Dagnall Pheasant, Startops Wagtails

I spent some time near Dagnall hoping to catch sight of Red Kite, but all I managed was a distant glimpse close to the horizon, and simply got colder and colder; not helped by the fact that despite my many layers I forgot to wear a coat! I did get a shot of a male pheasant that was bright in colour, another that was duller, and some even duller females.

I returned home for lunch before setting off for the Tring reservoirs, where as I parked my car I met up with Tringford Anglers’ Bailliff, Bob, his wife and a friend, we chatted for a while then I set off for Startops via the main road, grabbed a shot of the church in the distance in some sunshine, and then tried to follow a pied wagtail and a grey wagtail – it never ceases to surprise to me how it got its name as the most striking colour is bright yellow! They are the epitome of flighty birds, making short hops out over the water then back to bank just five metres further along, presumably they have decided to become my physiotherapist or trainer by keeping me on the move!

It was soon after that whilst intent on some bird or other that from behind I heard my name called, I turned around as I recognised the voice, and the face of the lady who called was definitely familiar but for the life of me I could not put a name to her face, and embarrassingly had to be helped to be reminded. I owe her such an apology because not only had she recognised me from behind, we have known each other for more than a decade! She has been the receptionist at Kevin Calvert’s studio for as long as I can remember. OK, I can say she was out of context, but it is still no excuse, so, if you are reading this – please forgive me – for a long moment I was completely at a loss. Also, I hope the cut from the dog’s lead which cut into your hand heals rapidly.

The Mallard ducks were in great flying fettle that afternoon, and as I left to return to my car and home I spotted one lonely clump of crocuses and some old man’s beard in the woods by the stream.

Bitterly Cold at Wilstone Reservoir

Despite a biting wind, I parked by the cemetery gates and took the long walk towards Wilstone reservoir, soon after I arrived I spotted a swan skimming low across the water in the distance in front of the line of trees and old duck shooting stands, but there was then a long spell with little or no activity till I spotted a hovering kestrel, but as I drew closer it dived down and was gone for more than half an hour before returning to hovering, and this time just a smidgeon closer, before flying to the branches of a tree, the spot was such that he was barely seen, but very fortunately as I moved closer he flew to a much better spot where I was able to get a clearer shot.

Beyond the stand of trees the kestrel was in, were two fields where Canada geese and Greylag geese were feeding and generally using as an airfield, and it was here I noticed that each flock had seemingly a Master of Ceremonies who spent less time head down than his subjects, and I presumed they were the lookouts. The two distinct breeds intermingled with little fuss. But when a new couple flew in to join those on the ground one was very vociferous in his annoyance at how they came in.

I then spotted two grebe who were showing definite signs of interest and began their courtship dance, but no sooner had they started than a group of swans started a ruckus and the noise spoilt the mood completely so the pair parted, and both resumed their diving activities and drifted apart, which was such a shame, but maybe another day we’ll both be lucky! The grebes to get it together, and me to be their witness.

Meantime a coot was busy looking around for suitable nest-building reeds, and some of the swans flew off to another part of the reservoir, and one couple simply floated majestically by.

Wonderful Concert - Great Lens Check!

Sawston Village School Concert at West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge was my first opportunity to use the latest lens to my arsenal, it arrived with only two hours to spare before setting off to daughter Catherine’s house in Sawston to watch her twins Holly and Poppy at their second concert for me at this school. It meant that with just the one lens I could gather a range of subjects handheld from my position in the gallery. I would be operating mainly at almost full aperture, handheld at 2000 ISO in the main, but a few shots offstage where I needed 6400 ISO!

I knew it would still be a challenge, and that challenge was met by my right hand and arm, but considering that I operated fully without any additional flash, and still a fair distance away from the musicians and singers, I felt it was very worthwhile.

The enthusiasm of all the children was unmistakeable, they obviously had put in considerable effort to reach the standards they achieved, and were passionately enjoying it. Likewise the parents and friends in the audience were definitely not there just to show solidarity with their offspring, they were there because they thoroughly enjoyed the performance, the applause and the laughter told that story. It was also palpably obvious the staff were proud of the success of their efforts.

