Brogborough Lake – Boxing Day 2015

Many moons ago in what sometimes seem like another life, Boxing day was Day when Brands Hatch used to celebrate a very relaxed afternoon of motorsport, with often various humorous added attractions and all of us Marshal's used to be delivered of a Tot of Rum. Well, with a fairly stiff breeze and in the morning a fair amount of sunshine, I wondered whether the spirit of those days might prevail at Brogborough lake, with many turning up to work off the excesses of Christmas Day. I cannot be sure that was the motivation, but certainly there were several enthusiasts determined to take advantage of the conditions.

I was pleased me guess was basically correct, the atmosphere was relaxed, and despite there being no refreshments available, and sadly for the participants no showers, there was energy in abundance and I set to putting up my heavier tripod. After taking a few shots from this angle one of the sailors suggested I might like to take advantage of the wind direction to venture into the thicket and take shots of those jumping head-on, despite the direction of the sun – although the sun would not oblige by moving swiftly behind my right shoulder, it did take cover behind the clouds so that the lighting was far more favourable than directly into the lens.

This I did and I found the clearest spot I could, but it was far too slippery to consider making my way down to the foreshore – that is going to be a luxury of far drier weather, before I can take advantage of a low angle. For now, some shots were going to have the horizon bisecting the top of the sails in may shots. One lingering disappointment when shooting from this viewpoint is I see no faces, so the shots seem anonymous which is a shame.

Christmas is still the season of jumpers – fortunately! I did not expect to be shooting windsurfers in December, let alone on Boxing Day. It was also far warmer than any Boxing day at Brands Hatch, and that covered thirty-odd years.

Aylesbury Dignitaries Grace St. Mary's Carol Concert

The Aylesbury Concert Band played before the Mayor and other Council Member's at the Annual Carol Concert at St.Mary's Church in the centre of Aylesbury Town. My daughter who plays a Baritone Saxophone in the Band needed transporting there, so I arrived as the rest of the Band were setting up, and on this occasion I was playing a very low profile with regards the taking of photographs by only taking a handful of shots during the preparations and main performance and in the more relaxed and informal period at the end whilst the assembled dignitaries handed out mince pies and mulled wine. The lighting was in the region I tend to describe as 'Unavailable Light Photography' – to be truthful with modern technology it might more truthfully be described as 'Barely Available' and I found myself shooting at 12,800 ISO at often full aperture. In my defence, I have not applied any noise reduction to these shots and would definitely need to do so were any needed for print reproduction at more meaningful sizes than in the gallery, and some might not pass muster even then.

The music and the singing was thoroughly enjoyable and the church was packed to capacity actually requiring more seating to be found, and I could still see a few standing. By not using flash and using a long lens I felt I was being very restrained and this allowed me to retain the atmosphere even though this resulted in several either blurred or unsharp images that never made it into the final gallery.

This was my second Carol Service of the weekend the first having been at Fairford Leys where I was also treated to hearing an intimate Saxophone Quartet playing giving my tapping feet an airing!

Brogborough - Seriously High December Wind!

I only had a couple of hours at the most to get my fix of Windsurfing activity at the lake at Brogborough as in the afternoon I was due in Fairford Leys to enjoy hearing and watching my daughter playing Sax with the Aylesbury Community Band at a Carol Concert. On this occasion I would not be carrying a camera to the event, so needed this fix!

I wrapped up warm and setup my heavy tripod to give me some sort of stability, to have considered the carbon fibre one would have been lunacy, if I had a quick release mechanism for it I would have been best served by bringing along my Gitzo! In the future I think I will give it serous consideration in such blustery conditions; I must look into the possibility.

I found myself holding as tightly onto the camera to keep the tripod firm as contemplating  simply keeping light pressure on the shutter release whilst shooting. A tripod is supposed to be stable, well not this particular day! I was rewarded by some seriously skilled people braving the conditions to enjoy their sport and giving me some shots of which I was proud; there were several sequences where I came close to anticipating the start of the manoeuvres, but aligning the shots I would definitely be relying in sorting after the event in post processing as I might just as well have been in a bobbing dinghy as being on sloping dry land in that wind!

