Very Brief Visit to Weston Turville Lake

I was due to have lunch with my younger daughter at Quainton, but not too early, as she was in need of some quality time with her two youngsters who were hopefully coming to the end of their coughs and sore throats. Since I had woken early and was ready to go out, this suited me, since the sun was shining, and the time spent at a lake with a camera was equally good for my soul.

Having not visited the lake at Weston Turville for some time, and it being in the same general direction as Quainton, this was very welcome; also, an added benefit was Lizzy knew how long the journey to her would take, so when she felt that her roast, potatoes and vegetables would be my time distance away, she could simply ring me, and I would pack up and be on my final leg of the journey.

Despite there being almost no wind, there was a gathering of dinghies on the farther shore, with just a couple beyond the confines of the harbour, there were a fair number of swans, a few, scattered Coot, and a young Grebe, also there were several small groups of gulls, mainly on the water, occasionally taking short spells in the air. I had assemble the camera and lens on the Benbo tripod by the car, just beyond the entrance; a thoughtful soul had kindly vacated his or her slot very close to that entrance, which meant I was spared a long walk from the farther end of those parked cars. A few dog owners were heading in and a lesser number coming out with their charges as I set up my EOS R, the 2x Converter and the Sigma Sport 60-600mm onto the tripod, then headed for the entrance myself.

I had assumed from the number of parked cars to find the bank and paths crowded, but obviously the lake and woods are large enough to absorb that number without more than three or four groups being visible. It took very little time before I began shooting, and rather than the native wildlife, it was the somewhat pedestrian sailing dinghies that were my subjects as they very slowly made their way out from their moorings, I felt their sadness that with this sunshine there was barely a whisper of wind — a mere zephyr!

Meanwhile the Grebe was inching slightly closer, but still little more than a speck at the full extent of the lens’ range, meaning it would be well-cropped within the frame, even with my 2x Converter! It is here that the EOS R shines, in that with the sunshine on this occasion, even with such a crop, the quality of the image is still good. Even though now the Sigma is invariably linked to my 2x Converter, I find I can still focus close enough at the 60mm end of the lens with the Converter on when as happened a Coot swam into the ban below me, and gave himself a good shake, without being chopped in any way.

One fascinating group of shots occurred when a small dinghy with an outboard came towards me then returned to the boatyard making some wonderful interference patterns on the surface, and behind me a Dad and son were cycling when the chain came off and Dad stopped to pop it back on whilst the lad ran up and down the bank, as Dad settled down to pop it back. Not long after I got my Dinner gong from my daughter, and headed back to the car, and an excellent roast ham and all the trimmings, rounding off a great day.

Sun & Stewartby Lake – Sailing

I needed a fix of photographs having suffered withdrawal symptoms due to poor weather after the Christmas festivities, and now was greeted with a real chance as the sun was shining in clear blue skies. I reckoned that despite the cold, Stewartby Lake might offer either wildlife or Sailing. So that was where I headed as it was not exactly early, and the distance was negligible. I took a variety of lenses, but opted on the 150-600mm Sigma on the 7D MkII, and the heavy Gitzo Tripod and Gimbal Head since from car to the lakeside was no distance at all.

And as I had hoped there was activity on the water, so I was soon set up and shooting, with occasional glances around at the activities of others, mostly families with youngsters , or  people out to give their dogs and themselves some exercise, and quite a few runners of both sexes out to work off the excesses of the recent holiday break, some of those noticeably puffing from their exertions! I was in a spot off the path with a reasonably wide angle of view, and in the lulls, I did look around to see whether I could improve my position, but the spot I had selected proved to be the best as any spot beyond had narrower views or the iron fence came into view in the lower half of the frame.

I was surprised that with such a lack of wind, just how fast some sailors managed to achieve, and ironically when they all retired from the lake, the wind rose. I was rewarded with a fair number of interesting shots and came away very satisfied and even bagged a few shots of the wildlife, albeit fairly tame stuff. I also found a few people stopped for a friendly chat; so altogether a very worthwhile afternoon.