Catherine who was up in the gallery with me had to tell me to stop humming along and tapping my feet to the beat on more than one occasion, but coming to an evening like this, my feet and hands have minds of their own, and simply react, I could very easily join in had there been ‘dancing in the aisles’!

Some of the sense of humour involved was such that you know some of these students will make it into show business in future years, there was considerable creativity and talent on display, and I hope I have captured some of that in the numerous photos I have taken and put into the gallery to mark the event. For those not shown I apologise; it is almost certainly the largest gallery collection I have put up on this blog, which is both a testament to the concert and the versatility of the 100 - 400mm telephoto and just how far digital photography has progressed in my time in the profession.

I hope those who go through the shots gain as much enjoyment as I did on the evening. Thanks to everyone who put all their time into the show.

Samyang 500mm Mirror vs Canon 300mm Prime

Recently, lens checking has taken up some of my time. At the recent Focus on Imaging Show up at the NEC Birmingham, I looked at both the Canon and Samyang stands at their respective lenses. Samyang was a name that had not entered my vocabulary – and their range intrigued me; in particular because they were displaying two 500mm mirror lenses and one 800mm. I had not seen mirror lenses on the market for more years than I care to remember! These are fixed aperture, non automatic lenses that offer good optics at prices that are way cheaper than you would have to pay for what I might term ‘conventional’ telephotos. If the limitations of manual focus, fixed aperture and a lack of automatic exposure can be mitigated then they genuinely represent a very good price point.

I wondered whether I would be able to live within those bounds, and so whilst at the show I spoke to the Area Sales Manager of Intro 2020 who had just taken up the Samyang UK distribution, and asked whether it would be possible to check out their 500mm f/6.3 lens, and he very kindly agreed he would let me test that and would I also be interested in my taking a look at the 800mm. He said he would speak to a local dealer whom I knew in Dunstable, Nick Dorman, whose family own Dormans Photographic and are well-respected in the area. The result was that Nick rang me up last week to say both lenses had arrived and would I like to come and collect.

One other point about these lenses is that they are fairly universal and just require the additional cost of a T2 Mount adaptor to match the lens for each different manufacturer. I double-checked that he had one in stock, before making the trip! The weather recently in almost the entire UK, has been grey and miserable, which completely put the mockers on being able to give a really meaningful test, but for me I knew I could make my assessment indoors, so set up a tripod, a Canon 7D and put the both the 500mm Samyang and 300mm f/4 prime Canon lens on and shot a pencil holder in the window against the light. I put the same settings I would have to use on the Samyang 500mm, and set 100 ISO on the camera and fired off a few shots; there was about a quarter of an hour between the pair shown below:

The outer image is the full 300mm picture, the cropped area is the full 500mm equivalent area

I took the card and processed both in Lightroom and processed them similarly, applying a small amount of sharpening to each, but admittedly was slightly less aggressive with the Canon, and was actually quite impressed when I brought up the same area on the 300mm to match the full frame of the 500mm. One aspect was that there was slightly more contrast in the highlights in the Samyang image, and remember the shot was largely backlit!

At the start of the experiment I was not certain how the limitations would pan out, and I learned that I have grown very used to autofocus giving me a lending hand, and so for me the limitations were too oppressive for the type of work I envisaged, but for those who work on a tripod but without the budget for own manufacturers’ prime lens prices, this does seem a well-made, good quality option. I did take a look at the 800mm, but as I suspected from the start that option was far too limiting for me, but both lenses were very well presented and come with lens pouches and caps back and front.

By way of a follow-up: Those using the mirror lens for astrophotography appear to be impressed.

So thank you very much, Intro 2020, Samyang and Nick Dorman.

2013 Tringford Fish Restocking

Learning that Tringford Fishing Season opens at Easter, and that they were due to receive a fresh stock of Rainbow Trout, I drove down in time to see the two tanks’ worth arriving. A tank at a time is opened and a chute attached, then the sluice gate is opened and the fish enter the reservoir helped by the water – I swear I caught one trying to leap back up!

After the last reluctant ones were given a helping hand from the empty tank, the next task was to ensure that they all make it safely from beyond the shore; one or two somehow managed to get under the overhang and a few more seemed to want to rest by reeds at the water’s edge, but with a little tickle from a stick they were persuaded to reach out for deeper water.

