Bromham Afternoon Visit

          I had not visited Bromham Lake for some time, and felt it was likely worth a visit, and it was obviously a good spot for visitors to exercise their canine companions, as only when I came across a couple of ladies did I meet anyone without a dog, and on this visit, not a single man. Perhaps the male population is now returning to work, which seemed to be borne out by the large number of male drivers I encountered on my later return trip home, in dense and painfully slow traffic.
          The day was warm, and the sun for the most part was uninterrupted by clouds, except towards the end of my stay within the park, this therefore gave me the opportunity to capture the detailed textures of some of the leaves, from both backlit or textured but oblique front lighting. There were still signs of lush greens as well as rich reds and golds, and once again an abundance of red berries. I also saw ladybirds. However, although I heard the occasional birdsong and fleeting glimpses of birds, they do not feature in this gallery.
          Autumn is here, but in transition, in that there is still an abundance of lush greens to be seen. The day was warm, and the sky bright with some large clouds. The light was strong and clear, offering me the chance to capture the texture of leaf structures, and give shadows to add further depth. I have this fascination for Teazels, because of the conflict of textures, the complexity, intricacy and uniformity of the pattern, set against the freedom of the surrounding skeletal cage of curves and twirls. Beyond the boundary hedge I captured the gantry stark against the blue sky, and the enigmatic orange square symbol surrounded by twin segmented white plastic rings, whose significance eluded me.
          The recent wind and rain means when I am next out in woods, I will see far fewer leaves, and these will carpet the ground beneath these trees, and much that are presently green will be on the turn, and give way to gold.

Bedford Park - Warm Afternoon

            Warm sunshine in early October is certainly an invitation to be outside, and is an invitation I find irresistible — so I head for a park I have not visited recently, and the beauty of sunshine lies as opposed to light from an overcast sky, is this casts shadows, and enhances texture and detail. A single teazel separated from its blurred background is therefore an ideal start point. Intricately patterned leaves either obliquely lit from above or through from behind are too good to miss! The leaves and sharp thorns of brambles, or the breeze lifting their leaves to display the rubbing beneath are always aspects of nature that will catch my eye, and entice me to record them. For the next several minutes, I found myself fully absorbed by the textures and colours I found all around; some so abstract they might well have been shot from above by satellite! And, as if to emphasise the beholder, as I panned towards what lay immediately beneath me, I grabbed a shot of my own silhouette, before taking a couple of rippling reflections that were accentuated by the original uniformity of the protecting rail, by the Canoe Slalom Course.
            A nearby bush was alive with bees and butterflies eagerly feasting. Rushing water within the pool by the lock gates, and the contre-jour but now somewhat forlorn remains of the spiders’ labours also caught my eye, as did the Mallard ducks being tossed by the turbulence of the water, then the frantic aggression from one male towards another (possible suitor?!) After this, the chasing male spread its wings to dry them, for the next encounter, perhaps?!
           A pair of swans found there was far more interest below the surface than above — but no! One at least had found a tasty morsel of reed upon which to feast. The predator Mallard ignored the passing feather from the previous fracas as it drifted past and the duck continued to paddle against the current. On the shores other Mallards relaxed in the warmth and swans dried their wings, or simply displayed their plumage as a mark of power. Overhead, gulls were gathering, and occasionally swooping to gather morsels of bread being thrown by children onto the water by the shore. This provides me with the chances to capture the gulls as they hover. In sunshine, it also gives me a better chance of capturing detailed images of the birds in flight; that is until some careless dog owners do not control their charges, and two dogs frighten the assembled birds! That irresponsible behaviour is a disgrace, and shows a callous disregard of the owners’ responsibilities!
            There were several Cormorants in the lake on this occasion, and I was intrigued by one which had something in its beak, but it was too distant for me to see exactly what it had in its beak, but after it had played with it awhile, I was unsure whether it had eaten it, or dropped it back in the water. The Grebes sadly kept their distance from the shore on this occasion, because it is a species I enjoy watching. The ravens I encountered on this afternoon seemed to accept my presence as unthreatening, and came reasonably close, and it was interesting that one pair was so different in their personal grooming - one was immaculate without a feather out of place, the partner: the complete antithesis! Unlike the male Mallard which was washing itself all over! While it’s partner watched calmly from the shore. The subsequent display seemed to justify the male’s behaviour, as they both snuggled up to each other — a display I have never ever witnessed before! I suppose you must admit, that definitely should be a feather in its cap!