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and stayed only long enough to survive a very stiff neck and my painful and weak back which went just a few days before. I left the shots in chronological order and so some sequences will span some galleries I am afraid, but I had no more time.

Evening Skies over Nearby Landscape

Spotting the richness and power of the clouds, I hastily grabbed my camera and shot out to Stewartby and Houghton Conquest where it is marginally less flat than here in Marston Moretaine to capture a few quick shots of the effect these could have on mundane and unremarkable landscapes.

There were barely enough to create a gallery, but they could later provide backgrounds to cards with plenty of space for an accompany message. Simply Grist to the Mill. The image that heads this piece was me playing with duotoning one shot in Lightroom to almost simulate a snow scene.

I also took the chance to visit an engineering works who manufacture robot parts for the automotive sector of British Industry in case they might ever have a need for my services, but sadly they already have an incumbent, but I try to leave no stone unturned, and I had earlier helped a photographer based in Cardiff hoping it might generate some training at a future date, so the day was not not a washout.

Ampthill Christmas Lights – Switch On

Andy Fox came around to drop off the last of a series of mounted prints that now adorn the walls of my new home, and casually mentioned that he and his wife, Debbie were going to the switching on of the Christmas Lights in Ampthill that evening, and this struck me as a good way to spend the late afternoon and early evening as it was generally well-attended and a good show.

Since my arrival was not likely to be all that early I decided not to chance going too far into Ampthill to park, but I do need all the exercise I can get, so I parked just off the A507, giving myself a fair trek to reach the town centre; I soon found I had been overly cautious, as it soon became apparent I could have parked far closer, but I was not going to waste time and petrol to make the change. It also gave me a chance to add to my stock of images of autumn and textures.

The central roundabout had the access to the High Street barricaded off to make it a pedestrian thoroughfare and the Sainsburys car park had become a funfair with stalls, rides and charity tents and was filling with people when I arrived, and though the afternoon was cold, it was still bright and families were along full of the festive spirit. The decorations were mainly confined to shop windows, and the lighting scheduled to be lit were not extravagant, but that mattered not a jot – the atmosphere engendered by the throngs of people was all that mattered and the street was a happy place with chattering children and shiny balloons depicting Minions, Mickey Mouse, Super heroes and Ponies, and it was not long before one was lost to the sky, but I did not hear the sounds of crying for its loss, just a few adults remarking that it was on its way to the stars!

There was dancing and music playing in the run-up to the count down and dusk began encroaching very gradually with the crowd density increasing in direct proportion to the darkening of the sky. As I recorded the scene unfolding I spared a thought for such gatherings on the continent realising just how fragile was this peaceful scene I was witnessing, and I wondered how many of those present sensed those same sentiments – if they did, it certainly did not show or dampen their spirits, for which I was grateful. It is however worth at least understanding how tenuous this grip on everyday normality really is at this time, whilst not becoming despondent and fearful.

I enjoyed the event very much and was really grateful to Andy who brought the event to my notice, I hope I have captured the essence of the evening in the gallery of images.

November on Tring Reservoirs

I felt I needed to chance taking the opportunity to Visit the Reservoirs at Tring for possibly the last time this year., despite there being light rain forecast. When I first arrived it had not yet started, but as I took the first few photographs the first few drops arrived, but I was well wrapped up in case it got worse, but surprisingly for mid-November, it was not too cold – at least before I had been stationary for long.

The first bird of interest was a heron standing in just a few inches of water, but it barely moved during the time it took me to set up the tripod, and actually losing my footing on the steep bank of Startops End lake. I was surprised at just how many birds were on the water considering how much noise was being made by the workers presumably doing repair work to the far bank.

