I knew that the chances were low that the sun would be shining, but nevertheless I took up John Sentinella’s offer to show me around grounds of Putteridgebury in his lunch hour. It is a College that is now part of the University of Bedfordshire, and he is connected with the Knowledge Hub.
The grounds are extensive with lawns, an ornamental pond, and numerous trees planted by dignitaries and royalty over several years. There are two mulberry trees, rather than bushes, but sadly one has suffered badly with a large branch having been brought down by recent winds. John offered me one of its fruit as I had never tasted one, and very sweet it was.
My guide was showing me around and passing on some of the history, and took me to its very own observatory used by the local astronomical society. during our walk John mentioned they had Muntjac in the grounds and I even managed to catch sight of one, albeit in the distance.
They have beehives, rabbits and numerous birds, the only missing feature was sunshine! But I enjoyed the fleeting visit and the splendid Lutyens architecture and Jekyll landscaping.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Monday, 16 August 2010
Wendover Woods Trip
I met up with Lizzy and Tim for a walk in the woods. Wendover Woods is a vast tract of Forestry Commission Land that is beautifully organised and maintained. The road is in good condition and it is a fair drive to reach the centre, wending its way through the trees with occasional laybys and some automatic ticket dispensers before you arrive at the car parks, Café and toilets. When we arrived, there were plenty of parking spaces still available.
The café staff are young, numerous, cheerful and helpful, and we dropped in for some drinks before setting off. We strolled in dappled sunlight past the car parks and through a grassy area with several groups setting up gazebos, tents and barbecues, with families playing football and all thoroughly enjoying the warm weather and open spaces.
Soon we took a left through the trees and entered a long winding gravel path with wild flowers, weeds and bushes either side, and it was soon time to take out the camera to record the abundant insect life. The dragonflies like miniature helicopters flew around us at one stage, but never settled in our sight and travelled at incredible speed. I was not lucky enough until much later, to get a shot of one, and even then it was at a distance and incredibly well camouflaged.
There were several different species of butterfly, and some specimens were showing distinct signs of wear on their wings, presumably from the high winds and rain we have experienced of late. There were not too many aphids, but ladybirds abounded as did hoverflies and what seemed like a battle-tank style fly, full of barbs and armour. I am presuming from a slight similarity to the smaller hoverflies that several I shot were female – their eyes were separated in the middle. In one part, there were several crickets and grasshoppers, all congregating on some dry dead leaves.
On our return, the numbers of people had increased substantially. We stopped at the café for a meal of toasted panini, and drinks, before having a last twenty minutes walk in a different area where we larked about testing our balancing skills. Since Lizzy and Tim were planning to watch the Liverpool-Arsenal match on Sky at a pub, we parted and I spent a pleasant last hour at College Lake, where I got shots of a fly becoming supper for a damselfly.
The café staff are young, numerous, cheerful and helpful, and we dropped in for some drinks before setting off. We strolled in dappled sunlight past the car parks and through a grassy area with several groups setting up gazebos, tents and barbecues, with families playing football and all thoroughly enjoying the warm weather and open spaces.
Soon we took a left through the trees and entered a long winding gravel path with wild flowers, weeds and bushes either side, and it was soon time to take out the camera to record the abundant insect life. The dragonflies like miniature helicopters flew around us at one stage, but never settled in our sight and travelled at incredible speed. I was not lucky enough until much later, to get a shot of one, and even then it was at a distance and incredibly well camouflaged.
There were several different species of butterfly, and some specimens were showing distinct signs of wear on their wings, presumably from the high winds and rain we have experienced of late. There were not too many aphids, but ladybirds abounded as did hoverflies and what seemed like a battle-tank style fly, full of barbs and armour. I am presuming from a slight similarity to the smaller hoverflies that several I shot were female – their eyes were separated in the middle. In one part, there were several crickets and grasshoppers, all congregating on some dry dead leaves.