           One of the Finger Lakes must be especially shaded from the wind as its surface is almost entirely covered by a layer of green algae, but the birds on it seem undeterred by its coverage, and their passage through closes behind them, as they paddle further. As I head back to my car, I stop to take shots of a Magpie that heads in my direction, entirely unfazed by my presence, but eventually, far less so with a couple of men heading towards me from behind the bird, as they licked their way through ice cream cornets. I resumed my pursuit of leaf textures, dying leaf structure, and berries — the Magpie flew off, and I captured a few more varied leaves and berries on the last stretch before returning to my car, and home, ending a satisfying and enjoyable afternoon’s exercise of limbs and brain. Enjoy!

Brogborough – Activity in the Sun

            The Sun had surprising warmth for the time of year, and there were signs of fitful wind on the lake at Brogborough, and this was enough for me to consider that I could capture some windsurfing activity. Should that be scarce, then the hedges would be worth investigating for as I walked along the margin between the grassy area and the shore, I found I was disturbing myriad small flying insects. However though, no sooner had they broken cover, the they would once again freeze, and I would have to scan diligently whilst I was still and occasionally I might see the now stationary insect – but finding it in the viewfinder was another equally slim chance!

            I am not averse to such a challenge, but the odds were undoubtedly in favour of the small insect, as seeing these insects was comparatively straightforward, compared to actually acquiring the image on screen and being able to record it was quite another achievement! But, interspersed with successful images of human activity, it took some fifty-odd of those images before I managed successfully to record an acceptable few of these fleeting insects amidst the brambles.

            The first acceptable image gives a good indication of how small these insects were, if you measure them against the thorns of bramble on which two were poised! (The stem was barely a millimetre thick!) – this is also a measure of how versatile this lens is, when you consider every frame of this day’s images were captured by the same lens – I cannot praise this Leica lens enough! Before describing the rest of the day’s photos, let me state that the eleven varied frames numbered 50 through to 60 are all from this same excellent lens! – (Only the lone paddle boarder is close to full frame!)
            I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent at the lake, and may I thank Sam personally for granting me the ten frames 83 to 92 showing his versatility in adversity! (I am reminded of those Clint Eastwood words…! – as those frames helped make my day!)

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.

A Wood near Old Warden

A trip out; to keep sane — the sky was clear, the sun at least provided some warmth, gathering my camera and a flask of cold orange juice, I headed out, but where to? I was not certain, but the idea was to head east on the A421, and then towards Old Warden and Southill. Upon arrival, I drove around and found a small wood that promised to offer possibilities for photography. I parked up, and even before entering the small park, I had found interesting subjects — frost-rimed leaves, having wandered along the hedge outside the entrance gate initially, then walking along the path a lone cat appeared and began walking towards me, and despite almost merging into the background I managed a couple of shots, before it disappeared somewhere into the undergrowth.

After briefly looking around for the cat, I continued my walk along the path, and now the sun was supplying warmth to the leaves I was photographing. I continued walking and capturing more open scenes, and even an overflying light aircraft, probably based at the nearby Old Warden airfield. Before arriving at a far more open stretch, I spotted an interesting roof loft designed specifically for nesting doves. Soon my walk took me out into the open from which I got a few shots of an old, but well preserved long barn. The open field was on my left, and led out back onto the road; I walked a short way along to the right capturing shots of berries on sprigs of Holly, before retracing my steps back the way I had come, and spotting fresh pink flowers which resembled dog roses. I stopped to get a couple of shots, and they appeared far more complex than dog roses, so maybe they were a different species.