I headed beyond the end of the path between the two reservoirs of Marsworth and Startops End and waled along the Grand Union Canal, meeting the occasional dog walker, but as yet no anglers. I settled to wait by the reed beds in the hope of possibly catch sight of kingfishers, but for the first hour and a half, only a dabchick appeared, though I failed to capture the squirrel on two of its charges across the fallen branches and into its favourite lair within a large bush on the far side.

Also, the mink never ventured out of its hollowed tree trunk, but my firm favourite, the well-groomed Robin did join me and partook of my seed offerings, and gently chirped as it flew around its territory either side, behind me and by my feet. I did catch a fleeting glimpse of a heron overhead, but as there was so little leaf coverage, it almost certainly decided against landing on any of the high branches due to my presence.

Although I never felt like giving up and returning to base, it was a very long wait before the arrival of a kingfisher, and as luck would have it, he had succeeded in in catching a fish and was landing on a distant branch to swallow it. It took him quite a time to swallow as it was fairly energetically twisting in the vain hope of escaping, but a final deft flick, possibly also bashing it on the nearby trunk and the kingfisher began to turn it so it was headfirst and in one large gulp, and a straightening of its throat, it was down.

I stayed for another hour, but was visited no more, and by now was cold frosting still for so long.

I climbed back up the steep, muddy bank and made my return journey to the car. I did stop in the hide and chatted to an ex-Postie, newly retired and another birder, Michael eponymously named for his career and we all three chatted as I still took the opportunity to grab shots of a gull and some Crested Pochard, whom I managed to capture in flight as they left the lake and we also had a visit from another Robin and a Dunnock.

As Michael and I walked back to our cars, who should be coming in the opposite direction but Bob Menzies the Bailiff for Tringford!

Windy Friday at Brogborough Lake

Most of the summer when the sun has shone there has been next to no wind, therefore not the most exciting time for action of the windsurfing variety on Brogborough Lake. Along comes November and both wind and sun, but the sun has a cold brightness, and when the wind is strong enough to blow my heavier tripod over, my hands on the cold metal of camera and tripod soon became very cold indeed.

I knew I was not going to be free over the weekend, so the lesser numbers on the water had enticed me over in the afternoon of Friday, and I concentrated on trying to capture longer sequences as the keen freestylers practiced doing their turns in the air, I was very grateful that Sam Barnes offered suggestions as to what to look out for and where to expect the action, and where in the past I would be more concerned with the start of a manoeuvre, Sam made the point that the landing was more important, so I tried  to take longer bursts where hitherto I would stop short as I felt that to concentrate on the ignominy of failure might be unkind when the surfer failed. However, I could see his point that this might in fact help my subject to see why there was a failure.

So we shall see, I just hope that I don’t get a clip round the ear by showing a sequence where the end was less promising than the the start. This also reminds me that on this occasion I started shooting with the 150-600mm lens, but  that often meant that 150mm was too long due to how close inshore the windsurfers often came, then I remembered that I had put the 100-400mm in the car, so I swapped over, which meant I could be closer to the water’s edge and therefore have a wider view before the bushes obscured my view.

Steppingley Reservoir Visit

Since the sun was out and autumn is almost over, I decided to check out a reservoir near Steppingley, just in case it is another possible location for wildlife; looking at the area using Google did not show a promising area for parking, and I had driven almost the entire area around its location without even catching sight of it or anywhere likely as a spot from which set off after parking, but found myself in a spot that was quiet and very attractive and likely to be above and beyond it. I spotted one of the local residents sweeping leaves from the churchyard and learned that where I had parked was fortuitously the best place to do so, and he gave me directions as to how to reach it.

It looked decidedly waterlogged, but I decided to chance it and grabbing two cameras, one with the 100-400mm and the other with the 24-105mm and made my way into a field and down the hill and soon could make out the lake in the distance. I had been informed there was a footbridge off to my right at the bottom, but I managed to completely miss it and headed off clockwise to the left, but was spotted by the farmer and learned I had passed it and was now on private land – not an auspicious start! On the walk back I did find the footbridge and headed off in the correct direction.