The anglers’ boats at the jetty were all small reservoirs in their own rights, thanks to the rain that has been falling of late, so I now realised why the Water Bailliff was so named as shortly, canibalised plastic containers became makeshift bailers, as Bob and Colin set to, reducing the level in the old Rothschild boat.

Then all three of us went out on to the lake, so Bob could check what maintenance he would be needing to do before his anglers arrived for the start of the season. There was not too much bird activity, but I did spot a coot building its nest, and several tufted ducks, which flew off as we neared.

I felt compelled to capture some shots of Colin, because here was a face with a ton of character, and often a mischievous grin; I decided he should be portrayed in black and white, as I felt they then told much more of the man and his travels.

Batford Springs

The first chance for a while to take advantage of some very early spring sunshine.

Batford is a small village just beyond Harpenden along the Lower Luton Road heading towards Wheathampstead. Batford Springs is an area of grass across from some of the cottages where the river (I think it may be the the Lea) meanders among the trees, leading to a recreation ground, on the day I was there the grass was sodden, and many of the paths extremely muddy underfoot.

I had never been before so I took the advantage of a vacant space in the layby to park up and take a wander. In full spring and summer, I imagined it to be full of wildlife, as I could hear birdsong from all around, and it was obviously an area favoured by dog owners.

There were several bench style seats strategically located beneath the trees, and in warmer weather I can imagine them to be taken to sit and eat lunch. The weirs have been maintained and the clever stepping stones across allow a variety of routes to be taken through the woods. The sound of the water masks the sounds of vehicles along the main road, and even though when I was there it was in the afternoon, there was still ice on the branch caught in one weir.

I tried to capture the colour and the shapes the water flow made and the isolation of the place, I was pleased to get a chance to take photos again.

Tring Reservoirs in February Sunshine

I travelled lighter than many a time to the Tring reservoirs, hoping that I might catch sight of a kingfisher, and I was rewarded by sighting one by the weir where the path leads between Startops and Marsworth reservoirs. On the first few sightings it was far too fast for me, barely settling for half a second anywhere, but he began taking dives into the reeds, and on the second or third time he landed on a reed for long enough for me to capture a couple of shots, before disappearing once again.

I stayed on longer, but though he came by at least twice more, he was once again doing training flights as an Exocet missile, and before I left he took a long flight past the trees beyond the weir across the path around in an arc over the stream and became lost deep in the woods.

The next flying display was by the heron, and allowed me a few in flight shots, and as I walked along the canal towpath a different heron strolled along the far bank before also taking to the air. I then spent more than half an hour of fruitless waiting by fallen logs hoping that I might see another kingfisher, but the only birds I even heard were a couple of mallards, who took off raucously as I arrived.

Having given that up, I found the dunnock and robin by the old lock arm, and whilst there spotted a mix of Canada Geese and Greylags flying off noisily. Later as I passed Startops on my return to the car, I spotted the red-crested pochard preening itself, sadly getting further from the bank and rarely turning towards the sunlight.

Snow Gives Way to Sun

Saturday brought the first sun for some time, offering a respite for birds and animals to take to the open with a chance to feed. In my case it gave me a short opportunity to get out and capture some of the scenes in good light just before it was all washed away in the thaw.

I drove out past the gates to Luton Hoo's walled garden, over the treacherously icy hill past the water treatment plant and take shots on the top of the further hill, and looking back to the Hotel that was once the great house, and home to the Werner Collection, famous for its collection of Fabergé Eggs.

Then on to Codicote with its fine church, and Claggy Bottom and the wonderful setting of its cottage farmhouse. From there beyond to Welwyn, and back via Wheathampstead to East Hyde, where I spent the rest of the day enraptured by the racing river and how it had enticed all the local birdlife in abundance, though it was somewhat overwhelmed by the large number of gulls, that did however give me the opportunity to see that Canon's alignment of my 300mm and EOS7D had made a difference as I practiced capturing the gulls in flight.