During the return trip to my car, I briefly met a a couple of others with whom I chatted, and one man sporting a Canon, I even gave one of my cards to, as he seemed interested in learning how to get to grips with Photoshop, perhaps he might look up the blog and make contact, unless my keeping him talking upset his good lady!

Once again the trip out with a camera, was good for my soul, and I enjoyed the exercise and fresh air.

Sunny Afternoon at Broglake

On this particular afternoon, my younger daughter brought her two children over, and having fed and watered them at my place, was going to join me over at the nearby Brogborough Lake for a short while, prior to taking them back home, where she was due to meet up with another family close to home with the two youngsters and meet up with other school-friends at their home.

I had to verify there was somewhere to park, so I set off first, and soon arrived — but surprisingly, her two must have been keen to set off because, I had barely parked before they joined me!
On this occasion there was a good number of people who had taken the opportunity to visit, and my two young grandchildren were soon very close to the water's edge to catch sight of all those already out. The time they spent was all too short before they were back in the car, and I was waving them goodbye. I was sad to watch them leave, but I consoled myself with the joy of seeing them despite the brevity of their stay. I then turned back to the lake, and started capturing the varied activity that was in evidence this afternoon. There were many more present than my last visit, and the activities ranged from paddleboarders and kitesurfers to windsurfer's, with and without hydrofoils.
It was sunny, but typically the wind strength was varied, due to the various hills and wooded areas that surround the lake's location, which tends to surprise the unwary. However, I do feel this does add to the skill levels of those who train for these skills on our inland lakes when the more steady winds of the Coast are not available.
Understanding the wind's variability surely must add to the skill of reading the wind.
I made a point of trying to take shots which captured the differing choices of  kit on the water, as well as following the individual genres to point up the variety. The atmosphere was very relaxed in that there were several groups grabbing the opportunities offered by the warm water and sun, to remain close to the shore and chat while remaining in the water.
There appeared to be more small groups taking advantage of meeting once again after such a long time and catching up, so the gallery has hopefully captured the renewed ambiance of life on the Brogborough Lake with the loosening of the lockdown restrictions, and the slow return to some resemblance of normality.

Wide View from Above Millbrook

Millbrook Proving Ground can be seen while standing at the edge of a high escarpment beyond the village, if one takes the right turn atop the hill out of the village of Millbrook, and continue for around half a mile till the turnstile appears on the right. It was here that I planned to meet up with my daughter and her young family. Once both children, a boy and his younger sister were out of their car, we headed across the vast expanse of open grass to where the expanse of countryside could be seen, with the Milton Keynes Dome on the far left, and just below to the right was a straight section of the Millbrook Proving Ground track that could be seen leading to the circular banked section, of which only a small section was visible.

  There is a large Perspex-covered map marking the major landmarks that appear in the vista, viewing visitors are able to see from this vantage point. On this afternoon we were treated to crystal clear views of every mentioned landmark, and also the as yet incomplete Incinerator with its cranes clearly visible as they work on its development. I had arrived much earlier and spent some time alone with my camera, to see whether the spot was free, since there is no car park, possibly to limit visitor numbers. My guess is that most of those coming to this spot are local, and many bring their dogs here, because of the expanse of open ground to give them plenty of exercise.

When I came earlier that day, a Red Kite was soaring over the entire area I could see, occasionally swooping lower to see what might be on its menu, but sadly at too great a distance for me to capture any meaningful images. Much of its time it must have been taking advantage of thermals, as he seemed to be exerting himself minimally as he glided most of the time I was watching, with the occasional fast dive to a lower level. My observation of kites is that much of their soaring is for pure enjoyment and to exercise their skills for when they are needed for hunting. There were several different species of butterfly, and since there was abundant sunshine, there seemed little need to land, so capturing them at rest even, was a challenge, because none gave you more than two seconds before taking to the air again, and also a mate might take advantage of them.

On this occasion, as I mentioned, I visited this spot twice, the first a reconnaissance trip, during which  I took pictures of some of the distant landmarks, and since the single vehicle that was present on my arrival, had disappeared, I assumed correctly as it happened, that there was a good chance the space would still be free for my daughter later, so I had returned home to get a drink and something to eat before their arrival.