The reservoir is well equipped with stages from which the anglers can fish all around the lake, and I was introduced to two new angling terms I had never encountered before ‘leger’ and ‘swim’ in connection with such positions – they were on a sign by one of the stages.

Although I spoke to a couple of the anglers and learned there could often be wildlife hereabouts, they all informed me it was currently quiet on that front, but there were plenty of ducks! Mainly Mallard as far as I could tell, not quite what I had in mind. I did a complete circuit and returned up the hill and with judicial stepping managed to keep the amount of mud I collected to a manageable minimum. I returned via a different route and stopped to take some shots of the varied autumn colours still to be found by the laneside.

Not the most successful of trips, but the old school called Folly House was certainly of architectural interest and I do now know how to reach that particular reservoir.

November Windsurfers at Brogborough

Sometimes I get time to play, so here is another jump, in black and white:

Saturday morning brought rain and wind, but I had learned that it was due to dry up later, but I welcomed the wind as it held the promise of there being windsurfers on the lake at Brogborough, and I was hoping I might be free enough to go down there, but this time by car, not bike!

The rain took a while to stop and the wind remained unabated, but the sky brightened so I gathered camera and lenses and loaded them aboard my car, and was soon on my way more in hope than certainty; it was quite a relief to see a fairly full car park at Brogborough Lake. I did not delay, but immediately brought out the tripod and set the 7D MkII and 100-400mm onto the Acrotech head and made my way to the lakeside. I was surprised by just how waterlogged the grass was; much more so than the I had experienced just two miles distant – there were even large puddles of water in the grass.

Initially I set up right by the water’s edge, but after shooting from there I soon found my feet slithering in the mud as I swivelled to follow the windsurfers, and retreated to more level ground a bit further back, I little realised that I would be moving many more times as each spot became a morass of slippery mud due to my frequently moving my feet.

Shortly for a while the sun broke through the cloud cover, but at first this was short-lived as it began to spit with rain. Fortunately it did not last too long and the sun returned  giving some good lighting for a spell. I was blessed with a few taking advantage of the gusty wind to jump, but I did not manage to capture every instance as there were too many people to cover and in every direction, but despite my lack of knowledge as to when any one person might choose to leap, I did capture  a few sequences.

It was such a wonderful opportunity as for several weeks there has been very little signs of wind except when it was tipping it down and was very dull, there had bee n sunshine but on days when there was not a breath of wind. I hope that what I have captured meets with approval from those who did do some jumping.

Autumn Morning Mist at Marston Moretaine

Click – A Monochrome Alternate View for a few shots in black-and-white

I am not an early bird, more a night-owl, which is my downfall when it comes to capturing the undoubted beauty of sunrises and the dew-laden webs of autumn spiders. Sunday morning I was up early – for me and by foregoing breakfast was able to be out with my camera before the sun had had a chance to burn off the heavy mist, so I walked along the road towards the Nature Reserve, trying to capture some of the charm of the glowing mist before the sun had claimed the day.

We have been lucky that this year the autumn colours have remained with us for longer, due to the absence of high winds alongside the rain, and so there was still colour to be seen in the hedgerows. I even learned of a plot of fenced-off land that will become a graveyard that explained something of the tarmacced walkways in the field opposite the Nature Reserve’s land – the wooden sign giving this information was festooned with the work of numerous spiders beaded with droplets bestowed by the dew.

I entered the Nature Reserve by way of the kissing gate and learned that I was definitely a late guest to the party, as there were cyclists and dog-walkers enjoying the warm morning mist; there was simply no chill to the air and all those I met were warm in their greetings too. I presume the lack of wind was allowing the low-lying mist to enclose the warmth from the previous day and the sun was definitely winning the challenge to clear the air and herald another pleasantly warm autumn day. I used the time to capture what I saw, even though there was nothing to make the heart beat faster, just serenity, and reminders of the year that was passing in the faded green and russet tones of the hedgerows.