On our return, the numbers of people had increased substantially. We stopped at the café for a meal of toasted panini, and drinks, before having a last twenty minutes walk in a different area where we larked about testing our balancing skills. Since Lizzy and Tim were planning to watch the Liverpool-Arsenal match on Sky at a pub, we parted and I spent a pleasant last hour at College Lake, where I got shots of a fly becoming supper for a damselfly.
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Caddington Leaks
In just over a week the village has sprung two Water Mains leaks, the first outside the Fish and Chip shop, the second right outside my front garden. I was working when the Balfour Beatty two-man team arrived to trace it, but they had yet to find it when I started to make a photographic record of the work. The sun was low on the horizon, and fortunately it had stopped raining.
When I spoke to ask whether they minded my taking photos, I got to learn that it had been they who had last year repaired my stop cock, and they had no objections so long as I ensured that if they transgressed Health & Safety regulations would I warn them and make sure I did not attempt to take any photos until they once more complied.
For being allowed to photograph Joe and Ivor at work, they were duly rewarded a cup of of tea and coffee midway through the evening! By the time they had found the leak and capped it, it was dark, and they had three more jobs to complete, all in St. Albans, before they could call it a day. Fortunately they told me all were far simpler than this one. I bade them good night to offload what I had taken.
The picture story is in the galleries to the right.
When I spoke to ask whether they minded my taking photos, I got to learn that it had been they who had last year repaired my stop cock, and they had no objections so long as I ensured that if they transgressed Health & Safety regulations would I warn them and make sure I did not attempt to take any photos until they once more complied.
For being allowed to photograph Joe and Ivor at work, they were duly rewarded a cup of of tea and coffee midway through the evening! By the time they had found the leak and capped it, it was dark, and they had three more jobs to complete, all in St. Albans, before they could call it a day. Fortunately they told me all were far simpler than this one. I bade them good night to offload what I had taken.
The picture story is in the galleries to the right.
Monday, 9 August 2010
Three Counties Afternoon
I went to Tringford Reservoir first because a friend John was fishing at Marsworth, and as I returned to Tringford I took a look at Startops reservoir and spotted that due to the low level it almost resembled a muddy beach, and a heron was perched on one leg on a branch over the stream entering the lake.
Bob, the bailiff for Tringford, was taking the opportunity for a spell fishing, so I took a couple of shots in case they were of use to him later in the month. I stayed awhile before setting off to Maydencroft Manor to meet up with Tom Williams to collect a camera I had lent him and to let him try out using my 80-400mm Sigma on his newly-acquired 550D.
He had friends around, so after a cup of tea and a chat; with lens handed over, I asked whether he objected to my taking a wander round the gardens again. He was fine with that, so I strolled around and spotted some discarded peacock feathers before I caught up with the owner, he was very quiet for a change! I came across a lovely cock strutting his stuff, looking as if he had fluffy boots. I then drove off down Maydencroft Lane towards Charlton, birthplace of Charles Bessemer, the inventor of the Besemer Converter.
I stopped for a while in the lane where I came across first a really tatty butterfly and fleetingly a beautiful and tiny blue specimen. I tried in vain for a while to get a shot of it and meanwhile found a similar sized butterfly with a beige underside with beautiful spotted detailing, only to find that when it opened its wings, it was the elusive blue one! Whilst following the butterflies I also spotted a cricket.
I took some shots of straw bales in a sloping field and later caught sight of a family taking to the field with children on their bikes. I called in at the Windmill pub for a swift half of cider by the stream in Charlton where they were rearing some ducklings, before returning to Bedfordshire near Wandon End as the sun was low over fields of ripe wheat.
Bob, the bailiff for Tringford, was taking the opportunity for a spell fishing, so I took a couple of shots in case they were of use to him later in the month. I stayed awhile before setting off to Maydencroft Manor to meet up with Tom Williams to collect a camera I had lent him and to let him try out using my 80-400mm Sigma on his newly-acquired 550D.