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.

Return of the BrogLake Windsurfers

Unlike the last visit to the lake at Brogborough, on this occasion, the wind returned, and the sun beamed from a background of Cumulus Clouds scudding by. On this occasion I brought out my Full-frame EOS R with the 60-600mm lens and 2x Converter to give it an airing, and dust off my cobwebs on its use! I wanted to keep operating from a low-level, but this was not as easy as in the past, because the Swans and Canada Geese had taken advantage of the lack of Anglers’ Activity and reclaimed the shore by layering it with Guano! I searched the nearby expanse of thin reeds for suitable bricks to build myself a seat as close to the water’s edge, yet give my tripod some ground clearance, and settled to see what my subjects would be on this visit. Certainly the wind did not favour the Dragonflies and Damselflies, but as I set up, my first subjects entered Stage Left – two families of Canada Geese rode the waves close by the shore. Once my presence was noticed they chose to head for deeper water, but not swift enough for me to miss the opportunity!

The  relaxing of the LockDown regulations had allowed for a few to take advantage of the sunshine and more importantly the steady wind to attract members of the Windsurfing community to the water, from the moment of a few coming into view, my subjects for the visit’s photography turned to human activity! The new season brought two new sails to the lake, and I had to ask what this new kit was called, and learned they were wingsails from Emma Barnes, to avoid showing my ignorance! Certainly, I took more shots of these, but only put those of interest into the gallery, with a couple of shots of a particularly spectacular wipeout! Also to keep my hand in I grabbed a few shots of the aerial activities of a Blackheaded Gull as it was in range. I noted that several gulls were tending to follow the windsurfers for chances of the windsurfers distracting their prey and giving them a chance to swoop in.

Another opportunity was for me to capture skyscapes for their use as backgrounds for greetings cards, as there were some soaring Cumulus clouds around. The spot from which I was shooting was less than ideal due to the reeds and the wind direction, giving me a restricted angle of view, but it was an enjoyable afternoon to be out with a camera I had not used for a while.

Brogborough’s Lake Life

  The warmth and sunshine invited me to the nearby lake at Brogborough that would normally be the venue of Windsurfers when the wind provided the power for the practitioners to perform; but on this occasion, the water was barely ruffled by more than a whisper of a breeze, and the origins of the lake could clearly be seen by the abundance of bricks that lie strewn below, close to the shore. Amongst the reeds, the dragonflies occasionally landing would create momentary stirs in the stillness and, if the perch seemed too insecure the dragonfly would take to the air in an instant. The damselflies with their lesser weight were more patient, and on occasion, even when coupled with a mate could be seen congregating on a single reed stem.

It was this life I had come to record, as on the last visit I had spotted their arrival in small numbers, and the week long warmth had resulted in an explosion of activity since my earlier visit. I sat down intending to stay at the nearest bay to the entrance to the field, careful to avoid the Swan’s and Geese’ droppings, but after a short while I felt I needed to be closer to the water’s edge, so returned to the car for my small rucksack that has a cushion within, I use for such eventualities. I also picked a few bricks from around, to give me a sound base.

A short way into the water was a small group of bricks that I suspect was an earlier addition by either an angler as a support, or by another ‘Smudger’* as a prop for the likes of dragonflies to alight and provide a ‘natural’ backdrop lapped by water. Certainly, both Dragonflies and damselflies visited this small outcrop of bricks as did simple flies, and it is a workable distance from the nearby bank to serve the purpose of providing a resting place for these species to be captured by photographers. I have now provided a temporary seat as yet not covered by incontinent geese and swans!

I later found a sun-bleached wooden plank from another ‘Swim’ to give a clearer backdrop to see whether it attracted as a landing pad for Dragonflies, and it proved successful, but may well be removed by following anglers. Fortunately, the current Camera, (Lumix FZ10002) that accompanies me works well at these distances, but once the limitations due to the current restrictions are lifted, I will go back to using my longer lenses and larger format, but before that period ends I do wish to get some help to try to more fully understand how to reprogram some of its controls to allow me more instant access to some of its functions. Looking into the capture data afterwards, I do note, I could have lowered the overall sensitivity to lessen the Noise more when the sunshine is so prevalent, or to add greater depth of field, by stopping further down. 

