and for a while changed lenses to the 100-400mm Canon lens and started taking shots of a lone female windsurfer who took to the water and a couple of paddleboarders, one of whom was to take a dachshund on a lead aboard for a spell on the water. 

So, though the majority of shots were of damselflies, and other small insects and bees, the gallery of images contained humans and their activities, but only one dragonfly almost hidden in the tall grass, but it was a pleasant way to enjoy the afternoon.

Light Wind at Brogborough

It is all too easy to make poor decisions by making assumptions about weather based upon the weather you are experiencing as opposed to the destination you plan to visit. This morning it seemed there was little wind though it was bright and I headed for Wilstone in search of birds. The wind was quite strong which should have told me not to expect too much, but Being an optimist I soldiered on battling against the wind to circle the lake and headed for the Hide at the far side.

 I saw little of interest on the long walk round and as I entered the hide, a group began to pack up and leave, so there was just myself and a birder with a scope. I decided to stick it for a bit despite there being no activity on the lake beyond mallards, coots and cormorants, and a single Canada Goose on a nest right in front of the hide. 

I left, having not taken a shot in anger, and on the return to the car I was no luckier, but I did learn that there were a pair of Gargeney, but they were way to far away for me, but I was shown the male via a scope. Once back at the car I phoned Sam Barnes at Brogborough and learned they were packed out with windsurfers, so there was no room in the car park, and I’d have to shoot from the farm side, so despite the lateness, I took a chance and headed north.

There was far less wind here than at Wilstone, but there were still a handful of windsurfers out, and I thought it a shame I had not come here straightway! But almost immediately the windsurfers all retired to the shore and the wind died even further and began changing direction. I waited.

I was rewarded by people taking to the water again, and some seemed to make good headway with what little wind there was and so I was pleased to be able to make up for what I had lost earlier. At one stage I decided to change my location, but that was not such a good move as, everyone seemed to take that opportunity to head back to shore, so that marked the end of my shooting for the day.