Despite Lack of Wind - BrogLake Buzzes

Saturday and fine weather, but little wind did not deter numerous visitors to sample the atmosphere and enjoyment to be had at the Lake. There were numerous Paddleboarders and several windsurfers of varying levels of attainment and some training was taking place in the light breeze as it was an ideal opportunity not to be missed, and also there were a greater number of birds than I reckon was normal - affording me an opportunity to capture wagtails who were along the shore. There were some gulls swooping to fish, but were either way too fast when close, or simply too distant.

Richard McKeating one of the experienced sailors was taking the opportunity to check out some new manoeuvres including travelling facing backwards which seemed a somewhat unusual skill to attempt to master, since it would seem risky to be facing the way you have come and not see in the direction you were heading, but perhaps it is a skill for when faced with danger from behind as well as ahead, but he told me others had mastered the skill, so reckoned he should put in some practice – watching the occasions Richard made his early attempts, the results I observed seemed to have a downside!

The lack of wind was a bonus for those attempting to learn and gain experience which a full lake of competent and skilled practitioners travelling hither and thither would have been somewhat more daunting. A lack of wind is definitely a bonus though for paddleboard enthusiasts, and their numbers were greater, and I learned that the paddles themselves are more sophisticated than I had imagined with Emma showing one which was of a very novel shape, exceedingly light and cleverly designed to be adjustable for length and the handle of which could not rotate in the shaft.

Watching Richard I tried to capture sequences, as much for me to learn what he is attempting as be able to provide him and others with the movements and results he was achieving. This afternoon was never going to be one where I witnessed stunning jumps or skilled turns, so there were always going to be numerous exposures that never made it to the gallery, but it keeps my eye and hand in, which is of importance to me.

At one point I heard the fairly recognisable sound of Pratt and Whitney engines overhead and a Dakota DC3 passed overhead from the direction of Old Warden, but this was not the burnished silver of aluminium, but a very dark grey, almost black, painted body, yet with white stripes and RAF roundels, and oddly displaying ‘UK’ on the nose, checking using Google, it would appear to belong to the Battle of Britain Flight, which surprised me because I thought it was a plain unadorned aluminium one, certainly my memory of them were that.

I was twice treated to a visit from a Pied Wagtail whilst I was at the water’s edge.

It was a quiet, but relaxing day, that meant being in front of a computer to get the shots up later, so I left whilst there was still plenty of life at the lake to give myself a headstart.

Mike Benjamin gives DNA members a Freeway Lesson

Here is an example of how DNA is working together for its members – Mike Benjamin invited three of us; Mark Wilkinson, Peter Carr and I to join him in his studio to give us a run through on how to use Freeway in the creation of websites without getting our hands soiled by HTML code!

We all arrived slightly later than intended due to the super early morning light on frosty trees and hedgerows due to freezing fog from the last couple of days – each one of us had images that we had stopped to capture! We soon began to get down to the business of learning from Mike, and he took us gently up the slope. Peter obsessed about getting us all to sample his mince pies, but we used our own mince-pies (‘eyes’ for those unfamiliar with Cockney rhyming slang) concentrating on what Mike was showing us as we each sampled his tea, coffee and biscuits as we followed his tutoring.

For lunch we all adjourned to a café in the nearby shopping precinct where conversation continued covering a wide range of topics in addition to Freeway. The picture above was taken on our return where Mike and I showed Mark the use of iChat and an AIM name for remote training. That we were all in coats is no reflection on the temperature in Mike’s studio, we did not remove our coats as we felt we had taken enough of Mike’s valuable time and were soon intending to leave.

The atmosphere in DNA, The Design Network Association seems very reminiscent of the early days of DIG, the Digital Imaging Group, whose last vestige is the ProDIG list, a similar self-help group.

Paris and Training

Aboard the Eurostar train, it took a while to get seated, since the aisle was so narrow, but once that was behind me, I took the camera out - only to find we were entering a tunnel! It was at this time an American made a comment on my lens and then the camera.

Hugo, for that was his name, and I got chatting about photography and iStockphoto. I gather he works for them on the technical side. He requested my business card, but apolgised that he hadn't brought his own, promising he'd take a look at my blog, and would also mention my book on his site, despite his being a PC person! I'll keep a look out for his email giving me his details.

The weather outside whilst journeying across northern France was dull and overcast until the outskirts of Paris, when there was a glimmer of wintry sunshine from breaks in the clouds.

It was easy to spot Marco, mine host for the next six days, as he stood as promised with his helmet immediately ahead of me at the end of the Gare du Nord platform. We greeted each other as if we had known each other all our lives, and it has been as easy as that between us the entire time. He then helped me to a taxi, and he then sped off on his scooter, and we arrived at his apartment just after he had parked up.

I am here to help him learn how Lightroom can benefit his overall workflow with Photoshop, and to help him to extend his retouching skills. It is both fun and challenging with both of us exchanging our life experiences and joshing each other over our choices of computer platforms!

In the few moments when he has had other commitments, I have managed to capture a few of the local scenes, but the light has never been brilliant. Pictures taken the day before I left for France at Tringford Reservoir and those taken since may have to wait for my return before appearing, but I will try to get something up sooner.

Although our temperature has hovered around the -5˚C mark, we only had a short flurry of snow this morning (Wednesday); that did not settle, yet I hear the UK has had quite a fall, which makes me wonder whether Eurostar will have the wrong type of Snow!