          *Smudger was an early, sometimes mildly derogative description of a travelling photographer.

Marston Lake Sunny Afternoon

I set off to my nearest Anglers' lake, Marston lake to see what life was on the water in the warmth of the afternoon, and spotted some Tufted Ducks, a juvenile Grebe, and a Gull. All at some distance from the shore.
It was therefore lucky that I had decided to use the 60-600mm Sigma Sports lens with the additional 2x Converter, as on this lake, many of the smaller birds stay a good distance from the shore, unlike the Swans.
When I first arrived I met up with the Angler from whom I had learned about the Willington Lakes, and we chatted before I set up the camera a short distance closer to the entrance to the lake, as with the sun so low, the light was at a better angle. I did fire off a few shots at the more distant birds, but they were of no value so do not appear in this small single-page gallery.
Although it was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon in the sunshine, and avoid close contact with others, it was not an exciting group of images, but it was good to see the Grebe stretch its wings, and the swan with its upturned wings as it headed straight for the shore ahead of me, when I realised he seemed likely to be coming ashore, I quickly gathered a handful of Sunflower seeds and threw them for it as a reward, but he seemed disinterested at first though once ashore for a moment did start to pick at the few that I had thrown onto jetty, and later even some of the seeds on the water. I got the impression it was some morsels of bread it would have found more appealing. The last shots I managed before leaving were a couple of Mallard ducks heading for the reeds.

Windy and Sunny at Brogborough Lake

               Sun and wind was forecast for the Saturday afternoon, and for a change I was arriving fairly early, as I expected that combination would attract some interest amongst the windsurfing fraternity and certainly there seemed to be a fair amount of interest, so I set to immediately opening the boot of my car and erecting the heavy Benbo tripod. The camera I chose was the EOS R and I decided to put the 1.5 Converter on the Sigma 60-600mm Sports lens. This combination would allow me to capture a good overall range from the shore to the anticipated distance, judging from those sailors already on the water.

                The first observation I made was that there were at least two sailors who were out on hydrofoils, so this aspect of windsurfing is gaining traction. As I noted that the jetty at the far end was already under water, I decided that working from the shore would seem to be a sensible idea, since with the wind, had I been on the jetty, my camera gear was very likely to be at risk of suffering from waves breaking over the end that was already awash.
I was pleased that the wind direction did give me some opportunities of the sailors heading straight towards me on occasion. I was soon shooting, but after those whom I had seen preparing their boards were out on the lake, I did not see the overall numbers growing, which did surprise me a little, as although what wind there was, was often in short gusts, there was both sun and a reasonable amount of wind for most of the time.

                It was good to see that the numbers of hydrofoilers was rising, and amongst their number they were gaining experience of staying aloft for longer in the turns. It will be interesting to see whether the numbers will rise still further as the year progresses.

                On this visit, I tended to shoot more, due to the quality of the light, and cull far more shots back here when I was putting the gallery together. Also, I only shot from the same spot as I did not fancy a trek through mud to select a different viewpoint.

                I did not stay all that long as I knew that I would not get through my editing in good time if I stayed too long taking many more shots. I hope they give as much pleasure to those whom I captured as they did me in their taking.

Sunshine! Marston Lake — Alive!

It was great to get another day to check out just what kit works best in a typical situation. I was assessing the use of the gimbal versus the Long Lens Head. Both require a leveller to avoid adjusting individual Benbo tripod legs. It is always better to be taking shots that are meaningful rather than just a theoretical test, hence my delight in good light after a dull week.

I have used a Manfrotto leveller, but it was never really smooth, whereas using the Acrotech version that I have recently purchased from Bob Rigby proves to be both lighter and far better, allowing me to adjust the tension separate from locking it fully, and this becomes obvious instantly by the tensioner being far smaller, so once set it can be ignored.