Fortunately several knowledgable birdwatchers visited the same bridge and they generously pointed out rarer species of birds than gulls, swans, Canada geese and mallard ducks, that I had not even spotted, such as the snipe and egret. The snipe was so distant, that in the gallery it is a far smaller image due to the cropping necessary to show it at all!

The heron looked bitterly cold as it hunched up in a tree, a magpie watched from afar, a red kite over flew, the pied wagtail ventured from the muddy bank to strut across the patches of snow amidst the grass tussocks, and a robin and jackdaw were tempted to the parapet by seeds and nuts I had laid along it. Courtesy of the aforesaid experts spotting the wagtail and kite, they also pointed out the landing of a kestrel on the nearby pylon. To them I am very grateful – I need every help I can get to spot such birds.

As I left with the clouds covering the sun once again, I got a shot of shy sun and rich yet pale orange glow diagonally behind a skeletal tree on the brow of the hill as I left. The water level under the bridge had noticeably risen over the hours I had spent there, and I have no doubt the banks will recede still further over the next few days and swamp much of the fields close by.

Chaulington

A new name ventures to become a name on the lips of residents of the hamlet of Chaul End and the villages of Caddington and Slip End in the coming months or possible years.

As the etymology displays its origins clearly, it has been well-chosen. Whether it becomes a word spoken harshly or with warmth depends on how what is discussed in the eponymous newsletter is received by those to whom it has been sent.

Where is Chaulington? Well, as I have mentioned above its name comes from the two places most affected by the proposal put forward by Vauxhall and promulgated by PPS Group, an organisation who have experience in tackling projects considered ‘tough’ for their clients and is situated between Chaul End and Caddington.

There is an undoubted need for housing within this county and in fact, the rest of the country. The site has merit. However, it is not the siting that is in contention, as can be the case, it is the effects on existing infrastructure that can cause friction, and that is given no mention within the newsletter. Nor is there a face or name  behind the proposal, a failure I have mentioned in a letter I have written to the email address given in the newsletter.

I have asked for permission to visit the Vehicle Storage Depot to take photographs, and have been at pains to mention that I am not partisan, since at this early stage, the newsletter is the entirety of the information to hand, and my interest is to serve the community, both as it presently stands and how it moves forward. Perhaps if my access is granted and maintained, my words and photos can be a force for the good, of all concerned.

It will be most interesting to see how long it takes for a response and whether I get a name, or permission to take photos – Watch this Space!

Sunless Snow – Whipsnade Woods

The snow had stopped falling, but still not even milky sunlight, but with no excuse to stay indoors I ventured out, knowing the challenges of trying capture snow scenes, without some sunshine. The exposures have to be just right to hold the detail in both the darkest and lightest areas, such that afterwards I have the chance to somehow achieve the snow’s whiteness without losing detail of footfalls in the snow, yet at the same time bring out some texture in the blackness of the branches of trees.

Fortunately Lightroom is able to do this for me, but not without considerable effort balancing one control against another, I hope that I have succeeded in the shots I have captured in this gallery. Thinking back on the trip out I realised it took me as long to clear the car of frozen snow as the actual drive out and back, and tonight more snow is forecast, so I will have the same task tomorrow when I need to do some re-provisioning, and the journey involves hills!

Caddington – Non-stop Fine Snow

Snow is wonderful when the sun is shining, it covers much of the ugliness and angularity of a village scene, but without the sunshine, no delineation between sky and horizon, brown, slush-laden main roads and constantly-falling fine damp sleet-like snow, it is somewhat dismal and the devil to capture any detail. This was what somewhat dampens the spirit of the weekend. Had the snowfall abated and the sun shone milkily, the sounds would have been more shrill as families made the most of the days. It would have lightened the gloom and raised spirits and more than made up for the lost working and classroom time, and made the coming of Monday more bearable.

I did find that the few who did venture forth were generally cheerful, and acknowledged my presence in the main, but certainly to several of the men I encountered I was invisible, they never so much as lifted their heads as they passed me by, alone in their own unsmiling worlds trudging begrudgingly by with no care for others’ company. I am sure the sight of the sun would have lifted their heads and their spirits.

So the pictures from that afternoon stroll are to capture some of the brighter signs and some of the shapes and colours to be found when you look around.