Autumn Cycle Ride around Stewartby Lake

 I have been considering how I might reach the far side of Stewartby Lake straightforwardly by cycling, and after taking a good look using Google Earth spotted that there seemed to be a way from the old A421 through one of the newer estates, and the weather on the Sunday afternoon favoured my attempt.

I had hoped that the geese would be in abundance, but despite the large numbers I had seen on an earlier visit when I had taken shots of some water skiers, the most abundant were gulls; and yet they were not present in great numbers. The sun was out, it was pleasantly warm and the colours were autumnal; it had rained recently so the grass was still wet, and the steep banks leading to the water’s edge were slippery, and not all had been provided with wooden steps.

As I cycled clockwise from where I had entered the track via a bridge over the brook, I would stop at each clearance to take a look at the water’s edge and a few I would venture down with the bike, so it was safe as I explored further. I was trying to decide likely vantage points for future visits. Three-quarter way through my trip, I learned that I would have to consider carrying some kitchen towels and Swarfega, as my chain came off the cogs and I needed to get it back into play, leaving me with a very greasy right hand! Also there was little point in my considering bringing a second camera with an alternative lens as this simply added extra weight and the delay in swapping would not have been fast enough, so it never came into use.

I decided also that the prominent Wind Turbine was worth capturing from different angles, it has already proved to be a good marker when I am out as the land around is so flat,  it can be easily spotted.

Altogether the trip was thoroughly enjoyable but other than a nice shot of a powerboat and its wake, it was hardly full of enticing photographs, but it added to my knowledge of possible vantage points and I was impressed by some of the sleeper creations that formed hides overlooking the wetland habitat.

Woburn – Last Warm Autumn Day 2015?

The brightening sky was alluring and prompted me to clear any outstanding work such that I could get out and the intended destination was Woburn Park and its deers. Having readied my camera gear and finished a longish telephone call, I was all set to go, but received another, and it was one I wanted to answer, so I finished that, locked up and set off for the park and chose the main A421 route foolishly as it it has works going on at the roundabouts that lost me yet more time.

I parked up in the car park by the church assembled the camera on the tripod and set off for the lake by the entry kiosk, taking a few shots of autumn leaves and the winding pathway under the overhang of trees. The deer were just beyond, but close to the small lake, so I moved slowly closer observing the more active stags within the group and despite the main rut being over, there was still some activity, and the sun was intermittently out from behind the clouds.

Occasionally some of the visitors would alight from their cars to join me in photographing the activity cars, some merely with camera-phones, but a few with telephotos and the likes of Nikon and Canon, some were chatty; some were soon back in the cars and were off to visit the main house, Woburn Abbey.

I found myself witnessing something completely unexpected, and was lucky enough to even capture it – the sight of two deer standing on their hindlegs, and boxing like kangaroos or hares! Those frames made my trip completely worthwhile! They also provided me the opportunity to engage some of the visitors in conversation and show them what I had been lucky enough to see and record. One man in particular, Alan Goodger who it turned out had worked in the photography business for many years and we were able to recount shared experiences from before the arrival of digital photography, and we both had a wonderful conversation which lasted from before the deer had all laid down to rest until we took the path back to the car park, rounding off a very enjoyable, warm and productive afternoon; possibly marking the closing curtains of Summer and the definite onset of of Autumn.

PENHA Fundraiser at Calumet – Exhibition of Vanessa Champion’s Photos

The exhibition sponsored by Fuji and hosted at the Calumet UK’s London Showroom in Drummond Street entitled ‘A Change in the Air’ is an exhibition of photographs from Vanessa’s trip to Uganda; it documents and celebrates the nomadic pastorialists in Africa.