I drove to the opposite side of the lake to a swim fortunately not occupied by an Angler, to a spot where there are both reeds and two beds of lilies frequented by both damselflies and Dragonflies, with only the damselflies on the lily pads, whereas both landed on reeds. I set two of the tripod legs in the water.

Sunlight not only provides better lighting, but meant there was more birdsong to be heard, and the Swans were on the lake, but still no sign of the Grebe, but the departure of the Cormorants was welcome. There were sounds of cars circling the nearby Millbrook Testing Ground, but this was only sporadic on this afternoon.

I captured some odd behaviour of a male damselfly which was almost like fitting, in that it would arch its body then go rigid and straight, then double up again. There were a few coupled damselflies being mobbed by presumably jealous males, and similar activities amongst dragonflies where females were being chased in flight, mostly, though not exclusively by single males.

The dragonflies also landed in the shoreline bushes and even the ground for their rest, whereas the damselflies were most abundant amongst sunlit rushes. The banks slope steeply from the shore, but at this spot in sunshine the vegetation underwater was clearly visible beneath the surface, which added interest to some of the backgrounds beyond the lilies.

I managed to get a good shot of a dragonfly in flight which is always a challenge, especially when, as it was on this occasion, quite breezy. On several occasions I spotted a dragonfly land on a reed only for it to dip crazily due to its weight, or be suddenly tossed around in a sudden gust.

There were two distinct species of Dragonfly; gold-bodied and dusty blue, and the pair of swans were very independent on this visit to the lake, and one did come over towards my position to check me out.

Although most of my time was spent at two swims either side of the lilies I did go to two further ones beyond where my car was parked when activity slowed by the lilies as the sun cast its shadow over them. altogether a very satisfactory couple of hours spent lakeside, in the brightest day for some days.

An Interesting Visit to Tring Reservoirs

 

On my arrival at the Car Park at Tringford Reservoir,  I noted several cars already there, so rather than immediately set up the camera and tripod, I decided to check out who was at the lakeside. It was good to have a chat and one outcome was that I was treated to a privileged trip through the woods to visit one swan on her nest. Before that, I recorded the gathering of the circular bales from the now otherwise bare field, by tractor with twin spikes. These early shots were handheld on my EOS 5D MkII using the 24-70mm lens.

I then set up the Benbo tripod and Gimbal head and mounting the Sigma 60-600mm with the 1.4x Converter on the EOS R, and headed over the road to the Marsworth Lake, where I met up with a new young family of Greylag Geese. The new Season’s youngsters were in evidence for Swans, Geese and Ducks, which is always a welcome sight, and in the sky above the Lakes were black headed Gulls, Tern and Pigeons, and on the banks were luckless anglers, one of whom had put out bread and bait to attract fish, which only attracted the gulls which demolished every last scrap as if their lives depended upon it!

Much to my regret, I saw no sign of Kingfishers and precious few Grebe, though I spotted two Herons, they were at a distance, and as if to rub sand in the wound, upon my return to my car a lone heron was in the middle of the very field the car was in, but too distant even for my lens, but I did attempt to lessen the distance but in vain, for I had barely reduced the distance between us by five feet, it took off into the distance!

Marston Lake Bird Activity

          The sun was out and it was warm for late January, so a short drive to the nearby Marston Lake seemed like a good idea, since with no wind, the other lake at Brogborough would not be likely to be hosting windsurfers (the clue is in the name!) and Stewartby mainly hosts powerboats and sailing dinghies, and those two exponents tend to be weekend activities or require a wind.

          On this visit the Camera was the 7D MkII, the lens was the Sigma Sports 60-600mm augmented with the 1.4x Converter, since the birdlife on this lake tend to keep their distance.

          On my last visit I had spotted a lone young Grebe, but on this afternoon, there did appear to be a pair, and later there was a tentative exploratory dalliance,  but it petered out without the ritual offering of weeds. Unlike previous visits where I only spotted two Cormorants, there were at least half a dozen and some did take to the air to search for their prey, but the seemingly choice spot were two clusters of dead trees that seemed to warrant a territorial dispute, but the occasion I witnessed, the two established birds hung on and the attack failed.