Mishmash of Subject Matter

Dripping Taps to a plumber represent a potential for earning, however for myself they represented an opportunity to check out the alignment of a lens and camera, and once I started trying to capture it, it became a fascination in what is actually happening. I know it all has to do with surface tension and a battle between those forces and gravity, but to see it in action is endlessly intriguing; what to our eyes is an intermittent stream is often fast moving globules of water, that as they start their downward journey stretch the surface envelope to breaking point.

Where was I whilst watching all this unfold? Well, it was a 300mm lens on a Canon 7D which meant the first major issue was getting far enough away from my subject, and yet be at the closest focussing distance of that combination, and the tap was in the downstairs shower room basin and in order to be low enough and distant enough I was seated on the closed loo, pressed firmly against the wall behind me and handholding the camera. Hardly ideal from the point of view of my study, but at least I was able to check whether what I was viewing was represented in the image file, and it was!

The rest of the shots in this small gallery represent a trip, possibly my last to my sister-in-law at their pile near Cliveden, as it has been sold, and is scheduled for demolition – it will then truly become a pile; this time, of  rubble. Sad, as the house has seen some happy times over the years of Richard and Glory’s ownership. Daughter, Virginia was over from India and we all sat around the kitchen table chatting in low warm light in the late afternoon, and Joshua who is fascinated by my cameras and in fact anything mechanical or technological was hell bent on taking some pictures so I positioned the camera on the table to so he might be able to look through the viewfinder and once he found the shutter release went at it as if it were a machine gun – the scatter approach managed to capture one shot of Gloria and Virginia as they patiently awaited the release of the shutter, that was both correctly focussed and steady, and the patience in the subjects’ expressions is fairly obvious and rather nice!

Big Al who was against the large window was less easy to capture but is an  interesting study of concentrated disinterest. Taking any shots of Joshua under such circumstances was impossible short of flooding the area with light and trying to keep him far enough away to be able to be able to focus on anything more than a pointed sticky finger or a snot-laden nose!

It was a short but enjoyable visit along with Lizzy who is wishing the arrival of my next grandchild will hurry up and arrive!

January Photo Miscellany

The last few weeks have provided me with few photographic opportunities, but some subjects have come before my lens, so the gallery I am putting up now is very much a miscellany of situations that have come my way.

Receiving several of the large bars of Toblerone provided one such occasion – having broken off a piece, I noticed that the silver foil left on, closely resembled the snow up on a mountain, so I resisted the immediate imperative to scoff the chocolate and instead brought my camera to bear!

Only yesterday I was up in London to visit one photographer in UCL, and having helped in a very small way as Tony Slade’s assistant whilst we held conversations as he worked, I then headed for Clerkenwell to visit my erstwhile retouching colleagues in The Colour Company, and although when I first arrived only John Swift was working away at his screen, I was soon joined by both his wife Annie and another past retouching friend, Steve Warner.

I had taken the opportunity to grab some Furniture and Interior Design shop windows before calling in, so this brought the changes I had noted within the Clerkenwell area into the conversation, before I set off once again to the studio of Geoff Dann, where he was coming towards the end of the day’s shooting of farmyard scenes for Trina. When this came to the end and she left for the evening we both ventured upstairs where I joined Lizzy Perry to chat over a welcoming cup of tea.

Today after clearing work in the morning I took off on a visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre, where I took a few quick shots in the park area, and a squirrel on a wall, then wandered into the Museum area where the Wildlife Photography exhibit was, and where amongst the permanent displays was a small display of Varda by visitors from Pakistan. The disappointment for me was that two boxes for visitors in which to place comments had no forms for them to fill in, and only a couple of ladies came in to view the shows whilst I was there. I had packed away my camera before leaving when I noticed the light on a figure by the exit caught my eye. I grabbed that shot before the moment passed!

Christmas Family Dinner

This year has seen a new man in Catherine’s life – Jonah; and he generously invited me to join Catherine and the family to join him for Christmas Day. I was made to feel very much at home and it was far from a last minute thought, as his daughter Carly and husband Paul, and her mother and her husband must have known I was joining them as they both gave me presents when greeting me with Christmas wishes, making me feel extremely humble, as I had been aware that Carly and Paul would be there, and guilty that I had not thought to bring them anything.