He had friends around, so after a cup of tea and a chat; with lens handed over, I asked whether he objected to my taking a wander round the gardens again. He was fine with that, so I strolled around and spotted some discarded peacock feathers before I caught up with the owner, he was very quiet for a change! I came across a lovely cock strutting his stuff, looking as if he had fluffy boots. I then drove off down Maydencroft Lane towards Charlton, birthplace of Charles Bessemer, the inventor of the Besemer Converter.
I stopped for a while in the lane where I came across first a really tatty butterfly and fleetingly a beautiful and tiny blue specimen. I tried in vain for a while to get a shot of it and meanwhile found a similar sized butterfly with a beige underside with beautiful spotted detailing, only to find that when it opened its wings, it was the elusive blue one! Whilst following the butterflies I also spotted a cricket.
I took some shots of straw bales in a sloping field and later caught sight of a family taking to the field with children on their bikes. I called in at the Windmill pub for a swift half of cider by the stream in Charlton where they were rearing some ducklings, before returning to Bedfordshire near Wandon End as the sun was low over fields of ripe wheat.
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
An Entire Gallery of Hoverflies
As a direct result of helping Adam Woolfitt to solve what looked like a terminal situation with his computer, he asked me to meet him to collect a present to say thank you for saving him from having to pay out a hefty sum for a new motherboard. We met on a garage forecourt at Hemel Hempstead where he gave me a pistol grip and electronic cable release that he had personally made up in his home workshop.
At the handover we both practised using the grip to take macro photographs of some local hoverflies, and he learnt just how hard it is to capture these, sharply focussed and free from motion blur, but it proved the grip would work. That was Sunday and so today, Tuesday, I spent a break from the computer to give it a full and thorough-going test in my garden, first with his loaned Sigma 180mm macro without optical stabilisation and with the smallest extension ring and then with my Canon 100mm with stabilisation.
The first row were taken with the 180mm, and the rest with the 100mm. If the longer lens had had stabilisation, it would be easier to work because of the extra distance from the subject, but it is far heavier and the lack of stabilisation is really noticeable.
I was operating using a standard Canon 550EX Speedlite which meant it was very easy for the flash to be inadvertently shielded by intervening leaves above the hoverfly, resulting in lost frames due to severe underexposure! However, the grip proved its worth in allowing me to have a more balanced camera platform, and I am pleased with the gallery of images I succeeded in capturing. I will add, some images have been cropped for compositional reasons.
At the handover we both practised using the grip to take macro photographs of some local hoverflies, and he learnt just how hard it is to capture these, sharply focussed and free from motion blur, but it proved the grip would work. That was Sunday and so today, Tuesday, I spent a break from the computer to give it a full and thorough-going test in my garden, first with his loaned Sigma 180mm macro without optical stabilisation and with the smallest extension ring and then with my Canon 100mm with stabilisation.
The first row were taken with the 180mm, and the rest with the 100mm. If the longer lens had had stabilisation, it would be easier to work because of the extra distance from the subject, but it is far heavier and the lack of stabilisation is really noticeable.
I was operating using a standard Canon 550EX Speedlite which meant it was very easy for the flash to be inadvertently shielded by intervening leaves above the hoverfly, resulting in lost frames due to severe underexposure! However, the grip proved its worth in allowing me to have a more balanced camera platform, and I am pleased with the gallery of images I succeeded in capturing. I will add, some images have been cropped for compositional reasons.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Tringford Herons, Ducks and Geese
Between the times when he left and returned, Bob Menzies took me out in one of the boats so I might be closer to some of the herons, and even he was surprised by how close we came, I was lucky to get quite a few shots and I now know a little bit more of their habits.
I shall also be working on a series of images of the fishermen’s landing stage and moorings and the lake to create a panorama. Whilst we were on the other side, I managed to get low down by the overflow to take some of the shots of the greylag geese and also a swan and a Grebe.