          As ever, every so often the Coots would become bellicose and there would be some noisy flapping as one bird would launch an attack on another. From my observations Coots seem bad-tempered fairly frequently, often continuing for several bouts, but on this occasion, this petered out fairly speedily. A pair of Swans glid serenely across the lake fairly aimlessly, and unlike the last visit here, there were fewer gulls, and one Tufted Duck seemed to consider one gull to be on its patch, and made a menacing torpedo-like dart at one, but the gull simply took to the air before settling back on the water, comparatively unfazed.

          Alongside a pair of Tufties a single bird of a different species of duck had attached itself, and it was not simply a female of the species, I took an enlarged image, that I plan to send to my Birding Guru to learn just what bird it is, but if anyone else knows please let me know below in Comments.

          The visit was a pleasant way to relax, and get the feel of the lake, and already I have noted the signs of Spring appearing, though listening to the forecasts, this may be premature, since there are still warnings of snow.

December Wintry Sun at Brogborough Lake

  

  

  

There was a slight breeze in Marston Moretaine, but that was no definite indication it would be equally windy at Brogborough Lake, but no wind here definitely meant No Wind at the lake, so it was worth a trip to see whether any windsurfers had turned up.

I packed both cameras and set off in hope, and was rewarded; as I turned into the entrance, I spotted two sails out on the lake, though there were not too many vehicles parked, but with the anemometer spinning the omens were good, but, until I was sure, I did not tempt fate by unloading the boot so locked the car and wandered to see who was around and Sam was togged up, so I chatted to another windsurfer and it seemed I was in luck, so returned to the car and started to set up the tripod. On this occasion I was going to use the 5D MkIII rather than the 7D MKII body, and the Sigma 150-600mm lens to see how I fared with this combination as at least I then had the full frame even though not the fast burst rate.

Sam decided he would risk a run with the hydrofoil despite the gustiness of the wind, so initially I concentrated on that, but it was apparent the wind was too gusty and although he did get it up, it was not sustained, so he came back out with a conventional board, so I then took shot of the others on the lake, the wind dropped after a short spell, and came came back in for another attempt and on this occasion at least for a short spell he was airborne, so I managed a few shots, before he returned to swap again to a conventional board.

I was also lucky as I was treated to a couple of jumps, even though I gathered the wind direction was less than ideal, I also managed some shots of three sailors in a group which is always handy.

I stayed as long as I could, as standing at the water’s edge in a high cold wind the windchill soon began to get though my light clothes as I held onto a cold camera and lens, with only minimal movement unlike those on the water who by expending much more energy were able to keep reasonably warm.

I did notice that using the full frame body the distant images seem small, but upon examination were just fine, but when close to, it was noticeably easier to frame, knowing that the quality was there. In the past I was always more concerned with the burst rate, but in the situation here this was far less of an issue compared to trying to capture birds and insects in flight, where the speed of the cropped frame sensor body was a definite benefit. I shall use this body slightly more often in the future.

Brogborough Busy on the Lake – Minimal Wind

The weather was warm and sunny, and with a lack of a brisk wind, I knew that the activity would likely mainly be Paddleboarding, but due to my arriving well into the afternoon, that was drawing to a close and a few windsurfers were taking to the water, amongst them André who was out on the latest upgrade to his own creation of hydrofoil, and I learned he was getting aloft more frequently, as he both gained experience of both the hydrofoil design and the handling of his craft.

For that reason, I have created a general gallery as well as two smaller single pages devoted entirely to his activity in order to help him assess his performance:

Click here for one, and here for the second.

As always, clicking the text headline takes you to the main gallery of thumbnails

I hope that the three give an account of the afternoon’s activity. I also managed some shots of some of the wildlife, swans, a cormorant and Canada Geese. In order to maintain as low a viewpoint I was once again using the Benbo tripod, which affords a really stable platform from which to shoot using the 7D MkII on a gimbal head, absolutely necessary since André was only able to find sufficient wind well away from the shore, so I was using the lens almost entirely at the full 600mm.