We were all in the lounge barring Jonah who had his red Santa pinny on and was busy putting the finishing touches to the banquet that was to follow, away in the kitchen, but he did break off to welcome me. My entrance seemed to be the catalyst that started much activity on the present distribution and unwrapping front, followed by much oohing and ahing, and wows from twin grandchildren Holly and Poppy, followed by hugs and kisses.

The lighting was as warm as the atmosphere, as we all began chatting, and I learned Barry was guitar-playing Folk Singer, and Carol was a teacher, Paul was in Banking and Carly helped disadvantaged families within a London Borough. Much of the conversation revolved around memories of travel across Africa and the Far East, and this continued when we all were summoned to the Dining room and the sumptuous meal of beef, turkey, pigs in blankets and all the trimmings.

Two sets of crackers were pulled, one hand-crafted and one bought, the latter with the obligatory riddles, accompanied by the customary groans, Jonah was the last to join the table and was praised and thanked for the delicious spread before us. Whilst still in the Dining Room after eating our fill, we did attempt a new Trivia Game, but soon decided it was better played in the lounge, but to begin with, our ability to fathom the rules was no better in the new venue! There was much hilarity and good-humoured frustration, but we then decided on a change, and it seemed as if more time was spent trying to understand the rules than was actually involved in playing the game. Setting time limits was not universally accepted as being fair, and was a source of much banter and recrimination, and after both games, I think I was on the losing side, but it was marginally less hostile than playing  Monopoly!

Teas and coffee followed on and peace and relaxation took over; all too soon Carol and Barry were saying their goodbyes, and later I made the opening gambits towards leaving, and after more hugs and kisses, I thanked everyone and with Catherine acting as lookout I drove out of the gate, taking her directions to reach the A505 and set off for home. Most shots in the gallery were taken at 5000 ISO with very slow shutter speeds at almost full aperture; often at no more than 1/15th of a second!

Sawston Village College Annual Concert

Once again the opportunity comes around for me to photograph my young grandchildren as they perform in the Cambridge University Church of Great St. Mary’s. As usual the church was packed, and despite it being December it was extremely warm within. The girls had been dropped off earlier whilst we parked the car, and this year there was no queuing to get in.

We had decided to sit up in the gallery, but ironically this did not really provide the viewpoint we had anticipated, but it did at least offer me the chance to move around.

The service started with organ music followed by a hymn, with two verses sung by the Madrigal Singers, followed by the Bidding Prayer from the Reverend Bruce Waldron. After another hymn sung by soloist Sam Fitzgerald and the Madrigal Singers again, the first lesson was from Genesis Chapter iii read by a governor of the school, Mrs Polly Stanton. The Chamber Choir then sang, followed by another lesson, this time from Year 7 student, El Mayo, from Isaiah ix, then we all sang The First Nowell, followed in its turn by a lesson from St Luke i read by parent, Mrs Kate Brett. There were further songs from the Choir and Madrigal singers, who also sang verse 2 of O Little Town of Bethlehem, this time followed by a lesson from Luke ii read by staff member, Miss Anita Langdale.

The Recorder Group played In Dulci Jubilo with passion, but this piece is so powerful, I felt the Organ should have been chosen, and as if in agreement, soon after it came in with great gusto for a later hymn introduction!, but before that came another lesson from Luke ii from Year 9 student, Birte Mattes, followed by the Junior Choir singing Diamond Bright.

Then followed It Came upon the Midnight Clear and more from the Madrigal Singers, and a lesson from St Matthew i read by Year 11 student Januree Harris Hercules, and Chamber Choir singing The Lamb, and God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen and a lesson read by the Assistant principal, Mr Peter Wallace,. from St. John i. The rousing penultimate hymn: Oh Come, All Ye Faithful allowed me to sing one of my favourite carols, prior to Rev. Bruce  giving us a prayer and Blessing leading on to the Madrigal Singers with A Clare Benediction from John Rutter.

The final hymn was Hark the Herald Angels Sing followed by applause from the whole congregation in gratitude for a splendid and entertaining evening. The organ played us all out as we crowded every exit waiting for all our young charges.