Before leaving I went towards the reeds where I captured damselflies, and finally a group of ladybirds.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Apple Cart Renovation Coming on
At Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden there was a lot of activity cutting back on those plants that had fruited, mending fences, painting of doors and windows, making a gate and renovations to the Apple Cart are coming on apace.
The pumpkins, squash and marrows are all showing healthy growth, and bees and hoverflies were in abundance, giving me a chance to practice getting ever closer to record their incredible detail, and I did manage once again to capture some in flight, which is really challenging.
The figs got a serious haircut to encourage their growth, as did the leaves that surround the office window – these are the leaves which go from green to red and then white.
The pumpkins, squash and marrows are all showing healthy growth, and bees and hoverflies were in abundance, giving me a chance to practice getting ever closer to record their incredible detail, and I did manage once again to capture some in flight, which is really challenging.
The figs got a serious haircut to encourage their growth, as did the leaves that surround the office window – these are the leaves which go from green to red and then white.
Monday, 26 July 2010
Catching a Tern Diving
I should preface this piece by saying it is well out of chronology, the images were captured around three weeks ago.
Startop and Marsworth reservoirs normally seem favoured by the Common Tern and they generally swoop and dive, but when John Sentinella and I were at Tringford reservoir recently we saw a single tern as opposed to several, that came and hovered reasonably close by before diving.
On the first occasion it did happen very close, but we were ill prepared and were only able to stand by and watch, but once alerted we spotted the same visitor on more than one occasion thereafter.
Here is a selection of shots from the second encounter. I did not manage to capture the moment of entry and exit from the water, but nevertheless, it is a reasonable sequence that shows this elegant bird in action. In every dive we witnessed the bird was unsuccessful, whereas the swooping technique seen on the other reservoirs seemed more successful.
Startop and Marsworth reservoirs normally seem favoured by the Common Tern and they generally swoop and dive, but when John Sentinella and I were at Tringford reservoir recently we saw a single tern as opposed to several, that came and hovered reasonably close by before diving.
On the first occasion it did happen very close, but we were ill prepared and were only able to stand by and watch, but once alerted we spotted the same visitor on more than one occasion thereafter.
Here is a selection of shots from the second encounter. I did not manage to capture the moment of entry and exit from the water, but nevertheless, it is a reasonable sequence that shows this elegant bird in action. In every dive we witnessed the bird was unsuccessful, whereas the swooping technique seen on the other reservoirs seemed more successful.
Saturday, 24 July 2010
A Cycle Ride through Caddington
Taking exercise on a pushbike with a camera was a way to capture some of the flowers on show. I also met up with my erstwhile Bookkeeper to see how she was faring. There were not as many flowers around as earlier or later in the year, but still enough for a gallery of thirty shots. A few passers by acknowledged my presence and one lady who had wondered what I was doing even invited me to come into her garden once she knew what I was up to.
She now has a small card of a shot I took with the words ‘Thank You’ which I hope will give her some pleasure. She had mentioned that her poppies were particularly good earlier this year and that she had taken a photo herself to remember; so the card showing one of her geranium will add to her memories.
She now has a small card of a shot I took with the words ‘Thank You’ which I hope will give her some pleasure. She had mentioned that her poppies were particularly good earlier this year and that she had taken a photo herself to remember; so the card showing one of her geranium will add to her memories.
Friday, 23 July 2010
A Morning Visit to Stockwood Discovery Centre
During my last visit I met one of the gardeners, a very knowledgable and extremely helpful lady, who today I learned was called Jan, and she had pointed out the Morning Glory which that morning had been a delight, but sadly was no longer showing despite some extra watering. This morning’s visit was as much to capture that display as anything else, but I found that I was able to find locations where it was much easier to get really close to bees and hoverflies, so I was in my element – even capturing hoverflies in flight!