I had been lucky enough to be invited to the Private Viewing, and the evening did not disappoint, I have met several of the PENHA people in the past and they are all very friendly and welcoming. The evening displayed and supplied samples of the indigenous fare of the region and the audience was even informed not only of the content but the preparation of the food provided, along with wine and juices to moisten the palate to aid mingling and conversation. I mentioned the event to two colleagues, Adam Woolfitt and Geoff Dann, who both came along, both are fellow photographers, and this event was not short on other photographers; due to Vanessa’s assiduous efforts at enticing all her photographer friends such that there is no stone left unturned in her efforts to ensure maximum publicity for her endeavours on behalf of the charity PENHA.

I hope I have given a flavour of the fun of the evening against the backdrop of Ness’ images from her trip. I certainly enjoyed meeting some from previous engagements and new ones with whom I was introduced. For the observant some may notice that the colour can sometimes vary despite my best efforts to correct the shifts in post-processing, at certain shutter speeds the fluorescent tubes sometimes displayed bands of magenta or cyan horizontally across parts of the scene, due to the interaction between the frequency of the mains and the shutter speed in use, but I have done my best to conceal this, also since in a group sometimes one person might catch the colour shift and not another or they might be presented less favourably I have taken some groups at different moments and included both, thereby minimising offence and hopefully pleasing a few more.

Brogborough Becalmed then Vulcanised!

I had done my chores – Shopping, Gardening and Washing, the mist had lifted and it was a warm and although we were not forecast wind, there were a few gusts here, which is not too far from Brogborough Lake, so I felt that the exercise of cycling there might just be rewarded by a few gusts and some activity amongst the windsurfing fraternity; I therefore gathered my camera, 100-400mm lens, tripod and gimbal head, and collected my bicycle.

Arriving at the lake, I was not exactly swamped by windsurfers! There was also less of a breeze here than back at Marston Moretaine! I did learn that Sam Barnes was going to venture out shortly and there was one other person getting his sail ready, so I took the opportunity to pump up the front tyre which I had noticed was low before getting the camera set up. By the time I was ready two people had taken to the water, and soon that number was increased by a mighty 50% – two men and one lady. Today was not going to be a day of action and drama, so I noted that reflections on the water could add to the challenge of providing some interest and proceeded to attempt to capture this in the shots I was taking.

The young lady who I later learned was Lisa, looked very poised as she crossed serenely in front of me; I imagined that staying up with so little wind must be quite tricky to remain balanced, and I never once saw her down in the water which was impressive to me.

I had found a spot close to the water’s edge, but I spent most of the time at an awkward angle because the two men spent a large part of the time off to the right, and I had chosen a low viewpoint on the slope so I would be at the correct height for the eyepiece and this was really more suited to the action being in an arc immediately ahead. I spent a relaxing time till the wind dropped completely and then I started to pack up the tripod, when over the new A421 I spotted the Avro Vulcan flying in the direction of Stewartby and Bedford, and immediately realised this must be the day of its last Airshow at Old Warden, and so I took to standing on a table for added height and hoped we might yet catch another glimpse of it. We were very much in luck as we were treated to three passes before it headed off for home, which I took to be Scampton in Lincolnshire. I was thrilled because this was to be its very last flight. I count myself very lucky indeed as I was up at Cottesmore in Rutland for its first Air Test after refurbishment and sadly witnessed the failure of its undercarriage flap to close which meant it lost a whole season of flying, so to accidentally take pictures on its last flight was a very good way to end the day!

Season End Visit – Stockwood Discovery Centre

A Light breeze and warm sunshine giving an Indian Summer Day and the chance to pay a visit to the gardens at the Stockwood Discovery Centre opened a window of opportunity to nip down to see what could be captured before Autumn closes in.

I did wonder just how much might still be on show, but gardener, Jan said there was nothing much new, but she reckoned I would still manage to find something of interest, so I grabbed the moment, and my camera.

You certainly could not say that the place was a riot of colour, and because schools were back the area was not swamped with families visiting, but there were rewarding images to be found by diligent searching, both in the greenhouse and outside around the gardens themselves. I reckon my short time was well-spent and I hope it shows within the five pages of the gallery.