The various different Morning Glories were a delight, offering numerous shapes with varied lighting and colours, even the leaves alone were worth capturing. I am really pleased with what I was able to record of such fleeting moments.
The various different Morning Glories were a delight, offering numerous shapes with varied lighting and colours, even the leaves alone were worth capturing. I am really pleased with what I was able to record of such fleeting moments.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
High Colour in Stockwood
I was remarkably lucky with finding bees that allowed me to get in close as well as a butterfly, and the range of flowers that were in full bloom was exquisite. There was an exhibition of sculptures on show from Robert Bryce Muir, some of which I found very interesting – his display in one of the greenhouses runs through till the end of October. What held my interest was the patina on the first figures, and the reflective panels right at the end of the greenhouse. I hope Robert feels I have done them justice. The Centre has put on some interesting exhibitions here, and these add to the variety of what can be seen in this well-run amenity of which Luton should be rightly proud.
Another Essex Consultancy Visit
My task for this visit was to format and partition a new drive to allow scheduled backups to take place every night on the newly added drive. Knowing that there would be spells of forced computer inactivity whilst this took place, I set about my other task – that of passing on as much knowledge of both Photoshop and Lightroom as I could, but inevitably there were times either when a phone call came in or there was too small a gap to meaningfully use, so I would take the opportunity to grab some photos in my client’s garden – the twelve shots in this gallery are the result.
Monday, 12 July 2010
An Afternnon Visit to Windsurfers
Unfortunately, the shots of windsurfers on the Brogborough Lake are out of synch, as I was busy getting the shots of the Musical together, and also a recent trip to Tringford Reservoir with John Sentinella has yet to be processed as I also have to prepare for some training trips to Godalming and Calne and put a church image into a 360˚ panorama for Martin Evening.
The morning these images were taken was brilliant sunshine and a stiff breeze blowing, but I just could not make that, so had to make do with a far duller afternoon with occasion bright sun, but it was good practice for me. There was one jump I missed getting and one I just about caught!
The morning these images were taken was brilliant sunshine and a stiff breeze blowing, but I just could not make that, so had to make do with a far duller afternoon with occasion bright sun, but it was good practice for me. There was one jump I missed getting and one I just about caught!
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Alice in Babraham Wonderland
Catherine invited me along to Babraham School to see her girl's Holly and Poppy in in their School Musical Show of Alice in Wonderland. It was well worth travelling over to watch and the weather for it was beautiful. I arrived at the school early to park up and awaited Catherine, and when she arrived we collected the girls to go for something to eat and drink in nearby Sawston.
This gave me a chance for a chat beforehand and we had fish and chips and a drink which we partly consumed in the car before returning to the school grounds where by now dozens of parents had now arrived and were milling around outside and chatting whilst inside the hall was being readied.
Once we all poured in, one parent was setting up a video camera two rows back but after checking his viewpoint realised he would be better off moving to the front, whilst I altered my position from the front to one row back, the end result was that one seat was left vacant immediately in front of me and I now had a better, uninterrupted view of the stage.
I tried to capture the expressions of the children that helped tell the story, and also spot the small amusing interactions when things went slightly wrong; I just loved one small girl's reaction to having done something wrong and she put her hands to her face to suppress a giggle.
I was extremely fortunate in the natural lighting which was provided from outside. The show was tremendous, with lively music and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
This gave me a chance for a chat beforehand and we had fish and chips and a drink which we partly consumed in the car before returning to the school grounds where by now dozens of parents had now arrived and were milling around outside and chatting whilst inside the hall was being readied.
Once we all poured in, one parent was setting up a video camera two rows back but after checking his viewpoint realised he would be better off moving to the front, whilst I altered my position from the front to one row back, the end result was that one seat was left vacant immediately in front of me and I now had a better, uninterrupted view of the stage.
I tried to capture the expressions of the children that helped tell the story, and also spot the small amusing interactions when things went slightly wrong; I just loved one small girl's reaction to having done something wrong and she put her hands to her face to suppress a giggle.
I was extremely fortunate in the natural lighting which was provided from outside. The show was tremendous, with lively music and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Goodwood – Festival of Speed 2010
Thanks once again go to Lord March for his kind invitation to the event, and for laying on such wonderful weather!
The journey down was uneventful and although Catherine and I were arriving later than I had intended, it was the Saturday of the event this year and so was far less crowded on arrival than would be the case on Sunday.
The normally full Supercar paddock was almost bare, but offered a great opportunity to take a good look over the Pagani Zonda; one of only two cars present! The installation in front of Goodwood House was minimalist giving the impression of a bow to display two Alfa Romeos, a sleek roadster and a vintage racer. At this stage in the day, there was not a breath of wind to flutter the flags atop the roof. Later with a breeze Dougie Lampkin was to be found doing wheelies and stoppees along this very roof having presumably once again ridden his charger up the grand staircase!
The dry weather had turned the offroad section to desert and the four-by-fours were kicking up the dirt as they took to the banked bends and the leaps, coating everything nearby with fine harsh sand just not wanted by digital cameras! We listened for the mobile telephone call that would let us know that Lizzy and Tim had managed to make it to join us. This was one year when we gave the Rally circuit a miss, because of Tim's injured leg, but we did reach the set off point for the Shuttle Service and the queue stretched for at least sixty yards, so when we received the call we set off back down the hill and met up in front of the house.
I had planned to be down there for the Red Arrows, but instead watched from a lesser standpoint halfway up the hill where we multi-tasked by also watching the motorbikes doing wheelies. Part of my time was spent in the VIP enclosure where Catherine and I met up with Simon Diffey, one of the drivers racing, and Lord March who mentioned that he had actually tried to get hold of me, but had lost my contact details, so I presented him with two, so that both he and his PA had a record for the future. Hopefully this may mean another visit to help with Lightroom and Photoshop at some time. We all stayed till the very end; reluctant to leave this wonderful place, but all good things must end and eventually we left Lizzy and Tim to make their very long journey across fields to reach their car and we made our own trip back to the car and back home.
The journey down was uneventful and although Catherine and I were arriving later than I had intended, it was the Saturday of the event this year and so was far less crowded on arrival than would be the case on Sunday.
The normally full Supercar paddock was almost bare, but offered a great opportunity to take a good look over the Pagani Zonda; one of only two cars present! The installation in front of Goodwood House was minimalist giving the impression of a bow to display two Alfa Romeos, a sleek roadster and a vintage racer. At this stage in the day, there was not a breath of wind to flutter the flags atop the roof. Later with a breeze Dougie Lampkin was to be found doing wheelies and stoppees along this very roof having presumably once again ridden his charger up the grand staircase!
The dry weather had turned the offroad section to desert and the four-by-fours were kicking up the dirt as they took to the banked bends and the leaps, coating everything nearby with fine harsh sand just not wanted by digital cameras! We listened for the mobile telephone call that would let us know that Lizzy and Tim had managed to make it to join us. This was one year when we gave the Rally circuit a miss, because of Tim's injured leg, but we did reach the set off point for the Shuttle Service and the queue stretched for at least sixty yards, so when we received the call we set off back down the hill and met up in front of the house.
I had planned to be down there for the Red Arrows, but instead watched from a lesser standpoint halfway up the hill where we multi-tasked by also watching the motorbikes doing wheelies. Part of my time was spent in the VIP enclosure where Catherine and I met up with Simon Diffey, one of the drivers racing, and Lord March who mentioned that he had actually tried to get hold of me, but had lost my contact details, so I presented him with two, so that both he and his PA had a record for the future. Hopefully this may mean another visit to help with Lightroom and Photoshop at some time. We all stayed till the very end; reluctant to leave this wonderful place, but all good things must end and eventually we left Lizzy and Tim to make their very long journey across fields to reach their car and we made our own trip back to the car and back home.
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